Anger de Bres went to UN racism talks

A bitter feud between Foreign Minister Murray McCully and Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres has erupted again, this time over New Zealand's decision to boycott the UN anti-racism conference in Geneva.

Mr de Bres attended the conference independently and publicly criticised the Government for pulling out, implying it was trying to please the United States. But Mr McCully believes Mr de Bres has no business criticising foreign policy and implied that Mr de Bres was a Labour Party hack.

Chief Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan said she did not believe he overstepped any line. She said the Human Rights Commission - which is funded and appointed by the Government - had to be independent from the Government.

Mr de Bres was appointed by Labour for a second five-year term, through to September 2012.

Mr McCully and Mr de Bres have clashed before in the courts over a speech Mr de Bres gave in 2002 comparing the cultural vandalism of the Taleban in Afghanistan with the colonisation of New Zealand.

Mr McCully in the High Court successfully challenged the view that Mr de Bres had immunity from a complaint to the Human Rights Review Tribunal.

The Government withdrew from the conference because it did not like the draft declaration and it believed it would be used as a platform to attack Israel, as had a similar UN conference in 2001. Eight other countries boycotted it.

"We believe we are in good company," Prime Minister John Key said on Monday.

A speech by Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accusing Israel of being a racist regime provoked a walk-out of about 40 delegates.

Mr de Bres said yesterday in an interview with TV3 he found it "somewhat disheartening" that the Government had pulled out and believed it had done so as an "act of solidarity" with the US.

Mr de Bres also said he had read the draft declaration to which Mr McCully referred "and I can't for the life of me see anything in it that would be to the contrary to the policy of the New Zealand Government."

Mr McCully took exception to the implications that New Zealand had boycotted it because the US had and he suggested Mr de Bres was politically motivated.

"I am not sure whether he is there is an official capacity or as a representative of the Labour Party," Mr McCully said before leaving for Singapore.

"But nevertheless the suggestion that we have been over-influenced by any of the other countries who have decided to withdraw is completely wrong."

"I have got a strong preference for a position where the New Zealand public elect their Government in general elections and then that Government - with advice from the ministry - goes about determining our foreign policy rather than having Mr Bres elect himself as our foreign policy guru.

Mr McCully said Mr de Bres' comments warranted further discussion in Government about the criticism.

"We will have a look at that matter. New Zealand is a fairly small country. It would be helpful if we could speak with one voice on the world stage."

Referring to the speech by Mr Ahmadinejad, Mr McCully said: "I would have thought that [if] any New Zealander wanted an illustration of what the Government feared would occur then they have just received it."