New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has vowed to press Anthony Albanese over Australia's criminal deportations policy when the two leaders sit down for official talks later today in Canberra.
Successive governments in Wellington have complained bitterly about the federal government deporting criminals with New Zealand citizenship across the ditch, even when those kicked out of the country have spent most or all of their lives in Australia.
Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern ramped up public criticisms on the issue while in office, accusing Australia of "deporting [its] problems" and calling the practice "corrosive" to the relationship.
The long-running diplomatic dispute appeared to be resolved when Mr Albanese promised Ms Ardern that Australia would take a more "commonsense" approach to deportations, directing officials to give more weight to the amount of time someone had spent in Australia before ordering them to leave.
But earlier this year Mr Albanese reversed course under intense political pressure from the Coalition after it emerged that several non-citizens — including New Zealanders — were allowed to stay in Australia despite committing serious crimes.
The shift stirred frustration in New Zealand's government, with Mr Luxon expressing "regret" at the decision.
[LIVE MOMENT]Mr Luxon has promised to raise the issue "pretty directly" with Mr Albanese on Friday, and told New Zealand journalists in Sydney that the two countries had a "difference of opinion" on deportations.
"Australia is free to make its own decisions but also we want to make sure there's a commonsense approach, that people who have very little affiliation with New Zealand should not be sent back to New Zealand, frankly," he said.
One New Zealand official pointed out that Foreign Minister Winston Peters once called the issue a "festering sore" in the relationship, adding that Wellington was disappointed the "new approach" promised by Mr Albanese lasted well under two years.
"It's ripped the band-aid off [that sore]," they told the ABC.
But they also said Wellington was pessimistic about Mr Luxon's chances of convincing Mr Albanese to revisit the issue once again, particularly with a federal election approaching in Australia.
New Zealand government figures showed that the number of deportees from Australia dropped sharply in 2023 after the federal government's new "commonsense" approach was applied.
While deportations will be a key focus for Mr Luxon, his talks with Mr Albanese will cover a wide range of subjects including security and defence links, economic and trade ties, climate change cooperation and key strategic issues, particularly in the Pacific.
'A force multiplier'
Mr Luxon has recalibrated New Zealand's foreign policy since taking office, signalling that he will be quicker to publicly criticise any malign activity by China, including state-sponsored hacking.
He's also said that New Zealand could be a "force multiplier" to the United States and Australia in the region, while again signalling his government was "very open" to joining Pillar 2 of the AUKUS partnership.
The prime minister used a major foreign policy speech at the Lowy Institute on Thursday to burnish his government's foreign policy credentials, declaring that New Zealand has a responsibility to contribute to regional security in the face of a "rapidly deteriorating" strategic environment.
Mr Luxon stressed the alliance between Australia and New Zealand was increasingly critical, calling Australia his country's "indispensable ally, partner and friend".
"It's important we can continue to deploy alongside each other in response to the growing array of security challenges we face, particularly in the face of rapid technological change," he said.
"You are more relevant to us than ever as we forge our path in a more contested world. And, dare I say, we are more relevant to you than ever before, too."
The prime minister said New Zealand's new defence capability plan would be revealed in the "coming months" and that his country would replace and upgrade defence infrastructure, while investing in "new capabilities."
Mr Luxon also acknowledged China's global influence and economic weight, saying his country needed to work with Beijing to find solutions to issues like climate change.
But he also stressed there were issues which New Zealand and China "cannot and will not" agree on, and said his country was willing to call out Beijing when necessary — pointing to his government's decision to attribute cyber attacks on the country's parliament to hackers backed by the Chinese state.
And he again lashed Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, saying it was critical that Ukraine prevail, while warning a similar "flashpoint" could ignite in this region.
"As I have assured President Zelenskyy, whether by helping Ukraine defend itself or sanctioning Russia, New Zealand is in it for the long haul," he told the Lowy Institute.
"That's because we demand that international rules are respected. It's because security is indivisible, with what happens in Europe reverberating in our own region."
