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What correspondence, if any, including letters, emails, text messages, WhatsApp messages, Signal messages, or any other form of written or electronic communication, has the Minister or any member of the Minister’s office sent or received regarding remarks made by Winston Peters during the general debate that resulted in the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand lodging formal diplomatic concerns by date and title?

Answered Question 36026 (2026)
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Asked by

Teanau Tuiono

List MP · Green Party

Question

  • What correspondence, if any, including letters, emails, text messages, WhatsApp messages, Signal messages, or any other form of written or electronic communication, has the Minister or any member of the Minister’s office sent or received regarding remarks made by Winston Peters during the general debate that resulted in the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand lodging formal diplomatic concerns by date and title?

Answered by

Rt Hon Winston Peters

List MP · NZ First · Minister for Rail

Answer

As Minister for Rail, we have no responsibility for statements made in a general debate, so none. The Minister for Rail was pleased to hear the Minister of Foreign Affairs say on 5 August 2026 that he “stand[s] by our decision to approve the procurement of two state-of-the-art ferries from a Chinese shipyard” when noting that the “New Zealand-Chinese relationship is one of the most longstanding and significant.”