The Government says there will be no change in policy to enable US naval ships to visit New Zealand, despite the suggestion from a former Prime Minister that it may be time for a change.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer says the 1987 legislation banning nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered ships gives New Zealand the discretion to allow some US ships in if it chooses.
Sir Geoffrey, who was Prime Minister from 1989 to 1990, says that the world has changed since the 1980s and that the time is right to consider a change in stance.
He is not proposing a change in legislation to allow nuclear-powered ships into New Zealand waters, but sees no reason to stop US Coast Guard ships - or any other non-nuclear vessel - from entering New Zealand ports. He says he has spoken to diplomats about the possibility.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says the US government takes the view that it will not send ships to New Zealand while the legislation is in place, and the Government, he says, has no intention of changing that.
"We were elected on that policy, have adopted that policy and accept that there are some consequences that flow from that," Mr McCully says.
