WELLINGTON – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said New Zealand will maintain its nuclear-free stance, distancing himself from comments by the nation’s defence minister that a conversation about the decades-old policy would be helpful. On May 30, Defence Minister Chris Penk said while New Zealanders have been sceptical about nuclear weapons, “it might be an interesting conversation in terms of the extent to which that’s different to nuclear propulsion”. Australia’s move to purchase nuclear submarines “means that it would be helpful for us to
have that conversation in New Zealand”, Penk said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Luxon on June 2 said the nuclear-free status was non-negotiable and is a “matter of principle for Kiwis”. “Our nuclear-free position, I think, has had massive support across the country and it won’t be changing, and it certainly won’t be changing while I’m prime minister,” Luxon said on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report. Luxon’s National Party will not have a policy ahead
of the nation’s November election to change New Zealand’s nuclear stance, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said. New Zealand enshrined its nuclear-free policy into law in 1987 after electing a Labour government in 1984 that campaigned on the platform. It rejected a planned visit from the US in 1985 because Washington would neither confirm nor deny whether its ships were nuclear powered or armed. The nation’s stance was widely celebrated as a coming-of-age moment for the former British colony. However, Penk’s comments come as
Australia, New Zealand’s only formal defence ally, works with the US and Britain under the AUKUS pact to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for deployment from the 2030s. New Zealand’s nuclear-free policy bars the vessels from visiting the country. BLOOMBERG
New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, nuclear-free policy, Chris Penk, Defence Minister, AUKUS, nuclear propulsion, nuclear submarines, Radio New Zealand Morning Report, Shangri-La Dialogue