Media Release
28 January 04

Immigrant Health Checks Long Overdue

New Zealand First says the new immigrant health check policy is long overdue and should be implemented immediately – not phased in over the year.

Rt Hon Winston Peters said he and officials had long been warning Labour of the dangers of importing Third World diseases such as HIV, TB and Hepatitis through its mass immigration policies.

“The reaction to my warnings has usually been an accusation of racism. The reality is that we have been importing a large number of diseases and the health system, particularly in Auckland, is struggling to treat them.

“Not only are New Zealand taxpayers paying for the imported diseases, they are being denied treatment because immigrants are ahead of them in the queue.”

Mr Peters said this government had failed to protect New Zealanders from imported diseases for the past four years and many people would be skeptical about the Minister’s commitment to the new policy.

“Will health officials be waiting at the airports to turn people with diseases back from our borders or will Lianne Dalziel rely on her usual honesty system that has become a joke throughout the world?

“She has carefully avoided explaining how the system will work.”

ENDS

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