ANZ Foreign Ministers Discuss Five Eyes at First In-Person Meeting

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne receives a hongi from Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta during a Mihi Whakatau, or welcome speech, at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on April 22, 2021. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

The foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand (NZ) met in person for the first time in Wellington on Thursday for their biannual consultations to discuss ways to strengthen trans-Tasman ties.

The meeting came days after NZ Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the Ardern government was “uncomfortable” with the Five Eye’s intelligence-sharing alliance expanding to “the human rights space.”