11 November 2002 Media statement

Would National adopt NZ First’s immigration policies to get into government?

Progressive leader Jim Anderton is challenging the National party to rule out ever accepting New Zealand First’s immigration policies.

“National is the only realistic coalition partner for NZ First. It’s up to National to state whether it would accept NZ First’s policies in government.

“National has once before sold its soul to form a government with NZ First. The public deserves to know what sort of extremism Bill English would tolerate.

“It’s up to Bill English to display some strength of character and reject NZ First as a coalition partner while it maintains immigration policies that would make New Zealand an international pariah,” Jim Anderton said.

“New Zealand can do better than scapegoating immigrants.

“It is morally as well as factually wrong to blame a single ethnic group for all New Zealand’s problems.

“If New Zealand First was right, then stopping Asian immigration overnight would fix our health systems, Auckland’s traffic, unemployment and crime. If those problems can’t be fixed with a magic bullet, then New Zealand First is wrong.

“What makes New Zealand First’s behaviour especially ugly is that its arguments are fact-free. NZ First continually misrepresents and misuses statistics in order to scapegoat immigrants.

“New Zealand is a much better society than New Zealand First’s attacks on immigrant citizens portray it.

“We are a tolerant and diverse country with a much better future than the inward-looking isolationism NZ First would have us become,” Jim Anderton said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media