Media stirred up immigration fuss, says Peters

He's not saying sorry, he's not even changing his stance, but Winston Peters wants you to know that he's not anti-immigrant.

Apparently all the fuss over his speech "The End of Tolerance" was whipped up by the irresponsible, unprofessional, meddling media.

If some Kiwis "took umbrage" at his claim that Islam was a "multi-headed serpent, ready to strike at any time" and that Muslim extremists were lurking in our suburbs, that was the media's fault as well, the New Zealand First leader said.

At a public meeting in Whangarei yesterday, Mr Peters was ebullient as he delivered a speech entitled "Who Do You Believe?"

"The media said we were anti-Muslim, ignoring the fact that it was Muslims who expressed their concerns about these elements to us in the first place," he told an audience of about 250 people.

"So I want to clear the air once and for all. We are not anti-Muslim. We are not anti-Asian. We are not even anti-Australian, except when we play them in rugby," he said.

"We are not anti-anybody except those who break our laws and violate our way of life. It frustrates us that because of the media's handling of these issues, some New Zealanders take umbrage at our strong stand. This is not our intention. We are simply trying to protect the Kiwi way of life.

"Kiwis come in all different shapes and sizes. They come from many different parts of the globe to settle here. But once they are Kiwis, they are ours. However, we will never be silenced into not asking the tough questions over immigration and our security, not ever."

Asked after the speech if he was softening his stance, Mr Peters said: "Quite the reverse. I just outlined why it is the media who should pay some attention to this issue on the fundamentals of the evidence and facts we put out. All I'm saying is we are right."

Although New Zealand First slumped in the polls after the first speech, Mr Peters said he had "no way of knowing" whether his terrorism warnings had affected the party's popularity.

When asked if yesterday's speech constituted an apology for his earlier remarks, Mr Peters said: "Do you see the word apology there? Well, it's not then. It's been a gross misrepresentation, and we believed we needed to put, in this campaign at least on one day, the record straight."

But he seems to enjoy the challenge of being up against it in the polls, bouncing on his toes and beaming as he delivered the speech.

When an audience member said that he felt immigration was far too high, particularly from "Asia, the world's most corrupt hell-hole", Mr Peters returned to his theme.

Immigration laws were still a "dog's breakfast", and he was concerned at rising "separatism and divisiveness that I already see in parts of Auckland".

Mr Peters criticised immigrant groups for "demanding their own radio stations" and said new Kiwis should adapt to the local lifestyle, just as he would if he lived in Saudi Arabia or Japan.

"This country needs a sound, focused immigration policy and not the unholy mess we've got."

Later in his speech, which also included attacks on Labour and National over tax, wages, business regulations and the lack of export strategies, Mr Peters said he had "bad news" for the two parties: they would have to negotiate with him to form a government.

If National won power, he said, they would privatise everything, including hospitals.

"Don't give them a chance to govern without someone who's got a giant leg rope on them.

"We are country boys - we'll do it."