New Zealand will finally be able to unilaterally impose economic sanctions on individuals linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine after Parliament passed legislation on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after Vladimir Putin ordered troops to occupy the eastern European nation.
The Russia Sanctions Bill, announced by the Government on Monday, passed through Parliament under urgency on Wednesday night and received the backing of all MPs.
Recognising the Bill was being discussed on the 14th day of the conflict, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the legislation allowed New Zealand to "step up" its response to Russia's "grave, unprovoked war" and remain "aligned and in-step with international partners".
"The actions we have and are taking signal our solidarity with the international community to highlight that the protection of territorial integrity and sovereignty is an important feature of upholding the international rule of law," she said.
"This is a prime case and reason why it is appropriate to ensure that we have a targeted sanctions bill regarding Russia's active terror on the Ukraine."
She described the Bill as providing a framework that acts as an "enabler" of her as the minister to recommend specific regulations, or sanctions.
"It enables an escalation in our response as aggression in Ukraine escalates and alongside subsequent decisions of international partners," Mahuta told the House.
She also acknowledged the Bill had similar characteristics to one put forward by National's Gerry Brownlee last year that would have created a wider autonomous sanctions regime, rather than a scheme focused only on this conflict.
In his submission, Brownlee said he wished such legislation had already been in place as it would have allowed New Zealand to implement sanctions earlier. Labour voted down Brownlee's Member's Bill last year, saying it wasn't fit-for-purpose and had too narrow a scope.
However, the National MP said what can't be lost "in the politics of passing a Bill like this" was the recognition of the suffering of the Ukrainian people. MPs across the Parliament on Wednesday night spoke of their disgust at Putin's action.
Brownlee said the world had been left in "a position of having to try and cripple the Russian economy to make the cost of waging this war so hard on the Russian regime and, frankly, on Russian people who support that regime, and we can only do that through a range of sanctions".
"I do respect the fact that Nanaia Mahuta has engaged with other countries' foreign Ministers and has come home to New Zealand and said, 'Right, we need to do this.' That is a mark, I think, of leadership and I acknowledge her for that."
Greens co-leader James Shaw noted the saying that "history doesn't repeat but it does rhyme".
"The parallels between Putin's Russia and Putin's regime and those of Adolf Hitler are quite remarkable," he said. "Both were authoritarians who had, or have, an ideology of chauvinistic nationalism. Both of them use extensive propaganda and coercion to keep their own populations compliant."
He said just as Hitler's invasion of Poland prompted the world to act to stop the German dictator so has the Ukrainian invasion led the world to act against Putin.
Yet the key difference, Shaw noted, is that the world is now "attempting to use as little violence as possible, de-escalation and the use of sanctions" than during World War II.
In supporting the Bill, he said the Greens do have wider concerns about an autonomous sanctions regime as it could "undermine the multilateral system and the United Nations system". But Shaw said this legislation was narrowly focused on the conflict in Ukraine and references the UN.
ACT's Brooke van Velden said by not already having similar sanctions legislation to a large number of our partners, New Zealand has "been the weakest link in the West".
"We also need to pass autonomous sanctions not just for Russia, but for any other future country, because we must be clear that Russia may be the first of these authoritarian states to declare war and violate sovereignty. It could be Ukraine today, and Taiwan tomorrow. We need to send a signal that we will fight back."
Rawiri Waititi, the Te Pāti Māori co-leader, welcomed the Bill's targeting of oligarchs and "the ruling class of Russian society".
"Those who hold the power should be those who face the repercussions. We recognise that the sanctions that slow down the Russian economy, which is necessary in the immediate term to halt their military progress, will have some impact on the working people of Russia," he said.
"That is why sanctions must be time bound and reviewed on a continuous basis to determine their effectiveness and their adverse impact on working people."
All parties acknowledged that the Government's use of urgency to pass the Bill, which was only introduced hours earlier, was justified considering the horror unfolding in Ukraine.
It was immediately after Putin's decision in late February when a number of Western jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union announced sweeping sanctions directed at Russia.
They're intended to disrupt the lives of key Russian oligarchs, officials and financial institutions, squeezing the country's economy and putting pressure on Putin to back down.
While New Zealand quickly imposed travel bans, export controls and dropped consultation with Russian foreign ministry officials, a lack of legislative power meant Aotearoa couldn't follow suit with more specific sanctions without relying on United Nations (UN) approval.
That changes now with the Russian Sanctions Bill passing. The Government intends for sanctions to begin being imposed next week.
"Those sanctions can be imposed on people, services, companies, and assets related to those in Russia who are responsible for or associated with the invasion, or that are of economic or strategic relevance to Russia, including oligarchs," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said when announcing the legislation on Monday
It allows the Government to freeze the New Zealand-based assets of those connected to the invasion and stop them from moving assets to Aotearoa or using our financial system to get around sanctions imposed by other countries. Those implicated will also be prohibited from moving their superyachts, ships and aircraft into New Zealand waters or airspace.
The legislation, which Ardern said is of a nature that's never before been passed through Parliament, says sanctions are appropriate if they are designed to "exert pressure" on Russia or another country assisting Russia, or if they "complement or reinforce" sanctions by another nation.
This means that Belarusians can also be sanctioned as the Russian ally has given Putin's troops access to Ukraine through its border. Already, Belarusians have been added to the travel ban list.
Under the legislation, the Government must also be satisfied that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is unlikely to respond because of the use of a veto by a permanent member or has responded insufficiently.
In the days after Putin ordered the invasion, the UNSC attempted to pass a resolution condemning Russia, but Russia's representative Vassily Nebenzia shut that down with the country's veto power. However, he couldn't stop a UN General Assembly meeting from being called where Russia was strongly denounced.
A public sanctions register will be set up to list every individual, entity, asset, or service that is sanctioned. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) on Monday published the list of Russian officials and other individuals associated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, who are banned from travelling to New Zealand.
Further tranches of sanctions will follow, including a "more forensic analysis of Russian investment in New Zealand with ties to the invasion", Ardern said. Currently, Russian investment here is limited, sitting up to $40 million.
Autonomous sanctions
The legislation is different to an autonomous sanctions regime which isn't focused on one specific conflict or event.
The Member's Bill from National's Brownlee which would have created such a regime was voted down by Labour last year after it expressed concern it didn't adequately address human rights or cyber-security.
Brownlee has maintained the Government could have simply altered the Bill's scope instead of just dumping it.
Ardern on Monday said the Government will continue to seek advice on a full autonomous regime, but that the Russian Sanctions Bill allowed the Government to act quickly.
Mahuta said then that New Zealand is a strong advocate for multilateral systems and has historically supported sanctions being imposed through the United Nations.
"However with Russia using its veto as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to prevent any action, even in the face of overwhelming opposition to Russia’s war, New Zealand has decided that a targeted sanctions bill is required to show our condemnation in the strongest possible terms.
"New Zealand continues to call on Russia to do what is right and immediately cease military operations in Ukraine and permanently withdraw to avoid a catastrophic loss of innocent life."
Russian state-controlled media agency TASS on Tuesday reported that New Zealand along with a number of other countries had been added to a list of "unfriendly" nations by Russia.
On top of the travel bans and export controls, New Zealand has also taken other actions to condemn Russia. That includes voting in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution and being party to a joint request for Interpol to restrict Russia's access to its systems that monitor and share intelligence on international policing operations.
New Zealand has also joined others in referring the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court, which is investigating to identify whether any war crimes or crimes against humanity are occurring.
The Government has extended the visas of some Ukrainian nationals in New Zealand and allowed Ukrainians offshore with a valid visa to come here immediately, instead of waiting for the border to reopen.
It's also considering further actions it can take to assist the family members of Ukrainians here. National wants to see a special humanitarian visa created to allow them to travel to New Zealand.
Humanitarian aid of an initial $2 million has also been committed by Aotearoa to support Ukrainians affected by the ongoing war.
