Plane dramas notwithstanding, Chris Luxon has announced his first official overseas visit as New Zealand prime minister will be to Australia to meet counterpart Anthony Albanese.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The 53-year-old will visit Sydney on Wednesday on a day trip expected to include talks, a private lunch and a joint press conference.
However, it is not yet clear how Mr Luxon will get to Australia after the recent breakdown of one of the two NZ Defence Force Boeing 757s.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters was forced to use the slower, noisier and less comfortable C-130 Hercules to visit Fiji on Friday, with one 757 already undergoing maintenance.
Mr Luxon - the former chief executive of Air New Zealand - said it was not yet clear which plane he would be able to take, whether a full NZ contingent could join, or if he would need to fly commercially.
"It's incredibly frustrating," he said.
"We're not sending people to the moon - we're just trying to get them to Australia in 2023.
"It's incredibly embarrassing."
Unlike Australia's leader, NZ's prime minister does not enjoy the luxury of a designated plane, instead travelling on the defence 757s used for military engagement.
Bungles have left NZ ministers travelling on the 757 and Hercules aircraft stranded in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in recent years.
Jacinda Ardern twice flew home from foreign engagements on commercial flights due to 757 breakdowns - once from Melbourne and once from Washington DC.
John Key spent an unplanned night in Townsville with an 80-strong trade delegation before abandoning a 2016 mission to Mumbai.
When he does arrive in Sydney, Mr Luxon said he would make security a top priority - an indication discussions on joining pillar two of AUKUS could be on the agenda.
"First and foremost it's actually (about) being a good security partner in the region - in particular the Indo-Pacific region ... a contested space," he said.
"I just want to make sure that we are a good partner and we are holding up our end."
Defence Minister Judith Collins has called NZ's failure to sign up to AUKUS pillar two - centred on sharing military intelligence - an "opportunity lost".
Mr Luxon also wants to discuss people-to-people links and economic links to ease trans-Tasman business with Mr Albanese.
"Australia and New Zealand are not just friends - we are family," Mr Albanese said.
"Our close relationship is underpinned by our rich history and generations of community, business and government links."
The pair already have a working relationship, as demonstrated when they issued a joint statement with Canada calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Mr Luxon and Mr Albanese first met when Mr Albanese was infrastructure minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments and Mr Luxon was Air New Zealand's chief executive.
"He had a very good understanding of aviation," Mr Luxon said of Mr Albanese in an interview with AAP earlier this year.
"He was a very, very successful transport infrastructure minister, recognised globally as such.
"He seemed to understand New Zealand well and has a huge affinity for New Zealand."
While the NZ election on October 14 produced a clear win for the right-leaning parties, it was not until November 24 that Mr Luxon's National party confirmed a coalition with ACT and NZ First.
The coalition talks meant Mr Luxon was unable to travel to the APEC summit in San Francisco and the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting.
Australian Associated Press
