National Office and branch activities.

• Position: INSTITUTE NOTES

Hugh White (Professor of Defence Studies and head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University) gave an address on 'The Next New Zealand Defence White Paper--A Few Thoughts from the West Island' at Victoria University of Wellington on 27 November. (The edited text of White's address is to be found elsewhere in this issue.)

A roundtable was held with Dr Malcolm Cook, Programme Director, East Asia at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy on 10 December.

On 2 February Dr Eckhard Deutscher, the Chair of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, addressed a meeting at Victoria University of Wellington on 'The Role and Challenges of Development Assistance in a Globalised World'.

A breakfast meeting was held at the Intercontinental Wellington on 16 February to hear East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta speak on 'Timor-Leste: Nation Building--The Challenges Ahead'.

Christchurch

The following meetings were held:

26 Nov Dr Amy Fletcher (a senior lecturer in the University of Canterbury's Political Science Programme), 'The International Repercussions of the US Election'.

10 Dec Mike McFarlane (Investor Link Securities), 'The Global Financial Crisis'.

Hawke's Bay

On 3 December NZIIA Director Brian Lynch addressed the branch about the APEC summit meeting he had just returned from attending. He also reflected on the foreign policy imperatives of the new National-led government.

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Waikato

On 10...