PM's Press Conference 29/8/16: Crime and Diplomacy

PM's Press Conference 29/8/16: Crime and Diplomacy

Multimedia & report by Lyndon Hood

The Prime Minister's press conference today was dominated by foreign affairs and an open letter from the PM to the Chinese community on crime.

Mr Key began by discussing his plans for attending the East Asian Summit and the Pacific Island Forum. Questions focused on the open letter then moved on to New Zealand's support for Helen Clark's UN Secretary-General bid.

Other foreign policy issues included NZ's plans for the UN Security Council on Syria and the veto, the potential for progress on the usual issues at the Pacific Island Forum, Malcolm Turnbull's recent Australian election win, NZ's position on the South China Sea dispute ("we don't take sides"), the repquirements for a UK High Commissioner post-Brexit, and a conspicuous visit to NZ by a French navy frigate.

The PM also continued to not support plastic bag taxes and more or less avoided trying to score points off Labour on their staffing issues.

© Scoop Media