Contributed from Victoria

Why hasn’t Australia stood up against bullying at the United Nations? After all, New Zealand’s prime minister Elizabeth Arden has vowed that her country would not be bullied. Should we expect any less from our government?

We shouldn’t, but we will get less. The reason? It is the United States that is doing the bullying over moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Forget all other issues for the moment. Just focus on this. Other countries in the security council voted to criticise the unilateral action and was backed overwhelmingly by the General Assembly. What was the response? This was put by and incredible speech by that country’s representative Nikki Haley. By any measure, what she said was extremely childish. Even in the school yard, when a child responds to an upset with “I’m not going and I’m taking my ball” or “I’ll bash you for that,” it is likely to invite a bit of a talking to by an adult. Instead, in this case Donald Trump subsequently echoes the same, showing that it is the position of his administration and not just a melt down by one of its officials.

This is bullying and the world is reacting as it should. Behaviour like this should have no place in the world of global diplomacy. Establishing proper relations between nations does not mean not standing up for oneself. All nations should be allowed the right to do so. But there is a condition, and that is not to bully, and give some respect to the position of others, so long as they in turn, do not bully and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of others.  While admittedly, there is a grey zone with the last, there is a right way to conduct oneself and a wrong way.

The promise to punish others, backed by a second promise that the United states has a long memory and would pay back by cutting funds to the United Nations and punishing poorer countries with the withdrawal of aid, sounds like Hollywood script for a blockbuster about the Mob.

This is what the New Zealand leader spoke about what her Australian counterpart lacks the backbone to deal with appropriately.

There will be those who suggest that we need the United states for our protection. They should consider that true friendship is born out of mutual; respect. Fronting up cap in hand, being obedient and doing what one is told is not the way to win respect and genuine friendship, but to be controlled.

Nikki Haley threatens to pull US funding to the United Nations

Video from CNN