Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese used their meeting in Queenstown today to urge Israel to reconsider its plan to take full control of Gaza.
It was a frigid day in Queenstown with a fresh dusting of snow on the hills, prompting a quip from Albanese after an outdoors press conference about needing to head “inside for cuddles”, while Luxon joked about losing more heat due to being bald.
Luxon also brought up the controversial and ongoing issue of 501 deportees to New Zealand from Australia, though there was no indication of Australia softening its stance.
The annual transtasman talks follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Friday that Israel plans to take full control of Gaza.
“Any attempt by Israel to escalate hostilities, including by taking control of Gaza City, would be wrong, risk violating international law, and exacerbate the human catastrophe already unfolding inside the Gaza Strip,” said a joint statement from Luxon and Albanese following their meeting.
“We urge the Israeli Government to reconsider before it is too late. Any proposals for the permanent forced displacement of the Palestinian population must be abandoned.”
They also condemned the “terror and brutality of Hamas” and again called for the return of the remaining hostages.
At a press conference after the meeting, Luxon said New Zealanders and Australians are “horrified” by what was unfolding in Gaza.
“Military action that we’ve seen is not the way to solve this problem. It requires diplomacy. It requires dialogue.”
This followed a joint statement earlier today from the Foreign Ministers of New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom criticising the Israeli decision.
“It will aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages, and further risk the mass displacement of civilians,” the joint statement said.
“We urge the parties and the international community to make all efforts to finally bring this terrible conflict to an end now, through an immediate and permanent ceasefire that enables the provision of a massive, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian assistance, as the worst-case scenario of a famine is unfolding in Gaza.”
Albanese and Luxon also talked about recognising the state of Palestine, and their shared respective positions that it’s a matter of when, not if.
Palestine is officially recognised by 147 of the United Nations’ 193 member countries, with Canada, France and Britain also announcing plans to do so at a United Nations summit next month.
Australia has recently suggested it may be willing to make the recognition sooner rather than later, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong warning of a risk “there will be no Palestine left to recognise”.
Both leaders also talked about how to make it easier for companies to do business on both sides of the Tasman, and increasingly closer defence relations.
“With increasing integration between our forces, we’re deploying more together, training all together, and exercising together,” Luxon said.
This increasing interoperability has been criticised – including by former Prime Minister Helen Clark - as a radical change in New Zealand’s foreign policy towards the US at the risk of upsetting trade relations with China.
Luxon has said there has been no such change to New Zealand’s independent foreign policy.
Today is Luxon’s and Albanese’s fourth face-to-face meeting as Prime Ministers, though they knew each other previously when Luxon was head of Air New Zealand.
When Luxon and Albanese met in Canberra a year ago, the issue of 501 deportees loomed large, but Albanese said there would be no change to the policy. The Australian Government’s direction to deport to New Zealand criminals who were born in New Zealand but have very little connection to the country has been a thorn in the side of the New Zealand/Australia relationship for years.
Albanese reiterated that position again today, saying he has to put Australia’s national interest first, but he would Luxon to raise the issue.
The talks took place against a backdrop of a net migration loss of 30,000 people departing New Zealand for Australia in the year ended December 2024.
This comprised 17,300 migrant arrivals from Australia to New Zealand and 47,300 migrant departures from New Zealand to Australia.
Derek Cheng is a senior journalist who started at the Herald in 2004. He has worked several stints in the press gallery team and is a former deputy political editor.