‘Safety of Australians’ trumps Christopher Luxon’s calls for fairness on 501 deportation debate

Christopher Luxon shakes hands with Anthony Albanese in Sydney. Photo / Adam Pearse

THREE KEY FACTS

• Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met in Canberra yesterday.
• The issue of 501 deportees – Australia’s decision to deport to New Zealand criminals born in NZ but with very little connection to the land of their birth – was a focus of the meeting.
• A new defence deal means “malicious cyber attacks” could be considered “an armed attack” under the Anzus Treaty between the countries.

The Prime Minister says New Zealand’s “incredibly strong” relationship with Australia has not been hindered by his lack of headway over the issue of 501 deportees.

“The New Zealand/Australia relationship is bigger than this,” Christopher Luxon said, after his third meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra yesterday.

Despite the clear – but not altogether unsurprising – news on the controversial policy, Luxon did manage to come away from the meeting with a few wins.

A major new defence deal means “malicious cyber attacks” could be considered “an armed attack” under the Anzus Treaty between the countries.

And New Zealand also received a strong indication that it may soon be welcomed into the Australian, US, and UK defence pact known as Aukus – especially the second pillar relating to the sharing of military intelligence.

But the issue of 501 deportees was always going to be the focus of yesterday’s meeting.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in Canberra. Photo / Jason Walls

The Australian Government’s direction to deport to New Zealand criminals who were born in New Z but have very little connection to the country has been a thorn in the side of the New Zealand/Australia relationship for years.

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had previously said the policy was having a “corrosive” effect on the relationship. She did make some headway, after agreeing to a “common sense” approach to the 501 policy with Albanese in 2022.

But after public pressure this year, Albanese scrapped that approach to the policy, and things went back to the way they were.

Luxon went into the meeting promising to strongly advocate New Zealand’s position.

Despite this, there does not appear to be any major changes in Australia’s position.

Anthony Albanese (right) says he and Christopher Luxon have an understanding but not a uniform position. Photo / Adam Pearse

“What we have is an understanding; while we have a common purpose, we don’t have a uniform position. But we do respect each other’s position,” Albanese said in a joint media conference after the meeting.

He said Australia’s job is to look after its own national interest.

“We say that the safety of Australians is the number one consideration in the ministerial direction [regarding 501 deportees].”

He did, however, say his Government would continue to try to adopt a “common-sense” approach to deporting criminals.

Speaking to New Zealand media after the joint press conference, Luxon was not admitting defeat.

“Our position is incredibly clear and has been well registered by Albanese.”

He said he respected Australia’s decision to make its own laws as a sovereign state but, he said again, he does not agree with those laws.

“We don’t think it’s fair.”

New Zealand and Australia's positions on 501 deportees have previously been a point of contention.

But he played down any suggestion the disagreement was forming a rift in the transtasman relationship: “It’s quite okay that we have a difference [of opinion].”

For the most part, Luxon and Albanese were incredibly upbeat about the relationship between their respective countries.

“Our ties,” Albanese said after the pair’s bilateral meeting, “are older than our democracies.”

He said the New Zealand/Australia connection was so strong that the two countries are regarded as family.

Luxon responded in kind, saying New Zealand was working hand in hand with Australia. In a speech to the Lowy Institute on Thursday night, Luxon had called Australia its “indispensable ally”.

And that formal alliance was bolstered yesterday, in light of what both leaders see as escalating tensions in the Pacific region.

“In defence, we know we face the most strategic circumstances since the Second World War,” Albanese said.

It’s that concern which played a part in the formation of a new transtasman agreement around cyber defence.

Albanese said a cyber attack on either country could, depending on its nature, constitute an attack under article four according to the Anzus Treaty.

In a joint statement, the two countries agreed: “In the event of a cyber attack that threatened the territorial integrity, political independence or security of either of our nations, Australia and New Zealand would consult together under the Anzus Treaty to determine appropriate options to address the threat.”

Luxon said the new agreement was a recognition that “modern warfare has moved into the cyberspace”.

“Should New Zealand come under a severe cyber attack, [article four] will be invoked.”

Meanwhile, Albanese told the media he thought there would be opportunities for New Zealand to take part in Aukus Pillar II “just as we’ve reached out to Japan and other countries [who] can participate on a case-by-case basis”.

“We share very much common values and we share common objectives. It is not surprising we will look at any opportunity for including New Zealand in Pillar II.”

Jason Walls is Newstalk ZB’s political editor and has years of experience in radio and print, including in the parliamentary Press Gallery for the NZ Herald and Interest.co.nz