The brazen assault by the Donald Trump administration on the international legal framework that happened when U.S. forces attacked Venezuela was an assault on all that we stand for in the international community. And with it, the remaining shreds of credibility that the United States has as a friend of New Zealand.
With one of our longest standing friends no longer looking so friendly, the time has never been more appropriate to start actively looking around the world for other like-minded nations. They might be Canada or European Union nations, Chile or Taiwan. Wherever they are, New Zealand needs to start work on deepening our relationships with them. In this world where a few powerful old men are seeking gorge on power at everybody else’s expense, nations that want to restore the international framework need to band together as a matter of urgency.
It is time for New Zealand to start drawing red lines on the limits of international aggression that it is prepared to tolerate. The genocide of Palestine, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan caused by China arming the militants, the violent crackdown on Iranians wanting their freedom from the Islamic Republic, are all examples of things that the New Zealand Government has been deafeningly quiet on. Where we were once a brave plucky nation that was not afraid to stand up and tell a bigger power why they were wrong, we are now silent, scared to utter anything that might upset the sensibilities (or lack of) in Moscow, Beijing, Washington, among other places.
So, without further ado, I present my thoughts on what could be an alternative foreign policy for New Zealand, going into the 2026 election:
- Require all M.P.’s at the time of their swearing in to declare all foreign interests (with failure to do so barring their entrance to Parliament) – this would be part of a bigger contract to the Crown; to New Zealand
- Increase New Zealand foreign aid to 0.5% of G.D.P.; 3/4 to Pacific issues; 1/4 to peace-keeping/making, removing unexploded mines/ordinance, reconstruction work
- Should she want to do so, support any bid by Dame Jacinda Ardern to be U.N. Secretary General
- End all bottom trawling everywhere within twelve months
- Recognize Taiwan
- Offer support to all countries looking to abolish capital punishment, torture
- Support U.N. reform moves – add an African, Latin American and Oceania nation to the Security Council; reduce the number of available slots for non-permanent members to 8
- End U.N. veto – if more than 75% of U.N.G.A agree to censor a nation, the U.N.S.C. must write a resolution to that effect
Some of these might a bit like do-goody initiatives, such as removing unexploded mine ordinance but for communities that have to live with such hazards on a daily basis, it is not possible to quantify the value of being able to use that land again. Instead of supporting combat operations, in places where the security is a secondary interest to N.Z., supporting reconstruction of basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water will go some distance towards establishing N.Z. as a nation wanting to see other nations grow back from past trauma.
The United Nations proposals reflect a bigger problem in the U.N. – in 80 years it has had no major overhaul, and the longer it goes without one, the harder it will be to get such ideas off the ground. It may be too late already, but if we do not try, we will not know.
Leftist Kiwi Writes 