New Zealand is considering introducing laws aimed at curbing foreign influence in domestic politics ahead of a general election next year, the country’s deputy prime minister Winston Peters has said.
“Our government is conscious of comment and concerns and we are listening,” Mr Peters said in an interview with the Financial Times. “In the case of the independence, neutrality and sovereignty of the New Zealand political system there will be proposals that will be ready for the next general election to ensure those concerns are addressed.”
New Zealand has been criticised by security analysts and China experts for not acknowledging that people and organisations with links to the Chinese Communist party have sought to influence domestic politics. Peter Mattis, a former CIA analyst, told a US Congressional committee that New Zealand’s participation in the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network — which includes the US, UK, Canada and Australia — should be reconsidered due to its close links with Beijing.