Government turns up the heat on Groser

The Government has stepped up the pressure to get National list candidate Tim Groser ousted as chief agriculture negotiator at the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation.

New Zealand's acting representative in Geneva, Tony Lynch, has sent a second letter reiterating the Government's opposition to Groser continuing to head the vital negotiations beyond the Northern Hemisphere summer break.

In a July 8 letter, Lynch - making clear he is acting on Cabinet ministers' instructions, - emphasises the Government's financial support for Groser will end after he completes the July agricultural meetings.

"As Tim Groser will cease as at the end of July to satisfy the requirement that a chair must be a "representative" of a WTO member, it would be our expectation that members would proceed now to address this matter consistent with the established rules."

Groser raised the Beehive's ire when he announced he was resigning from the plum trade role to enter politics on National's list.

Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton last night played down the latest move as just a simple response to a request from the WTO's General Council to make its stance clear. "While Tim is Geneva-based, he is no longer an ambassador, he is not even a public servant and can't speak for NZ Government and is therefore no longer eligible."

Geneva-based trade specialists have suggested that New Zealand is lobbying for diplomat Crawford Falconer to take Groser's place as chief agriculture negotiator. But Sutton said that was "probably going a bit far".

"We're not lobbying for him to have the chair ... We're getting him re-established in Geneva and letting it be known that he is available."

Sutton said a number of WTO chairmanships may be reshuffled in coming months. He said Falconer - who was previously chairman of the OECD Trade Negotiations - has a "very high reputation "and had been previously put up for the agriculture role.

"We had proposed Crawford at that time even though we fully intended to keep him in Wellington." said Sutton. "But there were reasons that were nothing to do with our man or even with New Zealand that led them to decide that the chairs had to be Geneva-based officials.

Groser - who is understood to have returned to Geneva after last week's WTO mini-ministerial meeting in Dailan - could not be contacted yesterday.