INSTITUTE NOTES

National Office and branch activities

The NZIIA will hold its annual general meeting and annual lecture on 6 May. A full report will be included in the next issue, along with the text of the lecture, by Minister of Defence Judith Collins.

The date of the NZIIA’s National Conference has been changed. It will now take place on 17 June.

Auckland

On 19 March, in conjunction with the Public Policy Club, the branch staged a panel discussion on ‘New Zealand’s International Futures: Security, Economy, Diplomacy’, moderated by NZIIA director Dr Hamish McDougall. The panellists were Hon David Parker (Labour spokesperson for Foreign Affairs), Professor Jennifer Curtin (University of Auckland), John Pearson (British deputy high commissioner to New Zealand) and Dr Brent Burmester (University of Auckland). The following day Dr Reuben Steff, senior lecturer of geopolitics and international relations at the University of Waikato, presented and discussed his new book New Zealand’s Geopolitics and the US–China Competition.

Christchurch

On 3 March HE Makoto Osawa, ambassador of Japan, addressed the branch on ‘Policy Reform, Trade, Negotiation and Diplomacy’.

Hawke’s Bay

The following meetings were held:

10 Mar Ian Hill (retired diplomat, adjunct professor in the Centre of Defence and Security Studies at Massey University and a senior fellow in the Centre for Strategic Studies), ‘Russia–Ukraine and the Return of Realpolitik’.

10 Apr HE William Tan (high commissioner of Singapore), ‘Singapore’s Perspective on Global Affairs’.

Nelson

The following meetings were held:

20 Mar Prof Jonathan Boston (Victoria University of Wellington), ‘Can Democracy Survive the Current Polycrisis?’ 10 Apr Colin James (political journalist and commentator), ‘Disturbances — Then and Now’.

Palmerston North

In conjunction with the Palmerston North City Council, New Zealand Centre for Global Studies, Massey Business School, International Pacific University New Zealand and Manawatu Young Chamber, the branch held a panel discussion on 6 March on ‘Unlocking Doors for Global Experiences’. After Libby Giles (director of the New Zealand Centre for Global Studies) delivered a keynote address, Mayor Grant Smith (president of Global Cities New Zealand), alumni and international programme recipients shared their personal growth stories. The meeting also included an expo with representatives from Education New Zealand, Volunteer Service Abroad, Massey Business School, IPU New Zealand and Massey Global, Asia NZ Foundation, Universal College of Learning Manawatu, Young Enterprise Scheme and Palmerston North City Council global ambassadors.

Wellington

The branch held an Environmental Diplomacy Symposium at Zealandia eco-sanctuary on 12 March. The keynote speaker, Australian high commissioner HE Harinder Sidhu AM, spoke on ‘Australia’s Green Economic Transition’. Her address and a report on the symposium are to be found elsewhere in this issue.

Julia MacDonald’s book launch on 4 March was postponed. On the following day the branch held a student social mixer event at Victoria University of Wellington.

On 2 April a panel discussion, ‘Celebrating the Contribution of Honorary Consuls’, was moderated by Angus Middleton. The panellists were Prof Carmen Dalli (honorary consul of Malta and dean of the Wellington Consular Corps), Peter Kiely (honorary consul of the Slovak Republic) and Gloriana Quirós Venegas (honorary consul of Costa Rica).

A lunch meeting was held on 17 April with the new ambassador of Costa Rica to New Zealand HE Carolina Molina Barrantes, who spoke on ‘Biodiversity, Nature, and Business Opportunities: an Introduction to Costa Rica’.

The following meetings were also held:

6 Mar Andrew Hampton (director-general of security at the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service), ‘The Rising Importance of Intelligence Co-operation With the Pacific’. The Centre for Strategic Studies cohosted this meeting. The text of Hampton’s speech can be found elsewhere in this issue.

20 Mar Dr Karam Shaar (a Syrian-New Zealand economist), ‘Post-Assad Syria: Implications for the Country and the Middle East’.

24 Mar HE Jetmira Berdynaj Shala (ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo), ‘Seventeen Years of Independence: The Kosovo Journey to Statehood’.

Brian Lovett

It is with regret that we note the passing on 23 March of long-time production contractor for the magazine Brian Lovett. With the late Peter Robinson firstly in Industrial Art and Design Ltd and then in his own right as the principal of Lovett Graphics, he laid out the NZIR from 1979 to 2018. His enthusiasm for the magazine, his creative contribution and his cheerful bonhomie at our annual dinners are remembered with affection.