A quick change of stance after Labour MPs block China expert from speaking at select committee.
RNZ: Labour MPs backtrack on Anne-Marie Brady committee decision
Labour MPs have backtracked on their decision to block China expert Anne-Marie Brady from speaking at Parliament after push-back from the Opposition.
Professor Brady had asked to address MPs about foreign interference in elections as part of a justice committee inquiry, but the request was turned down yesterday when the four Labour MPs voted against it.
A government spokesperson said the committee chair, Labour MP Raymond Huo, had a rethink overnight and the committee would briefly reopen submissions to the public later this year.
Mr Huo declined to be interviewed by RNZ, but in a written statement he said he “welcomed” new submissions.
He said yesterday’s decision to block Prof Brady was “purely procedural” and denied he had shifted stance under pressure.
“That’s my own initiative,” Mr Huo said.
However, just hours earlier Mr Huo made no mention of that position in a separate statement sent to RNZ.
“As Committee Chair, I am satisfied that the correct procedure has been followed and that the [intelligence] agencies will keep the committee well informed about any issues of foreign interference that may arise,” he said.
Public attention seems to have had an effect.
Committee member and National MP Nick Smith yesterday called for the committee to reconsider, saying Parliament should hear from New Zealand’s most published academic around the risks of overseas interference in elections.
Dr Smith this afternoon told RNZ he was pleased Mr Huo had had a “change of heart”, but said it was only because he had spoken out.
“It’s blatantly obvious that the Beehive has recognised that silencing an academic on as issue as sensitive as protecting New Zealand from foreign interference was a really bad look and they’ve had to reconsider.”
Newsroom: Govt set to U-turn on Brady block
Committee chairman and Labour MP Raymond Huo, who has featured in Brady’s work for his supposed ties to Chinese government representatives, defended the decision on Thursday, saying it was “purely procedural” given the close of public submissions.
However, a spokesman for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Newsroom that Huo had reconsidered the Labour MPs’ original decision upon reflection.
He would discuss the inquiry at the committee next week, with a view to reopening it to public submissions from Brady and others.
While the decision to prevent Brady from speaking had been procedurally correct, the spokesman said there was merit in hearing from her and any others who wished to submit on the issue of foreign interference.
Neither Ardern nor anyone in her office had spoken to Huo about the committee’s initial decision, the spokesman said.
Jacinda Ardern said on 1 News tonight that the Labour MPs had had a change of mind and she thought that was a wise change of position, but kept a distance from that change of stance.