New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says his deputy "could have expressed himself better". Photo / Tania Whyte
NZ First leader Winston Peters says his deputy Shane Jones “could have expressed himself better” when sharing his view on the potential immigration impacts of the India-New Zealand free trade agreement.
Among Jones’ comments was that, “we are not going to be a dumping ground for people trying to come to New Zealand and set up New Delhi”.
Jones told Newstalk ZB’s The Country on Thursday the deal “does not leave enough protections or safeguards in respect of immigration” and “unfettered immigration is going to fatefully change the trajectory and the character of our nation”.
He was called out on-air for “being racist”, with host Jamie McKay saying Indian migrants here will “do the work that some of the drug-addled Northlanders won’t do”.
The NZ First MP responded there is a case “for ensuring that we have migrants that we need, not ones that need us”, but “all sorts of undesirables” had come to New Zealand “under the rubric of international education”.
“We can’t unwind that, but no, there will not be unfettered immigration from India. There will only be migrants that add to the value of our country. We are not going to be a dumping ground for people trying to come to New Zealand and set up New Delhi.”
Jones said New Zealand does “not need any more Uber drivers”.
After further comments, Jones referred to himself as “an earthy, humorous, but red-blooded tough New Zealand First politician”.
He later told reporters at Parliament he would not back down from his concerns over immigration and “a lot of Kiwis are happy I am articulating my anxieties because they have been excluded from a population, immigration debate for 20 years”.
“We have ended up with people who need us more than we need them. My rhetoric has not even really got off base one.”
He denied his comments were racist.
But his leader, Peters, said Jones could have phrased his comments differently.
“What Shane Jones was saying about New Zealand First’s principled approach to migration was correct, but he could have expressed himself better,” Peters said in response to questions about the appropriateness of Jones’ comments.
“New Zealand First has always supported labour mobility that benefits our country. A number of our regions and sectors of our economy benefit from targeted migration where skill shortages exist. These migrants come from a broad range of countries, including India.”
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said NZ First was “ramping up its racist rhetoric” as it “really, really wants the spotlight”.
“It really, really wants New Zealanders’ attention distracted from all of the awful things this Government had done.”
Trade Minister Todd McClay said the “good news” was that “whatever Mr Jones is concerned about, the FTA does not allow that to happen”.
NZ First opposes the NZ-India FTA, which contains sections relating to mobility.
That includes a temporary visa for 1667 migrants per year in occupations where there is a skills shortage or in an “iconic” profession. The visas last for three years and are capped at 5000 migrants at any one time.
“The FTA includes a working holiday scheme, with up to 1000 places for young Indians (18 to 30 years old) and the FTA codifies the right for Indian students to work for up to 20 hours a week (within current policy of up to 25 hours),” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“In addition, eligible students graduating from a New Zealand institution are eligible for a post-study work visa, ranging from two years for Bachelors, up to four years for PhDs.”
Peters has previously said “tens of thousands” of migrants could come to New Zealand under the deal, claiming family members could follow the migrants on the temporary work visa. National has disputed Peters’ estimates of the scale of potential immigration.
It also comes after claims Peters made racist remarks in Parliament yesterday, an accusation he has dismissed as “total humbug”.
On Wednesday, Peters dismissed comments from the Indian High Commissioner to New Zealand about the FTA as “she’s not a trained lawyer”.
Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s Chief Political Reporter, based in the Press Gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.