Turnbull's warm welcome for Ardern underscores continuity in trans-Tasman relations
Oz Kiwi opinion
“But Ardern also hinted at a shift in New Zealand's position as well, suggesting she had options that might allow Australia to set aside its concerns about New Zealand being a backdoor into Australia.
She would not spell out what mechanisms were discussed, but one option might be a deal by which Australia could blacklist the Manus Island refugees, even under New Zealand's reciprocal travel arrangement.
Australia had suggested that option previously, but Key rejected it out of hand, arguing it would create two classes of citizenship.”
The Key Government was absolutely right in its rejection of any proposal that would see NZ accepting refugees from Australia on the proviso that they be barred from entering Australia even when they became NZ citizens.
To go down this path would set a very dangerous precedent.
Since 2001, Australian governments have been splitting Kiwis up into multiple groups with different rights, based on arrival date, income, and other factors.
The last thing we need is the NZ Government joining in and effectively endorsing this approach, undermining freedom of movement and accepting that its citizens are not all equal.
As far as Oz Kiwi is concerned, a New Zealander is a New Zealander. An individual's race, country of birth, or arrival as a refugee should have no effect on the rights they enjoy as a New Zealand citizen.
Turnbull's warm welcome for Ardern underscores continuity in trans-Tasman relations
05 November 2017
Stuff
Despite a recent rocky history, the two PMs today set out to show they've put aside differences.
OPINION: Jacinda Ardern and her Aussie counterpart Malcolm Turnbull apparently hit it off at their crucial first face to face meeting ahead of the Apec leader's summit.
How do we know? Because Turnbull told us - more than once.
In fact they hit it off the first time they spoke on the phone, according to the Australian Prime Minister. And it seems like that wasn't just hyperbole either.
As anxious New Zealand media checked their watches for flight times back to Wellington, the meeting between Ardern and Turnbull ran over time as they talked Apec and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, rehashed New Zealand's offer to take some of the heat off Australia over the escalating humanitarian crisis faced by Manus Island refugees, and discussed the Iraq deployment.
The two leaders met one-on-one for 20 minutes before entering bilateral talks with officials over brunch.
They even talked fishing, and swapped childhood memories of growing up in the Waikato (Ardern is from Morrinsville, while Turnbull lived in Hamilton for a few years with his mother and recalls clambering over Mt Pirongia and Maori Pa sites and stripping feijoa trees bare).
It was always going to be difficult for Ardern to live up to the famous bromance between Turnbull and one of her predecessors, John Key - and as Turnbull himself noted, the Australian and New Zealand prime ministers don't have to be “mates” to bond.
Helen Clark and former Australian prime minister John Howard forged a very close relationship, despite coming from opposite sides of the political spectrum and without the warmth of the Key -Turnbull bromance.
But friendship helps - Turnbull burnt up some of his political capital to give Key a win over the rights of Kiwi expats a few years ago.
No matter how strong the personal bonds, however, no Australian prime minister has ever been guilty of elevating New Zealand interests ahead of their own domestic interests.
So Ardern's arrival in Australia during the Manus island crisis was an opportunity to put some credit in the bank by offering to solve one of Turnbull's big headaches.
The escalating humanitarian crisis on Manus has sparked a chorus of international condemnation and Ardern's offer to resettle up to 150 refugees would take some of the heat off.
The offer was not a new one of course - Key made the initial offer to former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard.
But Australia has always refused, partly on the grounds it would give in to the people smugglers - some of which had dangled New Zealand as a destination - and because New Zealand could be used as a backdoor entry to Australia.
But if Turnbull's response to Ardern sounded like “thanks but no thanks”, he also added the important caveat “not at this time”, arguing that a prior US commitment to take 1250 refugees took precedence.
Replacing a flat “no” with “maybe later” is a clear - if subtle - softening of the earlier rejections of the New Zealand offer.
So what's changed?
The dire situation on Manus Island is clearly motivation for Australia to find solutions, and urgently.
If the US offer falls over - and the current unpredictable nature of US foreign policy means nothing is certain any more - Turnbull will need a back-up plan.
But Ardern also hinted at a shift in New Zealand's position as well, suggesting she had options that might allow Australia to set aside its concerns about New Zealand being a backdoor into Australia.
She would not spell out what mechanisms were discussed, but one option might be a deal by which Australia could blacklist the Manus Island refugees, even under New Zealand's reciprocal travel arrangement.
Australia had suggested that option previously, but Key rejected it out of hand, arguing it would create two classes of citizenship.
Ardern's suggestion that Australia's concerns on that front shouldn't stand in the way of it accepting our offer suggests she may be taking a more pragmatic approach.
But it also suits her Government to play up a win in the first diplomatic go-round between Turnbull and Ardern.
Labour has talked tough on the rights of Kiwi expats for years when it knows that pushing too hard could backfire.
Ardern was never going to come home with a win on that front.
But convincing Turnbull to keep the door open on the Manus Island offer, and the warmth of Turnbull's welcome to Ardern at their first outing, was about underscoring the continuity in trans-Tasman relations, even with a change of government.
Read the Stuff article.