The Invercargill City Council has voted to boycott companies connected to illegal Israeli settlements, despite the mayor’s push for the status quo.

The decision has been 15 months in the making and follows a narrow vote against enacting change in June 2025, and a 270-signature petition from Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa last month.

Mayor Tom Campbell chaired Tuesday’s meeting and was clear he did not support aligning the council’s procurement policy to a United Nations resolution which would see it avoid doing business with 158 companies.

Concerns raised by Mr Campbell included international affairs being the responsibility of central government, which had made successive decisions to not impose sanctions; the potential for claims to come from groups connected to places such as Ukraine or Tibet; and the growing nature of the UN list.

But councillors expressed a preference for change, including Ian Pottinger who became emotional during his reflection.

Cr Pottinger said the topic of the council’s discussion involved humanity and the rights of Palestinian people to live freely.

“And this should be the concern of everybody, including the New Zealand government.”

The issue resurfaced at the council meeting after councillor Lisa Tou-McNaughton lodged a notice of motion requesting that a June 2025 agenda item be re-presented.

Cr Tou-McNaughton highlighted the need for procurement decisions to reflect expected values and standards.

Cr Steve Broad said the council could not be “neutral in a genocide”, while Cr Alex Crackett refuted the mayor’s claim that international affairs were not within the council’s remit given she would be travelling to China with him in October for that very purpose.

The change was ultimately passed eight votes to three, with opposition coming from Mr Campbell, Cr Trish Boyle, and Cr Barry Stewart.

Companies on the UN list can still be used by the council under exceptional circumstances so long as approval is given by the chief executive.

Major companies included on the list include Airbnb, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and Motorola.

Council group manager Patricia Christie said accommodation suppliers from the list had been used three times in the past 12 to 18 months.

Ms Christie’s report noted the list of companies had been updated since June 2025 along with the council’s procurement policy.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.