Aust minister unlikely to meet Ardern
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop is coming to New Zealand this week, but is not expected to meet Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The two, who are yet to officially meet face to face, have both downplayed the tense episode before the election when Bishop said she would find it hard to work with a Labour Government.
Bishop is visiting Auckland and Waiheke Island on Friday and Saturday as part of the countries’ formal six-monthly foreign policy discussions. The Prime Ministers do not usually take part as they have their own annual meeting, which this year will be in Sydney in March. Bishop and Ardern are likely to meet then, as those talks involve Foreign Ministers as well.
The Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, said this week’s meeting was part of regular foreign policy consultation with Australia.
“We will discuss in depth the global and regional issues where we have shared interests. Australia is New Zealand’s most important bilateral partner and our discussion will help ensure the transtasman relationship is working effectively.”
Bishop said New Zealand was “an essential and valuable partner in supporting economic growth, stability and security of the Pacific”. The relationship was Australia’s closest and most comprehensive, she said.
“It is underpinned by deep and dynamic links between our peoples through family, business enterprise, cultural activity and sporting rivalry. Around 650,000 New Zealanders live in Australia, and close to 70,000 Australians live in New Zealand.
“Our total two-way trade with New Zealand in 2016-17 was valued at $26.8 billion, with strong growth in the two-way services trade. Australian investment in New Zealand is valued at almost $107b and New Zealand’s investment is valued at A$46.2b.
“Mr Peters and I will discuss how to increase our shared efforts to support Pacific Island countries to tackle development challenges and promote a stable and resilient region.”
The two Foreign Ministers last met in November at Apec in Vietnam.
The pre-election furore came about when Bishop blamed Labour for working with the Australian Labor Party to dig for information on the citizenship of Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.
Bishop said she would find it hard to work with a Labour Government in New Zealand after Labour’s Chris Hipkins had asked parliamentary questions about the citizenship of someone fathered by a New Zealander. Hipkins had not mentioned Joyce’s name, but the questions coincided with media inquiries and led New Zealand officials to advise that Joyce was a New Zealand citizen.
That forced him to resign and stand in a byelection, which he won. State Highway 1 was closed near Levin yesterday morning after a crash involving a truck and trailer. Rail services were also suspended as the truck was left precariously near the tracks. By the time one lane was opened later in the morning, traffic had backed up more than 4km in both directions, almost to Levin in the north and Otaki in the south. Police closed the road about 11.15am for heavy equipment to be brought in to right the truck. The road was closed for about three hours. Police and fire crews were called to the Manakau overbridge near Levin just before 8am. Senior Sergeant Sarn Paroli said the southbound truck and the northbound car had collided head-on on the south side of the rail bridge. “The driver of the car, a man in his 30s, was airlifted to Palmerston North Hospital with serious injuries.” Paroli said the truck driver was uninjured but shaken. KiwiRail inspector Eddie Dargaville said the track would need to be closed until further notice. A resident near the accident scene, who declined to be named, said the site was notorious for accidents. “In the 50 years I’ve lived here, I would have seen hundreds of accidents,” the woman said. The speed limit should be lowered on the stretch between the rail overbridge and the Waikawa Stream bridge, she said. Further north, a crash caused issues on the Northern Motorway. The right-hand lane of the Onewa onramp was blocked.