Australia has welcomed New Zealand's decision to support its trade dispute with China over barley tariffs, ahead of formal talks between Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern.
Key points:
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison will hold annual talks with Jacinda Ardern today
- China and immigration are expected to feature in the discussions
- Australia has welcomed NZ's decision to support its dispute with China over barley tariffs
Mr Morrison touched down in Queenstown on Sunday, with the two leaders taking part in a traditional Maori greeting known as 'hongi.'
They emphasised the close relationship between the two countries, pointing to the trans-Tasman travel bubble as an example of co-operation and shared achievement in response to COVID-19.
But with China expected to be in focus during today's bi-lateral meeting, New Zealand's Trade Minister told local media that his country would participate in Australia's World Trade Organisation row with China as a "third party."
"New Zealand upholds international rules and norms, so ensuring international trade rules are fairly applied by others is important to us and our exporters," Newshub reported Damien O'Connor as saying.
"We welcome New Zealand's support for the rules based, trading system," Australia's Trade Minister Dan Tehan responded in a statement.
China last year imposed an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley, claiming farmers had dumped the grain in China for cheaper than it cost to produce — an accusation Australia denies.
Regional security in focus as leaders meet
Mr Morrison described his meeting with Ms Ardern as "another opportunity to reinforce our commitment to the security interests of the region."
"We're Five Eyes partners, I mean, we're part of ANZUS," he said.
"We are and have been alongside each other in favouring a world that favours freedom, for a very long time.
"And so we'll have the opportunity to talk through those issues and how we can each reinforce our joint efforts to ensure a free and independent Indo-Pacific."
Ms Ardern told a business function with Mr Morrison in Queenstown on Sunday night that Australia and New Zealand would "not always see every issue in the same way."
"We often will see and do things differently," she said.
Tensions between Australia and New Zealand have flared recently over China, including after Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta distanced New Zealand from efforts to pressure Beijing through the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network.
However Professor Anne-Marie Brady from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch argued the reaction in Australia was out of proportion.
"That comment was in response to a question but before it was a very detailed speech outlining NZ's concerns with China," she said.
"And it was the speech that was the most significant thing.
"NZ is very involved in Five Eyes, in many ways well beyond the signals intelligence, there's a lot of collaboration in other portfolios."
Immigration issues also on the agenda
It is also likely the leaders will discuss Australia's policy of deporting New Zealanders convicted of serious crimes, regardless of whether they have a strong connection to their birth country, something Ms Ardern has previously described as being "corrosive" to the relationship.
Professor Robert Ayson from Victoria University of Wellington said he did not expect much movement on the topic.
"I think that we're now in a pattern where Australia expects New Zealand to raise this issue, where the NZ government will want to raise this issue, and not just for domestic political reasons, but also because it does feel that an injustice has been done," he said.
"But I think that in a sense the two countries are used to this exchange… I think that this is just another episode in a long-running story where there obviously is a difference."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA1LTMxL2F1c3RyYWxpYS13ZWxjb21lcy1uZXctemVhbGFuZHMtc3VwcG9ydC1vbi1jaGluYS1kaXNwdXRlLzEwMDE3NzQ2NtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDAxNzc0NjY?oc=5
2021-05-30 18:53:14Z
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