Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says New Zealand would pause funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency until Foreign Minister Winston Peters was satisfied it was appropriate to continue contributing to the aid operation after alleged links between 12 of its staffers and Hamas.
Video /Mark Mitchell
ANALYSIS
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins leave for Australia this afternoon for what is being touted as an historic 2+2 ministerial meeting with their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles.
Marles, like Peters, is also Deputy Prime Minister. They will meet on Thursdayfor a series of meetings.
The visit is being billed as the the first of its kind, and a sign the new Government is keen to strengthen the already strong relationship with Australia. Though ministers from both sides of the Tasman meet regularly (just last year Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Climate Minister Chris Bowen visited Wellington for a 2+2 relating to finance and climate) this is the first time New Zealand has participated in a 2+2 involving foreign affairs and defence.
It is a signal that New Zealand wants to deepen defence ties, something the former Labour Government was keen on - but not quite as keen as this Government. Former Defence Minister Andrew Little said he wanted to move towards a “seamless sort of interoperability” with Australia, allowing the two defence forces to work as one. Defence reviews on both sides of the Tasman are meant to move in this direction.
The former Government was also keen to explore a meeting between these ministers, much like this one. Where there is greater distinction is on emphasis.
Peters and Collins are keen to stress the symbolic importance of how quickly they have teed up the meeting.
“This is the first time that New Zealand has done this with Australia, so it is a very significant step and it is very important for us to work with our only ally and very good friend Australia, wherever possible,” Collins said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong with then-Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Two words you hear a lot in the Beehive these days are “transaction costs”.
The Government is keen to reduce what is known as the “transaction cost” of doing foreign affairs and defence business with New Zealand. The new Government thinks the previous Government was too slow to sign on to important joint statements with like-minded countries. This had the effect of cutting New Zealand out of the conversation altogether. The new lot is keen to pivot in the other direction, a move that will probably lead to more ministerial statements and New Zealand generally pivoting to be closer to our traditional allies, like the United States.
The key to how Peters looks at the relationship might be found in his 2018 Georgetown Address, made in Washington DC during his stint as Foreign Minister in the last Government. In that speech, he implored the United States to turn its attention back to the Pacific.
“We unashamedly ask for the United States to engage more and we think it is in your vital interests to do so. And time is of the essence,” Peters said.
Peters got his wish - to a point. The United States is certainly engaging more, though it is also more bogged down in Europe and the Middle East than it was in 2018. His stint as Foreign Minister this time around begs the question: what next?
The relationship is strong. Outgoing Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) chief executive Chris Seed had a farewell do hosted by Australian High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu this week, with Mfat saying this reflects the strength of the bond between New Zealand and its only formal ally.
A stint in Canberra appears to be key to people climbing the ranks at Mfat. Seed was posted there three times, his first being a posting to DFAT (Australia’s Mfat equivalent, where he first met Sidhu), and most recently as High Commissioner. Brook Barrington, who both preceded Seed as Mfat chief executive and who will succeed him when he becomes acting chief executive next month, has also had a stint in Canberra.
Labour is hardening against the deal, with its Foreign Affairs spokesman David Parker saying he is “unconvinced” pillar II offers anything New Zealand does not already get from other agreements.
Others quietly think New Zealand is getting a bit ahead of itself. The three Aukus partners are still working out what pillars I and II actually are, let alone whether they want anyone else to sign up, and how anyone who does sign up might actually do so.
Peters had a crack at Labour for backing away from Aukus pointing out that leader Chris Hipkins himself made supportive noises about the pact, saying he was “open to conversations” about limited participation in the pact.
Peters and Collins both said the visit could be something of a fact-finding mission.
“The first thing we need to find out is what could it be about in our national interest,” Peters said.
Collins said the agreement might offer “better interoperability in a technological way”.
“The other thing is the Aukus partners are working through now what pillar II might mean for them as well. That’s why it is very important that we’re at least open to what they have to say and whether or not we want to be a part of that,” Collins said.
The visit comes as both countries have decided to back US-led airstrikes against Houthis to protect shipping in the Red Sea. Labour and the Greens have decided not to back the strikes and warned the risk entangling New Zealand in another interminable American Middle East intervention.
Lurking in the background, behind Aukus, behind the Red Sea, behind everything, which is the rise of a more assertive China and its ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. Expect plenty of talk about that - how much of that chat enters the public domain is an interesting question.
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.
