Released documents show NZ government advised full recognition of Palestine — advice declined
Newly released government papers show that New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) urged the Government to fully recognise a Palestinian state earlier this year.
Winston Peters
Foreign Minister Winston Peters ultimately rejected the advice before announcing New Zealand’s position at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The 113-page proactive release, published by MFAT on 13 November and now obtained by JWire, contains draft Cabinet material, internal correspondence, and communications between MFAT officials and the Minister’s office. The documents reveal that MFAT recommended “full/clean recognition” of Palestine and regarded recognition as the preferred policy option.
MFAT Draft Advised: “That New Zealand Recognise the Existence of the State of Palestine”
In mid-August, MFAT prepared draft Cabinet material proposing that New Zealand take the step of recognising a Palestinian state.
The draft paper recommended explicitly:
“That New Zealand recognise the existence of the State of Palestine.”
The documents show MFAT argued that international momentum had shifted toward recognition and that New Zealand risked reputational damage if it did not join countries such as Ireland, Spain, Norway, and others that had taken this step.
MFAT advised that maintaining the status quo — the position ultimately taken by Cabinet — “risked being seen” as supporting Israeli actions in the conflict.
Correspondence Shows Strong Internal Preference for Recognition
The release includes a series of email exchanges between MFAT’s Middle East and Africa Division and Peters’ office. These emails show that officials repeatedly emphasised their strong preference for full recognition.
One official noted that MFAT “strongly recommend full recognition without conditions,” even after the Minister’s office requested that conditional recognition options also be included in the analysis.
Another email confirms that Peters’ staff “fully understand” MFAT’s clear preference for full recognition, but signalled that the Minister required additional options.
Minister’s Office Takes Control of Final Cabinet Paper
By early September, the documents show that Peters’ office had assumed responsibility for drafting the version of the Cabinet paper that would go forward for Cabinet consideration.
MFAT was instead tasked with preparing communications material in case the Government chose not to recognise Palestine, including suggested public-facing messaging and internal talking points.
One MFAT note indicates officials were preparing for the possibility of leaks, drafting lines for how the Ministry could respond if its internal recommendations became public.
Government Decision: No Recognition at This Time
On 26 September, at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Peters announced that New Zealand would not recognise Palestine at this stage.
The final government position reflected Cabinet’s judgement that circumstances on the ground — including the ongoing war, the political split between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and uncertainty about governance in Gaza — made recognition premature.
Following Peters’ UN statement, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon delivered a press conference reinforcing the decision.
Minister’s Office Responds
In the proactive release, MFAT includes a statement from Peters’ office emphasising that the Ministry’s role is to provide advice and that ministers are not obliged to follow it.
“The minister receives advice on a broad range of foreign policy issues from government officials. As a deeply experienced foreign minister, he agrees with some of it and disagrees with some of it,” the statement reads.
It adds that recognition of Palestine “was always going to be a political decision made by Cabinet.”
A Clear Divergence in Policy Approach
The documents confirm, for the first time in official form, that MFAT’s internal position was to support full recognition, while Cabinet opted for continuity.
The release also shows that MFAT’s preferred option relied heavily on international signalling and diplomatic alignment, while Cabinet’s decision centred on conditions on the ground and wider geopolitical considerations.
With the documents now public, the contrasting positions of New Zealand’s foreign affairs bureaucracy and its elected Government are a matter of record.
No surprises here. MFAT as it is now titled, has like its British Foreign Office counterpart and the US State Dept been likewarm to hostile as far as supporting Israel is concerned. For the Brits and the Americans it was about oil and for NZ it was always about trade. The common denominator was and is not to upset Arab countries. Given today’s poisonous atmosphere this has now transitioned into knee jerk condemnations of Israel at the UN.
If Labour plus the Greens and the Maori Parties manage to cobble together a coalition after the next election you can kiss any semblance of even handedness goodbye.
Meanwhile kol hakavod to Winston Peters for injecting a rare breath of sanity.
A vastly more moral move than the Albanese government in Australia, and that of the UK and Canada who capitulated to local Muslim voters for their own selfish political reasons.