Written questions

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35408 (2026), how is the reply that there was "one conversation between MFAT and the Chinese Embassy on this matter" to be reconciled with the two telephone calls disclosed in replies 35384 and 35391 (2026), and will he…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35368 (2026), has any head of mission or diplomat of any country other than the People's Republic of China raised the remarks of 29 July 2026, or the state of the New Zealand–China relationship, with him, his office, or…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35384 (2026), has any Chinese authority raised the remarks of 29 July 2026 with any New Zealand Government agency other than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including but not limited to the Department of the…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35384 (2026), on how many occasions in total, as at the date of this reply, has any representative or organ of the Government of the People's Republic of China raised the remarks of 29 July 2026 with any representative or…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35356 (2026), has any New Zealand exporter, education provider, tourism operator, or business association raised concerns with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, or Education New…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35364 (2026), on what date does he expect to next meet or speak with the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, and when did he last do so?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35362 (2026), what engagements between New Zealand and Chinese officials at any level have taken place since 31 July 2026, whether in Wellington, Beijing, or third countries, and was the matter of the remarks of 29 July…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35363 (2026), what meetings, calls, visits, or engagements between New Zealand and Chinese Ministers or senior officials are currently scheduled or under discussion for the remainder of 2026, and has the scheduling of any…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35364 (2026), has the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing reported any change since 29 July 2026 in its access to Chinese Government interlocutors, including any declined, deferred, or downgraded meetings?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35381 (2026), does he intend to travel to the People's Republic of China during the remainder of 2026; was any such travel under consideration or discussion before 29 July 2026; and has its status changed since that date?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35360 (2026), has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade prepared any assessment of the consequences of the remarks of 29 July 2026 for its own purposes, whether or not provided to him?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35387 (2026), what reporting, if any, has the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing provided since 31 July 2026 on Chinese Government, Chinese state media, or Chinese social media reaction to the remarks of 29 July 2026, listed…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35353 (2026), has he instructed, indicated, or suggested to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, directly or through his office, that advice on the diplomatic, trade, or reputational consequences of the remarks of 29…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35360 (2026), has he, at any time since 5 August 2026, sought or received any advice, assessment, or reporting from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the state of the New Zealand–China relationship; if so, on…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35373 (2026), were the communications from his office to MFAT on 30 and 31 July 2026 made orally or in writing?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35378 (2026), on what basis did his office instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to refer media inquiries about remarks he made as Leader of New Zealand First to his ministerial office, and were any such…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35398 (2026), who decided that he would not be consulted on New Zealand's handling of the representations, and does he consider it appropriate that New Zealand's response to formal representations from a foreign government…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35397 (2026), did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade provide any advice, or express any view, on the appropriateness or diplomatic implications of remaining in "listening mode" rather than responding; if so, what…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35397 (2026), is the instruction to be in "listening mode" still in force; if so, until when, and in what circumstances would the Ministry be permitted to convey a substantive response to the Chinese Government on this…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35397 (2026), given his position that the remarks of 29 July 2026 were made as Leader of New Zealand First and not as Minister of Foreign Affairs, on what basis did his ministerial office instruct the Ministry of Foreign…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35397 (2026), do any contemporaneous records of the instruction to be in "listening mode" exist?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35397 (2026), did he personally approve, direct, or have knowledge of the instruction to be in "listening mode" before it was given; if not, on what authority did his office issue it?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35397 (2026), on what date and at what time did his office instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to be in "listening mode", who in his office gave that instruction, and to whom in the Ministry was it given?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35445 (2026), at what time (in both New York time and New Zealand time) were the voting instructions issued, and how many hours elapsed between the issuing of instructions and the vote?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35429 (2026), how is the conclusion that "no changes appear to be necessary" to be reconciled with the concession that the information "would ideally have been available to relevant officials earlier", and what change…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35425 (2026), given the abstention was explained to partners and to the Office of the High Commissioner in subsequent days, why was a written explanation of vote not delivered after the vote, as General Assembly practice…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35424 (2026), why was he not briefed until Monday 27 July 2026 when his office was informed on Saturday 25 July 2026, and did he attempt to obtain further information over that weekend?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35423 (2026), if voting instructions do not constitute advice to him, what category of decision does he consider New Zealand's voting position at the United Nations General Assembly to be, and who is accountable to…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35912 (2026), does he consider it appropriate that New Zealand's vote on a United Nations General Assembly resolution was changed by officials without any ministerial consultation; if so, why?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35447 (2026), under what authority did MFAT officials reverse the voting position set out in written instructions signed out at management level, without consulting the Minister, the Acting Minister, or any Minister?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35435 (2026), at what level of seniority were the MFAT officials in Wellington who took the decision to abstain, and did that decision involve the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a Deputy Secretary, or a divisional…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35427 (2026), which partners were informed, and were Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom among them; how did each of those countries vote on the resolution?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35427 (2026), were the "process" reasons conveyed to partners the same as, or different from, the additional information that prompted the abstention?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35436 (2026), what specific process concerns emerged during the debate that were not matters of public record before 24 July 2026, given that both the nomination for a second term and the Secretary-General succession…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35889 (2026), was the reliability, provenance, or accuracy of the additional information assessed by any New Zealand official before the decision to abstain was taken?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35889 (2026), yes or no: has the additional information subsequently been assessed as accurate?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35440 (2026), was the additional information received orally or in writing, and does the Government hold any record of it?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35440 (2026), was the additional information conveyed to New Zealand officials, in whole or in part, by a representative of another state; if he declines to answer, on what ground?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35440 (2026), did any representative of any other delegation communicate with New Zealand's Permanent Mission about the resolution between the issuing of voting instructions on 24 July 2026 and the casting of New Zealand's…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35443 (2026), on what ground does the Government decline to specify the additional information, and does that ground correspond to a withholding ground under the Official Information Act 1982?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35440 (2026), was the additional information contained in one or more statements delivered publicly in the General Assembly debate on 24 July 2026; if so, in which delegation's or delegations' statements; if not, by what…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35362 (2026), was the postponement raised in either of the telephone calls of 30 or 31 July 2026, and has MFAT made any assessment of whether the postponement is connected to remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35362 (2026), what programme had been planned for the New Zealand leg of the visit, including any meetings with Ministers or officials, and has the visit been rescheduled or has any indication been given of rescheduling?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35362 (2026), what is the basis for the "understanding" that all legs of the travel were postponed; has this been confirmed with any of the other countries on the itinerary, and which countries were on the itinerary?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35362 (2026), by whom, to whom, and in what form was New Zealand notified of the postponement on 31 July 2026, and at what time relative to the telephone call received by the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing that same day?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35362 (2026), what reason, if any, was given by the Chinese Government for the postponement of the Vice-Minister's travel?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35363 (2026), how is the answer "No" to be reconciled with reply 35362 (2026), which discloses that a visit to New Zealand by a Chinese Vice-Minister for Ecology and the Environment scheduled for August 2026 was postponed…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35377 (2026), how is his statement that he "has been briefed on an MFAT official's conversation with the Chinese Embassy" on 30 July 2026 to be reconciled with reply 35352 (2026) that he received no briefings from the…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35395 (2026), was any written record made of the discussion between the senior MFAT secondees in DPMC and MFAT on 30 July 2026; if so, what does it comprise?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 35341 (2026), is he aware of whether the Prime Minister or any member of the Prime Minister's Office was informed of the representations of 30 July 2026 at any time before question time on 5 August 2026?