“If we can help I would like us to do that” - Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters on the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami.

“We will have to wait, the Indonesian government making their decision as to what they ask for. The reality is they are dealing with a terrible crisis and I think the numbers will pass a thousand very quickly and then go possibly much much worse.”

Minister Peters is leaving for Thailand and Indonesia tomorrow.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told Q+A’s Corin Dann that he backs his party’s support for a bill that would establish a Respecting New Zealand Values pledge for migrants and refugees.

“It wasn’t extraordinary in Canada, it’s not extraordinary in France and all of a sudden you’re saying that we don’t have any clear and present problems like that. We do.

CORIN: So someone wearing a burqa is that in breach of New Zealand values?

“No… but if you insist on going into a court with your burqa on so a criminal lawyer can’t see who he is talking to that is not respecting our law”.

Party members voted to support the Bill at their National Convention in Tauranga today which marked 25 years of New Zealand First.

Mr Peters also told Corin Dann that under MMP, the threshold for parties to enter Parliament should remain at five per cent of the party vote. He said he doesn’t support the coat tailing rule which allows MPs to enter Parliament on the coat tail of someone who wins an electorate seat.

Please find the full interview here.

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