The Carr–Peters scandal is an ongoing diplomatic and political scandal in
Australasia, between
Bob Carr, formerly Australian
minister for Foreign Affairs and
premier of New South Wales, and
Winston Peters, New Zealand's current
deputy prime minister and
minister of foreign affairs. The scandal began with an initial incident on 2 May 2024, when Peters appeared on
RNZ
Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and cu ...
to discuss proposals to join
Pillar 2 of
AUKUS, a military pact Carr has strongly opposed, and allegedly
defamed Carr by calling him "nothing more than a Chinese
puppet
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
", among other now-redacted insults.
A transcript of the interview and articles it spawned were rapidly censored after Carr accused Peters of libel. Peters stood by his statement about Carr at
questions for oral answer in
Parliament. After mulling over legal action, Carr announced later the same day would indeed be suing Peters. Peters then ridiculed such threats and compared Carr to
Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...
, an English band which had not followed through on threats to sue Peters for using their song '
Tubthumping' for political purposes without permission. In New Zealand there have been calls from the opposition for Peters to be stood down as a minister. Prime Minister
Christopher Luxon has refused calls to dismiss Peters, his crucial coalition government partner, and has said that he was sure Carr "understands the rough and tumble of politics".
References
{{Australia–New Zealand relations
Australia–New Zealand relations
New Zealand First
2024 in New Zealand