Australian Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison met with his counterpart from New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, in Queenstown on Monday for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ meeting.
During the meeting, Morrison stressed that Australia’s ties with New Zealand are “far more than a partnership,” and more closely resemble a “family relationship.” He said that both countries collaborate closely on public health and regional security matters. To this end, he lauded how both countries have joined hands to support COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the smaller islands in the Pacific.
On a strategic front, Morrison reiterated the importance of a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” and reaffirmed that this is something that both countries “feel very strongly about.” The Australian leader also celebrated friendships with the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, and India in achieving this vision.
Following the meeting, the two leaders released a joint statement that extolled the benefits of their partnership, alliance, interpersonal ties, and cultural linkages. They also pledged to continue their support for vaccine deliveries to their “Pacific family” and their support for the WHO-led COVAX initiative. Aside from public health initiative, they also talked about supporting communities and businesses in the smaller Pacific islands, and leveraging the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to amplify the voices of those countries.
On economic collaboration, the statement underlined the importance of establishing a Supply Chain Dialogue to address the challenge of non-tariff barriers and increase “supply chain resilience.” Furthermore, the statement also talks about creating a “circular economy” that increases recycling and waste management, and facilitating more “seamless” cross-border travel.
With regards to climate change, they agreed to train their efforts of limiting the temperature increase to “1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels” by “reducing emissions, “protecting the ocean”, “building [environmental] resilience and addressing biodiversity loss,” and “tackling the growing problem of marine plastic pollution.”
In terms of global security, they “reiterated their shared commitment to support an Indo-Pacific region of sovereign, resilient and prosperous states, with robust regional institutions and strong respect for international rules and norms, and where sovereign states can pursue their interests free from coercion.” To this end, they “expressed serious concern over developments in the South China Sea, including the continued militarisation of disputed features and an intensification of destabilising activities at sea.” They also stressed the importance of “freedom of navigation and overflight” and underscored that “maritime zones must accord with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and called on all parties to respect and implement decisions rendered through UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanisms.”
Speaking more directly about China, they expressed “deep concern” at Hong Kong’s deteriorating autonomy and the human rights situation in Xinjiang. Keeping this in mind, they called on China to “respect the human rights of the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities and to grant the United Nations and other independent observers meaningful and unfettered access to the region.”
Away from China, they also “expressed grave concerns about the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, and its implications for regional stability.” Morrison and Ardern called on the military junta to “exercise restraint, refrain from further violence, release all those arbitrarily detained, and engage in dialogue.”
Likewise, they opined that North Korea’s “continued development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions posed a serious threat to international peace and stability.” Therefore, they put their weight behind the use of sanctions to push Pyongyang towards “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation.” In fact, they said that nuclear disarmament is a process that must be accelerated by all world powers. While they expressed alarm at Iran’s uranium enrichment, the pair remained optimistic that ongoing discussions on the resumption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) could help in this regard.
Furthermore, they “welcomed the ceasefire in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank and called on all parties to ensure it holds.” The leaders also reiterated the importance of reaching an agreement that “results in a two-state solution.”
In addition, they once again formally announced the full withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan by the September deadline.
They also talked about the importance of ratifying and implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and ‘upgrading’ and ‘modernising’ the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).
In recent times, bilateral ties between Australia and New Zealand have become strained. In April, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister (FM), Nanaia Mahuta, stated the country’s desire to maintain the Five Eyes alliance with the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and Canada as an intelligence-sharing group and not use it as a means to place pressure on China. The Ardern administration has also criticised the Morrison administration for its deportation policy, which the Kiwi PM has previously described as Australia exporting its problems to New Zealand. Australia has on multiple occasions essentially forced New Zealand to take in people who have been accused of or charged with terrorism despite the fact that they were born in New Zealand but have spent the majority of their lives in Australia and often hold dual citizenship.
In fact, these bones of contention were covered in the leaders’ joint press conference, the transcript for which was released by Morrison’s office. During the event, Morrison reiterated that New Zealand has not “sold its sovereignty to China” or that it is “jeopardising [New Zealand’s] relationship with Australia and [the] other Five Eyes partners.”
Similarly, Ardern said that New Zealand “remains a committed member” of the Five Eyes and that Australia and New Zealand remain aligned on issues of human rights. On this point, Morrison said that the “increased strategic competition between the United States and China […] doesn't need to lead to increased likelihood of conflict or other pressures.”
Likewise, Ardern refuted that claim that New Zealand is “cosying up to China” and said that her administration has maintained a “very principled position human rights issues, on trade issues as they relate to China.” She also rejected the notion that New Zealand is seeking to reduce its reliance on Australia, with Morrison adding that the two countries merely seek “interoperability,” wherein each country brings “different capabilities” and performs “different jobs” to achieve a shared vision.
On the topic of deportation, Morrison defended Australia’s approach to revoke the citizenship of convicted terrorists, while Ardern issued a tersely worded response saying that New Zealand’s position on the matter has not changed and that she maintains that “sometimes Australia deports Australian criminals.
Morrison and Ardern also repeated their support for an independent, international investigation into the source of the coronavirus and that their push for this probe is independent of the Biden administration’s now repeated calls for one. They said that this isn’t related to political differences with China but to protect public health and to better prepare for future pandemics.
Ultimately, the meeting served to illustrate that while Australia and New Zealand may differ on some issues, they remain closely aligned on most others. In particular, it highlighted that New Zealand’s supposed divergence from Australia towards China has been overstated and that the two countries continue to push for accountability, but simply have different ways of going about it. While Australia has taken a more aggressive approach that has more evidently impacted diplomatic and trade ties with the Asian giant, New Zealand has taken a more measured and calculated approach so as to protect its comparatively smaller economy.
SUMMARY: Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting
Australian PM Scott Morrison met with New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern and discussed a wide range of global issues.
June 1, 2021
IMAGE SOURCE: AAPNew Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern (L) and Australian PM Scott Morrison