New Zealand will be represented at the annual APEC leaders talks not by incoming prime minister Chris Luxon or outgoing leader Chris Hipkins, but instead by departing trade minister Damien O'Connor.
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The mantle fell to Mr O'Connor due to delays in coalition negotiations to form New Zealand's next government following the October 14 election.
The National party is currently negotiating with minor parties ACT and New Zealand First on the terms of a three-way government.
Mr Luxon feels that his primary obligation is to agree terms on government formation, rather than attempt to attend the APEC talks in San Francisco.
"It would be nice to go, but the must-do is actually forming a strong and stable government, that is really my job," he told Radio NZ on Monday.
Mr Luxon's failure to land a government deal will cost him a dream start to his premiership, missing the chance to meet with US President Joe Biden and China President Xi Jinping, among other attending leaders from the 21-member grouping.
Tova O'Brien, chief political correspondent from NZ news outlet Stuff, said Mr Luxon would be eating "a serving of humble pie" after showing his political inexperience by failing to land a government deal in time for APEC.
"Whatever Luxon's opening offer was to his respective coalition partners, it clearly didn't pass muster. It wasn't enough for the prime minister-elect to safely meet his foolhardy self-imposed APEC deadline," she wrote.
New Zealand is currently being governed by the Labour party in caretaker mode after the October 14 loss, meaning it consults with the incoming National party on key decisions.
Last week, the parties agreed a bipartisan team to represent New Zealand at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting, with deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni and National's foreign spokesman Gerry Brownlee attending.
While Mr Brownlee told a press conference he was likely to get a call-up to attend APEC as the incoming government's representative, that has not come to pass.
Mr O'Connor is already in APEC host city of San Francisco for talks.
The 65-year-old lost his electorate of West Coast-Tasman at the election, and has been tipped to move on from politics when Labour's stint as a caretaker government is over.
Australian Associated Press
