Hon Phil Goff
Minister of Defence
Minister of Trade

2 October 2007

National policy launch a non-event

Defence and Trade Minister Phil Goff says that National’s release today of its foreign affairs, defence and trade policy is “a non event”.

“At least that is better than its last two policy statements which committed National to privatising state assets and pushing up doctors’ fees,” Mr Goff said.

“On trade policy, it is important that a bipartisan policy is pursued and that is a longstanding and valuable tradition in New Zealand.

“However on foreign affairs and defence, National’s claim to be pursuing a bipartisan policy is novel and utterly contradicts its position in recent years.

“I would welcome National’s commitment to a nuclear-free New Zealand, if I could believe that it was founded on principle and conviction.

“It is not. Two years ago, Don Brash, with the collusion of his National Party caucus, had a secret agenda that a nuclear free New Zealand would be ‘gone by lunchtime’.

“What has changed? National’s adoption of nuclear free is founded on opportunism and perceptions of electoral damage if they continued to pursue their preferred desire to scrap the policy.

“A party which flip flops so easily can equally easily change its policies in the opposite direction.

“There is no basis for relying on National’s newfound commitment to be maintained into the future if it became government, Mr Goff said.

“Curiously, no mention is made in the policy of Iraq. In 2003, the National Party voted in Parliament for a resolution which would have effectively committed New Zealand troops to the invasion of Iraq. Now it claims it never supported such a policy, which is patently untrue. Today, it is silent on the issue.

“National’s flip flops in defence also lack credibility. Two years ago National was saying abandonment of New Zealand’s air combat wing left New Zealand ‘defenceless’ and was ‘bludging off its mates’.

“Was it hysterical rhetoric at the time or is its conversion now to Labour’s policy another policy of convenience to be abandoned if it suits National’s electoral purposes?

“If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Labour should be flattered by and welcome National’s flip flops. Instead we are sceptical of National’s apparent conversion to policies they were recently vehemently opposed to.

“The public is likely to regard with suspicion the shallowness of National’s policymaking and its conversion to Labour’s positions.

“It is Labour-lite in every sense of the term,” Phil Goff said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media