National Office and branch activities.

• Position: INSTITUTE NOTES - New Zealand Institute of International Affairs - Conference notes

Tina van Erpers Roijaards took up the position of executive secretary in the National Office in late June.

On 29 August a panel discussion was held at VUW on 'Perspectives on the North Korean Stand-Off, More Than a War of Words?' Chaired by Michael Powles, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies, the speakers included four ambassadors: HE Seung-bae Yeo (South Korea), HE Scott P Brown (United States), HE Wang Lutong (China), HE Toshihisa Takata (Japan). They were joined by two CSS senior fellows: Paul Sinclair and Terence O'Brien.

Auckland

The branch AGM was held on 10 April. The following officers were elected:

Chair--Gregory J. Thwaite

Deputy Chair--Dr Ashok Sharma

Events Co-ordinator--Noelene Buckland

Committee--Nick Laery and Naomi Basson

The following meetings were held:

7 Jun Prof Alan Tidwell (director of the Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University), 'Recalibrating New Zealand's Small State Foreign Policy'.

26 Jun Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM (former high commissioner to the United Kingdom), 'An Outsider's View from the Inside on Current British Polities'.

31 Jul HE Nineta Barbulescu (ambassador for Romania), 'The View from Bucharest'.

2 Aug A panel discussion on 'The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons', featuring Prof Treasa Dunworth and Dr Lyndon Burford.

7 Aug Prof Toshihiro Nakayama (Kippenberger chair, Victoria University of Wellington, and professor at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus, Japan), 'Japan's Alliance with the United States in an Uncertain Era in East Asia'.

21 Aug A 'Pre-election Forum on Foreign Affairs and Trade' was held. Political parties were represented by David Parker MP (Labour Party), Carrie Stoddart-Smith (Maori Party), Barry Coates (Green Party) and Dr Jian Yang MP (National Party).

Nelson

The following meetings were held:

18 Jul HE Seung-bae Yeo (South Korean ambassador), 'The Situation in the Korean Peninsula.

10 Aug Gerald Hensley CNZM (former diplomat and secretary of defence), 'Reflections on New Zealand's Place in a Volatile World'.

14 Sep Charles Hufflet (tuna fishing leader), 'The Global Fish War: A Tale of Two Seas'.

Wairarapa

The following meetings were held:

19 Jul Dr Roderic Alley (senior research fellow, Centre for Strategic Studies), "The Drone Debate: Sudden Bullet or Slow Boomerang'.

23 Aug Dr Anna Powles (senior lecturer, Centre for Defence and Security Studies at...