NZ First leader Winston Peters speaks to the Herald about his party's view on immigration. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Winston Peters is concerned with the number of migrants entering New Zealand and is observing an “alarming development” overseas where “careless immigration policies” are “transforming cities” and “changing centuries of development and social life”.
The New Zealand First leader, who refers to his party as “nationalist” while his coalition partners are “globalists”, believes Kiwis are increasingly worried about immigration issues.
“We intend to turn that problem into a success story, so people do understand that, when you’re coming here, there are some fundamental things you need to sign up to,” he said. “If you don’t want to sign up to it, don’t come.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with the Herald about NZ First’s views on immigration, Peters explained his concerns, how his party engaged with coalition partners on “things we’re not happy with”, and his plans ahead of next year’s election.
Peters, who is the Foreign Affairs Minister, spoke about what he described as an “alarming development” overseas.
“People are concerned as to where their countries are going, and New Zealanders are no different. They are more acutely aware of the problem we’re dealing with here than the politicians are.
“They have seen the international circumstances of careless immigration policies transforming cities, changing cities, changing centuries of development and social life, and people feel at risk because of it.”
He pointed to several European countries, including England, where he said there were concerns about “people who have come there who don’t salute the flag, don’t salute the values of the country, don’t salute the people who were there before them, don’t respect the right to have your own religion”.
“These sorts of things are values that we need to stress. If you don’t subscribe to that, don’t come here.”
He believed New Zealand was experiencing similar issues.
“Some of these people are out there celebrating diversity, flying all sorts of flags. We have one flag in this country and it’s been there since 1904 ... That’s what they should be saluting. People have died for it.”
His comments come against the backdrop of the rising popularity of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. It has soared past Labour and the Conservatives in recent polls, though a general election could be several years away.
Peters has told the Herald he is “friends” with Farage and that they communicate. He was “entertained” by the Reform leader last time he was in the UK.
“I think that there are things to do with that party and New Zealand First which are so similar. That is why we’ve got confidence going into the future.”
Those similarities were “true grit, determination and principles”.
Asked whether he looked at Reform and its targeting of immigration, Peters responded: “Yes, I do. It’s very compelling, but that they had to come to that is a serious worry”.
Farage, best known for his Brexit advocacy, takes a hardline approach to immigration policy. Last year, he said British culture was “under threat” and “in decline”, and proposed a freeze on non-essential migration. He warned of riots last year if migrants did not “integrate” into their communities.
While Farage has faced allegations of emboldening racism – he denies this and says Reform is “non-racist” - his party appears to be influencing the public debate in the UK about immigration.
An Ipsos poll in May found Reform had the highest level of trust on immigration policies, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has taken a stronger line on border issues.
In a May speech, Starmer said the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers”. He later expressed regret after criticism that his comment echoed British politician Enoch Powell, who said in 1968 that the UK’s white population could find themselves “strangers in their own country”.
Massey University distinguished professor Paul Spoonley previously told the Herald that he didn’t believe there was a similar anti-immigration sentiment here.
“Australia, Canada and New Zealand target skilled migrants, and we use our point[s] system to identify who’s going to be appropriate. We have a very managed immigration system. Most of Europe does not.”
The interview with Peters was held as NZ First celebrates its 32nd birthday.
When it was formed, the party laid out 15 principles, including acknowledging that, while New Zealand would need “overseas skills and expertise”, it did not want immigration to be “an excuse for our failure to train, skill and employ our own people”.
That remained “as much a principle now as it was back then”, Peters said.
“We, like wise countries, have always believed we should be training and employing our own people first and not use immigration as an excuse not to do that. That is still our plan.”
He expressed concern about the current number of migrants to New Zealand. In the year to May 2025, there was a net migration gain of 15,000, driven by 140,000 arrivals offset by 125,000 departures.
The number of arrivals is down from a peak of roughly 235,000 in late 2023, but still above the long-term average of 119,000. However, due to the large number of departures, the net gain is below the average of nearly 28,000.
Peters’ concern about the immigration figures is in part prompted by his desire for New Zealanders to be employed, but he also remembers a time when arriving migrants were supported by appropriate infrastructure.
“There was a time when we were getting people from around the world putting down £10 to get here. They were coming to a job and a house and infrastructure, schooling, everything. Teachers and doctors and all sorts of people were coming here.”
New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit and pressures in the health system are well-reported, and Peters said work was under way on a population policy that he hoped would be revealed this term.
“If you’re going to bring in people that you essentially need, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the infrastructure for them,” he said.
In 2003, while speaking from the opposition benches in Parliament, Peters complained that “a hundred thousand New Zealanders are out of work, yet we are bringing in tens of thousands of immigrants”.
With Peters now in power, the Herald put it to him that, at the end of June, 216,000 people were receiving Jobseeker support while thousands of migrants were arriving.
He responded that, if his party’s message had been given more prominence, it would have “far more members and we’d be in control of the circumstances now”.
“Unfortunately, you didn’t, and we’re working for the next campaign to ensure that this time our voices are heard on the way through.
“We are still saying that the drivers to take people from secondary school into employment aren’t strong enough.
“Too many people are able to access social welfare without making every effort to get employment, to get jobs. How come we’ve got so many people who are so-called job-ready but not in jobs?”
Part of NZ First’s coalition agreement with National included strengthening obligations for beneficiaries and sanctions if those were not fulfilled.
While NZ First may have strong views on immigration, it’s National MP Erica Stanford who is the Immigration Minister.
“She’s inherited the most difficult portfolio, and it’s very hard to try to meet the demands of employers who need essential workers when we’ve had such a haphazard system,” Peters said.
The Government announced last month that it would establish a Parent Boost Visa in September. Based on a National Party election policy, it will allow the parents of migrants to visit New Zealand for up to 10 years as long as they fulfil certain criteria, including having health insurance.
As the Herald has reported, the visa has no cap, but Stanford doesn’t expect it will lead to an “explosion” in migration.
However, Cabinet documents warned there was “significant uncertainty” about how many people might take up the visa and that there would be impacts on the health system.
Asked for NZ First’s view on the policy, Peters stressed that conditions attached to the visa required migrants to pay their medical costs.
“There’d be no cost on the New Zealand taxpayer. Why should the New Zealand taxpayer be paying for someone to come here as a worker, but also now they’ve got somebody else who is coming here to access our social welfare for free?
“The condition was they would not be required, would not access our social welfare system. That’s still our position.”
Officials’ advice, however, highlighted that, even if the parents had insurance, they could take up spots in GP clinics and emergency rooms.
Peters said it was the Government’s responsibility to fix “our GP problem”. He also suggested that, while the visa had no cap, there was a limit on how many people would meet the criteria.
In 2023, NZ First campaigned on having a cap of 1000 on the Parent Resident Visa. It’s currently 2500.
Asked if he was happy with that cap, Peters responded: “There are a number of things we’re not happy with, but we’re working on them every day and every week with the ministers who are concerned.
“We want the outcome and the finality of a policy to be accepted and hopefully across the political divide.”
So why should people vote for NZ First over National or Act when it comes to immigration policy?
“There’s only one nationalist party in this country, and you’re looking at it. The rest are globalists. They don’t deny that.
“We’re a nationalist party, and I see the success of Croatia, modern Croatia. I see the success of modern Poland. These countries are focused on their people’s national interests first and foremost because that’s what democracy is answerable to: the people, not the world, but your own people.”
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.