Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

At the University of Canterbury (UC) Graduation on 15/04/2026, UC Security ordered a student to remove a keffiyeh* from under their graduation regalia before they would be allowed to attend their ceremony. The mandate came from the Head of Security, who told the student that the cultural garment was 'inappropriate,' 'did not count as cultural wear,' and was 'promoting protest.' The student was told they would not be able to attend the graduation ceremony wearing the keffiyeh, where they were to receive their degree shortly thereafter. Their keffiyeh was then confiscated for the ceremony.

The student, who did not want to be named, said “I felt I had no choice but to comply with the request or be outright excluded. If the head of Security is comfortable forcing students to disrobe a keffiyeh at his request, then how can students' rights to cultural expression exist at UC?”

Students for Justice in Palestine Canterbury (SJP) describes the move as “overtly racist- and an indefensible, conscious promotion of Islamaphobic ideology.” Spokesperson for the group Joseph Bray states; “Threatening to withhold the graduation of a student based on the wearing of a keffiyeh is a serious overstep of Security powers, and a disgusting display of cultural weaponisation by the University.” UC Security determined that this student could not wear their cultural attire based entirely on their physical appearance, in a disgusting form of racist overreach. Who is any member of the University of Canterbury to determine if somebody is 'appropriate' enough to wear cultural clothing?”

This incident follows from a continual stream of accusations of racism against UC Security. SJP has identified multiple instances in which students feel UC Security has acted in a racist manner towards them because of their Muslim faith, nationality, or appearance. Many of these students say they have attempted to seek support from both the University and the UCSA, but have been told the complaint would likely not result in any further action against Security. One student who wishes to remain anonymous, describes their experience: 'The processes of complaints at UC are unproductive and discouraging […] there needs to be room for external investigation.”

SJP has too experienced the continual failures and lack of justice from UC's internal investigations process. For example, In May 2025, UC Security Supervisor Daniel O'Sullivan broke a student's arm and concussed two others while forcibly removing them from a peaceful SJP sit-in over UC's $300,000+ investment in weapons and armaments (1). Similarly, in March 2025, UC Security sent surveillance footage of a legal anti-Police talk to the Police themselves without being presented a warrant, in a significant breach of attendees' privacy (2). Further, in 2025 a student was sprayed in the face with a high-power pressure washer by a UC Security Guard for filming the removal of pro-Palestinian chalk on Campus. Spokesperson Joseph Bray states: “The lack of any substantial repercussions for these actions highlights the University of Canterbury's wilful acceptance of both violence and racism within the institution. As long as UC refuses to acknowledge and rectify their biases, students will continue to experience racism and violence from their university, with no genuine redress.”    

Students for Justice in Palestine Canterbury reiterates our call for the University of Canterbury to sever all ties with the apartheid state of Israel, and the companies which provide it material support. Additionally, they must condemn the intentional destruction of universities in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria by the Israeli Defence Force and United States Military, as well as work to provide active pathways to ensure the safety and academic freedom of students and academics within. Internally, we demand a truly independent investigation into the culture of racism and violence at the institution-level within UC and within UC Security.

Students for Justice in Palestine Canterbury

* The keffiyeh is a traditional West Asian article of clothing, and distinct variations have been adopted by numerous nations and peoples as both a form of protection from the elements, as well as a cultural symbol. One particular design has been used as a symbol within the Palestinian movement for liberation, though its association with the movement certainly does not undermine its cultural significance to the Palestinian people.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360674351/video-shows-scuffle-university-canterbury-pro-palestine-protest
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-04-2025/activists-raise-concerns-over-police-obtaining-cctv-footage-of-meeting-at-university

Geneva 15 April 2026 – Government officials representing more than 20 nuclear-weapon-free nations in Asia and the Pacific will meet in Jakarta on Friday, 17 April 2026, to discuss the urgent need to eliminate nuclear weapons.

The one-day conference will be funded by Austria and co-hosted with Indonesia, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Discussions will focus on the universalisation and implementation of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the threat facing all countries from nuclear weapons. (ref. https://disarmament.unoda.org/en/our-work/weapons-mass-destruction/nuclear-weapons/treaty-prohibition-nuclear-weapons )

Indonesia served as a vice-president of the Bureau of the President of the negotiations during the General Assembly talks leading to the adoption of the TPNW in 2017 and ratified the TPNW in 2024.  Austria chaired the first meeting of TPNW States Parties in 2022 in Vienna, coordinated the TPNW’s Security Concerns process and currently serves as a co-chair of its informal working group on universalisation.

The purpose of the conference is to take stock of the work achieved under the TPNW and advance the process of further states joining it, as well as raise awareness about the humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons.

Countries attending will include states parties and signatories to the TPNW, as well as those that have yet to sign the treaty.

H.E. Tri Tharyat, Director-General of Multilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, said: “This Conference comes at a critical moment. With the Eleventh NPT Review Conference approaching and the First TPNW Review Conference later this year, the Conference can help shape both processes in a meaningful way.”

DG Tharyat continued: “The reality we face is clear. Nuclear risks are rising, driven by heightened geopolitical tensions and the continued reliance on nuclear deterrence. For the Asia-Pacific, this is not a distant concern. It is a direct and growing security challenge. The TPNW offers a principled response. It reinforces the global disarmament architecture, complements the NPT, and places humanitarian considerations at the center of security thinking. It also challenges us to rethink the role of nuclear weapons in ensuring security. “

Ambassador George-Wilhelm Gallhofer, Director of Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria, said: “In the current geopolitical climate with a renewed focus on nuclear deterrence and rearmament, the risk of nuclear weapon use is as high as it has ever been. Any such detonation – whether intentionally, by accident or inadvertently – would have catastrophic and far-reaching humanitarian and environmental consequences. The Pacific region has and continues to bear the consequences of large-scale nuclear testing. The only effective measure to eliminate the risk stemming from nuclear weapons is abolition. Five years ago, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force. Since then, it has reinforced the legal and normative taboo against the possession and use of nuclear weapons and given the majority of non-nuclear-armed states a united voice. The Treaty demonstrates that multilateral diplomacy can deliver and that we can make real progress towards a world without nuclear weapons through cross-regional cooperation.”

Ambassador Gallhofer continued: “I am therefore grateful for the in-depth discussions at the “Asia-Pacific regional conference on the TPNW and the security concerns related to nuclear weapons” in Jakarta with participants from 20 states. The Asia-Pacific and Central Asian regions brought their unique and important experience and perspectives to further our joint work towards a world free of nuclear weapons.”

Martin De Boer, the Head of the ICRC’s Regional Delegation in Jakarta, welcomed the meeting: “Nuclear disarmament is more than ever an urgent imperative. It is also a humanitarian duty and shared responsibility of the international community. The indiscriminate, disproportionate and long-lasting destructive power of nuclear weapons makes the use of these weapons’ incompatible with International Humanitarian Law. Simply put, the use of nuclear weapons cannot comply with the laws of war. The humanitarian impact of the use of nuclear weapons would indeed create a public health emergency of catastrophic, unimaginable and unprecedented proportions. We must not only remember the past but learn from it and take urgent action to prevent the unspeakable from happening again. The ICRC strongly encourages all States that have not yet done so to ratify or adhere to the TPNW without delay.”

ICAN’s Director of Government Relations and Advocacy, Céline Nehory, said that the Jakarta conference would help to solidify regional support for the TPNW at a crucial moment: “Building support for the treaty is more urgent than ever given the perilous state of the world, and the continued existence of more than 12,000 nuclear weapons in the hands of the nine nuclear-armed countries”.

Five of the world’s nine nuclear-armed nations are in Asia: China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. Most nations in Asia and the Pacific, however, are strongly opposed to nuclear weapons, having joined the TPNW and treaties that establish nuclear-weapon-free zones in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the South Pacific.

In February, Indonesia’s president, Prabowo Subianto, warned that a war involving the use of nuclear weapons would have devastating, widespread consequences, including for nations with no direct involvement. He highlighted the potential for “nuclear winter” – a period of prolonged darkness, resulting in global agricultural collapse and famine – if a large number of nuclear weapons were used.

Background to the TPNW

The TPNW was adopted by 122 countries at the UN in 2017 and came into force five years ago, in January 2021. It now has the support of 140 states in the UN General Assembly and more than half of the world’s states (99) have already signed, ratified or acceded to the treaty.

The states parties to the treaty held their first meeting in Vienna in 2022, where they issued a landmark multilateral condemnation of nuclear threats that are specifically banned by the treaty, and they also agreed upon the Vienna Action Plan to implement the treaty.  In 2023 and 2025, the states met again in New York and among the measures they agreed was to call out nuclear deterrence doctrine as a threat to human security and an obstacle to nuclear disarmament. (ref. https://www.icanw.org/vienna_declaration_action_plan_overview?utm_campaign=media_advisory_jakarta_conf&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ican )

In November and December 2026, the states parties will convene the treaty’s first Review Conference, under the presidency of South Africa, to evaluate the progress that states parties are making to implement the treaty.

Against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical tensions and the undermining of international law by some states, including nuclear-armed countries, the TPNW stands out as an example of successful multilateral cooperation where countries have come together to promote global security by working to end the existential threat to the whole world from nuclear weapons.

About ICAN

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations in one hundred countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty. This landmark global agreement was adopted in New York on 7 July 2017. The campaign was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2017, for its “groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition” of nuclear weapons. More information about ICAN can be found at: www.icanw.org

15 April 2026 – Tax Justice Aotearoa (TJA) has today released its Tax Policy Statement setting out a mix of proposals that together could rebalance our tax system so that it delivers for ordinary New Zealanders.

“Our policy statement shows that a tax system that works for everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand is possible,” says TJA spokesperson, Glenn Barclay.

“It is not a policy prescription, but sets a clear direction. We're keen to have the conversation with Aotearoa about how we gather the revenue we need to address the challenges we face – like increasing inequality and an ageing population; and gather that revenue more fairly – ensuring that those who have most to contribute make that contribution and addressing the impact of tax on the least well off.”

“But as successive polls have shown, there is solid support for tax reform and properly funding our public services, New Zealanders realise maintaining the status quo is not an option,” says Barclay.

“NZ is a low tax country compared to many other developed nations, and we're not gathering enough revenue to fund the things that matter for us to live good lives, like fully staffed hospitals and affordable housing, resilient infrastructure and nutritious school lunches.”

“We rely very heavily on income tax and GST, so working people are carrying more of the load of funding our public services. And our failure to properly tax wealth and big corporates directly contributes to increasing inequality, erodes living standards and opportunities for ordinary people, like working towards owning your own home,” says Barclay.

“As we confront yet another crisis, TJA is calling on the Government, and all political parties, to catch up with public sentiment, and to stop offering bandaids like tax cuts. It's time to embrace real solutions that will ensure we're gathering enough revenue to fund the things that matter, gathering it more fairly, and laying the foundation for a recovery that supports everyone in Aotearoa to have a better future,” says Barclay.

TJA's Tax Policy Statement sets out practical changes we can make to our tax system to catch-up with other developed countries' investment in public goods, services and infrastructure, to tackle inequality and to support a more productive and resilient economy. The proposed changes would close the gaps in tax on big corporates and ensure the wealthiest are paying their fair share, and include:

Tax surcharge on big corporates, for example a levy on major banks (as in the UK and Australia), a surcharge on sectors managing vital infrastructure or where there is a lack of competition, like supermarkets and gentailers.
Excess/windfall profits taxes, for example, on big corporates to discourage price gouging and excessive profits arising from the current fossil fuel crisis.
Taxing Big Tech and other multinationals by enforcing existing tax obligations and changing the law to require these corporate giants to be more transparent about the profits they're making, like the Public Country-by-Country Reporting adopted in Australia.
Close the shareholder loans tax loophole, to prevent tax avoidance and reduce financial risk to small and medium size businesses (e.g. using the UK model).
Tax wealth more, not work, through a comprehensive capital gains tax (as in most OECD countries), high-wealth tax, trusts tax, and wealth transfer tax (as in Ireland).
Adjust income tax settings to better reflect ability to pay, by introducing a tax free band, making tax bands more progressive and raising the tax rate on the highest income earners. Most workers would pay less or the same tax under this proposal.
Addressing the impact of GST on the least well off, by reducing the rate of GST or introducing rebate system for people on low incomes (like in Canada).

Other important areas for reform in the TPS include: health, environmental and other remedial taxes; international taxation; transparency and administration of the tax system.

The full policy statement can be accessed here: https://assets.nationbuilder.com/tja/pages/3281/attachments/original/1776134165/TJA_Tax_Policy_Statement.pdf?1776134165

Zero Waste Aotearoa is calling on the New Zealand government to explicitly reject the export of New Zealand's waste to Fiji. A massive incinerator has been proposed for Fiji by Australian company TNG ltd.

It would be built in the Sawesi beachside area, a pristine coastline which is the ancestral arrival site for the people of the Vuda district. The application documents specifically mention New Zealand as a source of waste for the incinerator.

“This incinerator would burn 900,000 tonnes of waste per year, more than four times the waste that Fiji produces itself. Incinerating this much rubbish would leave Fiji with between 225,000-300,000 tonnes of highly toxic ash. This ash needs to be disposed of much more carefully than standard rubbish.” said Sue Coutts from Zero Waste Aotearoa

“Emissions to air, and ash from the incinerator will be toxic because mixed rubbish contains hazardous materials and chemicals of concern. When rubbish is burned these are concentrated in the ash and the filters and some escape into the air.”

“No wonder the locals are saying they don't want Fiji turned into a giant ashtray for Australia and New Zealand.”

“Burning this waste will generate hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions, so sending our waste to Fiji would also mean offloading our climate emissions to Fijians. The New Zealand Government has all but abandoned emissions reduction and waste minimisation plans. New Zealand needs to step up and take responsibility for the waste and GHG emissions we create .”

“The Australian billionaire developer, Ian Malouf of TNG Ltd, had his proposal for an Incinerator in Western Sydney turned down, so now he is taking his incineration plans to Fiji where regulations to protect health and environment are weaker. This is waste colonialism. It is racist, and it is wrong.”

“It is completely unacceptable for New Zealand to impose onto Fiji the social and environmental burden of dealing with our waste. This proposal locks in an arrogant approach to the Pacific where New Zealanders get to enjoy the imported consumer goods that we use, often for a short time, before sending our rubbish to someone else's country to burn and dump them so they bear the cost.” said Sue Coutts, spokesperson for Zero Waste Aotearoa.

“The global trade in waste and incineration technologies from countries with high GDP to those with lower GDP is based on power imbalances that are the result of historic political, economic and cultural injustice.”

“Imperial powers have treated the Pacific as a testing and dumping ground for 300 years. These practices trample on the human rights of the people of the Pacific and permanently damage the local environment. New Zealanders stood up against nuclear testing in the Pacific and we need to stand up against these toxic incinerators. It's all part of the same pattern.”

A solidarity campaign will be launched outside the Fijian High Commission on Friday morning at 9am in Wellington to express support for the communities in Fiji who are fighting this proposal. A demonstration in Fiji is planned for the same day at 10am.

15 April 2026 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) – Te Pūtea Matua has opened consultation on an exposure draft of a Bill that amends the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 (IPSA).

“We're seeking technical feedback on the Bill to help ensure the changes work in practice and deliver the policy decisions made by Cabinet last year,” says Jess Rowe, Director of Prudential Policy.
 
“It will also help us identify and avoid unintended consequences and regulatory gaps.

“Insurance plays a key role in many of New Zealanders' biggest financial decisions. That's why a sound and efficient insurance sector matters to everyone, and New Zealanders need to have confidence in the sector,” says Ms Rowe.

The Bill is intended to modernise insurance regulation in New Zealand and bring it closer to international practice.

The draft Bill seeks to enhance how the RBNZ regulates insurers, including a move to a clearer and more transparent rules-based approach by expanding the range of standards that the RBNZ issues, helping keep the sector sound – now and into the future.

“The Bill will support the Reserve Bank to be a more transparent, risk-based, and proactive regulator.

“A strong regulatory environment must be both sound and efficient. The Bill introduces a proportionality principle into IPSA, requiring us to publish a framework showing how regulation is tailored to the size and nature of different insurers. This complements existing Reserve Bank obligations, including considering the impact of our decisions on competition in the insurance sector,” she says.

Consultation is open for an extended period of 12 weeks, closing on 7 July. The Bill is expected to be introduced to the House of Representatives in 2027.

More information

• Exposure draft of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Amendment Bill – Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Citizen Space
• Exposure draft Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Amendment Bill
• Consultation paper: IPSA Exposure Draft 2026
• Cabinet's August 2025 Policy decisions: Cabinet Paper – Modernising the Insurance Prudential Supervision Act 2010
• Review of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010