Enoch talk racist cant says Fortuin

By AUDREY YOUNG

Anyone who embraces Enoch Powell's immigration views is embracing racist ideology, says Race Relations Commissioner Gregory Fortuin.

And New Zealand First deputy leader Peter Brown said yesterday that he would sue anyone who called him a racist.

The debate arose after Mr Brown said at the weekend that former British MP Mr Powell had been right in his warnings about immigration levels to Britain.

Mr Brown said Britain had paid a heavy price for immigration, despite Mr Powell's warnings and so would New Zealand, which accepted 53,000 immigrants last year.

"He at least had the guts to stand up and talk about a problem I knew existed before I left the UK," Mr Brown said yesterday, standing firm.

Mr Fortuin said Mr Brown defended himself by saying his argument on immigration was about numbers of immigrants, and not about the races involved.

But the commissioner was not satisfied.

"I have said, 'If you are associating yourself with Enoch Powell, then there is no way it is about numbers, because Enoch Powell was not about numbers'.

"Powell was a racist."

Mr Fortuin quoted the part of Mr Powell's speech in which he had referred to a constituent fearful that "in 15 or 20 years' time, the black man will have the whip hand over the white man".

Mr Fortuin said Mr Powell had not simply forecast riots - he had encouraged them.

"Powell was the father of the skinhead movement and gave legitimacy to it and tried to encourage it," he said.

"What I said to Mr Brown this morning [in a radio interview] was I intend to understand whether he totally agrees with the Powell philosophy, as opposed to the vague statement about numbers.

"I will ensure here that we don't cause division among people."

Mr Brown said he did not endorse all of Mr Powell's philosophy. He was appalled at the suggestion that immigrants and their descendants should be sent back to where they came from.

"I've never said we've wanted to do that, nor has New Zealand First. Anybody who is legally in a country has the same rights as anybody born in the country. We've said that from day one."

He said if Mr Fortuin went so far as to call him a racist "I'll sue him".

Mr Fortuin also disclosed yesterday that he had spoken to New Zealand First leader Winston Peters about three times during the election period but he was satisfied his speeches did not require action from the commissioner's office.

Mr Fortuin said he met Mr Peters to discuss a state-of-the-nation speech he gave in Taradale.

He had two further discussions with him during the campaign.

He endorsed Mr Peters' right to pose questions about the economy and the demographics of immigration.

"Those are legitimate questions.

"There was nothing in Winston's speeches that I would label racist or that was going to meet any legal threshold of inciting racial war, etc."

But Mr Fortuin said if New Zealand First was now embracing Enoch Powell, "then this has become a racist strategy".

Enoch Powell in 1968: A country 'heaping its own pyre'

Feature: Immigration