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The Spinoff

New Zealand should never have joined the war in...

This article was first published in the Spinoff on 18 August 2021. I argued 20 years ago that sending troops would only help the Taliban. And so it has proved,...

NZ shouldn’t be caught up in the US game...

By Keith Locke Why are we still looking to America first when it comes to our decisions on which countries to engage with, asks former MP Keith Locke. Britain’s decision to...

New Zealand’s response to the Soleimani assassination is shamefully...

How can New Zealand claim to have an independent foreign policy when it won’t even criticise America’s assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian leader? The furthest foreign minister Winston...

A democratic giant of Tonga – a tribute

Akilisi Pohiva died on September 12, 2019. This tribute was originally published in The Spinoff. Tongan prime minister ’Akilisi Pohiva will be mainly remembered as the country’s leading democrat. For four decades...

Why on earth is NZ sending a plane into...

Winston Peters says the Orion is to implement UN sanctions, but that’s only half the story, writes former Green MP Keith Locke We all know the erratic nature of Donald...

Splashing $2.3 billion on aircraft erodes NZ’s independent foreign...

The purchase of four surveillance planes signals an even closer military alignment with the United States, and the reflects badly on our non-aligned status, writes former Green Party defence...