New Zealand parliamentarian and Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick was ordered to leave Parliament on Tuesday (12 August) after refusing to apologise for remarks made during a heated debate on the government’s position regarding the recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The centre-right government announced that it was still considering whether to recognize a Palestinian state.
This is a move which several key allies, including Australia, Canada, the UK, and France, have announced recently and said they would make their support official at the United Nations conference in September.
Swarbrick called New Zealand a “laggard” and an “outlier” in the international community by sharply criticizing the government’s delay. She urged members of the ruling coalition to support the Green Party bill introduced in March. That would impose sanctions on Israel for alleged war crimes — legislation backed by all opposition parties.
“If we find six of 68 Government Members of Parliament (MPs) with a spine, we can stand on the right side of history," Swarbrick told the House of Representatives.
Spokesperson of the House Gerry Brownlee considered the comment “completely unacceptable”. He demanded that Swarbrick withdraw it and apologise. When she refused, she was ordered to leave parliament.
Brownlee later affirmed that Swarbrick could return on 13 August but warned that if she still refused to apologise she would be again removed from parliament.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters restated that the government would make its decision on Palestinian recognition in September.
He added later that officials would “gather information and consult with international partners” before presenting recommendations to the Cabinet.
“We’ll be weighing this decision carefully rather than rushing to judgment,” Peters told Parliament.
Three out of six parliamentary parties of 54th Parliament, The Green Party, Labour, and Te Pāti Māori, all support immediate recognition of Palestine.
Member of the Labour Party Peeni Henare criticised the government’s indecision, saying New Zealand “was being left behind” and should stand by its values.
The debate comes in the middle of growing international drive for Palestinian statehood, with diplomatic developments expected to intensify in the lead-up to next month’s United Nations conference.
Somalia is facing a severe malnutrition crisis and urgently needs additional humanit...
A Kyrgyz–Japanese archaeological expedition has uncovered the remains of a Buddhist temple complex at the medieval settlement of Ak-Beshim, a...
Efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war appeared to stall as the two sides exchanged fire in and around the Strait of Hormuz. A rep...
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Baku State University (BSU) and the international television ch...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to carry on as leader on Friday (8 May) after his ruling Labour Party suffe...
New Zealand will temporarily permit fuel meeting Australian standards to be imported for up to 12 months, the government said on Monday, as it seeks to mitigate supply risks linked to the Middle East conflict and soaring prices.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 15th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
New Zealand declared a state of emergency in Otorohanga on Saturday (14 February) after torrential rain caused severe flooding, power outages and evacuations.
Several people, including children, were reported missing in New Zealand's north island on Thursday after a landslide struck a coastal campsite amid heavy rain that caused evacuations of people to safety, road closures and widespread power outages.
The U.S military said it carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran on Thursday (7 May). Meanwhile, Iran's Joint Military Command accused the U.S. of breaching the ceasefire, by striking an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and launching attacks on several Iranian cities.
The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in and around the Strait of Hormuz, though both sides signalled they did not want escalation. The clashes come as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a proposed deal to end the war while leaving key disputes, such as Iran’s nuclear programme, unresolved for now.
Singapore has isolated and is testing two of its residents who travelled aboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Thursday.
Efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war appeared to stall as the two sides exchanged fire in and around the Strait of Hormuz. A reported CIA assessment suggested Tehran could withstand a U.S. naval blockade for months despite mounting sanctions and renewed Gulf attacks.
Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian Karakurt-class small missile carrier in the Caspian Sea near Russia’s Dagestan region on Thursday. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, according to Kyiv.
Somalia is facing a severe malnutrition crisis and urgently needs additional humanitarian funding to prevent conditions deteriorating further, the World Food Programme has warned.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to carry on as leader on Friday (8 May) after his ruling Labour Party suffered heavy losses in local elections. Labour lost hundreds of councillors across the country, as some figures in the party said he should stand down.
Indonesian rescue teams have located two Singaporeans who went missing after Mount Dukono erupted on Friday (8 May) on the island of Halmahera, though authorities say it remains unclear whether they are alive.
Health authorities are monitoring a widening hantavirus alert after new suspected cases emerged in Spain and on a remote South Atlantic island, days after an outbreak on a cruise ship left three people dead and several others infected.
The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified files on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) on Friday (8 May), following an order from President Donald Trump. U.S. officials described as a push for “unprecedented transparency”.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment