Media Release

05 September 2003

Instant Kiwis Supported For Life

“The Ministers of Health and Immigration have conspired to betray the interests of all tax paying New Zealanders and the sick,” said New Zealand First leader Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“Lianne Dalziel had every opportunity through the Immigration Amendment Bill passed yesterday, to close the loophole which allows children born in New Zealand to foreign mothers to become New Zealand citizens,” said Mr Peters.

“Instead she plans to send these offenders a letter.

“How weak is that?

“This is nothing but a blatant sell-off of our scarce health resources. Not content with jamming our schools with foreign students this Government now wants to fill our hospitals and its coffers.

“It is bad enough that New Zealand women are being asked to leave maternity wards two hours after giving birth because the wards are overrun with foreign women, but by giving these babies New Zealand citizenship we are setting ourselves up to pay for them for the rest of their lives.

“They will be able to come here and get free healthcare and schooling and will be eligible for benefits.

“It is not good enough for Annette King to blame past administrations for her actions and it is outrageous that our citizenship continues to be given away by a regime only too content to create ‘instant Kiwis’ with no thought of the real and ongoing costs to all New Zealanders,” said Mr Peters.

ENDS

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