Acting Prime Minister David Seymour says Labour and the Greens blocked his bid for Parliament to honour Charlie Kirk, the American political commentator, who was assassinated this week.
Seymour said Kirk’s death was “the bitter and tragic irony that a person promoting free speech over political violence was subject to political violence,” arguing that it resonated with many New Zealanders.
Seymour wanted the House to record a statement affirming freedom of expression and condemning political violence. Still, Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni said there was no precedent for paying tribute to overseas figures with no formal link to New Zealand.
A Green Party spokesperson echoed that, saying there was “no clear reason for making an exception” in Kirk’s case. Seymour called the refusal “a real shame on behalf of Labour and the Greens.”
Centrist Ltd.