Hon.
Dr Lockwood Smith
Member of Parliament for New Zealand
Former Parliamentary
Roles
Minister for the Education Review Office 1990- 1996
Minister of Agriculture 1996- 1998
Minister of Forestry 1996- 1998
Minister for International Trade 1996- 1999
Minister for Contact Energy Ltd 1996-1999
Minister of Tourism 1999
Parliamentary Spokesperson 1999-2004
Current Parliamentary Roles
Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade 2 November 2003-;
Spokesperson on Tourism 9 August 2004-
Member of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committees
Past
We discussed Dr Smith’s involvements with APEC, both in his personal and
professional life. Dr Smith currently owns a cattle farm in Northland and has
been involved with trade extensively in Central and South East Asia, through
his job as marketing manager for the New Zealand Diary Board in these regions.
In 1999 Dr Smith chaired the APEC summit in New Zealand. He was instrumental
in getting the 21 nations to agree to support a move to eliminate all exports
subsidies.
Present
The students asked Dr Smith of his views on APEC’s current impact on New
Zealand’s agricultural industry. He believes that farming subsidies, which
were eliminated in mid 1980’s, limited the growth of the country. In terms
of the issues today, the removal of quotas of New Zealand’s exports is
one of the first steps in the growth of trade, particularly in the agriculture
sector.
Future
Dr Smith discussed the greater benefits for New Zealand to lead by example in
abolishing trade tariffs and subsidies. Due to the size of New Zealand’s
economy, its voice is often not taken seriously, as the benefits to larger economies
appear minimal. Dr Smith believes that APEC’s commitment to the Bogor
goals is essential for progress and development of economies.
Education
Finally, Dr Smith was asked of his views on the importance of the education
of youth on APEC themes and outcomes. He believed that education is important
in showing that open trade agreements help economies grow, not decline and thus
the reduction of poverty.
Our
Views
The students were happy about the interview and thrilled with the experience
they had. It was inspirational to hear of Dr Smith’s achievements, particularly
his academic achievements at such an early age. The students believe that the
education of APEC’s themes and goals throughout the APEC economies is
extremely important as many people misunderstand the benefits of open trade
between economies, and the effect this has on worker and human rights.
Quotes
“Education of youth [on APEC themes] is fundamental to raising
people out of poverty and raising New Zealand’s standard of living.”
“We want free and open trade – it’s the future of our economic
development.”
“Tariffs, quotas and restrictions on trade is economic lunacy.”
Contributed by: Andrew Tringham, Hope Horrocks, Amber Reid, Jason Schoeman, Nakita Hall and Andrés Rivera González