KEY POINTS:
When Jonathan Hunt, the former MP famously nicknamed the Minister of Wine and Cheese, was named High Commissioner to London it was assumed with the round of diplomatic parties to be attended he would be in his element.
So three years later, on the eve of his retirement from the post, Mr Hunt's revelation that having to attend functions was the worst part of the job will surprise many.
"That was the least satisfying part of the job," Mr Hunt, back in Wellington to return his diplomatic passport, said.
"You have to go to those diplomatic functions, you have to go to national days and things like that, but I regarded that as a thing that had to be done, although there were more important things to be done."
Keeping New Zealand and the Pacific firmly in Britain's mind is a key function of the High Commissioner, Mr Hunt said. New Zealand still had a special relationship with Britain, but with Britain an active member of the European Union and having increasing interests in Africa and the Middle East, New Zealand had to work hard to ensure ties forged through migration and war were maintained, he said.
"We can't take it for granted. We have got to assume that we have to work on it for the future. That's why every MP from New Zealand who comes and visits the United Kingdom should meet their counterparts."
The recent appointment of former New Zealand First MP Brian Donnelly as High Commissioner to the Cook Islands sparked a debate about whether former politicians should be given diplomatic posts. Mr Hunt, who followed former MPs Paul East and Russell Marshall in taking the London post, said the best person should be appointed, be they a former politician or a career diplomat.
"They should be given diplomatic passports if they can do the job and if it is in a place where they can make a difference.
"I think there are two places where they can definitely make a difference, and that's Washington and London, particularly London, because that is the largest city in Europe, and there are more embassies there than in any other city in the world."
