Judith Collins

️Welcome to Wellington, USCGC Polar Star. We were honored to welcome the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star back to Wellington this week, continuing a 50-year legacy of Antarctic operations and the strong partnership between the United States and New Zealand. “Each time the Polar Star arrives in Wellington, it’s a reminder of the strong partnership and shared commitment between the United States and New Zealand in Antarctica,” said Chargé d’Affaires David Gehrenbeck. This year, Royal New Zealand Navy sea riders joined the journey to and from Antarctica, strengthening cooperation and sharing expertise at sea. During the deployment, Polar Star enabled the resupply of the United States' McMurdo Station and New Zealand's Scott Base and answered a distress call to free the cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II from pack ice near McMurdo Sound. As the Polar Star marks 50 years of service, we also celebrate #Freedom250, the 250th anniversary of American independence - reflecting the generations of shared values and partnership that continue to unite the United States and New Zealand. Thank you to U.S. Coast Guard and NZ Defence Force for making these missions possible. Press release: nz.usembassy.gov/uscgc-polar-st… Photos: flickr.com/photos/us_emba… #PolarStar 🇺🇸🇳🇿

STORY📰 The Five Eyes Defence Cyber Contact Group Conference in Melbourne this month marked a significant step forward in trans-Tasman cyber cooperation. nzdf.mil.nz/media-centre/n…

@LordAshcroft @Daily_Express @NAM_London @VC_and_GC_Assoc Thank you Michael for what you do remembering our heroes.

Some nice coverage today in the @Daily_Express about the new home for my Victoria Cross and George Cross collection @NAM_London @VC_and_GC_Assoc

At a time of major global uncertainty working in close partnership with New Zealand has never been more important. @RichardMarlesMP and I were pleased to host our NZ friends, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins for our annual ANZMIN consultations.

Today on the sidelines of our ANZMIN Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meeting, New Zealand Defence Minister @JudithCollinsKC and I signed a statement to operationalise our alliance. Anzac 2035 is a plan to bring our two defence forces even closer together. We fought alongside each other as Anzacs 111 years ago, we are close friends and neighbours, and this plan speaks to our shared commitment for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

On the 75th anniversary of our Alliance the Minister & Defence Minister Collins were pleased to attend the Australia-New Zealand Ministerial Consultations with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Deputy PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles. In challenging times our alliance and strategic resolve are strong. Joint Statement here ⬇️ beehive.govt.nz/release/joint-… @JudithCollinsKC @SenatorWong @RichardMarlesMP

@NewZealandMFA and I are in Canberra meeting with our Australian counterparts @RichardMarlesMP and @SenatorWong . Our ANZAC is better than ever. #SharedValues beehive.govt.nz/release/joint-…

Foreign and Defence Ministers to visit Canberra | Beehive.govt.nz beehive.govt.nz/release/foreig…

The Minister and Defence Minister Judith Collins will attend the third annual Australia and New Zealand Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ANZMIN) in Canberra this week.   “The ANZMIN is a critical opportunity to engage with Australia – our closest friend and only formal ally – to set the strategic direction and confirm our shared approaches to foreign policy, security, and defence.” @SenatorWong @RichardMarlesMP @JudithCollinsKC Press release ⬇️ beehive.govt.nz/release/foreig… ANZMIN - December 2024

This evening I was absolutely thrilled to be honoured along withHon Raynor Asher KC, Paul Collins KC, and Marie Dyhrberg,KC with Lifetime member of The Law Association of New Zealand . Many thanks to the wonderfully supportive Association and its President Tony Herring and CE Clayton Kimpton . Also great to be able to catch up with New Zealand’s new Solicitor-General Anna Adams and to congratulate her on becoming a King’s Counsel today.

Ricky Fergusson lost both legs, an eye, and fingers on both hands in a blast in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing wounded comrades on four separate occasions from the frontline. "I’m proud to have saved lives"🎖️🇬🇧 #Veteran

Thrilled with the interest in the Centre for Strategic Studies conference yesterday. Grateful to @JudithCollinsKC for her opening remarks & to a terrific range of international & NZ speakers for sharing their insights. Full house & certainly no shortage of things to talk about!

STORY📰 Soldiers from the #NZArmy’s 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment have honed their jungle, or close-country, skills on the South Island’s West Coast. nzdf.mil.nz/media-centre/n…

NEWS📢 The Royal New Zealand Navy, Defence Science & Technology (DST), and Dawn Aerospace, have completed a live radar tracking experiment using a reusable rocket-powered aircraft off the Canterbury coast. nzdf.mil.nz/DST-trial

Great to be able to meet with our @NZDefenceForce Headquarters Joint Forces. In this photo with Maj-Gen Rob Krushka - Commander Joint Forces New Zealand. Excellent security briefings.

Good to see officer participants from so many of our defence partners with their New Zealand counterparts at @NZDefenceForce Command and Staff College this morning. I enjoyed speaking to and answering questions from the class and meeting many over a cup of tea.

I enjoyed speaking to the Centre for Strategic Studies yesterday regarding geo strategic issues for New Zealand. Many thanks to @davidcapie and Rob Rabel.