Diplomacy Wins

He once quipped that as a trained lawyer, a politician and an investment banker, he had somehow chosen three of the most unpopular professions in the world. However, Sir Jim McLay’s pedigree in international relations and diplomacy across decades – coupled with his frontline role during some of New Zealand politics’ most turbulent times – have ensured his is a life replete with stories and successes.

Sir Jim McLay is of the opinion that people shouldn’t stay in politics forever. “I really don’t like the term ‘career politician’. It sounds a bit stale and a long tenure in office isn’t necessarily a good thing,” he says. “I think after a time, get out and give someone else a chance. Despite what many politicians think, they’re not irreplaceable, and it isn’t a job for life. Graveyards are full of people who deemed themselves indispensable.”

It is a firmly held view both now, and from his earliest days in politics. Having made his mark at a rapid pace aft er his election as a Member of Parliament for the Birkenhead electorate in 1975, the young MP – known for his more liberal views within the National Party of the time – would be appointed Attorney-General and Minister of Justice three years later. Remarkably, McLay was still only 33 years old at the time.

“I realised early in life that if you really want access to the levers of change, you have to get involved,” he says. “I suppose I was there to inject some youth into things. I was never satisfied with the statusquo in terms of relying on the same processes. Can we improve them? Can we make them better? I became focussed on policy development and organisational change, recommending changes to the way we selected candidates.”

Finessing the mechanics of politics was one thing. But by 1980, McLay and several colleagues within the third National Government’s caucus were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the party’s economically conservative, downright dictatorial central political operator – Prime Minister Robert Muldoon.

The loss of the 1980 East Coast Bays by-election to Social Credit came as a major blow to the party, East Coast Bays having traditionally been a safe National seat. Muldoon blamed both the National candidate, Don Brash, along with the wider party organisation for the loss. It was the latest in a series of abrasive actions and reprimands the Prime Minister publicly issued to his own party – one that would nearly result in his ousting as leader.

“At that point there was a small group of us, with encouragement from within the party, who recognised that the leadership had to change,” says McLay. “And it’s fair to say, we had it reasonably well done as far as I remember. But it wasn’t to be.” In what became known as the ‘Colonels’ Coup’, McLay, alongside fellow young ministers Derek Quigley, Jim Bolger and George Gair, attempted to oust Muldoon as National Party leader and replace him with well-liked Deputy Prime Minister, Brian Talboys.

While Talboys agreed that leadership change was necessary for the health of the party, he was reluctant to argue for Muldoon’s removal. Initially McLay and the other ‘Colonels’ achieved a slim majority in caucus in favour of Tallboys, but the ever-coercive Muldoon managed to tip the balance back in his direction. Fearing such public infighting would damage the party irreparably, Talboys backed down. Muldoon would remain leader.

“At the end of the day Talboys chose not to operate. And that was the end of it,” recalls McLay. “I think we could have persuaded him around the factors that were discouraging him, but he retired from politics the following year and perhaps his mind was already on that.”

Of course, four years later McLay would find himself at the centre of further political drama – this time as Deputy Prime Minister - with Muldoon’s calling of a snap election. Four decades on, the events of the evening of June 14, 1984, and the month that followed, remain one of the most compelling episodes in New Zealand politics.

“The Government had pretty well run out of time. The party wasn’t in good shape and all that you can expect from that situation is more of the same thing,” says McLay.

But a deeper crisis soon developed.

The announcement of the snap election caused an immediate run on the New Zealand dollar, with currency speculators believing a Labour win would mean devaluation. Despite a deepening foreign exchange crisis, Muldoon, who was also Minister of Finance, continued to refuse to devalue, forcing the Reserve Bank to take extraordinary steps such as closing the foreign exchange markets for a period of time to slow down devaluation. With National losing the general election in July the incoming Labour government confirmed its intention to devalue.

By New Zealand constitutional convention, between election day and the return of the writs for the election, an outgoing caretaker government implements the directions of an incoming government. But, as McLay recalls, Muldoon wasn’t having a bar of it.

“We had the constitutional duty to implement this at the behest of the newly elected government. Muldoon was an adamant opponent though. A group of us agreed that, as he had lost the confidence of his colleagues, we would have to inform the Governor General. We wanted to dismiss him as party leader, and thereby from his role as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

“He held out for as long as he could. We had what I would describe as a ‘difficult’ conversation. But he eventually relented. There’s still debate today as to whether there was a constitutional convention, but no one disagreed with him.

“Sir Robert obviously wanted an active role, and he somehow believed he could continue in the way he had done – he’d kidded himself into thinking things would remain the same, but the rest of his colleagues knew that wasn’t going to happen. My task was to get that message through.”

Encouraging Muldoon to abandon his position, McLay drafted and advocated for a ‘Caretaker Convention’. As a result, the incoming Labour Government convened a committee to review New Zealand’s constitutional law which resulted in the Constitution Act 1986.

McLay’s implementation of the ‘Caretaker Convention’ would rewrite the rules for the transfer of executive powers between incumbent and newly elected governments.

“The Convention remains in the Cabinet Manual today, and it is in the Cabinet Manual of a number of other similar countries. It’s all ancient history now of course,” McLay adds with a smile. “But yes, it was an interesting time to be in politics.”

If McLay hadn’t yet considered a future in diplomacy at this point, the expertise with which he handled the constitutional crisis surely cemented his reputation in the fi eld. First, however, he would lead the National Party in Opposition.

“No one likes being in Opposition. However, the desire for reinvention does become strong when you find yourself there. It’s probably the best environment for change.”
You’re only as good as the people who support you and I was lucky to have some very skilled people in my team.

You’re the one who is responsible, but you need good advice. We had a good team at the UN – a very good team. ”

The top table at the National Party dominion council meeting in Wellington,
July 1984. From left : Barry Leay, National Party general director; Sue Wood, party
president; Sir Robert Muldoon; and deputy leader McLay. Image: National Library
McLay during his tenure as Commissioner of New Zealand’s delegation
to the International Whaling Commission (IWF), photographed during
the final plenary session in London, July 2001. Image: Getty Images

Now on the other side of the House, ructions within the National Party rumbled on. In March 1987 a caucus vote on the party leadership saw Jim Bolger achieve a majority over McLay. While McLay was appointed Shadow Minister of Justice and Shadow
Attorney-General, it was too far from the frontlines for his liking.

He chose to retire from politics at the 1987 General Election. Had he run out of fight? “Absolutely not,” he says. “I had plenty of fight left , but I saw the role ascribed to me under the new leadership as something of a plateau. That didn’t work for me, so I left  in order to seek out a new challenge. As I say, no one should be a politician forever. It was my decision to go.”

He would spend the next decade in investment banking – a career in itself, and one which would prompt perhaps McLay’s most memorable quote: “I started out as a lawyer, but I found that wasn’t very popular. So, I became a politician and found that wasn’t very popular. So, then I became an investment banker. And we know how popular bankers are.”

Although quick to state he isn’t a “professional diplomat”, McLay’s impressive catalogue of roles within international relations and diplomacy would grow into an enviable list of achievements. In 1994, while still working full-time in the fi nance sector, McLay was asked to become the New Zealand representative on the International Whaling Commission, advocating on behalf of the country for a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean. It was a job, he recalls with a laugh,he was told would take up just a few weeks a year.

“It was a bit more involved than that. It was a lot of work; a lot of travel, and of course I still had to juggle my full-time role,” he says. “But it was important work to do and I’m proud of what we achieved. “Conservation has always been important to me, and I believe I brought the right political philosophical approach to the issue. With other countries involved and encroaching on territorial waters, there was a diplomatic aspect to the task as well.”

Today, in recognition of his work, McLay has a glacier in Antarctica named in his honour.

With a career spanning politics, justice reform, conservation and, as New Zealand’s representative to the Palestinian Authority; humanitarian concerns, his next calling would prove to be his most high profile globally.

Having taken up the role of New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 2009, McLay led the New York end of the country’s successful campaign to secure a seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2014. It was a crucial position on the world’s stage, and one that brought with it more long hours.

The toughest job he ever had?

“I wouldn’t describe it like that, but it was certainly a lot of work. Most mornings I would work for a couple of hours before heading to the office and even then, I’d be fi rst in the door. But the job demanded that level of dedication,” he says.

“If you’re a diplomat to the United States, you’re worried about one relationship with one country. If you’re a diplomat to the United Nations, you’re worried about 102 relationships with 102 countries – it’s as simple as that.

“I’m extremely impressed with the work done by diplomats – particularly young diplomats who work very long hours negotiating issues that are often of considerable importance to New Zealand.” What, then, makes a good diplomat?

“There isn’t one single trait – it’s a combination of things,” McLay says. “You make the decisions in the end, but knowing how to work with the experts around you is crucial. You’re only as good as the people who support you and I was lucky to have some very skilledpeople in my team. Again, you’re the one who is responsible, but you need good advice. We had a good team at the UN – a very good team.”

Today, McLay and wife, Lady Marcy – who has also enjoyed a long career in governance and diplomacy (the two met in the early 1980s while Lady Marcy was assistant to American educator and Congressman, Daniel Akaka) – divide their time between a home in Matakana and a city residence at The Foundation in Parnell.

The latter, filled as it is with photographs, books and mementos of a career well-traversed and a life well-lived, also reveals a few insights into what occupies McLay’s time beyond international diplomacy.

A baby grand piano (played by many a visiting diplomat during their time in New York, says Lady Marcy), family photos and other framed memories of destinations travelled to for leisure, along with a tidy pile of motorsport magazines, speak to interests beyond his multifaceted career.

At age 80, can Sir Jim McLay now happily switch off  from the machinations of local and international politics? “Oh, I have plenty of other interests. But I also keep an eye on things,” he says with a smile. “I’m definitely having fun watching from a distance.”