Geoffrey Miller: Geopolitical Analyst on the 501 deportation meeting between Christopher Luxon and Anthony Albanese

501s will be the hot button topic in Christopher Luxon's meeting in Canberra today with the Australian Prime Minister. 

Anthony Albanese's government has pulled a recent u-turn on the common-sense approach he'd agreed to with former Prime Minister Jacinda Arden in 2022.  

Australia is no longer considering a person's ties to the country before deporting them, making the safety of Australians the top priority. 

Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Ryan Bridge Luxon's comments in Sydney yesterday hinted he wasn't expecting to make much headway.  

He says Luxon had said they would agree to disagree on the issue - but he'd continue to voice New Zealand's displeasure.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ready. Do you reckon Luxing can make it a third.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
I don't think so. I don't think he's going to
make much headway with Anthony Albanezi on this The government
over there has been under a lot of pressure from
the opposition to take a more hardline stance, and they
actually changed their immigration minister a few weeks ago. So
they've now got someone who's from the right of the party,
Tony Burke, who's the minister over there. And I think

(00:26):
he's going to deport New Zealanders if and when he
wants to. And so I don't think Christopher Luxin is
really going to make much progress there. And he hinted
it that last night when he spoke to the Lower
Institute in Sydney and the Q and A. He basically
said that they were going to agree to disagree on
this issue, but he would continue to voice New Zealand's displeasure.
And I think that's perhaps all he really can do,

(00:48):
and he can simply hope that while Australia might engage
in a lot of tough talk on this issue, they might
show a bit of pragmatism towards New Zealand. Given that
Christopher Luxein is really seeking to align himself with Australia
quite strongly on wider foreign policy issues.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yeah, they've also got an election coming up, right, They're
hardly they're hardly going to bend over to us right
before they've got an election. As you say, just change
the immigration minister. That speech you mentioned at the Low Institute,
he said, this is Luxeen, this big first foreign affairs
outing that we are deliberately deepening our relationship with Five
Eyes partners. Is that a bad thing?

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, look, it was a very hawkish speech that he
gave last night and the Q and A it was
also very revealing. He said that he wanted New Zealand
to be a force multiplier for Australia, and he called
the independent foreign policy approach that uzen And has taken
for the last four decades almost he called that a nonsense.
So it was very very strong. He said he was
very very aligned with Anthony Albanesi. And yes, I mean

(01:48):
it was very clear what the direction of travel is
going to be under Christopher Luxe. And I think it
will be music to Camper his ears, music to Anthony
Albanese's ears, but it could put New Zealand on a
collision course with China.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
He said New Zealand does sometimes perceive themselves as buffered
by splendid isolation, but there is no opting out from
today's strategic realities. The world is getting more difficult and
more complex, particularly so for those smaller states navigating increasingly
stormy seas. New Zealand two must be a participant and
a contributor, not an interested bystander. Does he have a point?

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Look, I think New Zealand should be more involved in
the world, but it's exactly how you do it is
the question. And Christopher Luxm's recipe seems to be to
be taking a much more hawkoush stance, to be aligning
itself and to be aligning New Zealand very much with
Five Lives partners like Australia, like the United States. And
that's a line with heard very consistently from Winston Peters,

(02:45):
the Foreign Minister, over the last nine months. But it
will represent quite a sea change for New Zealand's foreign
policy to be moving away from the independent foreign policy
towards their becoming a de facto alliance member again in
the Western Alliance. He said that New Zealand's continuing to
explore orcers. It sounds like decisions being put on hold
pending the outcome of the US elections in November. But

(03:08):
it's very much still in the mix where the New
Zealand joins UCAS Pillar two. We've been told that for
US for quite some time, but I think it is coming,
some of these big decisions, and it really will be
quite a change to New Zealand's foreign policy positioning.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well, and the way he's talking, I mean, you feel
like you're being bartered up for it, almost, don't you. Jeffrey.
Thank you very much for your time and your analysis
this morning. Jeffrey Miller, International geopolitical analyst.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
For more from News Talks B listen live on air
or online, and

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Keep our shows with you wherever you go with our
podcasts on IR Radio