New Zealand House Speaker Gerry Brownlee on Tuesday ordered MP Chlöe Swarbrick to leave the chamber during a heated debate over the government’s position on recognizing the State of Palestine.
The urgent session was convened after the center-right government announced on Monday that it was reviewing its stance on possible recognition. The move came as Australia joined Canada, the United Kingdom, and France in declaring their intention to recognize Palestine at a United Nations conference in September.
Swarbrick, co-leader of the Green Party, said New Zealand was “lagging behind others” and “out of step,” describing the government’s inaction as “appalling.” She urged some government MPs to support a bill her party introduced in March aimed at “sanctioning Israel for the war crimes it commits,” which already has the backing of all opposition parties.
“If we can find six courageous MPs among the 68 representing the government, we can stand on the right side of history,” she said.
Brownlee deemed her remarks “completely unacceptable” and asked her to withdraw them and apologize. When she refused, he ordered her to leave Parliament. He later stated she could return on Wednesday, but warned that if she continued to refuse to apologize, she would be expelled again.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that New Zealand would make its decision in September, after a month of gathering information and consulting with partners to form the basis of a Cabinet decision. “We will consider this carefully rather than rushing it,” he said.
Alongside the Green Party, the opposition Labour Party and Te Pāti Māori also support formal recognition of the State of Palestine. Labour MP Peeni Henare said, “New Zealand has a history of standing by its principles and values, but on the question of recognizing Palestine, they have been abandoned.”
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