Visits of US Navy ships into New Zealand waters were not discussed when Prime Minister John Key met United States Vice-President Joe Biden today and Mr Key said it was not a burning issue for either country.Former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer sparke
Visits of US Navy ships into New Zealand waters were not discussed when Prime Minister John Key met United States Vice-President Joe Biden today and Mr Key said it was not a burning issue for either country.
Former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer sparked debate at the weekend saying the ships should be allowed to return as long as they did not breach New Zealand's nuclear-free legislation.
Under that legislation, the prime minister has to approve that any warship that comes in is not carrying any nuclear explosive device, and is not nuclear-powered.
Sir Geoffrey, who was deputy prime minister during the David Lange years and the nuclear-free debate in the 1980s, said attitudes had changed since the controversial legislation led to New Zealand's exclusion from the Anzus military alliance with Australia and the US.
Mr Key told NZPA there was unlikely to be any progress on that particular issue for some time.
"It didn't come up and it's not something I think is likely to be on the agenda and the reason for that is that it would require either a change in the New Zealand anti-nuclear legislation -- and that's not going to happen, we've committed as an incoming government there would be no change to that -- or it would require a change to the US 'neither confirm nor deny' policy and I don't think that's going to happen any time soon either."
However, Mr Key said that was nothing to be concerned about.
"While there's been tremendous progress in the relationship I don't think a ship visit from a US military vessel is likely to happen anytime soon. Nor do I think that's of any great consequence. It would be very symbolic if it did occur but it's of no great consequence and it's not something that's holding the relationship back."
Mr Key is in Washington attending a nuclear security summit.
