Maverick ideas across the ditch

Indebted as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is to her Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, for delivering the numbers for her to govern, she must ensure he does not become a disruptive maverick at a challenging time for the West. Ms Ardern would not be drawn yesterday on Mr Peters’s claim there was no evidence Russia was involved in shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014.

Australian opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong was right to point to “compelling evidence” in the joint investigation team’s interim report that Russia was involved. The tragedy killed 298 people, including 38 Australian citizens and residents, among them a New Zealand-born woman. As Senator Wong said: “We owe it to the families of those killed in this senseless and criminal act to do everything possible to ensure those responsible for the downing of MH17 are identified and brought to justice.”

Since Mr Peters’s elevation in October, he has criticised Western commentators for “constantly harping on about the romance of freedom” in China and questioned claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. In the US, special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 13 Russian nationals for allegedly meddling in the election. Mr Peters’s views appear “idiosyncratic” and “based on what seem to be prejudices”, New Zealand Opposition Leader Simon Bridges says. As Vladimir Putin becomes more aggressive, there is no reason for a small, Western nation in a strategically sensitive region to be more supportive towards Russia.