Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern praises US leadership over Ukraine

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaking at the Beehive last month. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has paid a tribute to the leadership of the United States in response to the invasion of Ukraine and compared countries taking a stand today to the 1930s.

"Acting on your values, in good company, really matters," said Ardern, who is due to lead a business delegation to the United States later this month.

"On Ukraine we have been proud to work alongside democratic Governments from Europe and our own region.

"The unity of response and collective determination to resist aggression could not be clearer. Here today let me specifically acknowledge the leadership shown by the Biden administration.

"But we know that keeping the peace is not just a task for soldiers. And leadership is not just the prerogative of the great powers."

She said it was clear what was at stake.

"Russia's actions are a threat not just to the lives and freedoms of the people of Ukraine but also to the larger principles of sovereignty and self-determination that underpin nationhood," she said.

"And we will continue to stand by the people of Ukraine. After all, as the Ukrainian Prime Minister said to me at the beginning of the invasion, there is no 'big or small countries' when it comes to this war – just those countries who react."

US President Joe Biden during a visit to New Zealand in 2016 when he was Vice-President. Photo / Greg Bowker

New Zealand has so far committed $30 million on humanitarian, military, legal, and logistics, including a contribution to weapons and ammunition through funding to the UK. It has also deployed 67 defence personnel to Europe and a Hercules.

The speech was to the US Business Summit in Auckland organised by the Auckland Business Chamber and NZINC.

Trade and the opening up of New Zealand was a key theme but she also sought to put an historical perspective on New Zealand's bond with the US and to compare today's crises to the 1930s.

She compared the crises of the Great Depression and the rise of fascism leading to World War II during which time the Labour Government was in power, led by Michael Joseph Savage and Peter Fraser with Walter Nash in finance and travelling a lot internationally.

"Those were times that forced New Zealanders – and political leaders of the day – to be clear about where they stood and, in doing so, who they stood with.

"The legacy of the Savage, Fraser and Nash governments has been on my mind.

"Because now is another of those times when we as leaders, and as a nation, are reminded of what we stand for and not just to take a stand but to act on those values.

"And it is that that helps explain New Zealand's bond with the United States, over many decades," she said.

New Zealand's first Labour Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage.

We have held firmly to our independent foreign policy but also to our values. When we see a threat to the rules-based order we rely on, we act.

"Distance is not our deciding factor, and nor is it the size of our contribution."

On the issue of trade, Ardern said it was New Zealand's preference to see the United States join the CPTPP - for reason of regional stability, not just commercial interest.

"It remains my hope that in time we will be able to resume that conversation.

"We have our own commercial reasons for wanting that. But the stakes are much higher.

"It remains really important for the United States to be present and engaged in the economic architecture of our region. Because resilience and stability in our region is not solely defined by defence or military arrangements, but relationships in many forms.

"We have been having conversations on this with American counterparts.

"I think the basic point – the need for engagement – is fully registered.

"The real question is what form that engagement might take. And how it responds to the changes under way in the geopolitical and commercial environment. "

Ardern said that in the period ahead she expected to be in a position to confirm New Zealand's participation in President Biden's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) initiative – which is still in its formative stages but includes a bid to minimise supply chain disruption during crises.

Another reason for New Zealand's interest was that the IPEF covered clean energy, decarbonisation and infrastructure.

The Indo-Pacific region accounted for over 50 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, she said.

"An initiative that brings together big emitters and has an explicit climate focus has real appeal to governments like ours that want to see collective action at scale and with a sense of urgency."