KEY POINTS:
Isn't New Zealand First an irrelevant little party? The latest roarings from that old dinosaur Peter Brown epitomise all that is wrong with a certain type of New Zealand First voter. I've heard from a number of them - only a few, but then there are only very few New Zealand First voters. Many of them are immigrants but they don't want anyone else here. I'm all right, Jack, pull the ladder up.
They constantly hark back to a time when New Zealand was homogenous and run by a white, male elite. They believe society has gone to hell in a handcart and they live fearfully and fretfully. They don't trust any political parties but they believe in Winston Peters, and hasn't he got a lovely smile? It's sad.
If Peter Brown has a problem living among Asians, he shouldn't have immigrated to the Asia Pacific region. You get quite a few Asians in Asia. And when it comes to people sticking together, that's what immigrants do.
They've taken a big bold step, moved to a new land with an alien culture and a foreign language, and stick together for strength. Kiwis do it, too, and they're only going from New Zealand to Australia or England.
It doesn't mean migrants don't contribute to society and anyway, it's usually the kids who act as the bridge between cultures. The way Brown was banging on, you'd think the Yellow Peril was sweeping across the world tsunami-like, ready to swamp our little country.
Figures from the Statistics Department show that when it comes to net migration of foreigners, by far the biggest number of permanent arrivals last year came from the UK, 10,235 of them, and a big kia ora one and all.
After that came migrants from the Philippines, India, Fiji, Japan - and then China. All 1577 of them. Just 100 more than the arrivals from Germany. Not really enough Chinese to make even the most timorous of old ladies quail in her bed. Brown is a cynical, electioneering fear-monger and his pronouncements have received the contempt they deserve.
