8. Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Why has the primary focus of overseas development assistance shifted from poverty elimination to sustainable economic development, and can he assure New Zealanders that overseas aid is being delivered in accordance with the highest ethical standards?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Link to this
I have said on many occasions that there is no debate about whether we want to alleviate poverty; the question is, how do we alleviate poverty? With the finite resources available to us, we need to make choices about the sort of assistance that is most likely to change the lives of aid recipients in a sustainable way. The Government’s approach to overseas aid should always be administered in a way that meets high ethical standards.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
Why is the New Zealand Government contributing to the building of a ski field in war-torn Afghanistan, which is largely inaccessible to tourists, and how many people are estimated to be lifted out of poverty as a result of this project?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
The New Zealand Government spends approximately $10 million a year on development assistance in Afghanistan. Most of that is centred on education and health, but I am trying to ensure that we shift more of it into agricultural capacity-building and energy support.
Hon David ParkerHon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
There is a small component that has been in the programme for the last couple of years that relates to tourism development around the Bamian area. It is part of an overall programme.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
How many jobs have been created in Niue as a result of the $78,000 tourism development contract given without a tender process to former National MP Mark Blumsky, and how many people in Niue have been lifted out of poverty through that initiative?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
The contract that Mr Blumsky has is as our high commissioner. It is a normal arrangement that is at the behest of the Minister. Before Mr Blumsky took up that contract as high commissioner, he spent a period doing lead-up work on the development programme.
Phil TwyfordHon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
I tell the member that the former Prime Minister, Helen Clark, took me aside when I was appointed to this role to discuss one issue that concerned her above all others. It was the state of the relationship with Niue. As a consequence, this Government has put a good deal of effort into making sure we put in place a programme that will develop a tourism sector in that country. I report to the member that Mr Blumsky, as our high commissioner, is coordinating that programme in a most effective fashion.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
What reassurance can the Minister give that the appointment of sitting National MP John Hayes to the panel that disperses the contestable Sustainable Development Fund will not result in those funds being allocated to National Party cronies?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
I assure the member that the funds will be tendered for by non-governmental organisations, not by cronies of either the Labour Party or the National Party. As far as the chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is concerned, I have revived a practice that was initiated by Sir Donald McKinnon, my august predecessor in the 1990s. I am informed that a range of senior members of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee have sat on the panel that administers the funds, including, I am told, the current Minister of Defence in his capacity as a former member of the select committee. I think it is good practice to have a senior person on such a panel. In Mr Hayes’ case we have a former diplomat. He was in charge of the Pacific division of the ministry and of the overall aid programme, and is a former ambassador to Tehran and a former High Commissioner in Papua New Guinea, in which capacity he brokered the Bougainville accords. I cannot think of anyone who is better qualified to judge these matters than Mr Hayes.