Russia has blacklisted 32 more Kiwis – including military leaders, mayors, councilors, academics and journalists – in response to what the embassy has described as a “Russophobic agenda”.
A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry says those on the list will be banned from entering Russia indefinitely in response to New Zealand Government Sanctions applied to “an increasing number of Russian citizens”.
The new list of banned Kiwis includes the mayor of Auckland, Phil Goff, the mayor of Wellington, Andy Foster, the mayor of Nelson, Rachel Reese, the mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel and the mayor of Dunedin, Aaron Hawkins, among others elected officials.
It also includes senior members of the New Zealand Defense Force, along with academics and journalists – including four stuff journalists and columnists.
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The blacklist follows a series of sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the February invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions include: applying a 35% tariff on all imports of Russian origin and prohibiting the export of certain goods to Russia and Belarus, including products closely associated with strategic Russian industries.
The statement, published on the Website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairsalso included a warning that more names could be added to the list of people with “personal sanctions” against them.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that they were not surprised that Russia had added more New Zealanders to the list of travel bans.
Aotearoa New Zealand, in coordination with the international community, has applied severe sanctions against Russia as a means of limiting the Putin regime’s ability to continue waging war on Ukraine and harming civilians.
“It is disappointing to see Russia deepening its isolation from the international community, rather than adopting the clear message it is being sent: to end its senseless war of aggression in Ukraine and withdraw its troops.”
Earlier this year, 130 New Zealand politicians and officials — including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, cabinet ministers, parliamentarians from all political parties, the governor general, and military and spy guides — were also blacklisted by the Russian state.
Mikhail Metzel/AP
Pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin is mounting after his country invaded Ukraine earlier this year. (File photo)
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said it was the first time he had been blacklisted by a country, adding “it clearly means our sister city relationship with Moscow is not good”.
Speaking more seriously about the invasion of Ukraine, he said the capital had supported Ukraine through a series of activities: number of protestsUkrainian flags are flown – also in Parliament – lighting of various public monuments in the colors of the Ukrainian flagand holding concerts for Ukraine.
“There are some things that have happened in Wellington that are minor but symbolize our collective disgust at what is happening with the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Foster said.
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Protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been held outside the Russian embassy in Wellington. (File photo)
In Nelson, Mayor Rachel Reese and city councilors Matt Lawrey and Pete Rainey are also on the list.
“It’s a stranger,” Lawrey said. “It’s definitely not something I expected today.”
Lawrey said he assumed the reason for the Nelson trio’s inclusion were two events he organized to show support for the people of Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. Reese spoke at both events, while Rainey conducted a choir at the second.
“Both received national media attention,” Lawrey said. “I’m quietly relieved that the… [Russian Foreign Ministry] took note of the good things we have done in Nelson-Whakatū to support the people of Ukraine.”
Rainey said he conducted a choir at the event hosted by Lawrey and another choir at a church vigil for Ukraine, but he could not recall ever speaking about Russia.
“It seems crazy that something so peaceful could lead to this kind of action,” Rainey said. “I’m struggling to think of anything else it could be.”
André Chumko/Stuff
Members of the NZSO played the Ukrainian national anthem in Civic Square before a crowd of about 150 people, in a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Video first published April 2022).
Reese said she met Ukrainian residents in Nelson early on and was asked to make a recording to send to the people of Ukraine. That video was widely distributed, she said.
It was a mayor’s responsibility to speak on behalf of the community, including people from many different cultures, Reese said.
None of the three said they had plans to travel to Russia before the ban.
The news was equally surprising to Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins, who said it was the first time he had been barred from entering another country. ‘At least as far as I know. They may not all publish press releases.”
He wasn’t sure of the explanation behind the ban, but said “whether it’s Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or the treatment of rainbow communities at home, I don’t see a moral compass worth keeping anything in”.
The Ukrainian flag has been hanging from the council building since the invasion began, and Hawkins had spoken at some of the regular vigils held in the Octagon. “I want to make it clear that my problem lies with the Putin regime, not the Russian people.”
He said the country had always been on his bucket list of places to visit with the Trans-Siberian Railway as a lifelong dream.
The New Zealand Defense Force, Ministry of Defense and other mayors have been approached for comment, as has the Embassy of the Russian Federation.
The full list of banned New Zealanders:
- John Anthony
- Shane Arndello
- Lianne Dalziel
- Chris Darby
- Andy Foster
- Philip Bruce Goff
- Garin Golding
- Kate Green
- Aaron Hawkings
- Ian Hill
- Stephen Hoadley
- James Hollings
- Matthew Hooton
- rose king
- Rob Krushka
- Matt Lawrey
- Richard Maclean
- Tracy Malholland
- Thomas Mancho
- Hugh McAslan
- Ian Mower
- Bridget Musker
- When Owen
- Shaun Sexton
- Josie Paganic
- Pete Rainey
- Rachel Reese
- Sharon Stewart
- Password Wickremasinghe
- Matthew Weston
- Mike Yardley
- Nicola Young
More to come