By Patrick Gower
The emails stolen and leaked from Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully include exchanges about the use of taxpayers' money to help Pacific nations resist China.
The details are embarrassing for the Government as it tries to persuade the public of the merits of the Chinese bid for the Crafar farms.
China's expanding influence in the south pacific is clearly concerning the Government, with a hacked email showing it wants the island nations in our backyard to "resist China".
Labour foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Goff says National “label opponents of selling off our farmland… as xenophobic but privately, they are talking about stopping China”.
Prime Minister John Key says the Government “openly” talks to China about “concerns we might have” and he doesn’t think the email is embarrassing.
The email to Mr McCully is believed to be from his assistant, the-diplomat-turned-MP John Hayes, talks of the taxpayer's $145 million spend in the Pacific.
It also mentions the need to “bring the whole region and its entities together in a way that might help people resist China”.
Mr Goff says there will be a “please explain… from Beijing”.
“They are talking about resisting China, at the same time as they want to break into China as a result of our trade strategy.”
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says the Government is being inconsistent.
“On the one hand they are trying to tell the New Zealand public that we should be welcoming Chinese investment, while they themselves know these kind of Chinese based investments are a threat.”
China is investing heavily throughout the Pacific, and its influence is worrying the United States. However, Mr Key says he’s relaxed about that, and also about the emails.
“The sort of things the hackers looked at is at best a bit of tittle-tattle amongst MPs,” he says.
3 News