‘Chinese Puppet’: Former Australian Foreign Minister to Sue NZ Foreign Minister for Defamation

Former NSW Premier and Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, says he intends to sue New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters over remarks he made on the radio this morning. Mr. Peters was being questioned about his country’s potential inclusion in the second pillar of the AUKUS pact. When an interviewer asked him to comment on Mr. Carr’s outspoken opposition to the agreement, Mr. Peters referred to him as “nothing more than a Chinese puppet.” Last month, Mr. Carr visited Wellington and addressed a Labour Party-organised anti-AUKUS forum alongside former NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark. “What on earth does he think he’s doing walking into our country and telling us what to do?” Mr. Peters told RNZ. “We would no more do that in Australia than he should do here. That’s the kind of arrogance we don’t like.”...