Foreign Minister Winston Peters ended weeks of speculation when he finally announced New Zealand’s official position on Palestine state recognition at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday.
There will be huge disappointment at the government’s decision not to follow 157 other countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, in recognising Palestinian statehood.
Further, the guessing game around the decision on this, keeping it under wraps until Mr Peters’ UN speech, was gutless, unnecessary, and insulting to New Zealanders.
The decision was clearly not a last-minute one.
New Zealand has long advocated for the two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East, but Mr Peters told the UN recognition now would serve as little more than an existential act of defiance against an unalterable state of affairs.
New Zealand had one opportunity to recognise Palestinian statehood, and it would make better sense to do so when conditions "offer greater prospects for peace and negotiation than at present".
"With a war raging, Hamas still in place, and no clarity on next steps, we do not think that time is now."
Mr Peters said New Zealand had repeatedly demanded a ceasefire since the October 7, 2023 Hamas killings, the release of the remaining hostages and for Israel to allow vital aid to flow into Gaza.
That was where New Zealand’s focus remained, he said, and it has boosted humanitarian aid to back that up; something which might be seen as a hollow gesture given the obstacles on aid distribution imposed by Israel.
We agree with University of Otago international relations professor Robert Patman that this stand will be confirmation internationally we are not the brave little country that stands up for a rule-based international order.
Aligning ourselves with the United States and Israel raises questions about our commitment to international law.
It is all very well for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to say the conflict would not end by New Zealand recognising a state of Palestine at this time.
Nobody expected it would.
But Mr Peters saying aid must flow and the violence must cease will not make that happen either.
It is hard to understand how our minority stand is going to help anyone get to a position where we are able to recognise a Palestinian state.
US President Donald Trump, hard on the heels of his bizarre rambling performance before the assembly last week, has said he will not allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Due to meet the intransigent PM Netanyahu today, Mr Trump has also claimed a ceasefire deal over the war in Gaza was "pretty close".
It is hard to take anything he says seriously, given his previous spurious claims about his conflict resolution achievements.
In the meantime, the famine, and the deaths (now at more than 65,000) continue, and the hostages are still not returned.
Celebrating Te Whata o Kaituna
It might have taken more than a quarter of a century, but at last South Dunedin has a new library. Te Whata o Kaituna, the building housing the new South Dunedin Community library opened on Saturday.
It looks stunning from the outside and we expect library-goers will be keen to explore its beautiful, practical, and innovative interior when it begins its everyday life today.
There is still some disappointment about the Dunedin City Council’s decision not to reserve the upper floor as a community hub as had been expected, on financial grounds, but that has not overridden excitement about the new facility’s opening.
As City and South Dunedin libraries manager Lynn Vare puts it, the new building brings a new energy to the area.
As well as being a place for connection and learning and creativity, we hope its presence will also be a fillip to South Dunedin businesses as it brings more people into the area.
