Neutral interests
Australia’s new defence strategy is a reminder that some political instincts go right back to the playground. The big kids are over there playing with their cool new toy, and the little kid, New Zealand, is left snivelling on the sidelines.
Still, when the toy is a nuclear submarine set, and some of the other big kids are ready to have a serious punch-up over it, being the snotty little no-mates is the safest role.
Reflexive umbrage here – including from former foreign minister Winston Peters – that the Australian Government barely briefed, let alone consulted, its nearest neighbour and formal ally about the
