Editorial: Newby foreign minister disowns Government’s Israel policy | Dominion-Post

It’s not often that a new minister disowns the policy of his immediate predecessor and of the Government as a whole. But that’s what newly-appointed Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee has done.

Brownlee  says it was “premature” of New Zealand to co-sponsor the UN Security Council resolution condemning the Israeli Government’s policy of expanding Israeli settlements. At a stroke he has ratted on his government’s  bold and courageous move which called Benjamin Netanyahu’s belligerent government to account and expressed a widespread international frustration at Israel’s behaviour.

In doing so he has contradicted and disowned the policy of his predecessor, Murray McCully, and thrown his Government’s policy into utter confusion. This is not a sensible course for a new minister to follow, and he should be hauled over the coals by his leader, Bill English.

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