Institute notes: National Office and branch activities.

• Position: New Zealand. Institute of International Affairs - Brief Article

Bryce Harland retired as Director of the NZIIA in December. At the meeting of the Standing Committee in that month, the President, Sir Kenneth Keith, congratulated him on his considerable achievements as Director and thanked him on behalf of the NZIIA for his important contribution.

The new Director is Gerald McGhie, a career diplomat who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1965. He has served in posts in the Pacific (Samoa, Papua New Guinea), Asia (Hong Kong and Korea) as well as New York and Moscow. He was High Commissioner in New Guinea, and the last New Zealand Ambassador to the Soviet Union (and first to the Russian Federation after the demise of that state). More recently he was Ambassador to South Korea. From 1994 to 1996 he was MFAT's representative on the NZIIA Standing Committee and from 1999 to 2000 undertook a MFAT Joint Fellowship to the Institutes of Asian and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Over the past year he has led the technical component of the Joint Australian and New Zealand Peacekeeping Mission to the Solomon Islands and the Strategic Aid Mission to Tonga.

Wairarapa

The branch completed a successful year with four meetings in November. Vince Ashworth of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation addressed she question of land issues in Zimbabwe and Jan de Kok, the European Union Counsellor in Canberra, gave a lively paper on the progress of and prospects for New Zealand-European Union relations. In the following week a joint meeting was held with Wairarapa Green Dollars to hear Professor Margrit Kennedy give a detailed exposition of a possible complimentary monetary system. The final meeting was a panel to consider the events of 11 September and the war on terrorism. Gerald Hensley, Gordon Parkinson, Ray Stewart and Scott Thomson spoke on the strategic, diplomatic, peace and religious aspects of the current situation. Although the branch committee was dubious of the wisdom of holding four meetings in a month, support held up well and the usual attendance was about thirty.

Wellington

The following meetings were held:

12 Feb Rt Hon Jim Bolger (former New Zealand Ambassador to the United...