7 Mar 2024

I Was There When: Lange gave the Oxford address

From Nights, 9:15 pm on 7 March 2024

Almost exactly 39 years ago, New Zealand was thrust into the international spotlight by its then-prime minister David Lange.

Lange had agreed to appear at the Oxford Union to argue in the affirmative to the moot: 'The Western nuclear alliance is morally indefensible'. This is the scene where he gave the iconic line about smelling the uranium on the breath of his opposition.

One of the members of his team was New Zealander Dr Jeya Wilson.

David and Jeya stand side by side, smiling. They are both in formalwear, David in a black suit jacket and black bowtie, and Jeya in a pink dress with a black cape over the top.

Photo: Supplied

A Sri Lankan New Zealander studying a PhD in international relations at Oxford at the time, she's since gone on to have a remarkable career, working for the World Health Organisation, as chief executive of World Heart Federation in Switzerland, and establishing the world's first HIV and business centre.

She joins Emile Donovan.