Monthly Archive: May 2021

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Nanaia Mahuta’s words matter – but is there more than meets the eye?

New Zealand’s foreign minister is ruffling feathers. International analyst Geoffrey Miller explores Nanaia Mahuta’s orientation to her job, Beijing, and Belarus. Nanaia Mahuta’s comments on China in a Guardian interview this week brought a veiled rebuke from Beijing – and a new wave of international headlines. It was a fresh reminder that the foreign minister’s words are being closely watched – and not just by China itself. Mahuta is undoubtedly ruffling feathers. But if what appears to be her underlying strategy succeeds – moving Wellington back towards Beijing, while doing just enough to keep traditional Western allies on board –...

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Foreign affairs funding largely on ice as new priorities emerge

This week’s Budget has more than just financial accounts. International analyst Geoffrey Miller delves into what the allocations say about the direction of foreign policy under the new ministers. There are some new clues to be found in the Budget that illustrate the foreign affairs and trade agenda of the Labour Government, under new ministers Nanaia Mahuta and Damien O’Connor. The headline item and only new spending for Vote Foreign Affairs was a $344m appropriation to redevelop Scott Base in Antarctica. Of course, this is significant new money – and a substantial boost on previous plans to spend only $200m....

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NZ could play mediating role in Gaza conflict – but does it want to?

So far, the New Zealand Government has been remarkably silent about the Gaza-Israel conflict. Geoffrey Miller argues that Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta could be helping meditate for peace. The growing Gaza crisis is testing Nanaia Mahuta’s recent assertion that New Zealand has an independent foreign policy. The conflict between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza could be a golden opportunity for Mahuta to take the lead and forge her own path on the world stage. New Zealand could be following Norway’s example and helping to broker a ceasefire and mediate wider peace attempts in the region. But if anything, New Zealand’s response...

Arabic summary/translation of ‘Nanaia Mahuta’s foreign policy reset: the first six months’

Below is an Arabic summary/translation of my article ‘Nanaia Mahuta’s foreign policy reset: the first six months’ , originally published in English for the Democracy Project on 29 April 2021. The summary/translation was produced and kindly offered for republication here by Mohammed Dagamseh of the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, Wellington: تقرير تحليلي للأشهر الستة الأولى لوزيرة الخارجية النيوزيلاندية الجديدة نانايا ماهوتا وسياستها الخارجية في مقال للكاتب والمحلل السياسي Geoffrey Miller منشور له في جامعة فيكتوريا في ويلينغتون في مشروع معهد الديمقراطية/ Democracy Project 29 أبريل 2021 أشار فيه إلى ذكرى ستة شهور لتعيين نانايا ماهوتا وزيرا للخارجية النيوزيلاندية....

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Something for everyone in Ardern’s speech on China

Jacinda Ardern’s speech at the China Business Summit was a crowd-pleaser. Geoffrey Miller explains its role in the “rebalancing” of New Zealand’s orientation to China and the West. For critics who believed she had gone soft on China, Jacinda Ardern’s line that differences between China and New Zealand were becoming “harder to reconcile” will be interpreted as tough talk. They will see the speech as backtracking and stepping back from what they considered an appeasement-like stance from Ardern’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta. For its part, China will be likely to understand Ardern’s speech as a necessary component of a wider...

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