Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has labelled the government's so-far refusal to rule out joining US President Donald Trump's 'Board of Peace' an "absolute disgrace".
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been invited to join the new organisation, saying last week he would give it "due consideration" and on Tuesday confirming it was still a possibility.
Invites have gone out to dozens of world leaders, including those of Russia, its ally Belarus and Saudi Arabia. No invites went to any countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Canada's invite was withdrawn, and several Western nations - including France, Germany, Spain, the UK, Sweden, Ireland and Italy - have said 'no thanks', some fearing it was intended as a replacement for the United Nations.
The Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump, according to its founding charter. It claims to be "an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict".
Hipkins told Morning Report on Tuesday joining it would not be considered under a Labour-led government.
"It's going to have people like [Russian President] Vladimir Putin on it. The idea that New Zealand would even consider being part of that would be an absolute embarrassment and an absolute disgrace on New Zealand."
Putin - generally considered an autocrat - has led Russia through its war with neighbouring Ukraine, which began with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and ramped up with the full-scale invasion of 2022.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries whose leaders decline to join the Board of Peace. Hipkins said any threat of tariffs on New Zealand for not joining would not sway him.
"Donald Trump does not respect anybody who just simply sucks up to him. He doesn't respect anybody else, regardless.
"New Zealand has to be principled, we have to be consistent. We have a very strong reputation around the world for being consistent and principled in our foreign policy - all of that is being thrown away by this government."
Christopher Luxon with Donald Trump. Photo: Supplied / Christopher Luxon via X
Asked for an update on Tuesday, Luxon said New Zealand was still considering its invitation and the accompanying charter.
"There's a whole range of things that we just need to work through and really understand what it's actually there to achieve," Luxon said. "Can we make a difference? What value can we add? That's where our focus is. So we'll have those conversations and consider everything."
Hipkins said New Zealand needed to be "a bit more nimble and more fleet-footed" in its diplomacy "in an environment where those big international organisations are struggling to bring countries together".
"So countries like Canada, Australia, the UK, many European countries, and many countries in our own neighbourhood that we can work with, and we should focus on the areas where we can work with them and really get some momentum behind that."
Trump recently outraged allies and friends by suggesting their troops did not pull their weight in Afghanistan. Late last week, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the remarks "insulting and frankly appalling".
Luxon called them "incredibly disrespectful and wrong". Speaking to media, Luxon said New Zealand sent 3500 troops to Afghanistan and lost 10 lives.
"I thought it was incredibly disrespectful," Luxon said. "It's up to him to work out whether he wants to apologise. What I want the New Zealand Defence Force and veterans to know is that they are deeply cared for and deeply supported, and we are very grateful for their service to our country."
Minneapolis protests and deaths
As for the Trump administration's violent intervention in Minneapolis, during which agents have killed two civilians - one an ICU nurse, the other an unarmed mother-of-three - Hipkins said it was "absolutely disgraceful".
No one has been charged over the killings, both of which were caught on camera, video evidence contradicting statements by federal government officials.
"Under Labour, New Zealand will be consistent in our foreign policy. So where we criticise other countries who we also have constructive working relationships with, when they violate human rights, we should criticise the United States when they violate people's human rights," Hipkins said.
He called immigration officers' actions in Minneapolis a "violation of people's human rights".
Winston Peters 'embarrassing' - Hipkins
Hipkins also said it was "embarrassing" to hear Winston Peters - former deputy prime minister and present foreign minister - question the usefulness of the World Health Organization and New Zealand's funding of it.
"You've got the minister of foreign affairs out in the world saying that we're going to pull out of the World Health Organization, constantly sending contradictory messages to what our prime minister is saying. That's embarrassing for New Zealand," he told Morning Report.
Hipkins said Labour would "absolutely not" pull New Zealand from the WHO. Former foreign minister Phil Goff on Monday said it cost New Zealand a little more than $2m a year to be a part of the WHO.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Hipkins said Luxon was a "total pushover" in setting up the coalition with ACT and NZ First (Peters' party).
"He signed National up to supporting things that only weeks earlier he had been very clear with the New Zealand public the National Party would not support. I think that's a betrayal of the people who voted for him."
Luxon said he would never consider pulling New Zealand out of the WHO because of the "great value" it provides.
"If you think about the work that we do together in the Pacific, particularly. If I think about the work that was done in measles around Samoa, there's some really good value the World Health Organisation provides.
"We spend anywhere from $1.5 million to $4 million a year in partnership with them. They do some amazing work.
"But equally, as I've said, right from the beginning, there's a need for our... global institutions, to continue to innovate, to overhaul, to make sure they are focused, they're efficient and they're effective."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
