Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. Photo: RNZ/Pacific Islands Forum/123RF
- 'Reset' with Cook Islands needed
- Kiribati stoush acknowledged, meeting with the president for 'meaningful dialogue' in the coming weeks
- New Caledonia could learn from New Zealand, Peters says
Foreign Minister Winston Peters wants to 'reset' New Zealand's relationship with Cook Islands.
"During 2025, as we celebrate 60 years of free association, we are going to need to reset the government-to-government relationship," Peters said in his speech to the Pacific Island Political Science Association in Wellington.
"We will also need to find a way, as we did in 1973 and 2001, to formally re-state the mutual responsibilities and obligations that we have for one another and the overall parameters and constraints of the free association model."
Peters said there is an expectation that the government of the Cook Islands will not pursue policies that are "significantly at variance with New Zealand's interests".
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown arrived back in the Cooks to a 400-strong crowd protesting his week-long state visit to China, where he signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership" to boost its relationship with Beijing.
Peters doubled down on Cook Islands responsibility to "fully and meaningfully" consult New Zealand on all major international actions, following its controversial deal with China.
The word 'consultation' had been raised as somewhat of a sticking point in this disagreement with Cook Islands
Brown has argued that New Zealand does not need to be consulted with to the level they want, something Foreign Minister Winston Peters reaffirmed he disagrees with.
The Joint Centenary Declaration of 2001 which Helen Clark signed legally required New Zealand and Cook Islands to consult regularly.
Clark told RNZ Pacific Cook Islands, a realm of New Zealand, should have consulted Wellington before signing a "partnership" deal with China.
'Expectations' to uphold
In his speech, Peters reminded the audience that Cook Islands remained tied to New Zealand constitutionally, which brought its own set of expectations.
"An expectation that the government of the Cook Islands will not seek benefits only available to fully independent states - such as separate passports and citizenship, or membership of the United Nations or the Commonwealth."
This was not an unreasonable expectation and nothing new, Peters said.
In light of New Zealand still being "in the dark" over all but one of the agreements signed by China and the Cooks, Peters said, New Zealand will undertake its own careful analysis of how they impacted "vital national interests".
"While the connection between the people of the Cook Islands and New Zealand remains resolutely strong, we currently face challenges in the government-to-government relationship," Peters said.
Kiribati talks coming along
He said that New Zealand had faced two isolated challenges in the past twelve months in its relations with the Pacific, cases he said were "very different".
Peters also acknowledged the stoush with Kiribati, saying he was taking positive steps towards the goal of 'meaningful dialogue' with the Kiribati president in the coming weeks.
"We have a long-standing relationship with the Kiribati people, which has overcome previous challenges. We will weather this one too," Peters said.
Another issue Peters touched on was New Caledonia, "on which the region has devoted significant attention over the past year has been New Caledonia," he said.
"From the moment of the unrest onwards, New Zealand has been very clear that everyone - no matter their view on New Caledonia's political status - should agree that violence is not the answer," Peters said.
"The focus must be on dialogue."
After visiting the French territory, which is New Zealand's closest neighbour, Peters invited the French Ambassador to Pacific to Waitangi and offered some advice.
"We hope lessons from New Zealand's own economic development as a multi-ethnic Pacific Island country can be shared with New Caledonians, who might be able to adapt them to their unique context," Peters said.
Peters made the point that New Zealand was part of the "Pacific family" and was a Pacific Island country, linked by geography, history, culture, politics, demography and "indeed DNA," Peters said.
