Norman Russel: Motions — United Nations Security Council—Election to Non-permanent SeatText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNorman Russel: Motions — United Nations Security Council—Election to Non-permanent Seat[Sitting date: 21 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:9. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green):The Green Party also supports the Government motion around New Zealand attaining the United Nations Security Council seat. It is a major achievement for a small State. Congratulations to all of those who were involved in achieving it. On behalf of the Greens I would also like to thank all of those countries that voted for New Zealand to hold that seat.The question now is what we do with the position that we now have and what we should do looking forward. It seems to us in the Greens that we need to show leadership as a country on some of the big global issues and in particular on climate change. When we ran our campaign we said we would be a voice for the small States on the Security Council and at the United Nations. There are many many small States across the Pacific whose very existence is under threat as a result of sea-level rise as a result of climate change. If we are to be true to our campaign slogan—that we would be a voice on the United Nations Security Council for those small States—then we need to show leadership on climate change.Climate change should be recognised by the United Nations Security Council as an international security threat and New Zealand should support that position. The Pentagon just on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security with increased risk from terrorism infectious disease global poverty and food shortages. This should be recognised by the United Nations Security Council. Moreover if New Zealand is to provide leadership on climate change as it should and if it is to stand up for small island States then we must also take action to cut our own greenhouse gas emissions. New Zealand plans to increase our net greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent in the next decade. That is a grossly irresponsible position. Other States and small States which we say we are representing on the Security Council will not thank us for it and it will undermine our credibility on the UN Security Council if we take that position. We should provide leadership on climate change on the UN Security Council.Secondly and this is to reflect partly also David Shearer’s contribution we need to have an independent foreign policy. The Prime Minister’s more recent statement that we should get into a new war simply because our traditional allies are doing so is the antithesis of an independent foreign policy. If we are to have an independent voice on the UN Security Council we need to be independently minded and have an independent foreign policy. That is what we promised to do in our campaign to be on the Security Council and it is very important that we do that.We asked to be on the world stage and now we are there. We were not thrust on to it. We sought it which is fair enough. Our small country will be judged on how we exercise our responsibilities to the rest of the world both those alive today and those who are yet to come and how we exercise our responsibilities to the environment of planet Earth. I look forward to New Zealand exercising those responsibilities in a way that makes us all proud.