Luxon’s Washington breakthrough built on Banks’ quiet diplomacy – Fran O’Sullivan

From left: Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, US President, Donald Trump, South Korean President, Lee Jae Myung, President of Vietnam, Luong Cuong, Prime Minister of NZ, Christopher Luxon and Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney pose for a group photo ahead of a dinner in honour of US President, Donald Trump, at the Hilton Gyeongju on October 29, 2025 in Gyeongju, South Korea. Photo / Getty Images)

THE FACTS

• Rosemary Banks’ diplomacy was key in arranging Christopher Luxon’s meeting with Donald Trump.
• The meeting highlighted New Zealand’s strengthened defence ties with the US and ongoing tariff challenges.
• Chris Seed will replace Banks as Ambassador in Washington early next year.

A shout-out to Rosemary Banks who this week finished up her second term as New Zealand’s ‘woman in Washington’.

Banks’ painstaking diplomacy played a critical part in lining up Christopher Luxon’s first one-on-one meeting with Donald Trump.

There was certainly a frisson of excitement at the NZ Embassy in Washington DC earlier in the week as officials waited on cable traffic for the outcome of the top level “pull aside” on the outskirts of the Apec Leaders meeting in South Korea, for which they had laid the groundwork.

The 12-minute meeting wasn’t just magicked up.

It was the culmination of months of work by Banks and her team to build connections with the Trump Administration and key Senate and Congressional politicians; strengthen the perception of New Zealand in the world’s most powerful capital and to ensure New Zealand’s own externally facing Cabinet Ministers: Winston Peters (Foreign Affairs), Judith Collins (Defence) and Todd McClay (Trade) achieved high-level access.

Clearly, the Prime Minister’s own affiliative skills - which he deploys to New Zealand’s advantage in one-on-one meetings with powerful politicians who lead countries far larger than our own - played the major part in the meeting’s success.

There was some cheesiness: Trump’s jibe to Luxon: “your hair is beautiful”, questions about golf courses and the PM’s offer to have Sir John Key play him if he came down to New Zealand (Trump would no doubt also favour a match between his granddaughter Kai Trump who this month makes her LGPA debut and Dame Lydia Ko).

Donald Trump with the New Zealand Ambassador to the US Rosemary Banks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC in 2019.

But creating a personal connection is important and Luxon is good at that – witness the invitation to the South Korean president’s dinner for Trump and a small but select group of leaders.

When it came to the uncertainty created by Liberation Day tariffs, Luxon simply told reporters Trump was acting as the leader of the US and in America’s interests, “in the same way I act in New Zealand’s interests”.

The 15% tariffs imposed on New Zealand exports to the US do remain a thorn in the side of the bilateral relationship. But we share that pain with scores of other nations.

Nothing will move in the short-term – even if the US Supreme Court does accept oral arguments on Tuesday, November 5, EST, in a case challenging the President’s power to impose sweeping tariffs on virtually all goods imported into the United States.

The economic stakes are massive, but the challenge is also an important test of presidential power more broadly as to how Trump has used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to authorise his imposition of tariffs against all US trading partners.

So, park that for now.

New Zealand and the US are much closer when it comes to defence and security – the upshot of diplomacy crafted by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it correctly gauged the shift from rules to power some years ago.

New Zealand will increase its defence budget in coming years and our space industry is of increasing importance. It is apparent that New Zealand is no longer seen as a defence bludger in Washington. This is of growing importance in the bilateral relationship.

To the succession:

Banks had twice come out of retirement at Peters’ request to take up the plum diplomatic assignment, first serving from November 2018 to November 2022, then back again in June 2024 after Peters made the calculation that Trump would win the presidential election in November that year and they would need her to bring back into play networks she established during the first Trump Administration.

He said then it was “essential that New Zealand’s Ambassador had the necessary experience, judgement and influence to effectively represent our country in Washington DC and navigate the range of important and pressing issues that are vital to New Zealanders”.

Bede Corry was her successor in DC after her first term. When he moved to Wellington after being appointed CEO of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Banks returned.

Former MFAT Secretary Chris Seed will replace her in DC early next year.

A leading light from a prime DC think tank, who had built strong connections with Banks and Corry, while holding a prime Government role themselves during the Biden Administration, yesterday described to me the three New Zealand diplomats as “the A team”.

They were credited with not simply doing the usual work of diplomacy but helping to craft solutions to problems successive US Administrations have faced in the Indo-Pacific as they grapple with a fast-rising China.

Banks is held in high esteem. Within the embassy she is also known to have an extraordinary capacity for work - a firm but kind boss.

She will be missed in Washington.

Disclosure: Fran O’Sullivan joined the NZUS Council delegation to the US this week. She is a founding director of the council and co-hosts the annual US Business Summit in partnership with the Auckland Business Chamber.

Finally an explanation: This column has been intermittent since I was in an Uber accident in February last year resulting in multiple sprains and substantial damage to both shoulders. It’s been a tough 20 months. But I’ve since had successful rotator cuff surgery to repair both shoulders and look forward to getting back into the swing with my Weekend Herald columns.

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