PM’s tuk tuk motorcades, fireworks and headaches at home
Tuk tuk motorcades in Thailand, palace fireworks in the Philippines and glitzy dinners in Singapore were entwined with escalating regional tensions and headaches back home for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on his first trade mission to Southeast Asia.
Trading the brisk temperatures of Wellington for mid-30 degrees in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, Luxon was welcomed with grand entrances, motorcades and even a state dinner during the trip.
Trade and business was said to be the main event, Luxon bringing a high level business delegation along. But in-between trade promises – such as tripling trade with Thailand by 2045 and increasing it by 50% with the Philippines by 2030 – tensions swirled in the region and beyond.
News of Iran’s strike on Israel broke last Sunday while the mission’s airforce plane was in the air from Auckland, the prime minister getting snippets of information before walking out onto the tarmac to a media stand up.
Standing in the Cairns heat, Luxon told the media contingent, who were only just learning the detail themselves, “we really want to see a de-escalation of conflict in that region, the last thing that's needed right now, is a widening of that conflict”.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong did not mince his words after Luxon’s first bilateral meeting with him, warning of potential “calamity” without a push for peace, in what he described as a “very troubled world”.
The prime ministers were asked about the potential for major escalation given rising tensions in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region, and how close they thought a possible world war was. “I don’t think we are close to a world war, I think it’s a very troubled world, and in particular, is a very, very troubled Middle East,” Lee said.
Lee said as small countries, “we cannot solve the problems in the Middle East”, but instead “you can try and calm things down” and get people talking about peace.
Defence and security issues were particularly pronounced in the Philippines.
Talking to media less than an hour after arriving, and before his meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, Luxon said he was concerned about “dangerous behaviour” in the South China Sea.
The meeting followed Marcos’ recent White House trip, where last week US President Joe Biden promised to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, after the Philippines accused the Chinese coastguard of two recent collisions.
News then broke that the Philippines and the US are set to hold military drills outside Philippines’ territorial waters from next week. Following Luxon and Marcos’ bilateral meeting on Thursday, the pair said they shared “serious concern” over tensions in the South China Sea.
“China says Marcos gov’t broke ‘new’ Ayungin Pact” was the headline spread across the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Friday, while a picture of Luxon and Marcos was on the front page of another Filipino newspaper. The pair watched an impressive firework display together after a state dinner above the Malacañang Palace.
In Thailand, Luxon faced questions about Myanmar ‘s invitation to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meeting in New Zealand.
Following Luxon’s domestic media conference, he met with Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
During the press conference, Srettha spoke about the situation in Myanmar, saying it “makes it all the more necessary and urgent for all of us to urge the Myanmar parties to pursue dialogue towards peaceful solution”.
While the focus was trade and tensions, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, who came on the trip, announced with Luxon a $41 million investment to help clean energy transition in South East Asia, through the Asian Development Bank-led Energy Transition Mechanism.
Also facing criticism within his own contingent, Luxon brushed aside concerns from a member of the business delegation travelling with him about the language of New Zealand being “open for business” being unhelpful.
“We are open for business, we are under new management because we are driving very positively into a much bigger future for New Zealand,“Luxon said.
He’s Nicholas Down, but is he out?
Stuff can reveal liquidators for the former HamiltonEV director’s failed company have commissioned a private eye to track down the self-described “EV Evangelist“who as left a number of aggrieved creditors in his wake, owing upwards of $100,000.
But whether Down has actually fled to Dubai, as he has claimed on his company’s Facebook page, or is still in New Zealand, remains unconfirmed.
Some of those people out of pocket include those who have recently purchased cars from Down, and who paid about $4000 extra on the cost of those vehicles for a decade’s worth of Warrant of Fitness inspections and battery servicing.
Those “lifetime” guarantees now appear to be worthless.
Down’s deals and Dubai have become the subject of much speculation by the members of groups on social media. The man in question is evidently keeping a close eye on the online commentary.
Contacted by Stuff, Down responded via text message.
“With new and fresh legal action pending, I cannot comment on anything in the media at the moment,” he wrote.
He did not respond to requests to clarify the nature of the “legal action”.
Asked whether he could prove he was now in Dubai yielded the following exchange:
“Ask any of the stupid motherf ..... s on Facebook who think they’ve seen me to prove it, because I can tell you categorically that I am in Dubai.
“I bet you US$1 million that not one single person can find me or see me in New Zealand. There’s been about 15 people that claim they’ve seen me driving past.
“They’ve seen me there. They’ve seen me here. So get one of them to prove it.”
Stuff asked Down if he could instead prove his whereabouts, perhaps with a current photograph of him in Dubai, preferably with a copy of the day’s newspaper – or some other means of verifying his presence, such as a dated stamp in his passport.
Such a verification is yet to be provided and Down replied to Stuff’s request with a blunt three-letter response: “WTF”.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Francis and Garry Whimp of Auckland firm Blackrock Rose have been appointed as liquidators of Hamilton Electric Vehicles Ltd, following a hearing in the High Court in Tauranga on April 8.
Francis said that process was just getting started, however, progress was proving slow due to the fact that Down himself was proving difficult to track down.
To this end, they had employed the services
Nicholas Down
“I bet you US$1 million that not one single person can find me or see me in New Zealand. There’s been about 15 people that claim they’ve seen me driving past.”
of private investigator Thomas Janes, who was doing some digging on the case.
After a bit of sleuthing, Janes said he had managed to briefly make contact with Down – “However, when I rang his phone, it doesn’t have an international dial tone, which I found odd.”
He was now making inquiries with the New Zealand Customs Service to verify whether Down was where he said he was.
Customs staff were unable to disclose to Stuff whether Down had actually made the trip due to privacy issues.
Francis said the liquidators were now calling for creditors to make their claims against Down, and had until June 7 to do so.
Whether Down’s apparent departure to Dubai – announced on March 20 on his business’ Facebook page – is an attempt to avoid paying whatever he may owe or, as he claims, simply a move made for the good of his mental health also remains unclear.
His departure was swiftly followed by the removal of the remaining cars at HamiltonEV’s premises Greenwood St – which was then given a makeover with bright pink paint to mark the building’s new life as the relocated Boof’s Ice Cream Diner.
Down had told customers on Facebook that it was “with a heavy heart ... effective this morning I am moving to Dubai and will take a break from business and work for a company in the property management industry.
“After several months of intense business dealings and some incredibly hard decisions on top of a well hidden serious health issue I am withdrawing from social media for the foreseeable future.
“Yes my mental health has taken a hiding but I am safe and loved ... To state the obvious, as already mentioned it has simply just become too much.”
Down said he was “leaving New Zealand broken, fundamentally bankrupt and without a dollar to my name is embarrassing and for the grace of god I will eventually overcome this chapter in my life.”
Downs was last year pinged by the Hamilton City Council for dumping a trailer-load of rubbish under an overpass.