Alastair Bisley

Title

Senior Associate

Profile

Alastair has had a long career in the New Zealand Public Service.  He was Secretary of Transport from 1998-2004.  From 1967 - 1998, he was a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in which he became a Deputy Secretary, and New Zealand’s Principal Trade Negotiator (1994-98).

During his diplomatic career, Alastair was posted in London, Brussels, Sydney, where he was Consul-General from 1982-86 and Geneva, where he was Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office, and Ambassador to the WTO.  In that capacity, he led the New Zealand delegation in the final stages of the Uruguay Round.  He was also accredited as Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna.  In Wellington, Alastair was the Director of the Economic Division from 1987-91, and during that period was New Zealand’s Senior Official to APEC. 

Alastair has had secondments to the Prime Minister’s Advisory Group (1978 -9) and to the Department of Trade and Industry (1976-7) where he was responsible for New Zealand’s then trade agreement with Australia (NAFTA.)

Alastair has represented New Zealand, inter alia, at the World Trade Organisation, APEC, PECC, meetings of the ASEAN Dialogue, the OECD, the IAEA, the Committee on Disarmament, the Human Rights Commission, and the Working Group on Indigenous People.  He has led New Zealand delegations to numerous trade negotiations and consultations.

Alastair is currently working as a consultant, and is directing the Institute of Policy Studies’ Pasifika Projectlooking at New Zealand's interactions with 'Pasifika' from a number of perspectives, including the Pacific Island economy in New Zealand, the economies of the islands themselves, trade, borders and migration. The 'weave' with the Pacific has implications for many areas of government in New Zealand, including for example, education, immigration, economic and social development, and sport.  He is a Member of the New Zealand Meat Board.

Further information on the Pasifika project can be found here