This paid results at first, he said, when NZ was given short-term trade access to some European markets. The EEC's common agricultural policy ensured that Europe's farmers had exclusive and protected rights to the European market. No matter what the result of the referendum, so much has changed in New Zealand's international trade relations since that crisis of the 1970s. Any new trade deal with the EU, it is hoped and expected, will improve New Zealand's access to the European market - with or without Britain. Vincent Matthews was First Secretary (Information) in the Australian Embassy in Brussels from 1974 to 1978.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 16, 2016 16:52 UTC