Winston Peters: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs on Donald Trump winning the US Election

Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Kerre Woodham this morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the Government was confident it was “ready to go” in engaging with the incoming Trump Administration.

“We have got some serious connections with the incoming administration, that’s the key part here,” he said.

He mentioned New Zealand’s “very experienced Ambassador” in Washington who he said was there “to ensure if there was a change in the election results in America against what the media forecast, we’d be ready to go and we are.”

Peters is referencing NZ Ambassador to the US Rosemary Banks. She’s a senior New Zealand diplomat who served in the role between 2018 and 2022 (so during part of Donald Trump’s previous term), and was reappointed earlier this year after serving ambassador Bede Corry was announced as the new Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said the Government would take the next couple of months – prior to President Trump being sworn in again – to make reconnections.

He said a lot of work has previously gone into getting a free trade agreement with the United States when Trump was last President, between 2017 and 2021.

“We didn’t take the chance when it was all set to go. We cannot afford to make this mistake next time.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon earlier this week admitted there was little political appetite in the US for such a deal and he didn’t see that changing.

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Kerrywood of Morning's podcast from News
Talk sed B.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters
joins us. Now, very good morning to you. Good morning,
and thank you for your time. I understand you came
in very late from Canberra last night.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
That's right, very late, and came in this morning actually.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh this morning, so thank you for that. You've met
Donald Trump a few times.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Haven't you not? In that sense? No, I've been in
the same room, but no.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Ok okay, And is that a priority for you? I
see that you and the Prime Minister have already sent
congratulations to him. As as a matter of protocol and politeness,
is it going to be a priority to arrange a meeting,
especially given the stance on imposing tariffs on imported goods.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Well, look, we've got some serious connections with the incoming administration.
That's the key part here. And we left in Washington
and a very experienced ambassador who we got back in
twenty seventeen and got it back again in twenty twenty
three to ensure that if there was a change in
the election results in America against what the media forecast,

(01:19):
we'd be ready to go, and we are.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
How will you go about ensuring New Zealand has has
that kind of strength of relationship. You've got the right
person in place, How do you get the President elect's
attention when so much is going on in the US.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, exactly, but you know we've got a swearing in
in the new year. So we've got these next few
weeks to ensure that we make all the reconnections with
a whole number of people, including Pompeo, Presidell and all
those who are associated with the Republican Party as they
were last time, to reconnect as fast as possible, Not
that we haven't kept contact with them on the way through.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
What is Do you have any idea of what Presidents
Trump I, President Trump's idea of traditional alliances with countries
like ours will be in the future.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Look, it's really a circumstance of reading the room properly
and reading the political parties policies there. Because we got
so close to getting a free trade deal in last
election when he was the prime minister or the president rather,
we got a point we turned around to his team
and said, in front of the Center Adurn, well why

(02:38):
on earth not now if she'd have got up off
the seat right there. It came out, got out of
the room, sugar his head and said time by President,
I'll be back to you. I think we've got it
moving forward, but you must. We must not lose opportunities
to act in our best interests, and they require serious experience.
And that was one of the problems we.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Had, yes, because it was a twenty five minute meeting,
wasn't it.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well, it was, but we laid it out. We spent
a long time with Scott Brown, the American Ambassador to
New Zealand, with Mike Benson, all those people in the
way shough to get it ready because we have been
trying since nineteen thirty nine to get a free trade deal,
and I kind of think we didn't take the chance
when it was all set to go. We cannot afford

(03:25):
to make this mistake next time. The difference is, of course,
that New Zealand has got a record as costole as
it is of being a total free trade country before
any other country was. So we're not asking him for exceptions.
We're asking him to understand our background and how we're
needed in the Pacific, which is a theater of concern
for them. We need a strong economy to be a

(03:46):
stronger influence here.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Donald Trump made it very clear that he's not interested
in fighting battles that aren't the US's. That he doesn't
really the last time around, he wasn't particularly interested in
spending billions of dollars being a policeman with NATO. He's like,
you guys have got to start paying your bills or

(04:08):
we're not paying ours.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
But he was right, Yeah, he was right. You had
of those countries, barely one was paying the contribution that
the United States was and now over twenty hour and
in the case of Poland, they're paying five percent of
their GDP towards their defense. So he isolated what was
the problem that they were all wronging upon one country
whilst their taxpayers were expecting security without putting the effort

(04:33):
into in securing it. And so in that context, NATO
has got it, and other countries have got that understanding
as well. So and there are said we needed to
have that understanding because that's the way things are. Their
taxpayers will be concerned about where their money is going
as much as ours are. Yeah, and so it's our
shared priorities.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Only consider is if he doesn't really care about the Pacific.
If there are more pressing concerns for him, then other
big players will care and will make their influence felt.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
Well, that is an anxiety you might have. But who
says that the Americans are not reawakening real fast through
the essentiality of the Pacific as a theater in which
they've got off their coast of the West coast of
the United States. They've got a massive interest. They've had
it ever since nineteen forty five. Many Republicans have understood that,
going back to General Douglas MacArthur, it's a matter of

(05:29):
reminding everybody of how the world works. It's about dialogue
and persuasion and contact with people like that matter.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Do you think that Donald Trump understands the importance or
has advisers that do.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
I believe that he does have advisors that do, and
that they are set in place for us to ensure
that we hit the ground running.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
When do you imagine you'll get to shake hands with them?

Speaker 3 (05:55):
I'm not putting that as priority. That's mister Luxeon's privilege,
not mine. We know what our job is. Our job
is to ensure that in every way we build the
environment to advance and Zealing's interests and the Pacific interests,
which is after all, if you add the Indian Ocean,
it is three quarters of almost of the world's surface.
And we have got collective interests in other countries such

(06:16):
as India who understand the need for us all to
work together, and I believe the United States will understand
that as well.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
Thank you very very much for your time. I do
appreciate it. At As Winston and is our Deputy Prime
Minister and a very hard working you would have to
say Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
News Talks a B from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio