What would one of our top diplomats make of Aukus? - On the Tiles

Terence O'Brien, when he was director of Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Studies. Photo / Martin Hunter

Diplomat Terence O’Brien was at the centre of New Zealand’s foreign relations for nearly half a century, forging new ties with Asia, negotiating New Zealand’s market access to what became the European Union, or running the first successful campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Former Prime Minister Jack Marshall, who knew O’Brien from his time negotiating market access to the European Economic Community (EEC), said that in “Terence O’Brien [New Zealand] had a man whose Irish charm and amiable personality enabled him to get alongside the right people at the right time”.

“The information he was able to pick up was invaluable. He was able to help us to sift the truth from the rumours and so keep our heads cool and our feet on the ground.”

O’Brien wrote a memoir, Consolations of Insignificance, which will be published next month. Sadly, Terence O’Brien died in 2022, not living to see his manuscript published.

His son Dan O’Brien, co-founder of Wellington-based Diplosphere, which hosts foreign affairs-related discussions, joined On The Tiles to discuss the book.

A narrative arc of the book is New Zealand finding its way in the world, after the disintegration of the British Empire and Britain’s entry into the EEC, and the development of what we now call New Zealand’s independent foreign policy.

Dan O’Brien noted these themes are very much under discussion today, particularly in relation to Aukus.

“Dad often talked about how New Zealand should navigate the choppy waters in the US-China rivalry,” O’Brien said.

“He was a big advocate of New Zealand being even-handed in foreign policy because it affords us the ability to talk to both sides and make our own way and to do what is in our interest,” he said.

O’Brien said his father had noticed the difference between having shared values with some countries, mainly liberal democracies, and having shared interests with other countries, which may not be liberal democracies.

“New Zealand through necessity and through its history has learnt it needs to stay focused on both those things,” he said.

O’Brien said New Zealand could look to the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries for a model of how to pick our own path.

The book traverses the fallout from the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior and its impact on New Zealand’s negotiations with the EEC, which included France.

There are lighter moments too, including a visit to the World Economic Forum at Davos with then-Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, and Prime Minister David Lange’s visit to Brussels.

Consolations of Insignificance is published by Te Herenga Waka University Press and will be released on May 9.

Listen to the full episode of the On the Tiles podcast for more from Dan O’Brien on his father’s career and his thoughts on current foreign policy concerns.

On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available on Fridays. The podcast is hosted by NZ Herald deputy politics editor Thomas Coughlan.