Media Release – Speech notes prepared for delivery in Parliament by Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader New Zealand First

6 September 2000

It’s ironic how National seeks to blame Labour on race issues when, in fact, they are both equally to blame.

Instead of concentrating in recent times on the basic human needs of all New Zealanders, health, education, and employment, they have focused on empty political correctness.

This passion for PC has now developed a life of its own to the extent that we concentrate on race and our differences, rather than our needs as people – and it is tearing us apart.

This issue has degenerated to the stage we have arguments in this chamber about a Minister of the Crown creating more bitterness by foolishly using the word holocaust.

The rest of the world, which has been trying to resolve conflicts created by differences must think we are MAD.

We are entering a new and dangerous phase of madness.

The Ministry of Education is now funding the establishment of a separate bilingual Te Tai Tokerau nation in Northland.

The evidence of this is here in my hands and I am deeply disturbed about it. For a start – nobody asked me about this – and I would qualify for citizenship of this nation.

This is putative apartheid on a scale that Nelson Mandela fought against in South Africa.

They disbanded the homelands in South Africa – the Ministry of Education is creating them here.

Whereas the Blacks in the United States in the sixties sought to bust down the doors of white institutions to gain access we here in this country are witnessing separate institutions being set up here.

Who is responsible for this?

Who authorised the use of taxpayer funds to finance this apartheid project?

Who allowed a group of separatists the chance to try to seize the state education system in Northland?

Their stated aim is to ESTABLISH MAORI AUTHORITY IN ALL ASPECTS OF EDUCATION.

Who asked the descendants of the Dalmation gum diggers if they want to live in this new nation?

What about the descendants of the Dutch sharemilkers in Northern Wairoa?

Do they want to be part of this bilingual Te Tai Tokerau nation?

And what about the descendants of the Scots, the Irish, the English, the Germans?

Where are the borders of this Te Tai Tokerau nation?

Is Maori language going to be compulsory?

Will we be issued with passes to travel in our homelands?

The people behind this project are also going to rewrite the history of the area!!!!

This sounds familiar!

Will they burn all the existing history books of the area?

This shadowy project has now burst into the open – no doubt encouraged by the separatist nonsense coming from this Parliament.

The whole project sounds like the ravings of dictators from two-bit banana republics. It is costing millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.

It is a gross insult to both Maori and non-Maori. Thankfully a lot of sensible people of all ethnic backgrounds are unhappy with this apartheid project and are refusing to take part and to live in the Northland bilingual nation.

The Bay of Plenty will be the next province to hear the voices of separatism. This is to be done in this Parliament later today.

We are going to be asked to throw out the principle of one person one vote to create special Maori seats on the Regional Council.

This is also unacceptable to most New Zealanders – of all races.

It is time to draw a line and say we have had enough. We in New Zealand First believe that we are in one country with one set of rules and one set of standards for everyone.

Ends

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