Written questions

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has any head of mission accredited to New Zealand raised concerns with him or with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade about his social media post of 30 July 2026 referring to “pearl clutchers” and “communist shills”; if so, which…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What advice, if any, has he received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the effect on New Zealand’s diplomatic relationships of describing a head of mission accredited to New Zealand in the terms used in his social media…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  To whom did the words “communist shills” refer in his social media post of 30 July 2026 which stated that “If that offends the pearl clutchers and the communist shills labelling it as ‘dangerous’ – welcome to New Zealand.”?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he consider the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to New Zealand to be a “shill” within the definition he cited to the House on 5 August 2026, being the Cambridge Dictionary definition of “someone who helps another person…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by his statement in the House on 5 August 2026, in a supplementary question to oral question No. 8, that “by definition, all diplomats are shills for their own country”?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has any media response issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade concerning the remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026 been cleared by his office before issue; if so, on what dates?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What guidance, if any, applies to whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade comments publicly on statements made by him in a capacity other than as Minister of Foreign Affairs?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at any time since 29 July 2026, expressed agreement with, endorsement of, or support for the remarks he made during the general debate in the House on 29 July 2026, whether publicly or in any…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Was the statement issued on 30 July 2026 by a spokesperson stating that he had been briefed on a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade official’s conversation with the Chinese Embassy issued by his ministerial office or by the New Zealand…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by the statement issued by a spokesperson for him on the evening of 30 July 2026 that “The Minister has been briefed on an MFAT official’s conversation with the Chinese Embassy this afternoon.”?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Did any spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade make any public statement between 29 July 2026 and 5 August 2026 concerning the remarks he made during the general debate in the House on 29 July 2026; if so, on what dates…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by his statement in the House on 5 August 2026, in answer to a supplementary question to oral question No. 6 asking why he had, via a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, agreed with comments made…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has any scheduled or proposed contact between him and the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China been sought, offered, declined, deferred, or cancelled since 29 July 2026; if so, on what dates?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has he received any communication, directly or through officials, from the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China since 29 July 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on that date; if so, on what date and in…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has any representative of the Government of the People’s Republic of China conveyed to New Zealand any request for an apology, retraction, clarification, or other action in relation to remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has the Government of the People’s Republic of China raised remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026 with New Zealand at any level, in any meeting, call, or written communication since that date, other than the…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Have any of New Zealand’s overseas posts reported representations, enquiries, or expressions of concern from host governments concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026; if so, from which countries and on what…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has any guidance been issued to New Zealand’s overseas posts generally on how to respond to enquiries about remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026; if so, on what date and in what terms?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What reporting, if any, has he received from the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing since 29 July 2026 concerning Chinese Government or Chinese media reaction to remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on that date, and on what dates was…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Have any talking points, guidance, or instructions been issued to the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026; if so, on what date were they issued and by whom were they approved?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has New Zealand’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China sought, or been instructed to seek, any meeting with Chinese officials to explain, contextualise, or respond to remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026; if…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has any official of the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing other than the Ambassador been summoned, called in, or otherwise asked to attend a meeting by Chinese authorities in connection with remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Have any representations, protests, or expressions of concern been made to the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing by any Chinese authority concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026, at any time since that date; if…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has New Zealand’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China been summoned, called in, or otherwise asked to attend a meeting by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in connection with remarks made in the New…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What standing instruction or practice, if any, governs whether and when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises the Office of the Prime Minister that a foreign mission has lodged formal representations concerning the conduct or…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Were any Ministers other than himself notified that the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand had lodged representations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 30 July 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament; if so,…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Was the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet notified that the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand had lodged representations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 30 July 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Was the Office of the Prime Minister notified that the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand had lodged representations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 30 July 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament; if so,…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has he issued any instruction to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding how it should respond to the representations lodged by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand on 30 July 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Was he consulted on, or did he approve, the content of any New Zealand response to the representations lodged by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand on 30 July 2026 before that response was conveyed?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade conveyed any response to the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand concerning the representations that Embassy lodged on 30 July 2026 over remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament; if so, on what…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has any New Zealand official been asked to attend the Chinese Embassy in Wellington in connection with remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026, at any time since that date; if so, on what date and at what level of…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Was any document handed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand in the course of the representations of 30 July 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament; if so, what was the…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What written records, if any, does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade hold of the representations lodged by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand on 30 July 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament, including any note…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Did the meeting or conversation of 30 July 2026 between an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament take place in person, by…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  At what level of seniority, on each side, was the meeting or conversation of 30 July 2026 between an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand concerning remarks made in the New Zealand…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Was the meeting or conversation on 30 July 2026 between an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, at which that Embassy states it lodged solemn representations concerning remarks made…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How is the approach made by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 30 July 2026, described by that Embassy as the lodging of “solemn representations” over negative China-related remarks made in…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by his statement in the House on 5 August 2026, in answer to a supplementary question to oral question No. 6, that a member of Parliament “has been in this Parliament five minutes, has wasted so much of Parliament’s time”?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many separate approaches, if any, did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade receive from the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand between 29 July 2026 and 5 August 2026 concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament, and on what…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  On what date and at what time was he first informed that the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand had lodged representations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade concerning remarks made in the New Zealand Parliament on 29 July 2026,…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by his statement to media at Parliament on 29 July 2026, referring to a member of Parliament who had heckled him during the general debate that day, that the member “can’t even speak the language properly”?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he consider that statements made publicly by a Minister of Foreign Affairs about another country are capable of being understood by the government of that country as reflecting the position of the New Zealand Government, irrespective…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Has he, in his capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs, corrected, clarified, withdrawn, or qualified any part of the words he spoke in the general debate in the House on 29 July 2026 in which he told a member of Parliament to “go back to…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by his statement in the House on 5 August 2026, in response to a supplementary question asking whether he agreed that Chinese people “lie like a flat fish”, that “That statement is demonstrably, on the Hansard, false.”; if…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he consider that the words “that’s where they lie like a flatfish”, spoken by him in the general debate in the House on 29 July 2026, referred to the People’s Republic of China, to the Government of the People’s Republic of China, to…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  To whom or what does the word “they” refer in the words “that’s where they lie like a flatfish”, spoken by him and recorded in Hansard for the general debate in the House on 29 July 2026, given his statement in the House on 5 August 2026…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by his statement in the House on 5 August 2026, in answer to oral question No. 6, that he stands by all his statements as Minister of Foreign Affairs “including those made during two visits this term to China”?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Does he stand by his statement in the House on 5 August 2026, in answer to oral question No. 6 asking whether he stood by all his statements and actions, “I stand by all my comments as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I also stand by my…

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Further to reply 33624 (2026), will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade now undertake an assessment of the implications of the abstention for New Zealand's international human rights reputation and for current or prospective New…