Greens Call On Govt To Condemn US For Attack On Iran
The Green Party is calling on the Government to condemn the United States for its illegal bombing of Iran and inflaming tensions across the Middle East.
'The actions of the United States pose a fundamental threat to world peace. The rest of the world, including New Zealand, must take a stand and make it clear that this dangerous escalation is unacceptable,' says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.
'We are calling on the New Zealand Government to condemn the United States for its attacks on Iran. This attack is a blatant breach of international law and yet another unjustified assault on the Middle East from the US.
'We saw this with the US war on Iraq, and we are seeing it again with this recent attack on Iran. We are at risk of a violent history repeating itself.
'Christopher Luxon needs to condemn this escalation from the US and rule out any participation in this conflict, or any of the elements of the AUKUS pact. New Zealand must maintain its independent foreign policy position and keep its distance from countries that are actively fanning the flames of war.
'New Zealand has a long and proud history of standing up for human rights on the world stage. When we stand strong and with other countries in calling for peace, we can make a difference. We cannot afford to be a bystander to the atrocities unfolding in front of our eyes.
'It's time for our Government to step up. It has failed to sanction Israel for its illegal and violent occupation of Palestine, and we risk burning all international credibility by failing to speak out against what the United States has just done.
'The Greens are calling on the Government to stand for human rights and international law and condemn the United States for its illegal attack on Iran. Aotearoa must be a force for peace, not a bystander to war,' says Marama Davidson.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
an hour ago
- Scoop
How Would An Escalation In Conflict In The Middle East Impact New Zealand
Explainer - America jumped into the war between Israel and Iran over the weekend, as US President Donald Trump announced air strikes on Iran's three principal nuclear sites. The intervention of the US in the conflict has raised concerns worldwide about what's next, including how it might affect New Zealand, from citizens overseas to the price of petrol. Here's a look at what you need to know so far. What's NZ's role in the conflict? Are we going to war? New Zealand has maintained a cautious stance politically as the conflict between Iran and Israel has ramped up in recent weeks. That remains the case today, with the prime minister urging that diplomatic talks resume. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is overseas for a NATO summit, told RNZ's Morning Report that New Zealand wanted to see a peaceful stable and secure Middle East. "The way to get there is a political solution rather than military action, it's actually through dialogue and diplomacy." As a small country that is thousands of miles away from the conflict, all New Zealand could do was to advocate for what it thought should happen, he said. "What we don't need is more military action, we need a political solution to all of these issues in the Middle East." On Sunday, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said ongoing military action in the Middle East was "extremely worrying". Peters previously said before the weekend escalation that the provocative behaviour by both Israel and Iran was to be criticised, and New Zealand would not take sides in a conflict of this nature. "There are no innocent parties in this conflict," he said. Will this latest Middle East conflict affect the price of petrol - and everything else? The escalation poses a major threat to New Zealand's economy, RNZ's Susan Edmunds reports. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said if there were attacks on US shipping, or attempts to limit access through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices could spike. Iran's parliament reportedly voted on Monday morning (NZ time) to close the Strait of Hormuz, which around 20 percent of the world's oil travels through. "If [Iran] do ratchet up the tension further, if this starts to broaden out into shipping attacks, I think market expectations and worries about oil supply will increase substantially. The question is, just to what degree do you price this and how do markets look at that?" Koura KiwiSaver founder Rupert Carlyon said the biggest risk was to inflation. "If it does turn into a broader Middle East war and potentially shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, then we are likely to see higher oil prices, which will flow through to everything and shipping delays making it harder and more expensive to import things here in New Zealand." What about Kiwis who are in Iran or Israel? Nearly 250 New Zealanders are now registered as being in Iran and Israel as a Defence Force Hercules makes its way to the region to help. New figures provided to RNZ and recorded on SafeTravel show 119 New Zealanders in Iran and 117 in Israel. RNZ understands some of those people may have managed to flee somewhere safer, but have not yet updated their status with SafeTravel. The Defence Force announced on Sunday it is sending a plane to the Middle East to assist any New Zealanders stranded in Iran or Israel. The plane is not part of any military combat operations. The C-130J Hercules, along with government personnel, left Auckland on Monday morning. It will take several days for it to arrive. Peters said New Zealanders should do everything they can to leave now, if they can find a safe route. "We know it will not be safe for everyone to leave Iran or Israel, and many people may not have access to transport or fuel supplies," he said. "If you are in this situation, you should shelter in place, follow appropriate advice from local authorities and stay in touch with family and friends where possible." Peters earlier said the number of New Zealanders registered in Iran had jumped since the escalation of the crisis. "We thought, at a certain time, we had them all counted out at 46," he said. "It's far more closer to 80 now, because they're coming out of the woodwork, despite the fact that, for months, we said, 'look, this is a danger zone', and for a number of days we've said, 'get out if you possibly can'." There were 101 New Zealanders registered in Israel. Again, Peters said the figure had risen recently. New Zealanders in Iran and Israel needing urgent consular assistance should call the Ministry's Emergency Consular Call Centre on +64 99 20 20 20. How are New Zealanders with ties to the region coping? Elham Salari, an Iranian in New Zealand told RNZ on Sunday she was deeply worried for her family members back home. "I'm so scared. I'm so stressed... all I'm thinking is 'What's going to happen next?' Trump said he wants peace... but Iran's regime will not let it go easily. There will be a bigger war. It's going to destroy our country and our people are going to die." Salari said she had woken up to messages from her family on Sunday who confirmed they were safe, but she had not been able to get back in contact with them since. Meanwhile, New Zealand Jewish Council spokesperson Ben Kepes said people should not conflate the actions of the Israeli government and the Israeli military with Jews worldwide. Iran has said multiple times that it does not believe Israel has a right to exist, he said. "Most New Zealanders when they understand the issues would say that regardless of whether they support the actions of the Israeli government, that Israel has a right to exist as a sovereign nation." Kepes said he was a Jew in New Zealand and did not hold an Israeli passport, nor vote for the government in Israel. "I have zero control over Israel, so holding me responsible of the actions of the government is not only absurd, but it's a stereotype that is really dangerous." According to the 2023 Census, about 2700 people living in New Zealand are of Israeli or Jewish background, while about 5600 identify with the Iranian ethnic group.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Climate Minister says gas shortage will lower greenhouse emissions
Kapuni gas plant. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says the gas shortage will lower greenhouse gas emissions, but at a cost for businesses that can't switch to electricity. Supply from existing gas fields has plunged since the government published its Emissions Reduction Plan in December 2024. Watts was asked in a scrutiny hearing in front of the environment committee of MPs why the government's climate plan had put such heavy emphasis on capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground at Kapuni gas field, when the project was untested and its prospects were now looking dubious. Watts blamed the gas shortage - but said the shortage itself would lower carbon dioxide emissions. He said, compared with when the plan was written, "New Zealand has less gas than it thought". "Less gas that's available by virtue is less emissions, so in some ways there is an acceleration of the emissions reduction because we simply don't have that gas available," he said. "We are at critical levels in the context of low levels of gas. Some may say with a purely climate hat on, well that's good, there are no emissions and therefore they can't use it (gas)," Watts said. "But the reality is, in a manufacturing and industrial sense there are a number of businesses who either have an inability to transition to other sources ... or doing so is a significant fiscal cost and/or time horizon." Watts said the government was looking at ways to help those companies. "The good thing is, in the current environment there is an economic [and] commercial case to transition off gas because electricity is cheaper, and therefore the commercial imperative is driving that transition." "I'll take market intervention over government regulation any day." Watts said the government's assumptions regarding future gas use and the prospects of carbon capture at Kapuni would need to be reassessed and the results would published later this year. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) condenses carbon dioxide and stores it underground in reservoirs. Overseas, some high profile projects have been controversial because taxpayer funds for climate action were being paid to some of the planet's biggest emitters, fossil fuel companies, to capture and store just a tiny fraction of their pollution underground. Fully a third of the carbon savings needed to meet the government's legal obligations to cut emissions from 2025-2030 was supposed to come from carbon dioxide being stashed permanently underground at Taranaki's Kapuni gas field. But in May, Kapuni's owner Todd Energy told RNZ the project wasn't viable unless it received some kind of extra incentive or subsidy from the government. The scheme would earn carbon credits for every tonne of emissions stored, but Todd said the market price of carbon was too low to justify the investment. Simon Watts. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone At the scrutiny hearing, Watts was grilled by opposition MPs on whether Todd Energy had asked for direct subsidies from the government. Watts said he hadn't seen such a request, but Labour MP Deborah Russell presented him with an answer to a written question in Parliament, confirming Todd had asked for subsidies. Watts didn't directly answer Russell when she asked what the government's reply had been. He said in regards to support for industries "there's a number of aspects that remain under active consideration". Watts said the government was still committed to passing regulations allowing carbon capture and storage as "one tool in the toolbox" for lowering emissions. RNZ asked Todd to clarify what it had asked for. It said it had not asked the government for a direct subsidy for carbon capture and storage at Kapuni. But the company confirmed it wanted either co-investment, government underwriting or shared liability with the taxpayer for any future carbon leaks from the project. Todd has previously argued the government should treat carbon capture and storage facilities as infrastructure. "In our 2024 submission to MBIE (Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment) on the CCUS consultation, we did signal that government support - particularly in the form of risk-sharing or enabling mechanisms - would be essential for CCS to proceed in New Zealand," it said. "Particularly, we noted that New Zealand's declining gas reserves make the economics of CCS challenging and that 'for CCS to be effective, the government should consider sharing project risks and responsibilities. "It could be liability for leakage, particularly if the intent is to store third party CO2 in time. Due to challenging economics there is also financing risk that co-investment or a government underwrite could help to de-risk," said the company. Todd Energy had previously estimated the Kapuni field would have room for storing carbon dioxide produced by other companies, as well as its own. Earlier in the hearing, Watts was asked by National MP Grant McCallum about the risk of "emissions leakage" if New Zealand started lowering its methane emissions from farming. Emissions leakage refers to the risk of production moving overseas to get away from emissions pricing in its country of origin. Watts defended the necessity of meeting New Zealand's climate targets and international obligations. "You hear some on some corners saying, we're very small and insignificant," he said. "Every country, big or small, has a role to play in terms of reducing emissions and New Zealand is part of the Paris Agreement for that purpose. "In terms of adding up all the small and insignificant countries, it adds up to 40 per cent of global emissions," Watts said. "If we pull out, what signal does that send? There are three countries that are not part of the Paris Agreement, the USA and a number of other countries that most people probably have probably never heard of." [Those countries are Iran, Libya and Yemen . "Russia, China, India, they're all part of the Paris Agreement, and all the other countries we would look to - the only one is the US. "In regards to the implications on international trade, ... New Zealand has a reputation as a primary sector exporter of red meat, dairy and other products," he said. "Why would we put that at risk?"
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Seymour warns rushing judgement on US airstrikes against Iran
The Acting Prime Minister is warning against rushing to judgment on the United States' airstrikes on Iran, saying the rest of the world is not waiting to hear New Zealand's position. David Seymour has stepped in for Christopher Luxon at this week's post-Cabinet press conference, and he was pushed for a response on the strikes. Mr Luxon is in Europe for the NATO summit this week, where the Middle East is likely to dominate proceedings. Political reporter Giles Dexter spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
