By Colin Ambler/cvnznews.com
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have used their annual leaders’ meeting in Noosa to underline how quickly the strategic environment around both nations is shifting — and how closely New Zealand and Australia now need to move in response.
The pair met on Friday evening and again on Saturday morning, with both leaders stressing that global norms once taken for granted — open trade, predictable markets, and the stabilising effect of globalisation — are now under pressure. Albanese said the two countries must work together in a “volatile world” where conflicts they are not directly involved in are still reshaping supply chains, energy security, and economic resilience.
Luxon described the moment as an “inflection point”, with the world moving from one ordered by rules to one increasingly shaped by raw power. That shift, he said, makes alignment between “countries like us” even more critical. New Zealand and Australia shared values, interests, and a family‑level relationship that “should never be taken for granted”.
Saturday’s programme included a roundtable with senior business leaders from both sides of the Tasman. New Zealand attendees included BECA strategic adviser Greg Lowe, Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui, and Spark NZ chief executive Jolie Hodson. Australia was represented by National Farmers’ Federation chief executive Mike Guerin and Ampol chief executive Matthew Halliday.
Albanese highlighted Halliday’s presence as a reminder that fuel security affects every sector of the economy. Both leaders asked executives for frank advice on what practical steps governments could take to strengthen economic security.
Luxon said neither country could control global turbulence — but they could control the strength of their partnership. Building financial and economic resilience, he said, was now inseparable from building national security.
