Foreign leaders not doing press conferences here

Audrey Young writes:

If Ardern does not make this clear now, Mfat will continue to present it as a take-it-or-leave-it option for the visiting country to dictate.

The Widodo visit followed a high-level visit the previous week from Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, again during which no press conference was organised. 

These two examples should not set a pattern for the rest of her premiership.

Holding a joint public press event was an expectation for VIPs under both Helen Clark and John Key’s leadership.

Audrey Young is write that there should be press conferences with visting heads of government.