A Talbot Mills poll found 35 per cent ofNew Zealanders strongly agreed the Government should “call for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine to prevent further civilian deaths”.
A further 25 per cent agreed with the statement, giving the ceasefire position 60 per cent support.
Nineteen per cent of respondents were neutral. Just 5 per cent of people disagreed with the proposition and a further 7 per cent strongly disagreed.
A humanitarian pause, according to a United Nations definition, is a “temporary cessation of hostilities purely for humanitarian purposes” such as resupplying a region with water and medicine.
A humanitarian pause tends to be for a shorter period and could be confined to a specific area, allowing the conflict to continue raging elsewhere.
A ceasefire is more extensive, suspending conflict for longer. A ceasefire can be long enough to allow for negotiations that would precipitate the end of the conflict to begin.
New Zealand backed a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a pause and on Wednesday (New York time), the UN Security Council, which does not include New Zealand, finally backed a call for “urgent extended humanitarian pauses for [a] sufficient number of days to allow aid access”.
New Zealand has been relatively quiet on the war in the Middle East as the new government forms. Photo / Michael Craig
The Israeli Foreign Ministry reportedly rejected the resolution.
There are faint divisions within the soon-to-be-governing National Party on the matter of a ceasefire.
National’s incoming Maungakiekie MP Greg Fleming emailed a constituent saying he was “urging those who speak for our government to call for an immediate ceasefire”.
A screenshot of that email was subsequently published to X, formerly Twitter.
A spokesperson for the National Party clarified that Fleming was “not National’s spokesperson on Foreign Affairs”.
The spokesperson said National “supports calls for next steps towards a ceasefire”, however; the party “regrets that the conditions do not presently exist for this”.
Another post to X suggested National’s North Shore MP Simon Watts was also supportive of a ceasefire. The post was made by a constituent, who reported Watts saying the Government would soon call for a ceasefire.
When contacted by the Herald, Watts said this was not his position.
“My comments reflected the National Party position, namely that National supports calls for next steps towards a ceasefire and regrets that the conditions do not presently exist for this,” he said.
The poll showed 59 per cent of National voters backed a ceasefire, with 47 per cent of NZ First and 43 per cent of Act voters also supporting one.
Just 13 per cent of National supporters disagreed with a ceasefire, followed by 19 per cent for NZ First, and 25 per cent for Act.
Support was strongest among the Greens with 76 per cent, and Labour on 70 per cent. Just 4 per cent of Green supporters disagreed with a ceasefire, followed by 9 per cent of Labour supporters.
Tameem Shaltoni, whose Palestinians in Aotearoa Co-ordinating Committee paid for the poll, told the Herald it confirmed widespread public support for a ceasefire.
Shaltoni said a ceasefire was essential for delivering aid to Gaza
“The only possible way to deliver that humanitarian aid effectively is basically a ceasefire to stop all the attacks.
“Then humanitarian aid can proceed, can be everywhere,” he said.
The poll was taken between November 3 and 14, and has a margin of error of 3 per cent.
