Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

I'm so proud of NZ for sending 58 skilled, experienced troops for logistics to the border of Ukraine. Hope there will be more deployments to come. We benefit from a victory there and so we must put skin in the game.

#SlavaUkraini
#StrongerTogether2022
#BringBackANZUS

🇺🇦🇳🇿🌍

https://twitter.com/NewshubNZ/status/1513405944390164481

To foreigners, esp. in the US, NZ's initial contribution may seem very small. But remember: we're only 5 million people, our economy is hit hard by the pandemic, & opposition to military deployments is high. Oppo don't understand that if you want peace, you must prepare for war.

The NZ government is motivated to help bc it's a moral imperative for all democracies and aspiring democracies to step up, and geographic distance means nothing in our totally interconnected 21st century world. Plus, Russia potentially threatens the Pacific. Can't rule it out.

We know our tiny contingent & resources are hardly a game changer, but that's not the point. The collective security principle goes beyond treaties like NATO. If NZ is ever invaded by anyone, we don't stand a chance on our own.

And, Russia's atrocities demand a response...

In & after such a war, a large number of the small and/or middle income countries like NZ contribute to the effort, often in unsung ways.

Sending lawyers and judges to war crime tribunals, troop trainers, ICT/signals units, logistics, taking refugees, and voting at the UN...

While NZ *is* wealthy compared to most of the world, our disposable income is lower because of distance and scale, and half our export income is tourism. Every day I am grateful for what I have. Our govt must judiciously steward resources rn, balancing short & long term needs.

Far right ethno-nationalist populism has grown around the world in the past decade, including in NZ. Their narrative is to shun the refugee, the immigrant. They will never win power here, thank God.

In March we offered visas to 4,000 family members of Ukrainians living here.

And the plan to bring more Ukrainian refugees through the UNHCR to NZ is well underway.

Most Kiwis oppose the far right's narrative on refugees and other immigration. NZ needs more people, not fewer.

In summary, the NZ government is doing the right things to offer help to Ukraine and Ukrainians.

I am glad that even though the government leans left, they are willing to send military personnel and weapons to Europe right now.

#SlavaUkraini #HeroyamSlava! 🇺🇦🕊️🌍