Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Trade First Then Talk Human Rights with Saudi Arabia – Key

Trade First Then Talk Human Rights with Saudi Arabia – Key

John Key has defended his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, saying a free trade agreement with the Kingdom will allow the two parties to talk about a ‘range of issues’ including human rights abuses.

He’s the first Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia, but critics say he shouldn’t do so because of the country’s human rights abuses, including beheadings.

Mr Key agreed that Saudi Arabia was doing things New Zealand disagreed with, but that it shouldn’t prevent trade between the two countries.

“I utterly reject them and don’t believe they should do that,” he told Q+A’s Corin Dann. “But they are taking it against their own citizens. They’re not looking to basically get to the point where they murder New Zealanders in their own country or in parts of the region that they travel to simply because we disagree with their perspective on the world.”

My Key pointed out here were many countries that New Zealand had disagreements with. “We do trade with them, and we do travel and go and see them. The question is, over time, can you make changes? I think if we get a free trade agreement, for instance, with Saudi Arabia, we have got a much stronger relationship from which we can talk about a range of issues.”

Pony Tale Pulling Situation ‘the Opposite of a Power Imbalance’ – PM

Prime Minister John Key has once more defended his pulling of a ponytail of an Auckland waitress, saying he would need to be a bit more careful in future, but that it wasn’t a case of abusing his powerful position.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“I think it’s the opposite to what some people might think - that there’s a power imbalance. It’s actually the opposite” he told Q+A’s Corin Dann this morning. “I’ve been mucking in sort of a little bit and having a bit of fun. I accept that, but, actually, in doing that, I’ve badly misread a situation.”

“And all I’m simply saying is from every experience that you have in life, you can’t reverse things that have happened as much as you might 100% want to. But what you can do is learn from them, and I have to mark this down as something I got wrong, and therefore I have to learn from it.”

Mr Key conceded that the media coverage of the incident this week “looks awful” but that most people would have thought it was a “bit of a laugh” and that many knew him as a friendly guy that liked to interact with the public.

Here’s a link to the full interview from today’s show:

http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/sending-troops-iraq-trade-saudi-arabia-ponytail-video-6300699

Q+A, 9-10am Sundays on TV ONE and one hour later on TV ONE plus 1. Repeated Sunday evening at 11:35pm. Streamed live at www.tvnz.co.nz

Thanks to the support from NZ On Air.

Q+A is on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/NZQandA#!/NZQandA and on Twitter, http://twitter.com/#!/NZQandA

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.