Invercargill Council rejects anti-Israel procurement motion
New Zealand’s Invercargill City Council has voted down a motion that would have amended its procurement policy to exclude companies operating in Israeli settlements, becoming the first New Zealand council in recent months to reject such a targeted initiative.
The proposal, brought forward by local activists aligned with the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, called on the council to align with a controversial list published by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The list targets companies with business links to Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria (commonly referred to as the West Bank).
Following a heated debate on Tuesday afternoon, the vote was split evenly — six councillors in favour and six against. The deciding vote fell to Mayor Nobby Clark, who cast it against the proposal, citing the need to balance ethical considerations with the council’s core responsibility to ratepayers.
“We must weigh our commitment to ethical procurement with fiscal prudence,” Mayor Clark said. “We cannot become a foreign policy body.”
Councillor Allan Arnold echoed this sentiment, stating: “We’re the Invercargill City Council. Our job is to look after the infrastructure and people of Invercargill. This is far, far beyond our scope.”
The motion’s defeat comes in contrast to recent moves by Christchurch City Council, Nelson City Council, and Environment Canterbury, which have adopted procurement policies that single out Israeli-linked firms based on the UNHRC list. Critics say the list is part of a broader campaign of delegitimisation targeting the Jewish state.
While some councillors expressed a desire to see Invercargill follow suit with other councils, others warned that passing such motions risks dragging local government into international controversies and undermining its credibility with the public.
There was discussion about the possibility of reviewing the council’s procurement policy more generally in the future, but no formal decision was made to pursue such a review during the meeting.
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has indicated it will bring similar motions to other regional councils, including Environment Southland.
Israel remains the only country singled out in this way by New Zealand councils, despite numerous territorial disputes and occupations globally. Companies operating in Western Sahara, northern Cyprus, and Russian-occupied Crimea face no such restrictions under local procurement rules.
