New Zealand’s independent foreign policy would suffer if it entered into a joint military task force with Australia, the Green Party’s Defence spokesperson Keith Locke said today.
Any decision on whether New Zealand Special Forces should return to Afghanistan must be postponed pending an inquiry into whether there was mistreatment of prisoners the NZ Special Air Service (SAS) handed over to American forces in an earlier deployment, said Green Party MP Keith Locke.
The New Zealand Parliament today joined other nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union in supporting Iranian citizens calling for an impartial examination of their recent election.
New Zealand should follow the lead of the Queensland Government and suspend its roll-out of tasers pending an inquiry into their use, said Green Party MP Keith Locke. On Monday, Queensland Police Minister Neil Roberts suspended the taser roll-out pending a four-week review, following the death of a Queensland man after he had been repeatedly tasered by Police.
The Government should take note of concerns the United Nations Committee Against Torture has regarding the use of the electric stun gun known as the Taser in New Zealand, said Green Party Human Rights Spokesperson Keith Locke.
The Green Party is concerned that the Government’s withdrawal from its bid for a UN Human Rights Council seat reflects a weakening commitment to human rights issues.
Auckland Green Party MP Keith Locke has warned against any 'pause' in Auckland's rail electrification project.
It was today revealed that Transport Minister Steven Joyce sent a letter to the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) asking it to take 'a short pause' in going ahead with its rail electrification commitments. Mr Joyce wanted the ‘pause’ so that the ARC could digest the ramifications of the, as yet unreleased, report on the Royal Commission on Auckland’s Governance.