New Zealand lawmaker who called opponents spineless over Gaza is ejected from Parliament a 2nd time
Chlöe Swarbrick, co-leader of the left-leaning Green Party and part of the opposition bloc, was ordered to leave parliament on Tuesday over a speech in which she called for government lawmakers 'with a spine' to endorse her proposal for New Zealand to impose sanctions on Israel over the war in Gaza.
She was hit with a three-day ban — lengthy by New Zealand parliamentary standards — but returned the next day only to be ejected a second time.
Her censure came amid fraught scenes in Parliament in Wellington on Tuesday as opponents rebuked the government for not moving to recognize an independent Palestinian state, days after neighboring Australia pledged to do so. Countries including France, Britain and Canada are also expected to recognize a state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
'We are one of the very few countries in the world who so far refuse to acknowledge the absolute bare minimum,' Swarbrick said.
Calling opponents spineless prompted the ejection
The Green party lawmaker was abruptly ejected from the debating chamber when she urged government politicians to join her in a proposal to sanction Israel, which currently wouldn't have enough votes to pass into law.
'If we can find six of 68 government MPs with a spine, we can stand on the right side of history,' Swarbrick said, referring to other Members of Parliament.
'That is completely unacceptable to make that statement,' Speaker Gerry Brownlee interrupted. 'Withdraw it and apologize.'
The Green politician refused. Brownlee told her to leave the debating chamber for the rest of the week.
'Happily,' Swarbrick said.
The standoff resumed when Swarbrick took her seat again on Wednesday despite the ban and Brownlee asked again if she would apologize. Swarbrick declined and was ejected once more, yelling 'free Palestine' as she went.
Brownlee took the serious step, rare in New Zealand's Parliament, of taking a vote to 'name' Swarbrick for her misconduct, a ruling that means a legislator is formally suspended with their pay docked. The vote passed, with all government lawmakers endorsing it.
Opposition lawmakers claim double standards
The measure provoked fresh debate in Parliament about punishments for unruly behavior. Government lawmakers voted in June to enact unprecedented lengthy bans of opposition Māori Party lawmakers who performed a haka chant to protest a controversial vote.
On Wednesday, opposition politicians decried Swarbrick's penalty as unusually severe, with lawmaker Willie Jackson highlighting his own ban of just 30 minutes for calling one of his colleagues a liar, before he was allowed to resume his seat without an apology. In another recent example, a government politician used an eye-watering expletive without censure, supporters of Swarbrick said.
Several others had escaped punishment in recent years when using the word 'spineless' about their opponents. Opposition leader Chris Hipkins said it was unprecedented for a lawmaker to be ejected from Parliament for a second day over the same offense.
Brownlee, however, said he had drawn a line when Swarbrick directed a personal insult at all 68 government lawmakers — including him.
'We have so many threats and other stuff being directed at Members of Parliament,' he said. 'If we don't change the behavior in here, nothing will change outside.'
Pressure grows to decide Palestinian statehood question
Meanwhile, the government continues to mull recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon Wednesday made his most strident rebuke yet of Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the Israel leader 'has lost the plot' on the 'human catastrophe' in Gaza.
'I think Netanyahu has gone way too far,' Luxon told reporters. 'He is not listening to the international community and that is unacceptable.'
While senior New Zealand officials, including Luxon, have said recognition of Palestine from their government was 'a matter of not if, but when,' his Cabinet has yet to endorse a change of position. A decision will be made in September after further consideration, Luxon said Monday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
19 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dozens injured and detained as anti-government protests in Serbia gather pace
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Nearly 50 protesters have been detained across Serbia and dozens of people were injured as violence spiraled following more than nine months of largely peaceful protests against the populist rule of President Aleksandar Vucic, police said on Thursday. The gatherings, which followed an outbreak of unrest on Tuesday night, were organized at some 90 locations on Wednesday evening, said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic at a press conference. Wednesday's unrest started in the northern city of Novi Sad when supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party threw flares at anti-government protesters who had been marching past the party offices, according to video from the scene. Clashes there continued throughout the evening with rival groups hurling various objects at each other amid clouds of smoke and chaos. An army security officer at the SNS party offices at one point fired his gun in the air, saying later he felt his life had been in danger. The incidents marked an escalation in the persistent protests led by Serbia's university students that have rattled Vucic's increasingly autocratic rule in Serbia. Similar clashes were also reported on Tuesday evening. The Serbian president has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms and of allowing organized crime and corruption to flourish, which he has denied. Interior Minister Dacic accused the protesters of attacking the governing party loyalists. He said 'those who broke the law will be identified and sanctioned.' Skirmishes also erupted in the capital Belgrade where riot police used tear gas to disperse groups of protesters. Riot police formed a cordon around a makeshift camp of Vucic's loyalists outside the presidency building downtown. University students posted on X to accuse the authorities of trying to 'provoke a civil war with the clashes' at demonstrations that passed without incident even while drawing hundreds of thousands of people. 'Police were guarding the regime loyalists who were throwing rocks and firing flares at the protesters," the students added. Demonstrations started in November after a renovated train station canopy crashed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people and triggering accusations of corruption in state-run infrastructure projects. More protests are planned on Thursday evening. The protesters are demanding that Vucic call an early parliamentary election, which he has refused to do. Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: The road to peace will begin when Israel ends its occupation
To the editor: It's ironic that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he now wants to take over Gaza by expanding the war and turning over the strip to friendly Arab forces ('Netanyahu says Israel plans to take over all of Gaza in bid to destroy Hamas,' Aug. 7). Netanyahu and his radical religious parties have always wanted the expulsion of Palestinians from the strip. The world is watching an ongoing genocide in real time. Israel is wiping out cities, schools and universities along with the historical culture of the Gaza people, as it did in the Palestinian villages in 1948. Eliminating Hamas is justification to the West for his barbaric war. Starvation as a weapon of war is just a continuation of Netanyahu's war of expulsion and annexing the territories. The U.S. — especially the past and current presidents — has enabled this spoiled child to do as he pleases. The solution for peace for Israel and the Palestinians has always and will always be for an end to the occupation and freedom for the Palestinians who have endured occupation for 60 years. Is it not enough that Israel has affected the mental and physical future of a generation of children and caused the loss of future doctors, academics and other professionals? George J. Mouro, Rancho Mirage ... To the editor: The Times continues to show the tragic pictures of the children starving in Gaza. My heart goes out to them. My question to The Times is this: Why aren't you showing the body of a dead Jew who was slaughtered on Oct. 7, 2023, next to the picture of a starving child of Gaza? It is time for the Arab world to send in an Islamic multi-country army to destroy Hamas. Then the Arabic countries could use their oil wealth to feed the children, allow Israel to withdraw from Gaza and build a peaceful country where there will be no more starving children. Mark Walker, Yorba Linda
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Countries deadlocked on plastic production and chemicals as talks on a global treaty draw to a close
GENEVA (AP) — Negotiations on a global treaty to end plastic pollution are drawing to a close Thursday, as nations remain deadlocked over whether to tackle the exponential growth of plastic production. A draft of the treaty released Wednesday wouldn't limit plastic production or address chemicals used in plastic products. Instead, it's centered on proposals where there's broad agreement — such as reducing the number of problematic plastic products that often enter the environment and are difficult to recycle, promoting the redesign of plastic products so they can be recycled and reused, and improving waste management. It asks nations to make commitments to ending plastic pollution, rather than imposing global, legally-binding rules. A new draft is expected Thursday afternoon, and the talks — involving representatives from 184 countries and more than 600 organizations — are likely to conclude Friday. Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norway's minister for climate and the environment, said the current text is unacceptable and the country's representatives won't leave Geneva with 'just any treaty.' Norway is helping to lead a coalition of countries called the High Ambition Coalition that want a comprehensive approach to ending plastic pollution, including reducing production. 'We are going to be flexible, but at the same time ambitious in our positions, and work with every single hour that we have left to bring this to a conclusion, a positive conclusion, because the world needs a plastics treaty now.' Eriksen said he'll stay 'cautiously optimistic' until the bitter end. Every year, the world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic, and that could grow by about 70% by 2040 without policy changes. About 100 countries want to limit production as well as tackle cleanup and recycling. Many have said it's essential to address toxic chemicals. Powerful oil and gas-producing nations and the plastics industry oppose production limits. They want a treaty focused on better waste management and reuse. They have raised different concerns with the draft text, saying it doesn't have the scope they want to set the parameters of the treaty or precise definitions. Camila Zepeda, from Mexico's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, said it doesn't seem feasible at this stage to get a limit on production. But, she said, they want to see something more in the treaty on sustainable production and consumption than the brief mention in the current preamble. Mexico and Switzerland are also leading a push for an article to address problematic plastic products, including chemicals and single-use plastics. 'We are on the final stretch, but we remain hopeful and we remain committed to making sure that we're putting back in the text some provisions that will allow us to to strengthen it, to deliver, and to have an impact,' she said. 'That's what we want at the end.' It's the sixth time nations are meeting and the 10th day of negotiations. Talks last year in South Korea were supposed to be the final round, but they adjourned in December at an impasse over cutting production and agreed to meet again. Some in attendance wondered whether the outcome in Geneva will be the same. Sivendra Michael, Fiji's permanent secretary for environment and climate change, emphatically rejected the idea of another meeting. It is costly, unfair, and tedious to travel so far to continuously restate positions, he said Thursday. He said he firmly believed this meeting should conclude with a formal treaty that will be acceptable to all. However, Hiwot Hailu, chief of staff for the Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia, said Ethiopia supports meeting again if nations can't reach agreement on important articles for financing the accord and addressing the full lifecycle of plastics, including production, design and disposal. It would be better to not have a treaty, rather than a weak one, Hailu said. Jessika Roswall, the European commissioner for the environment, said the treaty must cover the full lifecycle of plastics and be able to evolve over time with science. 'A weak, static agreement serves no one,' she said in a statement. 'The next few hours will show whether we can rise to the moment.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
