The Commonwealth Conversation

Don McKinnon: Talking shop well worth the effort

Sir Don McKinnon, former New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and former Commonwealth Secretary-General has written an article for the New Zealand Herald. He asks “is attending CHOGM worthwhile?” and puts his case for New Zealand’s continued involvement.

“Commonwealth leaders over the years have used this mechanism [CHOGM] to get support for trade issues, debt write-off mechanisms, criteria for election observation and collectively opposing apartheid in South Africa.

Leaders can meet at the UN but as [NZ Prime Minister] John Key will now know, meetings in New York at the UN General Assembly are at high speed, hectic and easily missed. I speak as one who went to these meetings over an 18-year period and know just how chaotic they can be.

Conversely, at a Commonwealth summit there is a large proportion of time alone with other leaders, without armies of distracting officials…

…Only the Commonwealth gives New Zealand an easy entry into Africa and the Caribbean – 30-plus countries with which we do not normally have much regular contact.”

Do you agree with McKinnon? Is the Commonwealth a talking shop worth the effort? Or will CHOGM 2009 show that the Commonwealth is past its sell-by-date?

Read the full article, published on 17 November, here.

Category : The Commonwealth's Relevance, The Official Commonwealth
Tags: New Zealand
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