“I know they’re laughing. The Greens are laughing at that because they find that comical; they find that comical.
“The very people who are here on the very refuge that we give to them have come here with their ideas, foreign to our country, native to theirs, and they wish to impose them upon our Parliament. No, you don’t.
“You’re not going to succeed here. You might be laughing now, you might be laughing now, but you’ll be crying tomorrow. Come to this country, show some gratitude.”
New Zealand First Minister Shane Jones yelled “Send the Mexicans home” during a debate on Christopher Luxon’s statement yesterday. Photo / Mike Scott
It follows National Minister Todd McClay yelling “you’re not in Mexico now” during a debate in July last year.
Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March, born in Mexico, said the comments were “outwardly racist and xenophobic” and needed to stop.
“This is a clear pattern of behaviour by Government ministers and as I’ve said, this is a matter for the Prime Minister,” Menéndez March said.
“He needs to show leadership and be really clear that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable because it emboldens people outside of these four walls who wish to cause harm on our migrant communities and wish to delegitimise migrant communities' participation in our democracy.”
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters also made comments about migrants as he was heckled by Green MPs Lawrence Xu-Nan and Francisco Hernandez. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Menéndez March said Peters had also alluded that Xu-Nan and Hernandez “should not be having political opinions because of a migrant background”.
“It’s really clear that the Government has a problem with migrant communities and the Prime Minister needs to clamp it down,” Menéndez March said.
The Greens have now written to Luxon and Speaker Gerry Brownlee, asking both parties to take action and publicly denounce the comments.
RNZ has approached Luxon and Jones’ offices for comment.
Act leader David Seymour said he would not have made those comments. Photo / Alex Burton
Heading out of the House this afternoon, Peters denied his comments had an anti-immigrant sentiment.
“Of course it’s not anti-immigrant sentiment. Why would you come to that stupid conclusion?”
“I was talking about two people jeering and shouting from the back benches as though the debate was of no moment to them and I was pointing out in the historical parliamentary debating fashion [that] if you can’t take it, go somewhere else. Or are you too soft for that?”
Act leader David Seymour said he would not have made those comments.
“My thing is, I don’t care if you came here 800 years ago, like some of your or my ancestors on a waka, or if you just got off at Auckland International to start your journey as a Kiwi this morning. Doesn’t really matter to me, we’re all Kiwis,” Seymour said.
