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Winston Peters hits back at criticisms of NZ First'simmigration stance, says immigration debate is about race and ethnicity
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at criticismsof his immigration stance, attacking both National and Labour, the media andseveral academics on their own positions.
In a wide-ranging speech that also touched upon the ReserveBank Act, water quality, climate change, small business and tourism, Petersused the majority of time to defend himself against accusations that hisposition might be racist or xenophobic.
“You’ve got to be in the Looney Tune world if you think thatimmigration, when it’s raised, is a racist attack on somebody. By definition,immigration’s about race; it’s about ethnicity,” Peters told a WellingtonChamber of Commerce breakfast Wednesday morning, hosted by PwC.
“You know New Zealand First is on the march by the number ofpeople ganging up on us on this matter,” he said. The speech included numerousattacks on New Zealand’s “largely foreign owned” media – he reiterated commentsmade about how two NZ Herald journalists of Asian heritage had coveredimmigration statistics.
The NZ First leader also said the government was trying topropagate a “myth” that New Zealand could somehow “absorb a staggering influxof over 70,000 net immigrants a year at no cost.”
“Or, they say, ‘this is a sign of the roaring success ourcountry is because so many people want to come here’. That’s a staggeringstatement. Most of the world, ladies and gentlemen, is a hell hole,” Peterssaid.
“If you can get out of some country and get to this countrythen you’ll do the best you possibly can. It’s not a sign of our staggeringsuccess, it’s a sign of the lax, loose policies we have employed that haveallowed so many people to come here.”
The annual influx meant New Zealand required new infrastructuresimilar in size to that of Rotorua every year, he said. “Pray tell me you’veobserved that.”
Meanwhile, Peters touched on falling home ownership ratesamong New Zealanders, saying they were staring down “Generation Rent” – a termcoined here by the economist Shamubeel Eaqub. Peters criticised Eaqub’s owncriticisms of New Zealand First, but did say they at least agreed on NewZealand’s infrastructure deficit.
Peters began his speech by saying immigration was having adevastating impact on New Zealand’s economy. “The massive immigration influx isdistorting all the economic indicators,” he said. He claimed that New Zealand’s2% per capita GDP growth was negated by 2% annual population growth.
He also attacked the government for consuming capital builtup by previous generations. “Living off capital as a personal theme is notsmart for an individual. And it’s certainly not smart for a nation,” he said.
“A country’s capital is both physical and human. It includesthe existing stock of housing, schools, hospitals, roading and otherinfrastructure as has been built up over decades. And all the human capital NewZealanders have acquired through their education and training,” he said.
Government had been drawing down on the country’s economiccapital in order to boost economic growth, he said. "At best, it’s a shortterm fix, but when it’s supplied as a country’s policy, it is courtingdisaster.”
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他的政治资本就是这样来的。
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林肯不招人待见。。。哈哈
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可年啊，说明它反华力度还是不够大
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你看最近房价就知道问题所在了