The Advocate
IINZ Newsletter
David Cumin
It has been quite a fortnight. And the actions – or lack thereof – of New Zealand leaders on a number of issues is deeply concerning.
In chronological order, the International Criminal Court has decided that the most pressing issue they have to decide upon is the actions of Israel in 2014 and they can do so because they have allowed ‘Palestine’ to be recognised.
While several countries (including Australia and the USA) lodged complaints when the matter was first raised and have subsequently objected, New Zealand has remained silent. We’ve been told that “the New Zealand Government recognises it is for the Court to determine the scope of its own jurisdiction”.
Next, the MFAT CEO, Chris Seed, was questioned about funding hate and antisemitism via UNRWA in a select committee meeting. He said he was taking the issue very seriously but wasn’t aware that the report MFAT is waiting for was due in December and still is not published. Our next $1m is due to be paid this month.
The Human Rights Commission has told us that NZ may be in breach of international human rights obligations if we continue to fund the incitement to violence. Let’s hope sanity prevails, we don’t make the next payment(s) and the ICC doesn’t decide to turn on New Zealand.
Then, last week the NZ Super Fund announced that it had decided to divest from Israeli banks for their financing of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria. In a select committee meeting, the NZSF CEO, Matt Whineray, said they were also considering divesting from China – if that happens, I have a space laser to sell you.
We have put in OIA requests for all information around this decision and will keep you updated. From preliminary responses, the issue doesn’t seem to pass the same “sniff test” that our Prime Minister used for the deal Air NZ had with the Saudi military. For example, Mr Whineray told the select committee that the NZSF acts on a “no surprises policy”, yet MFAT were not consulted about the matter and only told about the decision less than one week before it was announced, despite the justification document being dated in January.
Finally, this week we have found that Labour MP, Dr Duncan Webb, has continued to engage with an antisemitic Facebook group. Despite Ms Ardern distancing herself from a similar group in 2019, Labour leaders have refused to make comment on Dr Webb and he has defended his association with the group to us (more to come this week on our website).
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