New Zealand Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick was ordered out of parliament on Tuesday after refusing to apologise for remarks urging government MPs to support sanctions on Israel and accusing them of lacking spines.
The confrontation came during an urgent debate on whether New Zealand should recognise a Palestinian state, after the centre-right government said Monday it was still weighing its position. Close ally Australia joined Canada, the UK and France this week in announcing they would recognise Palestine at a U.N. conference in September.
Swarbrick called the government a laggard and an outlier, and pressed MPs to back her party’s March bill to sanction Israel over alleged war crimes. Speaker Gerry Brownlee deemed her comments “completely unacceptable” and demanded she withdraw and apologise. When she refused, he ordered her to leave. She can return on Wednesday, but risks another ejection if she maintains her stance.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said a decision would be made in September after consultations with international partners. Opposition parties Labour and Te Pati Maori join the Greens in supporting recognition, with Labour’s Peeni Henare warning New Zealand was “being left behind.”
reuters/s.s