Labour's new foreign affairs spokesperson says the National-led coalition Government has been "very one-sided" in its approach to international affairs and has struggled to consistently uphold the rules-based order.
Oxford-educated human rights lawyer and Labour MP Vanushi Walters told Q+A she would not have signed New Zealand up to a recent joint statement expressing readiness to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, saying the language was ambiguous.
"By signing on to the statement, we also create an expectation," she said.
"The question is, do we really believe that if the US were to ask New Zealand to contribute forces, that the Government would say no?"
Labour warns Hormuz stance risks pulling NZ into Iran conflict - Watch on TVNZ+
Walters, who is also Labour's spokesperson for the GCSB and SIS spy agencies, said the statement, issued in the past week, risked drawing New Zealand into complicity with possible breaches of international law.
She said the conflict in Iran had begun with an illegal breach of the UN Charter by the United States and Israel, and the Government should have called that out.
"No one is above it. And when Israel and the US invaded Iran, the Government should have called that out as a breach of the UN Charter. They didn't."
'Inconsistent' approach
Walters said the Government had been inconsistent in its foreign policy, pointing to several examples.
While Foreign Minister Winston Peters had made early statements calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and respect for human rights, New Zealand had been absent from a joint statement on humanitarian access to Gaza in December last year.
She also criticised Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for saying in 2024 that New Zealand could be "a force multiplier" for the US and Australia, and for signalling openness to joining the AUKUS Pillar Two security pact.
"I don't think that serves New Zealand's interests," Walters said.
She pointed to a further example in 2025, when the US issued sanctions against International Criminal Court judges and prosecutors.
Walters said China, as a key trading partner, would be watching to see whether New Zealand applied its principles evenly. "No doubt China will be asking themselves why we're calling out some on one hand and not others."
She said some human rights issues were best raised behind closed doors, and that relationships, particularly in the Pacific, required careful diplomacy.
Walters said she had been inspired to pursue human rights law after her mother told her the story of Sri Lankan journalist Richard de Zoysa, who had been killed by secret police the night before he was due to leave the country.
She said she spoke regularly with former prime minister Helen Clark, though they did not always agree, noting Clark sometimes pushed for more forceful public positions than Walters believed were always warranted.
Peters has refused to be interviewed by Q+A host Jack Tame for more than two years during his tenure as Foreign Minister.
For the full interview, watch the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
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