Rt Hon Winston Peters

New Zealand First Leader
8 OCTOBER 2014

If It’s Good Enough for the British And Canadians Why Not NZ?

Prime Minister John Key should take a holiday before deciding whether to commit New Zealand to a war in the Middle East, says New Zealand First.

“He is showing signs of jumping on the bandwagon, into a war that could drag on and on,” says New Zealand First Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“It is very easy to get into a war, but difficult to get out of. We know that from Vietnam, and more recently Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Mr Key’s honesty in what he has been saying is questionable. It appears he played to the audience before the election, saying Iraq was not a place New Zealand wanted to be thereby shutting down any discussions about involvement.

“He wanted voters to think we would not be dragged into a fight.

“Now his language has changed. He’s in government and close to taking New Zealand into war.

“Nothing has changed. Before the election it was the militant group Islamic State making the news - it still is.

“Let’s be clear here. This is a decision that should be made by New Zealand’s Parliament.

“That’s what the British did. That’s what the Canadians have just debated in a motion put up by Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“What the Prime Minister is doing shows his disregard for parliamentary democracy, and his desire to use Parliament and a jacked-up majority to rubber stamp his serious inconsistency from his June “no-go” statement.

ENDS

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