On Thursday, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne met with her counterpart in New Zealand, Nanaia Mahuta, in Wellington amidst ongoing tensions over Mahuta’s comments on the Five Eyes Alliance and Prime Minister (PM) Jacinda Ardern’s comments on Australia’s “abdication of responsibility” regarding deportees.
Following their meeting, the two ministers released a joint statement in which they underscored their shared commitment to an “open, resilience, and prosperous Indo-Pacific”. This, they said, could only be achieved by “preserving the liberal international order that has underpinned stability and prosperity in the region”, wherein all countries can “freely pursue their legitimate interests” in a “rules-based system”.
The pair also discussed how to confront “rising protectionism”, which is especially relevant considering the various trade restrictions China has placed on Australian exports amid Beijing and Canberra’s ongoing diplomatic spat, which erupted when PM Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the origin and spread of the coronavirus. It is telling, therefore, that Payne and Mahuta also discussed the “need for coordinated regional and global action” on human rights, seeing as both countries have repeatedly called out China for its actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
The joint statement went on to note that Payne and Mahuta also touched upon collaborating to mitigate the impacts of climate change, particularly in the Pacific island nations in their immediate vicinity. Aside from climate change-related aid, the two countries also pledged to support the Pacific island countries through the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and medical equipment.
On a bilateral front, Mahuta reaffirmed, “Australia is New Zealand’s closest and most important international partner. It’s appropriate that Minister Payne was the first counterpart I have welcomed from overseas since becoming Foreign Minister,” adding, “New Zealand also looks forward to welcoming Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for our annual leaders’ talks.”
Likewise, Payne said, “I look forward to continuing our strong tradition of trans-Tasman partnership, working closely with Minister Mahuta to promote even closer economic ties and personal connections between Australia and New Zealand.”
Over the past few months, ties between the two countries have seen some tensions, most recently this week, when Mahuta publicly objected to “expanding the remit” of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance with Australia, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and Canada, due to New Zealand’s concern that the grouping is increasingly being used as a forum to place pressure on China.
The Ardern administration has also criticised the Morrison administration for its deportation policy, which she has previously described as Australia exporting its problems to New Zealand. In February, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence detained a woman who travelled to the country on an Australian passport, over her alleged links to the Islamic State (IS). When it turned out she held dual citizenship, however, Morrison told Ardern that Australia had pre-emptively stripped her of her citizenship last year, making her a citizen of only New Zealand. This greatly angered Ardern, because the woman had not lived in New Zealand since she was six, and she accused Australia of “not act[ing] in good faith”.
When a similar incident took place in March, Ardern once again called out Morrison, saying, ““Where we take issue is that we’ve had a large proportion, about a third of those who have been deported have not been in New Zealand for the last 10 years,” adding, “In some cases, they’ve never even been to New Zealand.” She went on to say, “If we have an Aussie who comes to New Zealand and lives here for 10 years and then commits a crime, we will treat them as our own. All we’re asking is Australia does the same.”
Therefore, these two pressing bones of contention between the two nations formed the core of questions asked the Payne and Mahuta’s joint press conference, the transcript for which was released by the Australian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
When asked about Mahuta’s comments on the Five Eyes, Payne said that regardless of divergent views on some issues, the five members “share, as liberal democracies, common values and approaches” and agree that the grouping remains a “vital strategic alliance”. She stressed that in this “era of greater strategic competition, particularly in the Indo-Pacific”, alliances like the Five Eyes are crucial.
She was also non-committal when asked whether “Australia like New Zealand to take a stronger line against China”, saying that it is not her job to “give advice to other countries”. Likewise, when asked if Australia would like New Zealand to follow in Australia’s footsteps by “tearing up” any Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects with China, Payne one again said, “Tht is a matter entirely for New Zealand.”
On the topic of deportees, Mahuta reaffirmed the Ardern administration’s belief that “people who, for the most part, spend their lives in another country and relate to that country, are by and large itself self-identifying as to where they belong.”
Furthermore, she reiterated her comments on the Five Eyes alliance by saying, “The Five Eyes arrangement is about a security and intelligence framework, and it's not necessary all the time on every issue to invoke Five Eyes as your first port of call in terms of creating a coalition of support around particular issues - in the human rights space, for example.”
However, Mahuta added, “We do value the Five Eyes relationship. We receive significant benefits from being a part of that relationship and they are close allies and friends in terms of common values and principles.”
Ultimately, the meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers highlighted that regardless of whatever hurdles appear, Australia and New Zealand will continue to share inextricably close ties, particularly due to their shared responsibility as the two biggest powers among the Pacific islands but also due to their cultural and historical ties.
Australia and New Zealand FMs Discuss Tensions Over Five Eyes Alliance and Deportees
The meeting between Australia and New Zealand underscored the two countries inextricably close ties even in the face of tensions over the Five Eyes alliance and Australia’s deportation policy.
April 23, 2021
IMAGE SOURCE: HAGEN HOPKINS / GETTY IMAGESNew Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta (L) and her Australian counterpart Marise Payne