Smaller countries like New Zealand are being ''squeezed out'' of the running for their turn on the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Murray McCully says.

New Zealand is running against Spain and Turkey for a temporary seat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council in 2015-16.

McCully yesterday told MPs on the foreign affairs select committee that New Zealand would not try to ''buy'' its way on to the security council with policy changes or cash.

''I think it's fair to say that there is a view held by some that unless you have a large sum of money allocated to the task, particularly in the aid area, then it's difficult if not impossible to win a seat on the security council,'' McCully said.

''I think that's wrong [and] I think that we should try and prove that we can win a seat in the right way.''

The size of New Zealand's official development assistance (ODA) has been stalled, which McCully admitted could count against its UN bid.

MFAT deputy secretary Amanda Ellis said ODA as a proportion of Gross National Income was 0.31 percent in 2010-11 and 0.32 percent in 2011-12 - figures well short of the goal of 0.7 percent.

Australia's ODA had grown from 0.32 and 0.35 in the same period and Labour MP Maryan Street said it would be almost double the proportion of New Zealand by 2016/17.

''I think it's fair to say the question of our overall expenditure on development assistance is something that will no doubt be discussed from time to time but we made a deliberate decision as a Government that the Christchurch priorities would see us flat-line our ODA budget for the next two years beyond this one,'' McCully said.

''That is lower than some would have liked and it is fair to say that some people will look at that in a security council context as being a concern.''

New Zealand was among the majority of small nations at the UN being increasingly ''squeezed out'' of representation by larger countries, he said.

Larger countries without a permanent security council seat - like Turkey - felt ''under-weighted'' by comparison with permanent members and sought more frequent terms, he said.

New Zealand last had a spot on the security council in 1993-94, after two earlier stints in 1954-55 and 1966.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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