Tēnā koutou katoa

Members of the public, diplomatic corp, the media, Parliamentary colleagues, it's a pleasure to address you today.  My warm thanks to Diplosphere our hosts and our moderators.  

Not quite two days ago Minister Peters, spoke to the foreign policy approach this government has taken.  

I’d like to respond, to frame our view of New Zealand’s foreign policy objectives and what we mean when we state that we will be restoring our independent foreign policy.  

Before I respond to Minister Peters' comments, can I first recognise his service as Foreign Minister during this term and under prior governments.  

We disagree on critical aspects regarding the role New Zealand must play in a fraught world, but not on all aspects of foreign policy, and I want to acknowledge in particular the breadth of his travel and the relationships he has maintained in the Pacific as hallmarks of his time in the role.  

The shift from rules to power has created what feels like an interregnum where our old institutions are exposed as no longer fit for purpose and matured multilateral architecture doesn’t yet exist, we are in what has been called by some a monstrous world, but in seeing where we are we must also recognise there is power in an interregnum.

The Minister framed this as the worst international conditions since 1945 but that was also the most creative moment in modern international relations. And lets remember that negotiations on the UN Charter began in Dumbarton Oaks while World War two continued to rage and discussions continued as Peter Fraser travelled to San Francisco to help give shape to the institutions of a new order. 

Critical work is done in the in-between.

The drafters of the charter didn’t gift the world an eternal solution to war and that wasn’t their objective.  Their objective was to give the world an alternative to war in their time in the face of their challenges.  For us – they gave something else - a foothold to lift us through future challenges.  

The review mechanism written into the Charter itself. It was intended to spark a review within 10 years. Perhaps before the rules of chapter seven became as brittle as they have.  This was always the intention. We are late, and now this work can wait no longer.

Labour will support the development of our multilateral institutions, including reviewing and maturing the UN Charter so its fit for purpose. Labour will support the good work of our multilateral organisations such as the World Health organisation and will adopt the updated WHO health regulations.

Independence is pivotal to New Zealand’s Foreign Policy approach.  The Minister argued that independence, is about agency. Suggesting agency is about choosing New Zealand's interests over our identity.  Leaving our options open.

I believe our interests and our identity, or by another name, our values are tethered together. Independence means acting in service to both. We can pursue our national interests relentlessly as we have demonstrated in the past when Labour secured a free trade agreement with China in 2008, with the UK in 2022, when we negotiated the EU agreement last term and when we diligently put New Zealands interests first in supporting the India FTA this term. 

We can be relentless in this pursuit while also standing up for our values.

New Zealand's silence this term on breaches of the UN charter has been noticed. This Government's silence as one after the other - States recognised Palestine has been noticed.

This Government's  silence in failing to stand up a sanctions regime, following the ICJ decision on the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, continues to be loud.  New Zealand's abstentions this term, on the floor of the UN whether it be about the reappointment of the High Commissioner of Human Rights or a vote abstaining on indigenous participation at the UN, have been met with confusion by our colleagues in the international space.

We do not grow our agency if we stand for nothing because that too is a choice that has consequences.  We lose our reputation as an honest broker and a consistent champion of international law. Make no mistake, the choice to shrink from the moral challenges we face will diminish our agency not expand it.

The foreign policy toolbox will be in full use under a Labour Government. There is a time for quiet diplomacy and there is a time when quiet diplomacy must bend to moral clarity – that is undeniably the case when the scale of human rights abuses is so stark that it amounts to genocide, to ethnic cleansing. Labour will recognise the State of Palestine. Labour will place economic sanctions on Israel and ensure the NZ Super Fund and ACC divest from holdings on the UN list of companies operating in the occupied territories.

Labour will intervene in support of South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice in respect of a breach of the Genocide Convention.

In this time of tension, we must also remember there are seeds being planted. International Courts continue to perform with diligence the duty of their statutes, people protest with astonishing courage in defence of their rights, humanitarians place everything on the line in the pursuit of development and peace for all, like-minded countries have begun acting on their desire to revisit creative diplomacy in defining new alliances.

Labour will prioritise growing our relationship with the EU and with Canada and exploring  options for the development of those relationships in response to the challenges of todays world and in defence of international law, science and our values.

We will deepen our relationship with ASEAN countries, and develop new market opportunities, including in Africa and South America.

In a world where technology is shifting and removing the offramps toward war, Labour will defend peace.  We will advocate for an ICJ advisory opinion on the legality of lethal fully autonomous weapons and support international efforts to ban them.

We will establish clear parliamentary scrutiny if New Zealand joins armed conflicts.

We will strengthen oversight of payloads launched from New Zealand to ensure compliance with the current law. 

Labour will contribute to the development of the law that protects the rights of women and girls and advocate for gender apartheid to be recognised in the Crimes Against Humanity Treaty. 

We will support those whose moral courage defies their reality by strengthening New Zealand’s advocacy for democracy, peace and human rights, including in Myanmar; and establishing a programme to support human rights defenders, providing a safe haven for those acutely targeted precisely because of their potential to bring about positive change for human rights.

Our relationships with both the US and China are equally important to us as major trading partners.  Yet under this Government we have not seen a balanced foreign policy approach.

To the contrary, what we’ve seen is outright racism directed at one partner and felt by the Chinese diaspora here in New Zealand and silence when the US acted in breach of the UN Charter.  Lurching between racism and silence does nothing to serve our interests nor our values.

We will lead differently.  Always respectfully while continuing to hold our Statehood as our own. We will bring a balanced and mature approach that seeks good relationships with both the great powers in our region, and always works for what's in the interests of New Zealand and our regional partners.  We will always look to cooperate where we can but we will disagree where we must.