National Office and branch activities.

PositionINSTITUTE NOTES

From 29 October till 16 November an NZIIA team consisting of Peter Kennedy, Lance Beath and Peter Nichols carried out the second session of the Papua New Guinea Foreign Service Training programme in Port Moresby. Foreign Minister Hon Murray McCully, visiting Papua New Guinea with a business delegation, gave an address on 'The Requirements of a Foreign Service Officer' to course members on the second day. (A report on this effort is to be found elsewhere in this issue.)

The book New Flags Flying, by Michael Powles and Ian Johnstone, was launched at a reception in Wellington on 27 November, with 75 present.

A delegation from the NZIIA led by Sir Douglas Kidd took part in the China-New Zealand Symposium held in Beijing on 4 December.

Nelson

On 4 December Peter Kennedy, the director of the Institute and former ambassador to the European Union, gave an address entitled 'Europe: Who's in Charge'.

Palmerston North

On 31 October, Ian McKelvie MP addressed the branch about the role of New Zealand in promoting sustainable agriculture for international food security. As a local businessman and politician with a long farming background, he demonstrated his awareness and appreciation of the implications and challenges for New Zealand's ability to compete effectively in a globalised world. Hindered by a small domestic market, an inability to reach critical mass without going overseas, and a lack of sufficient infrastructure to 'grow' industry efficiently, while sufficient talent and expertise is right here in New Zealand, many of our success stories have meant taking a more pro-active approach.

McKelvie's key argument was the need to increase the understanding of the importance of agriculture for New Zealand as its primary industry. He believed that New Zealand's future is in high quality food production. This is necessary throughout society as a whole. For many, this would involve a change in mindsets in making agriculture and sustainable living more attractive as a career or lifestyle. McKelvie lamented the lack of rural infrastructure and relatively higher costs of this choice as a barrier, and discussed possible solutions by commenting about his own...

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