Auckland small business owner. Retired NZ diplomat. Former Ambassador to China, CT Amb, Amb to Argentina, C-G in Hong Kong, and Chargé in Washington DC.

New Zealand
Joined March 2011
Carl Worker retweeted
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have indicated Taiwan’s request for a new diplomatic office in Perth has been rejected following concerns raised by China thenightly.com.au/australia/…
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In my interview this morning @cnni , I tried to explain the complicated political situation in Israel following the elections. The bottom line is that we still need to wait for the final results, but Israel appears to be heading toward a political deadlock. Despite Netanyahu’s impressive showing and Likud’s electoral gains, he appears to have lost his parliamentary majority and currently has no clear path to forming a government. At the same time, Eisenkot and his political bloc face a similar challenge. They cannot form a government without the support of the Arab parties, something Eisenkot pledged during the campaign not to rely on. Whether he is prepared to reverse that commitment remains an open question. And then there is Iran. A renewed military confrontation, which I believe is a serious possibility, could fundamentally change the political equation. Such an escalation could give Netanyahu an opportunity to push for a national unity government, potentially allowing him to remain in power despite losing his parliamentary majority. In other words, Israel’s next government may be shaped not only by the election results, but also by developments on the Iranian front. @rosemarycnn
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For the foreign-policy establishment, China filled a gap in U.S. foreign policy that had been empty since the end of the Cold War: the foreign adversary against which the U.S. could organize a global security bloc. responsiblestatecraft.org/ch…
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Building undersea readiness through AUKUS. USS Colorado (SSN 788) arrived at HMAS Stirling, Australia, for scheduled maintenance, bringing U.S. and Australian personnel together to expand allied submarine sustainment capabilities ahead of Submarine Rotational Force – West in '27
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Carl Worker retweeted
To NZF defenders disputing my suggestion that it is pretty clear that Stobo does not support buying the bnz, it would have been really easy for him to say “yes, of course. And nz will be better off for owning bnz for reasons x, y, and z” IF he actually supported the policy.
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ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan says the court is working to "insulate" itself from Trump Administration sanctions, and says Australia and other countries are providing "extraordinary" support to help protect their nationals working at the court abc.net.au/news/2026-10-28/a…
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And advanced computer chips?
Here at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney #IMARC2026 what @SecRubio says is so clear: we can’t have one country have a stranglehold on critical minerals supply chains. – Amb Brat
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Carl Worker retweeted
Antony Blinken visited Israel some 12-15 times in his four years as SecState. He visited the entire continent of Africa 4x. As @stephenWalt points out in the latest round table on Israel’s Lobby: this is one of the hidden costs of the special relationship. The time and attention of senior officials is the scarcest resource in government, and a small, well-funded lobby claims a huge share of it. Watch the full video with @stephenWalt, @MearsheimerJ, @EliClifton, Ian Lustick, and Rashid Khalidi: youtube.com/watch?v=8wqreOOL…
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Speed dating.
Great meeting with Indian Minister of Defence Singh. We celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Framework for our Major Defense Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation.
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Bizarre.
President Trump just posted that his endorsement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is what turned the race around and that now he stands to win or tie the race, when he was previously down.
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Extreme sensitivity around this topic. @dfat officials won't even tell Estimates if they've received a request from Taiwan to open a Perth trade office. They hint request is likely to be denied ("appropriate to advance through offices already in Australia") but no real clarity
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Speed dating.
I met with Japan’s Minister of Defense Shinjirō Koizumi @shinjirokoiz to advance our shared vision of peace through strength. Our strategic alignment is essential to building a credible denial defense—supported by increased investment, greater access, more realistic training, and stronger production of the munitions our forces need.
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A very difficult call with risks finely balanced and inevitable criticism either way.
rnz.co.nz/news/business/2203… Governor Anna Breman sided with the three external members of the MPC to keep the cash rate on hold, while the other three members -- all RBNZ senior officials -- voted to raise the cash rate.”
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Carl Worker retweeted
It was an honour for @GirtonCollege, @Cambridge_Uni to host #Oman's Foreign Minister, @badralbusaidi. The Minister offered a vision for a way out of today's conflict: an inclusive regional non-aggression pact involving all 8 Gulf countries (GCC + Iraq and, crucially, #Iran).
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Carl Worker retweeted
Aus defence minister Richard Marles met with US defence sec Pete Hegseth today - readout from the US says they agreed to "need to swiftly execute force posture collaboration, including investments at Australian air force bases" war.gov/News/Releases/Releas…
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Speed dating.
It was a pleasure to meet with Australian Deputy Prime Minister Marles. Together, we are optimizing the Alliance to strengthen deterrence and deliver results.
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Do shut up.
This communist takeover in Brazil is not just a Brazil problem. It is a free world problem and we all must help and save Brazil.
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What if Washington asked Australia why it sells iron ore to China? Economist John Edwards tells @SamRoggeveen Australia would refuse to choose, because its economic ties with China matter far more than those with the US. 👉Watch the podcast here: youtu.be/3bgsF4jC394
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USS Colorado has arrived in Perth for a submarine maintenance period under AUKUS. Over the coming weeks, more than 30 trained and certified Australian civilian maintenance technicians from ASC will perform maintenance on a @USNavy Virginia-class submarine in Western Australia for the first time, working alongside specialists from Hawaii’s @PHNSYIMF.
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