Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Transporting New Zealand calls on everyone to Be a Road Safety Hero as part of Road Safety Week

Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Transporting New Zealand is backing Road Safety Week (4-10 May), coordinated by the road safety charity Brake with sponsorship from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and Beca. The theme of the week is Be a Road Safety Hero.
“The road is the workplace for New Zealand's 30,000 truck drivers, making Road Safety Week a really important initiative for our sector,” says Chief Executive of Transporting New Zealand, Dom Kalasih. “It’s up to us all to make good choices on our roads to ensure we all get home safe.”
Kalasih says that the death of 18 people in road crashes in just ten days last month highlights the importance of taking road safety seriously.
“The annual road toll has declined each year since 2022, that is a positive outcome, but we still need to see improvements in people’s attitudes to road safety, particularly around restraints, impairment, distraction and speed (RIDS).”
“There is clear evidence that the right investments save lives. That includes safer road designs with median barriers and bypasses, tackling drug and alcohol-impaired driving, and the use of vehicle safety technologies like ABS, electronic stability control, and managing driver fatigue and distraction better.”
“However, technology is no substitute for good driving. Wearing seatbelts, driving to the speed limit and weather conditions, staying focused and pulling over if you’re tired are critical safety measures,” says Kalasih.
“We’re proud to be part of Road Safety Week and to help spread the message that road safety is everyone’s responsibility, every day.”
Transporting New Zealand, with support from NZTA and NZI, also lead regular rollover prevention workshops to address an issue involved in around a third of heavy vehicle crashes.
Since 2015, more than 6,000 people have taken part around the country, learning practical skills to reduce the risk of truck rollovers on New Zealand’s often challenging roads. Workshops are currently being scheduled for the upper North Island and mid-upper South Island between May and July.
People are encouraged to take part in Road Safety Week by Going Yellow, recognising local Road Safety Heroes, and reminding others that small actions can save lives.
Caroline Perry, NZ director at Brake, said: “Everyone should be able to get around in safe and healthy ways, every day. There are lots of people who work to make our roads safer, to save lives when crashes happen, and to support those affected by crashes. This year in Road Safety Week we want people to join us in acknowledging all those who work to save lives on roads across the country – and recognise that we can all be road safety heroes by using roads safely and taking actions for road safety in our families, schools, communities and where we work.” 
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Fire Safety – Fire and Emergency reminds public to be extra careful while strike action takes place

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand is warning the public that the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) will be undertaking a strike today, Wednesday 6 May, between 4.30pm and 5.30pm.
The NZPFU has indicated its intention to continue twice-weekly strikes.
“I want to reassure the public that all 111 calls will be received and responded to during the strike periods,” Deputy National Commander Ken Cooper says.
“However, our response times will be delayed in impacted areas as volunteer crews will be responding from the next closest location. So, we are asking the public to remain extra careful.
“Our advice remains the same. If there is a fire, evacuate early, get out, stay out, then call 111.”
During the one-hour strikes, Fire and Emergency will prioritise emergencies and may not attend less serious incidents, such as private fire alarms where there is no sign of fire, small rubbish fires, traffic-management assistance, and animal rescues.
In addition, Fire and Emergency has established a process with Hato Hone St John and Wellington Free Ambulance for responding to medical events in impacted areas.
“We remain focused on achieving a fair and sustainable settlement with the NZPFU so we can continue working to keep communities safe,” Ken Cooper says.
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Health – A year after Pay Equity gutted, hardworking nurses even worse off

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation
A year after the Coalition Government brutally scrapped their Pay Equity claims, the rising cost of living and the fuel crisis is compounding the financial struggle for undervalued and hardworking nurses and their whānau, NZNO says.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO last September became the first organisation to file claims under the new system, despite the almost impossibly high thresholds required.
The claims were filed on behalf of NZNO Hospice and Plunket members, covering about 750 and 800 members respectively. Hospice and Plunket were the most advanced of NZNO’s 12 previous claims which were scrapped overnight with the Government’s changes on 6 May.
NZNO delegate and Whānau Āwhina Plunket nurse Hannah Cook says a year after having their claims cancelled, Plunket nurses are doing it tough.
“It was a shock to have our hard work cancelled overnight in a backroom political deal. On top of having to still endure historical gender wage discrimination, we have to cope with the rising cost of living and now a fuel crisis.
“Around 98% of Plunket nurses are female and we look after about 80% of all newborn babies in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“We are skilled and experienced; and we shouldn’t be paid less because our female-dominated work has been historically and systemically undervalued and underpaid,” Hannah Cook says.
NZNO spokesperson and Hospice nurse Fiona McDougal says almost 95% of NZNO nurses and support staff working for Hospice are female.
“The work we do is skilled and difficult. We don’t just provide health care for those at the end of their lives. Our work involves supporting, counselling, and caring for people of all ages needing end-of-life and holistic palliative care in hospice, their homes and the community. We also support their whānau.
“Not everyone is cut out for the work we do yet it is a crucial part of a caring society.
“It is no longer acceptable for us to be underpaid because caring has long been considered the role of women,” Fiona McDougal says.
More information about Pay Equity can be found here: https://maranga-mai.nzno.org.nz/pay_equity
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Health – "It saved my life": Survivor urges nationwide lung cancer screening programme

Source: Asthma and Respiratory Foundation

Jane had no symptoms and no warning signs when she was diagnosed with New Zealand’s deadliest cancer.
Jane, a 58-year-old ex-smoker from Auckland, had taken part in a targeted lung cancer screening research programme, which caught her cancer early. She is one of a growing number of Kiwis now living longer because of early detection from this programme.
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ is calling on the next Government to prioritise funding a nationwide programme from 2028 onwards.
Jane was referred into the programme by her GP after over 30 years of smoking placed her at higher risk.
“I had no symptoms, so had no reason to believe I had lung cancer, but I was quietly relieved to join the programme as I always carried a underlying anxiety that one day I might get the disease.”
Jane had a low-dose CT scan in May 2025, a month after her referral to the programme. Two weeks later, she got the call no one wants to get from their GP.
The scan had detected a lesion on her right lung, which was later confirmed as Stage 1 lung cancer.
She was referred to specialists, and minimally invasive keyhole surgery quickly followed to remove a lobe of her lung.
“It all happened so fast,” she says.
“I didn’t have to go through radiation or chemotherapy because the cancer was caught early and hadn’t spread anywhere else.
“I’m so grateful that I was asked to be part of the research programme – it saved my life.”
Just 14 weeks from her invitation to participate in the programme, Jane was cancer-free.
Jane continues to focus on her recovery, and is still processing how close she came to a very different outcome.
“I think about it a lot – what if I hadn’t been in that programme?” she says.
“It’s frightening to think that I had lung cancer and was completely unaware of it.
“I believe that other people like myself deserve the same chance as I had.”
Jane is one of many Kiwis taking part in the research programme whose cancers have been detected through screening – often before symptoms appeared, when treatment is far more effective.
When Jane was growing up, smoking was “almost a rite of passage”, she says.
“It seemed like all of the film stars and rock stars smoked in the 1980s.
“Most of my friends smoked – we thought it was cool,” Jane says.
“As a young girl, I could walk into a diary and buy cigarettes myself. It was a different time.”
Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says Jane’s experience highlights the urgent need for a nationally funded programme.
“Jane’s story is proof that lung cancer screening saves lives.
“While smoking rates have dropped from 30 per cent to 8 per cent over the past three decades, former smokers remain at risk of lung cancer for several decades after they stop smoking – and they shouldn’t miss out on life-saving screening because of stigma or shame,” she says.
“Everyone deserves the chance to detect cancer early and be treated.”
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in New Zealand – more than breast, prostate and melanoma cancer deaths combined – largely because it is often diagnosed too late.
“We have a real opportunity to change that,” Ms Harding says.
A nationwide targeted risk-based screening programme focussing on people aged 50 to 74 who have ever smoked would mean more cancers are found earlier, she says.
“When caught early, treatment is more effective and survival rates are significantly higher.”
Early detection also makes financial sense for the health system, she says.
“Treating lung cancer at a late stage is complex and costly.
“Treatment is often less invasive and far less expensive if found in the early stages, so it’s better for patients and it reduces pressure on our health system.”
The Foundation is calling on the government to implement the proposed programme within two years, and for this to be included in the 2027 Budget.
– Jane’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
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Animal Welfare – Fast-tracked factory fish farm raises welfare red flags – SAFE

Source: SAFE For Animals

Animal rights organisation SAFE is raising concerns about a proposed large-scale salmon farming operation spanning a coastal marine area of up to 2,500 hectares in the Foveaux Strait, off the north-eastern coast of Rakiura/Stewart Island.
In December 2024, the Coalition Government passed the Fast-track Approvals Act, opening the door for large scale and controversial projects to bypass standard scrutiny and removing opportunities for public input on development proposals.
SAFE Campaign Manager Emily Hall says the fast-tracking of fish farm developments without standard consultation reflects a broader pattern of the Coalition Government sidelining animal welfare. 
“This Fast-track application is for an underwater factory farm, where countless fishes would be confined in appalling conditions. When projects of this scale are pushed through without proper scrutiny or public oversight, animal welfare risks are ignored and accountability is lost” says Hall.
Fishes are recognised as sentient beings under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, yet confinement in cages on land or at sea prevents them from exhibiting normal patterns of behaviour. Hall says this fundamentally undermines the legal protections provided for animals under the Act.
“Good animal welfare depends on physical health, psychological wellbeing, and the ability for animals to live in environments that allow for natural behaviours, all of which are compromised by factory fish farming systems.”
“Fishes intensively bred in cages are subject to terrible conditions, including severe overcrowding, poor water quality, skeletal deformities, and documented stress and depression.” says Hall.
Highlighting the exclusion of fish welfare experts from the list of parties invited to comment under the Fast-track process, Hall warns the Hananui proposal exposes fundamental flaws in approving projects of this scale without essential expert input.
” Allowing these projects to be Fast-tracked without input from fish welfare experts highlights a consistent failure of this Government to uphold the intent of animal welfare legislation.”
At the 2025 Aquaculture New Zealand conference, Oceans & Fisheries Minister Shane Jones told attendees this is a “risk-riddled industry” that was constantly confronting problems. At the same conference, ministers openly promoted large scale expansion of fish farming, despite acknowledging the industry’s high level of risk.
Notably, the Hananui project had previously been rejected through the COVID-19 Fast-track Consenting process; in August 2023, an expert panel declined the application.
“It is deeply concerning that an industrial scale project proposing to breed countless fishes could proceed without appropriate scrutiny of impacts on the animals it intends to farm” says Hall. “In the absence of invited fish welfare expertise, we have submitted comments to the Hananui Fast- track panel and requested that this information be taken into account.”
“Like all animals, fishes deserve to live freely in their natural environment and we will continue to push for accountability because animal welfare on these underwater factory farms needs to be a priority concern.”
SAFE is Aotearoa’s leading animal rights organisation
We're creating a future that ensures the rights of animals are respected. Our core work empowers society to make kinder choices for ourselves, animals and our planet.
Notes
1. Expert panel declines Hananui application in August 2023 Source: Environmental Protection Authority
2. Comments submitted by SAFE to the Fast-track panel (see pdf attachment) 
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"Everyone Deserves Bodily Autonomy": Supporters Rally in Support of High Court Challenge to Puberty Blocker Ban

Source: Queer Endurance in Defiance

Wellington | Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Members of the public supporting the right of trans young people to access gender-affirming healthcare gathered outside the High Court in Wellington today, in support of a legal challenge by the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) to the Government's ban on new puberty blocker prescriptions for young people with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

Puberty blockers are medicines that temporarily pause puberty. They have long been used for conditions such as precocious puberty, and are also used in gender-affirming healthcare where puberty would otherwise cause serious distress. Their purpose is to give young people, their whānau and clinicians time to make informed decisions without the immediate pressure of irreversible pubertal changes.

The Government's regulations, announced in November 2025, singled out trans young people by blocking new prescriptions for gender dysphoria or gender incongruence, while leaving the same class of medicines available for other uses, including precocious puberty, endometriosis and prostate cancer.

The ban was quickly met with widespread opposition from health professionals, medical bodies and trans community advocates. Paediatric endocrinologist Dr Ben Albert described puberty blockers as “generally very safe medications,” explaining that when they are stopped, “puberty restarts.” Dr Rona Carroll, a specialist GP and senior lecturer at the University of Otago, called the ban “a shockingly inappropriate overreach of politics into healthcare,” adding that prescribing decisions should remain between clinicians, patients and their whānau.

In December, the High Court ordered that the Crown take no steps to enforce the ban pending judicial review. Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith noted that puberty blockers are reversible, that there is no evidence they affect fertility, and that the evidence relating to mental health outcomes suggests the negative consequences of a ban are a more immediate concern.

For many in the trans community, access to puberty blockers was already far too limited.

“Puberty blockers are already a compromise,” said Charlie Sheppard, spokesperson for Queer Endurance in Defiance. “They give young people time. They do not force anyone down a path. What the Government has done is take that limited option away specifically from trans youth, while leaving the same medications available for others. That is discrimination dressed up as caution.”

“Everyone deserves bodily autonomy. That principle goes for abortion, disability care, and medical treatment. It goes for relationships and how you present to the world. That's progress. We don't want to let that progress go. Healthcare decisions should be made by young people, and clinicians — not imposed by Cabinet for political reasons.”

Queer Endurance in Defiance supports PATHA's challenge and calls for the ban to be permanently struck down. The group also calls on the Government to end political interference in gender-affirming healthcare and instead invest in accessible, well-resourced services for trans young people.

Queer Endurance in Defiance is a queer and trans-majority community organisation which has worked since 2021 to oppose transphobia and defend the rights, safety and dignity of queer and trans people in Aotearoa.

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Economy – Financial system resilient amid heightened global risks – Reserve Bank

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand

6 May 2026 – “The global risk environment has worsened over the past six months, as conflict in the Middle East threatens world energy supply”, says Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman in publishing the Financial Stability Report this morning. “However, New Zealand's financial system is resilient and well positioned to support households and businesses even if economic conditions soften.”

The outbreak of conflict in the Middle East and closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created significant disruptions to the world's energy markets, adding to existing geopolitical and trade tensions. The longer the conflict persists the greater the risks will be to global financial stability, and as a small, open economy it is already having significant economic effects in New Zealand.

“Domestically, we have seen the immediate impacts of the conflict in rising fuel costs for households and businesses. High diesel prices are having the most impact on the transport and logistics sectors, as well as primary industries including forestry and fishing. While economic growth had been recovering prior to the conflict, we are now likely to see a somewhat slower recovery, affecting job growth and debt servicing,” explains Dr. Breman.

Banks have strong capital and funding buffers meaning they are well placed to support customers who may be struggling, as well as manage stresses in offshore funding markets. Stress test results demonstrate that banks can withstand significant economic shocks, including geopolitical events like the Middle East conflict.

For insurers in New Zealand, we assess the direct impacts of the Middle East conflict to be limited. Health insurers have needed to raise premiums and adjust policies following several years of high claims costs, and this has improved solvency margins in the sector. This year we are progressing a stress test of life and health insurers.

This edition of the Report includes two special topics on financial stability issues. The first is on access to credit for smaller businesses, highlighting the elevated borrowing costs firms face. There are opportunities to improve pricing transparency so that firms can better understand whether they are getting a good deal. The second topic is on global fiscal sustainability. This discusses rising public debt pressures in major advanced economies and how these may pose a global financial stability risk, which could affect New Zealand. We also provide an overview of general insurance coverage in New Zealand and its link to financial stability.

The report outlines current and recent work to promote an efficient and resilient banking system, building on the more intensive supervision, enforcement and resolution approaches we have been developing in recent years. This includes the outcome of our recent review of capital settings for deposit takers.

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New figures show home support workers have lost $27,728 one year on from pay equity betrayal – PSA

Source: PSA

Thousands of home support workers are today ruing the loss of nearly $28,000 in income they should have earned if the Government had not axed their pay equity claim.
One year ago today the Government cancelled 33 pay equity claims, ripped up the rules and slammed the door shut on fair pay for more than 180,000 workers – most of them women.
New figures calculated by the PSA show, as of today, home support workers alone have lost $27,728 in wages they should have had if their pay equity claim had been updated after the original claim expired in 2022 (see explanation below).
Theirs and other claims were scrapped under urgency, in secret, without consultation, riding roughshod over the democratic process.
“One year ago Minister Brooke Van Velden stood up and told 180,000 workers that their fight for fair pay didn’t matter. Today, those workers are still waiting, still underpaid, and still being told their work isn’t valued,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“The anniversary should also be a time of reflection for the NZ First, ACT and National MPs who rushed this legislation through blind to the impact on the lives of tens of thousands of undervalued working New Zealanders.
“For thousands of home support workers, who use their own cars to deliver care for our elderly, and disabled family members, this anniversary is a bitter reminder of the pay rise they should have received but never did.”
These workers have effectively lost $27,278.70 each in the pay equity settlement they were denied – money they should have had available to support themselves and their families.
Workers like Kate Halsall from Wellington.
“That money would make the world of difference to me. It just makes me so angry and frustrated. Pay equity would have made it a lot easier to keep our cars filled up, warranted and registered, with the price of food going up because of fuel crisis, it would have helped put food on our table. Pay equity would have made us more secure and give us dignity. It’s just not fair.”
Fleur Fitzsimons said; “The Government claimed it had saved $12.8 billion by cancelling pay equity claims and David Seymour boasted the decision saved the Budget. It wasn't a saving – it was stolen from the pay packets of low-paid women.
“We will continue to fight this shameful betrayal. The PSA, alongside four other unions, is pursuing a landmark case in the High Court arguing the Government's changes breach the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The Human Rights Commission has joined the case, recognising the significance of the issues at stake. If the Government won't listen to workers, we hope the court will.
“We will not accept a system designed to continue gender based pay discrimination. The PSA will be campaigning hard on this at the election, and calls on all political parties to commit to a new pay equity law that actually works so that every worker doing undervalued work gets the pay they deserve.”
Background
In 2017 a pay equity deal for 65,000 home support workers was enshrined in legislation by the then National-led Coalition government. The deal settled a successful court case brought by Lower Hutt aged care worker Kristine Bartlett that she was not receiving equal pay as required by the Equal Pay Act.
Only after the legislation expired in 2022 were the three unions representing care and support workers – PSA, E tū, and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) – legally able to raise a new claim on behalf of care and support workers.
Calculation of lost wages
PSA analysis of lost wages is based on the 21% margin above the minimum wage at the time that care and support workers received in the 2017 settlement. The settlement rates, or the minimum wage rate, whichever was higher has been compared with what the rate would have been if the 21% margin had been maintained. The comparison is based on a 30-hour work week.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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Government’s reckless forestry rollback a slap in the face to cyclone-hit communities

Source: Greenpeace

Despite most submitters opposing the Coalition Government’s proposed changes to commercial forestry rules, the Coalition has confirmed yesterday that they will be stripping Gisborne Council – and all Councils – of their ability to set stronger local rules on where pine and other forestry can be planted.
The Government will also be restricting Council's broad discretion to set tougher controls on forestry slash and erosion, allowing them to do so only for the most extreme erosion risks.
Greenpeace campaigner Gen Toop says the proposals are a “slap in the face” for communities whose homes, livelihoods and waterways have been devastated by forestry slash and erosion.
“It is reckless and dangerous to weaken forestry rules when communities in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay are still picking up the pieces from slash and erosion tearing through homes, rivers and infrastructure.”
Cyclone Gabrielle is estimated to have cost the country $14.5 billion in clean up costs, and had devastating effects on freshwater and marine ecosystems.
“These changes serve the profits of primarily offshore forestry companies at the expense of our communities who foot the bill to clean up the damage to their land, waterways and coastlines,” says Toop.
The Coalition Government is also proposing further changes through the RMA reforms that could force councils to compensate forestry companies if they try to bring in stronger local rules, in a scheme it's calling “regulatory relief”.
“Devastating and expensive cyclones are becoming more intense and frequent. Making it harder for councils to prevent forestry slash and erosion right now is a major leap backwards that New Zealand simply cannot afford,” says Toop.
“The Government must back down on these forestry changes and abandon its corporate compensation plans in the new RMA. Councils should never be forced to give public payouts to corporations for local environmental protections.”
As part of the changes announced last night, the Government is also repealing fencing regulations so that beef cattle and deer can now access and graze in wetlands that support threatened species. Again, most submitters were opposed to the changes.
“What country in 2026 decides to get rid of fencing rules and let cattle trample their last remaining wetlands and the rare species that depend on them? It’s environmental vandalism.”
There are less than 10% of wetlands remaining in Aotearoa. If Councils want to protect local wetlands by retaining the fencing rules they would likely be forced to hand over ratepayer money to affected farming companies under the proposed “regulatory relief” scheme.
“This is real bottom of the barrel stuff from the Coalition Government. Fencing livestock out of wetlands is literally the bare minimum,” says Toop.
“Rolling back these fencing and forestry protections puts fragile ecosystems and species at risk and it's yet another nail in the coffin for the clean green image that New Zealand trades on.”
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Advocacy – Time for NZ government to call-in Israeli ambassador after bashing of NZ citizens

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

PSNA has demanded the government follow through its demands that Israel complies with international law, after New Zealanders were captured in international waters in the Mediterranean and beaten by the Israeli military.

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Spokesperson Rinad Tamimi says the New Zealand government was very explicit in its recent warnings to Israel that New Zealand did not expect a repeat of Israeli forces brutally capturing New Zealanders in international waters while they were trying to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

“Anyone who has seen the pictures of Invercargill resident Julien Blondel’s face or the reports of Jay O’Connor suffering from concussion and a likely broken rib will know that once more Israel has called the New Zealand government’s bluff.”

“The Global Sumud Aid Flotilla’s sole intention is to deliver aid to Palestinians still under Israeli attack and starvation in Gaza,” Rinad Tamimi says.

“The world is looking at the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Iran.  But the situation for Palestinians in Gaza is no less dire than when the ceasefire there was meant to have started last October but Israel continues its daily killing of mainly women and children”

“The volume of food is insufficient and lacking nutrition.  It is incredibly expensive.  Promised tents haven’t arrived.  Medicine has run out. Reconstruction hasn’t started. Israel is still expanding its Yellow-Line no-go zone.”

Rinad Tamimi says she knows the New Zealand government has already proved it doesn’t care about Palestinians in Gaza.  But she says our government cannot avoid its responsibility to protect New Zealanders going about lawful business.  

“The government can’t simply opt out of its duties to its citizens by telling them it’s too dangerous to try helping Palestinians in Gaza.”

“Israel has killed people on flotillas before.  It has captured New Zealanders and brutalised them previously.  Now it has done it again.”

Rinad Tamimi says the least step New Zealand can do is issue a formal rebuke by calling-in the Israeli ambassador.

“The ambassador has been informed of our government’s stated concerns, and New Zealand’s bluff has been called.”

“The ambassador should be expelled as far as I’m concerned.  But if it was good enough for John Key’s government to reprimand Israel through a formal rebuke, then why can’t Winston Peters do at least the same.”

Rinad Tamimi
National Spokesperson
PSNA