Foreign Lens

The New Zealand election

Read by Pacific / Asia / Europe

How the non-English-speaking press is covering New Zealand’s general election, if it is covering it at all.

Read from: Pacific, Asia, Europe

Pacific on the New Zealand general election

Tongan columnist calls Peters' "go back to your own country" jibe NZ First's political suicide note

The only real anger at New Zealand in Pacific media this window comes from one opinion piece in Tonga Independent News. It attacks Foreign Minister Winston Peters for telling Chinese-born Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan to "go back to your own country", calling it a diplomatic own goal and an identity-politics gamble before the 7 November vote. Almost everything else is aid press releases or agency copy. Only one article is directly about the election, and it is wire copy about enrolment rules. Tonga Independent News, 30 Jul

  1. French Polynesia Tahiti Infos Nothing on this
  2. French Polynesia Radio 1 Tahiti 1/10 at its hottest, 3 pieces
  3. New Caledonia Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes 2/10 at its hottest, 3 pieces
  4. Timor-Leste Tatoli 0/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  5. Fiji The Fiji Times 0/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  6. Samoa Samoa Observer 1/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  7. Tonga Matangi Tonga 0/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  8. Vanuatu Vanuatu Daily Post 0/10 at its hottest, 3 pieces
  9. Solomon Islands The Island Sun 1/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  10. Papua New Guinea Post-Courier 3/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  11. Palau Island Times 3/10 at its hottest, 2 pieces
  12. Cook Islands Cook Islands News 1/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  13. Guam (US territory) Pacific Daily News Nothing on this
  14. Philippines Bombo Radyo Nothing on this
  15. Fiji FBC News 1/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  16. Fiji Fijivillage 0/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  17. Fiji Fiji Sun Nothing on this
  18. Samoa Talamua 2/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  19. American Samoa (US territory) Talanei 1/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  20. Tonga Tonga Independent News 6/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  21. Vanuatu VBTC News (Radio Vanuatu / TV Blong Vanuatu) 0/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  22. Solomon Islands SIBC Nothing on this
  23. Solomon Islands Solomon Times Online Nothing on this
  24. Solomon Islands Tavuli News 1/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  25. Papua New Guinea The National 1/10 at its hottest, 4 pieces
  26. Papua New Guinea EMTV News 0/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  27. Guam (US territory) The Guam Daily Post Nothing on this
  28. New Caledonia Radio Rythme Bleu Nothing on this
  29. Timor-Leste Timor Post Nothing on this
  30. Timor-Leste Diligente Nothing on this
  31. Philippines Abante Nothing on this
  32. Philippines Brigada News Nothing on this

Blind spots: no outlet yet for Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Niue, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna.

  1. 6

    In a Tonga Independent News column, Melino Maka writes that Peters' jibe at Xu-Nan is a 'political suicide note', a 'dangerous lurch into the politics of division' and 'an extraordinary diplomatic own goal' for a foreign minister. He says Peters has 'pressed... New Zealand First's political self-destruct button' and presses Luxon to act. The tone is scornful, though he grants that Peters has survived before.

    This is the only original, opinionated election take in the whole Pacific set, and it is hostile. It ties the campaign directly to how New Zealand's chief diplomat is seen in the region, and it speaks to Pasifika readers' memories of being told to 'go home'. Tonga Independent News, 30 Jul

  2. 3

    Island Times (Palau) ran PMN copy saying calls are growing to sack Peters. Carmel Sepuloni says Pacific communities 'understand the harm' of 'go back to your own country'. Teanau Tuiono calls it 'a massive diplomatic failure' that went viral in China.

    The opposition's Pasifika-framed attack on Peters reached a Micronesian audience. This is wire copy, not Island Times' own view. Island Times, 7 Aug

  3. 3

    In its own report, Post-Courier stresses that Immigration Minister Erica Stanford went against officials' advice by dropping the rule that new RSE workers be paid 10% above minimum wage. It also says accommodation standards are an unresolved 'elephant in the room'.

    This is the only sceptical original reporting on how New Zealand treats Pacific workers. It lands just before an election, and the RSE scheme matters to every sending country. Post-Courier, 29 Jul

Read the full Pacific lens: 54 translated articles, where outlets split, and what the coverage says about the countries themselves.

Asia on the New Zealand general election

Beijing tells New Zealand agencies to stop "spreading lies"; Asian outlets ignore the election

None of the eight Asian outlets monitored covered the New Zealand general election in this window. The only hostile item is Huanqiu relaying China's Foreign Ministry: it calls a New Zealand cyber agency's warning about China "political" disinformation. The rest is a friendly university partnership and a wire story on Winston Peters criticising Israel. Huanqiu (环球网), 24 Sep

  1. China Huanqiu (环球网) 4/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  2. Indonesia Tribunnews 2/10 at its hottest, 2 pieces
  3. Malaysia Harian Metro Nothing on this
  4. Vietnam VnExpress Nothing on this
  5. Japan ZAKZAK (Yukan Fuji) Nothing on this
  6. South Korea Chosun Ilbo Nothing on this
  7. Thailand Thairath Nothing on this
  8. India Dainik Bhaskar Nothing on this

Blind spots: no outlet yet for Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal.

  1. 4

    Huanqiu carries a Foreign Ministry rebuke from spokesperson Guo Jiakun. He says New Zealand's cyber security agency is spreading false information for political purposes. He tells the 'relevant New Zealand agencies' to 'stop spreading lies and stirring up discord.' The piece is terse and official. Huanqiu adds no commentary of its own.

    This is the only anger aimed at New Zealand in the set. It goes after a named state body, not the government as a whole. Beijing may turn this into a sore point in the relationship, possibly during an election period. For now it is a single press-conference exchange, not a campaign. Heat is moderate. Huanqiu (环球网), 24 Sep

  2. 2

    Tribunnews runs Anadolu-sourced copy on Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Peters condemns Israeli settlement expansion as illegal, condemns settler violence and backs a two-state solution. The framing is sympathetic to Wellington.

    This is wire copy, not Tribunnews' own view. It shows that a New Zealand foreign-policy position reached a mass Indonesian audience in a favourable light. Tribunnews, 9 Sep

Read the full Asia lens: 3 translated articles, and what the coverage says about the countries themselves.

Europe on the New Zealand general election

European tabloids barely notice New Zealand's election; only Sabah runs a wire brief

Of eight European outlets in this set, just one, Sabah, mentioned the 7 November election. It was a neutral agency brief on Parliament being dissolved, with no comment of its own. Nobody in this set is angry. The only other New Zealand item was a friendly Euronews piece in which EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola floated New Zealand as a possible future "associate member" of the EU. Sabah, 1 Oct

  1. Germany Bild Nothing on this
  2. France Euronews (French edition) 0/10 at its hottest, 1 piece
  3. Spain El Mundo Nothing on this
  4. Italy Il Giornale Nothing on this
  5. Netherlands De Telegraaf Nothing on this
  6. Portugal Correio da Manhã Nothing on this
  7. Russia Komsomolskaya Pravda Nothing on this
  8. Türkiye Sabah 0/10 at its hottest, 1 piece

Blind spots: Le Parisien (France), Le Monde (France), France 24 (France), RFI (France), Mediapart (France); no outlet yet for Czechia, Belgium, Switzerland, Serbia.

  1. 2

    Euronews (French edition) reports Metsola saying Australia and New Zealand could follow Canada into a proposed EU 'associate member' status, which she calls a third way between candidacy and full membership. She ties it to US tariff pressure and the idea of 'like-minded' countries.

    This is the only New Zealand angle in the set with any policy weight, and it is favourable. It does not mention the election. New Zealand only comes up in passing, with no detail on what Wellington thinks. Trump's tariff threat over the Canada plan hangs in the background. Euronews (French edition), 17 Sep

  2. 0

    Sabah ran a short, neutral brief: the 54th Parliament was dissolved on 1 October, the campaign is under way, and there is a basic explainer of MMP and who can vote.

    This is the only election coverage in the set. It is flagged as wire copy, so it shows what reached Sabah's readers, not Sabah's own view. There is no comment and no judgement on any party or leader. Sabah, 1 Oct

Read the full Europe lens: 2 translated articles, and what the coverage says about the countries themselves.