Rekindling old flames? Hamish McDougall discusses the relationship between New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

• Date: 01 September 2022
• Author: McDougall, Hamish
• Published date: 01 September 2022
• Author: McDougall, Hamish

To many observers, Aotearoa New Zealand's signing of separate free trade agreements this year with the United Kingdom and the European Union may seem like a reversal of half a century of troubled history.

According to the prevailing view, Britain's entanglement with European integration from the 1960s onwards marked a 'shock' and 'abandonment' of New Zealand, which at that time still relied on the United Kingdom as its largest trade partner and cultural lodestar. Depending on the point of view, this 'shock' was either a bitter medicine for New Zealand, which caused it to suddenly diversify its exports into new Asia-Pacific markets, deregulate its economy and stand on its own two feet in a foreign policy sense, or a hammer blow to New Zealand's economic well-being and way of life, from which it has never fully recovered.

Seen this way, the 2022 free trade agreements could be said to be a 'fresh start' and a rectification of what diplomats described as their 'vale of tears' in negotiations with Brussels over many decades. But when the historical record of New Zealand's relationship with Britain and the European Economic Community/Union is closely examined, including from the perspectives of London and Brussels as well as Wellington, a rather different narrative emerges. This picture is more coloured by continuity of relations for the past 70 years than by sudden change or rupture.

Longstanding encouragement

It may surprise many that New Zealand governments have historically broadly supported Britain's involvement with European integration. This goes as far back as 1950, when New Zealand singled itself out amongst its Commonwealth peers by encouraging the British government's (ultimately aborted) effort to join the European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner of today's European Union. The New Zealand government's thinking was that Britain would be a more prosperous and effective advocate for the Commonwealth from within European institutions, than without.

It is certainly true that New Zealand pursued economic diversification away from Britain in the second half of the 20th century, but this started long before British membership of the community, suggesting the causality is tenuous. Moreover, retaining traditional dairy and lamb export receipts in Britain was seen to complement this diversification, which required significant investment and time to implement, especially as global economic conditions worsened from the late 1960s.

In 1960 there was consternation from the outgoing Labour government in New Zealand about Britain's decision to investigate membership of the European Economic Community. However, the new National Party government of Keith Holyoake and Jack Marshall was more optimistic. In 1961 it secured a public commitment from British Commonwealth Relations Secretary Duncan Sandys that the United Kingdom would not join the community unless the 'vital interests' of New Zealand were safeguarded (primarily meaning New Zealand dairy and lamb exports). New Zealand negotiators clung to these words for years to come.

Although New Zealand policy-makers were largely supportive of British membership behind closed doors (presuming a deal for New Zealand...