For all her kindness and communication when she was Prime Minister, she would use those trips to Australia to give then–Prime Minister Scott Morrison a tongue-lashing—usually over the 501 deportees, which was pointless because the Aussies weren’t going to change their minds.
This weekend, though, was a bit of a love-in.
And that’s despite the fact that we’ve done something that could genuinely have upset the Aussies.
Because Nicola Willis has probably gone a bit too hard, having cracks at them for their capital gains tax changes in their budget—which they’re very sensitive about, because they’re copping huge blowback.
And yet…it was no drama.
Albanese wrote it off as cheekiness.
And then, instead of yet another trans-Tasman drama, he was cracking jokes with Luxon about Kiwi immigrants.
They were taking turns going first with the questions, and they were affirming each other—welcoming closer ties, strengthening shared resilience.
It’s turning into a bit of a cliché thing to say now, but Luxon is in his element overseas.
He sounded every bit the statesman—someone who has thought deeply about the degrading state of international affairs and what New Zealand needs to do to weather the coming storm.
And I thought, as I listened to him pitch how kick-ass Australia and New Zealand are going to be, that he was doing a better job of selling Australasia to the world than the Prime Minister of Australia was.
He’s a big-ideas guy—selling his country and his region and getting on with people is his party trick.
Isn’t that a better strategy, when you think about it, than always fighting with your only ally?
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and radio broadcaster who hosts Newstalk ZB's weekday Drive-Time Show – where this article was sourced.
2 comments:
Oh my goodness Du Plessis. You must want a Damehood. "I listened to [Luxon] pitch how kick-ass Australia & NZ are going to be .. He’s a big-ideas guy". NZ is caught in a dumbing down brain drain doom loop whereby the likes of ZB's DJs, the Initiative, KiwiBlog and a motley collection of lobbyists try to sell a worn out tired agenda, pretending its new. Whilst all the best kids I know at our schools & universities cant wait to leave NZ; to get away from this claustrophic lowest common denominator nonsense. Maybe Mr Marketing Man Luxon will invite you to his next big ideas cocktail party, Heather. The only worse party in town is Mr Depressing Auckland Lock Down Can't Manage Anything Hipkins. You may get to meet someone on his awful new List MP ranking of chums and networkers.
You are dead right Robert MacCulloch. He and Albonese are type cast. Aussie at least has a possible saviour in the wings but NZ hasn’t. It’s a tragedy.
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