New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-U.S. positioning when it comes to the Pacific. Peters sought to align New Zealand more closely with the United States under his “Pacific Reset” policy that he launched … Read more
Advertisement New Zealand’s new government will need to hit the ground running on foreign affairs. Determining New Zealand’s full response to the war in Gaza and the fallout in the wider Middle East will be the first major test for whoever takes the foreign minister’s role. New Zealand has been run by a Labor caretaker … Read more
Advertisement On October 14, New Zealanders voted to boot Chris Hipkins and his Labor party colleagues out of government. The red wave surfed by Jacinda Ardern in 2020 crumbled, with Labor losing almost half their seats in Parliament as a result. New Zealand’s proportional electoral system means it is rare for one party to form … Read more
Advertisement Conservative former businessman Christopher Luxon will be New Zealand’s next prime minister after winning a decisive election victory Saturday. People voted for change after six years of a liberal government led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern. Luxon arrived to rapturous applause at an event in Auckland on Saturday. He was joined … Read more
Advertisement A shakeup of the ministers responsible for New Zealand’s international relations seems almost guaranteed, irrespective of the country’s election result on October 14. Coalition politics are likely to play a key role in appointments related to foreign affairs. Based on current opinion polling, a government led by the center-right National Party would probably need to … Read more
Advertisement In April 2021, New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta likened the New Zealand-China relationship to “the respect a Taniwha would have for a Dragon and vice versa.” Mahuta’s speech was one of the more recent attempts to articulate the complicated and delicate nature of the bilateral relationship between China and New Zealand. The small … Read more