---

The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

I congratulate the hon. Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) on a fascinating speech. It was on an area about which I know nothing, and I am much the better for it. She concentrated on what the UK is doing for Sierra Leone. I want to concentrate on the links between Commonwealth nations, particularly those between the old Commonwealth and the UK, and the two-way aspects of them. From the moment that I began to speak, it was clear that I have an interest to declare. I have dual nationality, and I carry a New Zealand passport as well as a British one—when I arrive at Gatwick airport, I choose the shorter queue. Everybody who has spoken has correctly pointed out that the Commonwealth is a unique worldwide family: it is international and colourful in every way; it is a fantastic mixture of races, religions, languages and creeds; and it is all based around the United Kingdom and the Queen. In saying that, I recognise that the near neighbours of New Zealand—that little island just a little way off—the Australians, have a few republican problems and republican moments. If asked, any New Zealander will explain that being an Aussie is a problem in itself. I should explain that point a little. Those two old Commonwealth nations in the south Pacific have a huge rivalry. The insults and jokes between them are phenomenal. Every joke can be turned round and played back the other way, and many of the jokes are in vulgar taste. The two have huge battles, particularly in sport and especially in rugby, yet in normal work, normal life and especially in times of war, those two old Commonwealth nations work extremely closely together as part of the British Commonwealth, especially where it is appropriate to do so. Along with Canada and South Africa, they make up what I call the ““old Commonwealth””. They have a Commonwealth link reinforced by huge kith and kin links and a two-way flow of tourism and migration dating back for almost two centuries. My direct knowledge is predominately about New Zealand, although I have lived in the UK for longer than I have lived there. I return to New Zealand occasionally for language and accent refresher courses. I shall give a touch of the history just to set the scene. New Zealand was originally occupied by a group called the Moriories, who were then followed by the Maoris. There are no Moriories left; fable in New Zealand says that the Maoris either interbred with them or ate them. The next influx into New Zealand came almost entirely from the United Kingdom. The early among them were a very rough and unpleasant breed of whalers, loggers and such people. They brought the unwanted disbenefits of the European at that time—syphilis, gonorrhoea, measles, flu, alcohol and firearms, so that for quite a while the Maori people were on an endangered list. As a percentage of the population, their numbers dropped drastically, and that situation did not turn around until relatively recently. The point has been made that the whites did not have it all their own way, because the Maori name for the white man is Pakeha, which is rumoured to mean sweet pig. New Zealand's biggest influx of immigration over the past century and a half involved people who went there by their own choice—they were not transported there. One sees that when one wanders around New Zealand, because the names of places are a mixture of Maori, English, Scottish and Irish—there are also a few Welsh names—people drive on the left and predominately speak English, and New Zealand has a parliamentary system much like the one here. There are enormous similarities—