‘Our ties are older than our democracies’: Christopher Luxon and Anthony Albanese praise relationship
Friday, 16 August 2024
Christopher Luxon has met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.
Albanese praised the close relationship between the two countries, while Luxon acknowledged their close security cooperation.
Luxon reiterated his desire to see New Zealand become a “force multiplier” in the Pacific, alongside Australia and the US.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have praised the close relationship between the two countries in a joint press conference in Canberra.
“Our ties are older than our democracies,” Albanese said in his introductory remarks. “We regard ourselves as family… Our flags remind us that we steer by the same stars.”
Albanese said Australia and New Zealand were “working in lockstep like never before” to safeguard the security and prosperity of both countries in a changing geopolitical environment.
Luxon thanked Albanese for the very warm welcome he had received at Australian Parliament House on Friday and said New Zealand and Australia were working hand to hand on matters of regional security.
Luxon reiterated his desire to see New Zealand become a “force multiplier” in the Pacific by joining Australia’s defence posture, and spoke about the potential of New Zealand joining pillar two the Aukus military alliance.
Albanese said New Zealand and Australia shared “common objectives” in the region, and that there would be opportunities for New Zealand to join the pact.
Luxon, who is in Australia for an official visit, on Thursday gave a major foreign policy speech at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, where he warned “Ukraine could happen in a flashpoint across our Indo-Pacific region”.
When Stuff asked specifically what flashpoints he was referring to following the speech, he name checked the Taiwan Strait and North Korea.
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have been boiling away in recent years, leading to fears China could invade Taiwan, bringing about a military confrontation with the US.
Pressed as to whether he believed Taiwan was on the brink of an invasion, Luxon back-pedalled.
“No, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that, you know, every region of the world has potential flash points that, for the grace of God, you could have a Ukraine happen in our Indo-Pacific region. And we don’t want that, right? That's what we don't want, and that’s what I’ve expressed very clearly,” he said.
Luxon wants New Zealand forces working more closely with Australian forces in the info-Pacific region, and has been criticised by some for what appears to be a drift towards the US.
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark and former National and ACT leader Don Brash in July accused Luxon of departing from New Zealand’s long-standing independent foreign policy, and said the changing position threatened to pull the country into a US-led confrontation with China.
Earlier on Friday, Luxon and Albanese met and discussed a range of issues, including the economy, security, climate change, and migration between the two countries.
Luxon said at the joint press conference that he and Albanese had worked constructively to allow for free travel and pathways to citizenship between the two countries, with “hard-working Kiwis [becoming] your very best Australians”.
He also thanked Albanese for earlier “common sense” changes to Australia's controversial 501 deportees policy.
On that issue, Albanese said they have an understanding but not a uniform position and that they respect each other’s position. He said the safety of Australians was his number one consideration and that a balanced approach to the issue was appropriate.