NZ media in the middle of diplomatic drama

Mediawatch - By the time Trump announced tariffs on China and Canada last Monday which could kickstart a trade war, our diplomats in Washington DC had already been deployed on another diplomatic drama.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz had said on social media it was "difficult to treat New Zealand as a normal ally... when they denigrate and punish Israeli citizens for defending themselves and their country".

He cited a story in the Israeli media outlet Ha'aretz, which has a reputation for independence in Israel and credibility abroad.

But Ha'aretz had wrongly reported Israelis must declare service in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) as part of "new requirements" for visa applications.

Winston Peters replied forcefully to Cruz on X, condemning Ha'aretz's story as "fake news" and demanding a correction.

But one thing Trump's Republicans and Winston Peters had in common last week was irritating Mexico.

His fellow NZ First MP Shane Jones had bellowed "Send the Mexicans home" at Green MPs in Parliament.

Winston Peters then told two of them they should be more grateful for being able to live here.

On Facebook he wasn't exactly backing down.

"We... will not be lectured on the culture and traditions of New Zealand from people who have been here for five minutes," he added.

While he was at it, Peters criticised media outlets for not holding other political parties to account for inflammatory comments.

Peters was posting that as a politician - not a foreign minister, but the Mexican ambassador complained to MFAT. (It seems the so-called "Mexican standoff" was resolved over a pre-Waitangi lunch with Ambassador Bravo).

But the next day - last Wednesday - news of another diplomatic drama broke on TVNZ's 1News.

"A deal that could shatter New Zealand's close relationship with a Pacific neighbour," presenter Simon Dallow declared, in front of a backdrop of a stern-looking Peters.

TVNZ's Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver reported the Cook Islands was about to sign a partnership agreement in Beijing.

"We want clarity and at this point in time, we have none. We've got past arrangements, constitutional arrangements, which require constant consultation with us, and dare I say, China knows that," Peters told 1News.

Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown also told Barbara Dreaver TVNZ's revelations last month about proposed Cook Island passports had also been a headache for him.

"We were caught by surprise when this news was broken by 1News. I thought it was a high-level diplomatic discussion with leaders to be open and frank. For it to be brought out into the public before we've had a time to inform our public, I thought was a breach of our political diplomacy," he told TVNZ this week.

Last week another Barabara Dreaver scoop on 1News brought the strained relationship with another Pacific state into the headlines.

"Our relationship with Kiribati is at breaking point. New Zealand's $100 million aid programme there is now on hold. The move comes after President Maamau pulled out of a pre-arranged meeting with Winston Peters."

The media ended up in the middle of the blame game over this too - but many didn't see coming.

Caught in the crossfire

"A diplomatic rift with Kiribati was on no one's 2025 bingo card," Stuff national affairs editor Andrea Vance wrote last weekend in the Sunday Star-Times

"Of all the squabbles Winston Peters was expected to have this year, no one picked it would be with an impoverished, sinking island nation," she wrote, in terms that would surely annoy Kiribati.

"Do you believe Kiribati is snubbing you?" Morning Report's Corin Dann asked Peters.

"You can come to any conclusion you like, but our job is to try and resolve this matter," Peters replied.

Kiribati Education Minister Alexander Teabo told RNZ Pacific there was no snub.

He said Kiribati President Maamau - who is also the nation's foreign minister - had been unavailable because of a long-planned and important Catholic ordination ceremony on his home island of Onotoa - though this was prior to the proposed visit from Peters.

On Facebook - at some length - New Zealand-born Kiribati MP Ruth Cross Kwansing blamed "media manufactured drama."

"The New Zealand media seized the opportunity to patronise Kiribati, and the familiar whispers about Chinese influence began to circulate," she said.

She was more diplomatic on the 531pi Pacific Mornings radio show but insistent New Zealand had not been snubbed.

Peters told the same show it was "regrettable" that the dispute had been made public.

On Newstalk ZB Peters was backed - and Kiribati portrayed as the problem.

"If somebody is giving me $100m and they asked for a meeting, I will attend. I don't care if it's my mum's birthday. Or somebody's funeral," Drive host Ryan Bridge told listeners.

"It's always very hard to pick apart these stories (by) just reading them in the media. But I have faith and confidence in Winston Peters as our foreign minister," PR-pro Trish Shrerson opined.

So did her fellow panellist, former Labour MP Stuart Nash.

"He's respected across the Pacific. He's the consummate diplomat. If Winston says this is the story and this is what's happening, I believe 100 percent. And I would say, go hard. Winston - represent our interests."

But veteran Pacific journalist Michael Field contradicted them soon after on ZB.

"It's totally silly. All this talk about cancelling $104m of aid is total pie-in-the-sky from Winston Peters," he said.

"Somebody's lost their marbles on this, and the one who's possibly on the ground looking for them is Winston Peters.

"He didn't need to be in Tarawa in early January at all. This is pathetic. This is like saying I was invited to my sister's birthday party and now it's been cancelled," he said.

Not a comparison you hear very often in international relations.

In his own Substack newsletter Michael Field also insisted the row reflected poorly on New Zealand.

"While the conspiracy around Kiribati and China has deepened, no one is noticing the still-viable Kiribati-United States treaty which prevents Kiribati atolls [from] being used as bases without Washington approval," he added.

But TVNZ's Barbara Dreaver said Kiribati was being "hugely disrespectful."

In a TVNZ analysis piece last weekend, she said New Zealand has "every right to expect better engagement than it has been getting over the past year."

Dreaver - who was born in and grew up in Kiribati and has family there - also criticised "the airtime and validation" Kwansing got in the media here.

"She supports and is part of a government that requires all journalists - should they get a visa to go there - to hand over copies of all footage/information collected," Dreaver said.

Kwansing hit back on Facebook, accusing Dreaver of "publishing inane drivel" and "irresponsible journalism causing stress to locals."

"You write like you need a good holiday somewhere happy. Please book yourself a luxury day spa ASAP," she told TVNZ's Pacific Affairs reporter.

Two days later - last Tuesday - The Kiribati government made percent2CO percent2CP-R an official statement which also pointed the finger at the media.

"Despite this media issue, the government of Kiribati remains convinced the strong bonds between Kiribati and New Zealand will enable a resolution to this unfortunate standoff," it said.

Another reporter who knows what it's like to cop the blame for reporting stuff diplomats and politicians want to keep out of the news is RNZ Pacific's senior journalist and presenter Lydia Lewis.

Last year Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese questioned RNZ's ethics after she reported comments he made to the US Deputy Secretary of State at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga - which revealed an until-then behind closed doors plan to pay for better policing in the Pacific.

She's also been covering the tension with Kiribati.

Is the heat coming on the media more these days if they candidly report diplomatic differences?

"There's no study that says there are more people blaming the media. So it's anecdotal, but definitely, both the public and politicians are saying the media (are) making a big deal of things," Lewis told Mediawatch.

"I would put the question back to the public as to who's manufacturing drama. All we're doing is reporting what's in front of us for the public to then make their decision - and questioning it. And there were a lot of questions around this Kiribati story."

Lewis said it was shortly before 6pm on 27 January, that selected journalists were advised of the response of our government to the cancellation of the meeting with foreign minister Peters.

But it was not mentioned that Kiribati had offered the Deputy President for a meeting, the same person that met with an Australian delegation recently.

A response from Kiribati proved harder to get- and Lewis spoke to a senior figure in Kiribati that night who told her they knew nothing about it.

Politicians and diplomats, naturally enough, prefer to do things behind the scenes and media exposure is a complication for them.

But we simply wouldn't know about the impending partnership agreement between China and the Cook Islands if TVNZ had not reported it last Monday.

And another irony: some political figures lamenting the diplomatically disruptive impact of the media also make decidedly undiplomatic responses of their own online these days.

"It can be revealing in the sense of where people stand. Sometimes they're just putting out their opinions or their experience. Maybe they've got some sort of motive. A formal message or email we'll take a bit more seriously. But some of the things on social media, we just take with a grain of salt," said Lewis.

"It is vital we all look at multiple sources. It comes back to balance and knowledge and understanding what you know about and what you don't know about - and then asking the questions in between."

Big Powers and the Big Picture

Kwansing objected to New Zealand media jumping to the conclusion China's influence was a factor in the friction with New Zealand.

"To dismiss the geopolitical implications with China... would be naive and ignorant," Dreaver countered.

Michael Field pointed to an angle missing.

"While the conspiracy around Kiribati and China has deepened, no one is noticing the still viable Kiribati-United States treaty which prevents Kiribati atolls being used as bases without Washington approval," he wrote in his Substack.

In the same article in which Vance called Kiribati "an impoverished, sinking island nation" she later pointed out that its location, US military ties and vast ocean territory make it strategically important.

"There's a lot of people that want in on Kiribati. It has a huge exclusive economic zone," Lewis said.

She said communication problems and patchy connectivity are also drawbacks.

"We do have a fuller picture now of the situation, but the overarching question that's come out of this is around transparency and accountability.

"We can't hold Kiribati politicians to account like we do New Zealand government politicians."

"I don't want to give Kiribati a free pass here but it's really difficult to get a response.

"They're posting statements on Facebook and it really has raised some questions around the government's commitment to transparency and accountability for all journalists... committed to fair media reporting across the Pacific."

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