Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern openly criticised Australia's policy of deporting foreign nationals convicted of committing crimes. Photo / File
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern openly criticised Australia's policy of deporting foreign nationals convicted of committing crimes. Photo / File
COMMENT
Political bon mots. We love them. Witty rejoinders, tough comebacks, lines that demonstrate or show off in some small way that New Zealand exists.
And so it was that Jacinda Ardern stood next to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and openly criticised Australia's policy of deporting foreign nationals convictedof committing crimes, when those deported would often have arrived in Australia at a very young age.
"Do not deport your people, and your problems", she memorably delivered. Later on in those prepared remarks she dropped another one. "We will own our people. We ask that Australia stop exporting theirs."
Tough talk from a Prime Minister six months out from an election. National leader Simon Bridges had earlier touted establishing a law that replicated Australia's. So instead of trying to get Australia to be less awful, he just wanted us to mimic their awfulness. It's a pretty apt metaphor for their respective styles of leadership.
But while the Prime Minister was in Australia talking tough in a way that will achieve little except make her look strong in New Zealand and around the world, one of her ministers was back home in New Zealand making outrageous comments about Indian immigrants.
National leader Simon Bridges had earlier touted establishing a law that replicated Australia's. Photo / File
It will be of no surprise that the minister in question is from NZ First, but it might be slightly more surprising that it was Shane Jones and not Winston Peters.
"...everyone comes here from New Delhi. I don't like that idea at all. I think the number of students that have come from India have ruined many of those institutions".
This came off the back of him saying last year that Indians "have no legitimate expectations in my view to bring your whole village to New Zealand". And anyone who was upset by these comments could "catch the next flight home".
You don't even need Jones to lean forward to smell the racism on his breath.
It's even more bizarre because this played out while Jones' leader was in India talking up our relationship.
So as our Prime Minister was standing next to a man who has the leadership skills of a potato and telling him to change Australia's domestic policy on deporting criminals, a man who sits in her Cabinet was back at home belching out vile racism. And will she say anything about it? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.
Repeatedly Jones has been an embarrassment to this Government and repeatedly the Prime Minister has distanced herself from him. We've heard her joke about making him read the Cabinet Manual over his holiday break. Ho ho ho. Another time she said that she wasn't the chief censor, and that she "wouldn't say those things and nor would I expect my team to say those things, but ultimately, New Zealand First, they are their own party".
Repeatedly NZ First's Shane Jones has been an embarrassment to this Government. Photo / File
And yet Australia is its own country.
If New Zealand First is going to dust off the anti-immigration playbook and run lines like these for the election campaign then it doesn't deserve to make it back to Parliament. And if it does run this campaign and gets enough votes off the back of it to make it back to Parliament then New Zealand has learned nothing since the Christchurch terrorist attack.
"Othering" ethnicities is what leads to racist attacks and hate crimes. All around the world New Zealanders have watched in horror as hard-right governments using racist and nationalist policies have won power. But not us you see. We're much too progressive for that. Except are we?
NZ First is famous for its race-baiting rhetoric. National uses racist dog whistles on a semi-regular basis, usually dressed up as "tough on crime" or beneficiary bashing, while ACT has spent the past 12 months courting the white supremacist vote. Labour had its Chinese Sounding Names disgrace and now seems to be OK with its coalition partner making hideous comments in the media.
