In a his keynote address to the United States Business Summit in Auckland, he implied theformer Government had drifted in its foreign policy.
“The time for drift is over, and the Coalition intends to hit the ground running,” Peters said.
In a Q&A session after his speech, he said that he had a serious discussion on Aukus with Judith Collins, the minister of the spy agencies, last night.
His remarks suggested he viewed Aukus not just as a security and defence agreement, but as an avenue of foreign policy.
”It’s something in which the Australians will look acutely at us on to see if we’re going to step up. We’ve got to do more and pay more to be respected. I’m sorry but it’s the least they can expect of us,” Peters said.
The former Government was divided on that point, hinting that Five Eyes arrangements already allowed a significant amount of sharing between the three Aukus countries and New Zealand.
When asked about security risks faced by New Zealand, Peters pointed to supply chains. He noted that with the closure of the Marsden Point refinery, New Zealand had little headroom when it came to energy security.
“Any shipping crisis we have would see us days from closure,” Peters said.
The coalition agreement NZ First signed with National pledges the Government to “investigate the reopening of Marsden Point Refinery” and to establish “a Fuel Security Plan to safeguard our transport and logistics systems and emergency services from any international or domestic disruption”.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters wants New Zealand to step-up. Photo / Alex Burton
Peters repeated the language of a recent Defence Policy Review warning that another threat faced by New Zealand is the entry of undemocratic, unfriendly countries into the Pacific region.
In his speech, Peters stressed the common democratic heritage of New Zealand and the US, playing to US President Joe Biden’s keenness to assert the strength and importance of American democracy following the disruption of the Trump administration.
He said New Zealand and the US were “two of only nine [countries] that have held continuous democratic elections since 1854″.
“This achievement should never be forgotten, nor ever taken for granted”.
“Democracy is a fragile flower, and it needs constant nourishment and care to maintain the conditions for our societies to flourish,” Peters said.
Peters also stressed on the strong ties he built with the United States when he last held the position of Foreign Minister (2017-2020), including beginning work on a digital services-focused trade deal.
“When last Foreign Minister, in a speech hosted by Georgetown University, we urged the United States to renew its focus on the blue Pacific continent because of the development needs, the increasingly severe impacts of climate change, the intensified geostrategic competition in our region, and increasing threats to Pacific peoples’ peace and prosperity,” Peters said.
He said he “welcomed the increased US security commitment to the region”.
“We need to raise the energy and intensity we bring to this important relationship, and that is what we intend to do”.
Peters hinted at a step-up at MFAT, perhaps akin to the growth the agency saw in the first term of the Ardern Government, when Peters was last minister.
“We think there is more we can do together, and faster, including to advance shared interests and common values,”
He said the new Government wanted to see “New Zealand pulling its weight, where we can have the most impact”.
Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.
