Stop Outsiders Voting on the NZ Flag

The rights of citizens of other countries to vote in the flag referendum are being challenged by New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“It is the right and duty of every eligible New Zealand citizen to vote but restrictions should be placed on those people with residency status who have chosen to remain citizens of another country and never our country,” Mr Peters told a public meeting in Whangarei today.

“This is not discrimination.

“Why should thousands of immigrants who have come here in recent years be involved in making a decision that goes, in the words of the flag committee, ‘to the very heart of who we are and what we are as a nation’?

“You will not find any other country that would allow outsiders to make a decision about their national identity and it certainly should not happen here.

“While Australia has restricted public services for Kiwis, who have lived and worked there for years and paid taxes, look what’s happening here. They can vote in the flag referendum after living here only one year.”

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