O’Sullivan on McCully

Fran O’Sullivan focuses on Muray McCully:

Cabinet Minister Murray McCully is under strict orders from his boss to do “whatever it takes” to ensure the 2011 Rugby World Cup is an outstanding success. …

The timing of the tournament couldn’t be better for New Zealand. Amid the incessant doom-and-gloom talk, it is easy to overlook the fact that in just over two years 60,000 to 70,000 visitors will likely track here for a contest that has the potential to generate more than $1 billion of economic activity and pump more than half a billion dollars into the New Zealand economy.

That is what goes with the territory of being host country for the world’s third-largest sporting contest.

It hasn’t really sunk in how big the event has become.

The RWC organisers have so far done a stirling job by opting for 13 venues that have capitalised on their pledge to the International Rugby Board to provide a “stadium of four million people”, and ensured that virtually all regions of New Zealand have an opportunity to drive extra business.

That has gone down very well.

The rapport between McCully and Groser is palpable, with either politician easily able to represent the full range of New Zealand’s interests in their meetings with other foreign or trade ministers either at home or overseas.

For instance, it was McCully who fleshed out the timetable for the recent announcement of negotiations on the bilateral trade deal with Korea during the visit of Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan to Wellington in January.

This is a return to normality after the embarrassing charade played out under the Labour Government when its Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, sat outside the Cabinet and not only “didn’t do trade”, but reserved the right to oppose deals like the Chinese free trade agreement which did not fit with his party’s agenda.

Even worse the Foreign Minister was running large newspaper ads trying to stir up opposition to the deal, before the ink was barely dry from the PM signing it.

Both McCully and Groser favour a shake-up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure greater concentration on the relationships likely to bear greatest economic fruit for New Zealand and/or bolster the country’s presence on the world stage.

The foreign affairs establishment is already kicking back at plans to bring NZAid back within MFAT’s firmament and ensuring more of the aid is directly tied to New Zealand’s interests. McCully has not handled this issue as smoothly as he could. But overall he has made an impressive debut in his prime portfolios.

It’s good to have Fran writing on an issue other than why National should cancel the tax cuts 🙂