Overview

• Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick was removed from the debating chamber twice and formally “named” in a parliamentary vote after she refused to retract her description of government MPs as “spineless,” triggering a three-day suspension and pay docking.
• Speaker Gerry Brownlee’s rare use of the naming procedure underscores deepening polarization and contested norms of conduct within New Zealand’s Parliament.
• Prime Minister Christopher Luxon publicly criticised Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying his actions had “lost the plot” and were “utterly unacceptable.”
• The Luxon government announced it will gather information and consult international partners over the next month before deciding in September whether to recognise a Palestinian state.
• Allied governments in Australia, Canada, the UK and France plan to recognise Palestine at a United Nations meeting next month, increasing diplomatic pressure on Wellington’s policy choice.