international relations

New Zealand Forces in Asia

It was election year in 1984, and Robert Muldoon decided to go to the polls early, on 14 July. This was due largely to the decision by Marilyn Waring, a National Party Member of Parliament, to withdraw her support for the National caucus on June 14. She had been savagely attacked by Robert Muldoon for supporting the Labour opposition's Nuclear Free New Zealand Bill the previous day.

On 10 December 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration set out 30 articles or statements about human rights and freedoms. In 1950 the assembly passed a resolution inviting all states and interested organisations to adopt 10 December as Human Rights Day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In broad terms the declaration states that:

The price of security

New Zealand played a small but useful part in the British Empire’s war effort. The defeat of the Central Powers in late 1918 ensured New Zealand’s physical and economic security.

The Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, better known as CER, was New Zealand’s first comprehensive bilateral trade agreement, and one of the first agreements of this kind in the world.

Although CER came into force on 1 January 1983, the agreement was not formally signed until 28 March that year, by the New Zealand High Commissioner in Canberra, Laurie Francis, and Lionel Bowen, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. CER built upon the New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement, which had been in place since 1966.

The New Zealand Labour government refused the USS Buchanan entry on the grounds that the United States would neither confirm nor deny that the warship had nuclear capability. David Lange’s government, elected in July 1984, had made clear its intention to pursue policies that would establish New Zealand as a nuclear-free country. This was a popular stand, and by the end of the year nearly 40 towns and boroughs had declared themselves nuclear-free. Labour announced its decision to ban ships that were either nuclear-powered or -armed.