One News Transcript Of Helen Clark Story

Monday 27th July, 2009

TVNZ’s Paul Henry has travelled to New York to interview former Prime Minister, Helen Clark about her new job at the UN. The story he did for ONE News last night is transcribed below the full length video interviews with her from this morning’s Breakfast can be seen on tvnz.co.nz by clicking on the link, http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/breakfast-in-new-york-2857702

ONE News story on HELEN CLARK
Paul Midtown Manhattan, it's a world away from Mt Albert, but it's a world Helen Clark's quite comfortable in, you look very very relaxed, is it easier than being a Prime Minister?

Helen Well it requires all the same skills and in many ways it's intensely political on an international scale, but the main difference is you're not in the little bubble of New Zealand where everything you do is scrutinised 24 hours a day.

Paul After nine years on the ninth floor of the Beehive Helen Clark's been in her new job in New York for about a 100 days and she's moved up in the world to the 21st floor of this building.

Helen Spent really the first seven or eight weeks or so here in New York, apart from a quick dash back home to my parents' 60th wedding anniversary. I thought it was important to get to know the people back here before I went out, and then I went to Africa. I went to Liberia, I went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to Ethiopia, and that was just a monumental experience for me, places I hadn’t visited before.

Paul Our former Prime Minister's links with New Zealand are obvious wherever you look, but her distance from home requires special management.

Helen You really have to plan around it, Peter's been up twice and he's been in Europe with me recently, and I hope he'll be up another couple of times before the end of the year, as he pops up for conferences and so on.

Paul Do you think it's the kind of job where you'll ever be able to stand back and say that’s done, fantastic.

Helen Not in my lifetime no, because the challenges out there for development are so great, but on the other hand if you claw away at it, you can make a difference.

ENDS