ZB ZB
Opinion
Live now
Start time
Playing for
End time
Listen live
Listen to NAME OF STATION
Up next
Listen live on
ZB

Steps taken to mend rift as Winston Peters meets with Cook Islands PM

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 1 Apr 2026, 8:13am
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo / Supplied | File
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo / Supplied | File

Steps taken to mend rift as Winston Peters meets with Cook Islands PM

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 1 Apr 2026, 8:13am

A Pacific security expert says the Foreign Minister's visit to the Cook Islands today follows hard work to repair relations. 

Winston Peters is meeting Prime Minister Mark Brown again, the two having met in Auckland last month. 

Peters paused almost $30 million in support last year after Brown signed a strategic partnership with China without consulting New Zealand. 

Massey University's Anna Powles told Mike Hosking relations have been a priority for the Cooks in recent months. 

She says Elizabeth Wright-Koteka was appointed head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the explicit goal of mending diplomatic ties with New Zealand. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you