International Relations

“A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth . .. and say this is not just.” Martin Luther King

United Nations

The unity of all mankind is one of the greatest needs in the world today. Yet on most international issues, New Zealand has slavishly followed the lead of the United States, and our faint-hearted voting record at the United Nations on such issues as apartheid does us no credit. International relations have been based on power concepts, and people with power use power to their own advantage.

The Values Party favours Antarctica being placed under United Nations’ control and all nuclear activity being banned there.

Further to this aim, a Values Government would whole-heartedly support the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the South Pacific. The Values Party deplores the manufacture and maintenance of nuclear arsenals and advocates continuing strong measures towards both nuclear and non-nuclear disarmament. We would support the establishment of an international agency to control the use of all nuclear materials.

The Values Party recognises that no form of nuclear fission plant for the supply of energy is entirely safe or free of waste disposal problems; and would, as Govern- ment, prohibit all nuclear-powered vessels, whether armed with nuclear weapons or not, from entering New Zealand ports and territorial waters.

With regard to establishing a new world order the Values Party sees the role of the United Nations changing over time. In the short-term, much of the development of a stable-state world economy will be dependent on international actions and the re-education of nations. In the intermediate term, step-by-step progress will be made towards a new, just, envirohmentally-sound world order, with the United Nations acting as a guide and watchdog. In the long term, individual nations and local communities within those nations will carry the major responsibility for this world order. The United Nations will then act mainly as a forum for co-operation between nations and assisting with special functions such as communications, energy and population control, natural disasters, planning and research and cultural sharing.

The Law of the Sea

In 1970, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared that the seabed beyond national jurisdiction was to become the common heritage of mankind. The Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, held in Caracas from 20 June - 29 August 1974, sought ostensibly to make this declaration a reality by establishing a new international organisation for the seabed. However much disagreement remains and meanwhile the greed and neglect of the world’s coastal states are already eroding the original UN intention.

New Zealand is one of the most fortunate countries in the world as regards the length of its coastline. We are therefore in an influential position internationally compared with the many land-locked countries when it comes to laying the foundations of a just, prudent, far- sighted, and internationally-accepted order for the management by mankind of the sea.

The Values Party believes New Zealand should:

  • Proclaim that both the sea and the seabed, whether under national or international jurisdiction, are the common heritage of mankind and that all nations, whether coastal or landlocked, have the right to benefit from them equitably and to participate fully in decisions concerning mankind's use and care of them.
  • Support the concepts of ‘the Area” and the “Authority” discussed at the Caracas Conference, that is, that an international Seabed Authority be set up to administer that area of the seabed which lies outside the zones administered by national authorities; we would extend these concepts to include the care and use of the sea itself.
  • Agree [with 77 developing countries] that the Authority should have the sole right to explore and exploit the Area and that it should be able to either conduct operations itself or devolve its tasks to others by service contracts or any other such means which ensure its direct and efficient control at all times and which ensure that the main revenues of all operations are used to benefit developing countries [as generally agreed at Caracas] rather than the companies and countries with contracts.
  • Disagree with the developing countries that the Authority should be run on a simple-majority basis reflecting the numerical composition of the Assembly without any special consideration being given to minorities, even vital minorities such as those possessing indispensable technology. Like any other international organisation, the Authority must be based in the end on consent. It cannot grow by overriding dissident but powerful authorities but by persuading them that it has something to offer them too.
  • Want the Authority to have discretion to regulate the pace of seabed mining exploitation in the light of possible adverse effects on developing countries which produce the same minerals on land.
  • Seek international agreement on immutable environmental priorities that superceded economic priorities even within the 12-mile Exclusive Economic Zones and 200-mile Economic Zones claimed by coastal states or regions.
  • Reject the USA view that the right of all shipping, merchant or naval, in an economic zone shall not be circumscribed by unilateral action of coastal states or regions, even in the name of poliution control.
  • Challenge the proposal [at Caracas] that coastal states could each claim an economic zone of up to 200 miles from their base-line. Instead we would propose that such zones be termed Caretaker Zones and should be regarded as regional resources rather than national property, to which all states within the region, including the land-locked, would enjoy rights of access [for example, all internal African states would share jurisdiction with all coastal African states over the economic zones surrounding the African continent].
  • Reject the proposal [by Britain and others] that states could claim the mineral resources of the continental margin adjacent to their shores even when this is well beyond the 200-mile limit [that is, up to the point where the rocks ceased to be sedimentary and therefore likely to contain oil or gas]. This proposal could mean that only about half of the world’s manganese nodules and none of its oil or gas would fall within the international Area. Since it could be easier to deal with national administrations than to satisfy the Authority's stricter standards, those who have the technology of nodule mining could prefer to forget about the international Area, and confine their operations to the economic zones of interested coastal states.
  • Propose that the countries responsible for administering the 200-mile zones have discretionary powers over pollution, scientific research, and the preservation of the marine environment but that they should accede to the advice of the Authority regarding optimum [not maximum] sustainable fishing yields and optimum mineral exploitation.

Foreign Affairs

Recent changes in the pattern of international relation- ships have had great implications for New Zealand. A few years ago it was common for New Zealand to be criticised for a failure to come to terms with its part of the world. New Zealand's role in the South-East Asian sphere has been that of military ally to the Western Powers in opposition to the “threat” of communism.

Some deliberate refashioning of New Zealand policy is long overdue. The end of the conflict in Vietnam and Cambodia is bringing a new stability to the region and an awareness of the breadth of New Zealand's interest in the peoples of Asia and the Pacific.

The Values Party believes that

  • New Zealand should be internationalist in outlook and make every effort to break down nationalist feeling throughout the world. To achieve this, New Zealand must be independent and non-aligned. Defence pacts would therefore be terminated by a Values Government. [See following section on defence]

New Zealand and Racist Regimes [sporting contact]

The Values Party wishes to adhere to the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, 21 November 1971, calling on governments to “promote adherence to the principles” of selection of sports teams on merit (New Zealand abstained).

Accordingly, the Values Party as government would

  • Not permit visits to New Zealand by sports personnel selected on racist grounds.
  • Do everything possible to prevent New Zealand sports personnel from playing against teams selected on racist grounds.
  • Condemn vigorously any nation repressing any minority group within that nation, on the grounds of political, racial, or religious belief.

Immigration

The Values Party, as Government, would implement an immigration policy based on humanitarian grounds which would not discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, sex or creed (see also ‘PopulationTM). Compassionate immigration would be allowed under this policy.

The Values Party recognises that many problems can result from the arrival in New Zealand of immigrants from countries with very different lifestyles. We believe that New Zealand immigration officers working overseas should present to the intending migrant, a realistic picture of the problems of adjustment and that on arrival in New Zealand immigrants be helped to adjust to the New Zealand situation.

Defence

The New Zealand Government is traditionally committed to a defence policy which has, as its basic objectives, the preservation of the independence, security, sovereignty, and national interests of New Zealand, now and for the future. This has resulted in the formation of military forces and capabilities at levels which have, in the past, been able to preserve New Zealand's security. Treaties have been set up with our neighbour nations and with America to provide for mutual assistance in the event of direct external attack.

The Values Party believes however, that New Zealand's security lies not with defence pacts with great powers, but through friendship and co-operation with other nations in the Asian-Pacific region. Accordingly, a Values Government would withdraw from all overseas defence treaties; and request that all non-New Zealand military installations within New Zealand be withdrawn within two years.

We fully endorse the spirit and intent of the United Nations Charter and would, as Government, co-operate with the United Nations in all non-aggressive activities.

In keeping with our belief that New Zealand's security lies with international co-operation, rather than through a show of military strength, a Values Government would favour the dismantling of the armed forces and their replacement by a multi-purpose civil defence and social service organisation. Such an organisation would retain elements of the present Army, Navy, and Air Force with a capability for serving overseas in a United Nations peacekeeping force or to provide social and technical assistance overseas. The present programmes for hydrographic surveys and fisheries research would be expanded under this scheme, as would the Search and Rescue services.

The present Ministry of Defence would be dissolved and a new umbrella-type Ministry formed to administer all the above functions.

Overseas Trade

“It is the rich world which lays down the rules of world trade within which the poor world must earn its living. It is the rich world which regulates the international monetary system within which the poor world must manage its finances. It is the rich world which commands 95 per cent of the world's technological know-how and 90 per cent of the world’s income”.

The United Nations has said that trade is the primary instrument of economic development for the poor world. New Zealand is part of the rich world and must therefore take some responsibility for the fact that the present terms of trade are becoming increasingly unjust (the poor countries’ share of world trade has steadily declined over the past fifteen years to about half what it was in 1950).

The rich world is also spending about $1,000 million a year on developing synthetic substitutes for the natural products which make up about 80 per cent of the products of the poor world. Some countries are almost totally dependent on only one or two of these products, the supply of which fluctuates wildly.

At the same time, the poor world is making increasing use of the manufactured products of the rich world, yet the price of their exports has fallen in relation to the rising cost of imports from the rich world. (President Nyerere of Tanzania said that in 1965 he could buy a tractor for 17.25 tons of sisal whereas in 1972 he had to pay 42 tons for the same tractor.)

The poorer countries find it difficult to establish their own manufacturing industries, because they face shortages of the necessary capital, machinery, technical knowledge and skilled labour, and because rich countries already dominate available markets.

New Zealand must increase its trade with poor countries - but not on the basis of ordinary competition. Competition between highly unequal partners is unfair. We must work towards adjusting the terms of world trade so as to help the poor world make up the leeway.

The Values Party would

  • Help developing countries promote their trade with New Zealand and international markets.
  • Diversify into increased trade with poor nations in a manner which assisted their development.
  • Not develop New Zealand substitutes for items which we could import from poor countries [for example, sugar beet from Fiji] and which might represent significant contributions to their economies.
  • Liberalise import licensing provisions and tariff concessions on goods of interest to developing countries.
  • Support moves to give developing countries a greater share in influencing international monetary policy.
  • Endeavour, where the international monetary system was a handicap, to form bilateral trade agreements using bartering [for example, sheep for oil].
  • Conclude long-term commodity agreements with developing countries, which would ensure them a stable return for their exports.
  • Keep aid-giving clearly disassociated from private investment so that poor countries could more easily judge private investment on its own merits.
  • Act to decrease the volume of New Zealand trade with governments representing a repressive minority.
  • Limit “imported inflation” by cutting back New Zealand's dependence on rich nations.
  • Act to decrease the volume of New Zealand trade with governments representing a repressive minority [particularly racist regimes].

Tourism

Tourism is justifiable on the grounds of its promotion of intercultural awareness and understanding. Any economic advantage to New Zealand should be seen more as a fringe benefit than a prime motive for tourism.

The Values Party believes that vigorous promotion of New Zealand as a tourist haven would tend to worsen some of the more detrimental effects of the trade; the construction of luxury hotels emphasising wealth division and elitism, the prostitution of the Maori culture, the despoliation of scenic areas by chintzy commercialisation, and the creation of artificial atmospheres in natural settings.

The Values Party believes that:

  • We should stabilise at present levels, through the use of inter-national aircraft landing rights, the number of overseas tourists visiting New Zealand.
  • The tourist industry should cease to regard New Zealand as having a tourist “potential”. We should end expenditure on overseas advertising of New Zealand as a tourist resort.
  • All visitors to New Zealand should be warned on arrival that “tipping” for service is prohibited.
  • All major tourist facilities should be New Zealand-owned.
  • The provision of cheaper holiday accommodation should be encouraged.
  • The provision of further luxury accommodation designed for overseas tourists should be discouraged.
  • No tourist facility should be over-large or should detract from the beauty of its surroundings.