NZ Green Party co-leader suspended from parliament over Palestine speech
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has been suspended from New Zealand’s Parliament for the remainder of the week after refusing to withdraw and apologise for comments made during a heated debate on Palestine.
Chloe Swarbrick
The incident occurred following the Government’s announcement that it would consider recognising a Palestinian state within the next month. In her speech, Swarbrick called on “six MPs with a spine” to support her push for additional sanctions against Israel.
Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee deemed the remark “completely unacceptable” and directed Swarbrick to withdraw and apologise. When she refused, she was ordered to leave the chamber for the week. Swarbrick responded, “Happily,” before departing.
In the same session, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngārewa-Packer, wearing a keffiyeh, declared, “I don’t want to hear about October 7”, referring to Hamas’s deadly terrorist attacks against Israel. The comment underscored the polarised nature of the parliamentary debate, with some MPs rejecting any reference to Hamas’s atrocities while calling for increased pressure on Israel.
The exchanges come amid intensifying rhetoric in New Zealand’s political discourse on the Israel–Palestine conflict, with sharp personal remarks replacing substantive policy debate.
