Source: Radio New Zealand
Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Winston Peters has taken a fresh crack at Christopher Luxon over immigration, asking how the prime minister can talk about the need for a “careful” approach while also signing up to the India free trade agreement (FTA).
It’s the latest example of internal coalition friction as New Zealand First continues to rail against the FTA’s “ludicrous immigration implications”.
In a speech to Auckland business leaders on Wednesday afternoon, Luxon signalled a tightening of immigration policy, warning that the wrong settings would only stoke the “politics of division” seen abroad.
“You should expect to see careful policy on immigration from National as we get closer to the election,” Luxon said. “When faced with a choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will choose the former every single time.”
Asked about Luxon’s remarks on his way into Parliament, Peters responded with disbelief.
“How do you reconcile that with the Indian free trade agreement? Go and reconcile that quote with the Indian free trade agreement,” Peters said.
“The prime minister needs to reconcile that to you now … I’m asking you to go and ask him, ‘How can you say that … and yet write the free trade agreement in the way they have?'”
Luxon directly referenced the India FTA in his speech, arguing the temporary work visas it granted were evidence of a robust approach targeted at workforce shortages.
Speaking to reporters after his speech, Luxon said the debate over the trade deal had become “perverted” into a “fear of mass migration”.
“That is just factually incorrect,” he said.
“These are Kiwis who have left everything they know, chosen to come to this country, they work incredibly hard, they send their kids to school, they don’t go on welfare. And they are fantastic Kiwis.”
Luxon said New Zealand did not have the same problems as other countries because of its “very smart, targeted, fair immigration system”.
“It’s not like [Nigel] Farage and railing against it in the UK, or Pauline Hanson in Australia, or other countries that we’re dealing with. We have legal migration, but … it requires a dynamic approach where you are constantly making sure those settings are optimised and are linked to our economic strategy and our infrastructure.”
Back at Parliament, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told media immigration should not be a major election issue because the government had done “such a good job” getting the settings right.
“In an election year, there’ll be people who say things that might whip up some sentiment, that’s unfortunate,” she said.
“But in my world … I’ve made sure that our immigration system is fit for purpose and working for New Zealanders.”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said all three coalition parties were lining up some “very ugly anti-migrant rhetoric” for the election campaign.
“From Shane Jones talking about a butter chicken tsunami, to David Seymour talking about the character of New Zealand being changed forever, it’s clear this government want to blame migrants for the economic position the country is in.”
Responding, ACT leader David Seymour said Labour was partially to blame for the wider frustration growing in the wider community.
“They had hundreds of thousands of people through the border before Covid. They shut the border, and then they gave nearly a quarter of a million people residence with no questions asked,” he said.
“It’s creating a lot of problems, and the Labour Party have that firmly at their door.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand