NZ First leader Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell
NZ First leader Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon needs to step in after NZ First leader Winston Peters made allegedly “xenophobic” comments about him.
Act leader David Seymour has come to the Green MP’s defence, saying “we’ve got to stop obsessing over when people arrive” in New Zealand.
But Luxon has this afternoon refused to comment, ignoring questions on the matter from the Herald.
It came after Menéndez March used “Aotearoa” in a question in Parliament, which led to Peters interjecting.
Peters said: “Why is someone who applied to come to a country called New Zealand as an immigrant in 2006 allowed in this House to change the country’s name without the mandate, the approval or the referendum of the New Zealand people?”
NZ First leader Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Speaking to reporters after Question Time, Menéndez March said the comments were “just explicitly xenophobic”.
“The most disappointing thing about this all is that the Prime Minister is literally too scared to hold Winston Peters to account for his behaviour and the language that empowers people who seek to harm migrant communities.”
The Prime Minister had not responded to a letter the Greens sent about Peters’ and other MPs’ behaviour in January, Menéndez March said.
“Silence is complicity, right? He’s been hiding away from this pattern of behaviour.”
That letter, seen by the Herald, referenced an incident on January 28 where Peters told Green MPs Lawrence Xu-Nan and Francisco Hernandez to “show some gratitude” for being in New Zealand.
“These appear to be reflections on the ethnicity and/or national origins of Members of Parliament. Such comments, least of all from the Deputy Prime Minister, let alone the Minister of Foreign Affairs, are inappropriate and racist.
“I am requesting you show leadership and prevent this from continuing.”
The Herald asked Luxon if he would respond to the concerns. He did not answer.
Menéndez March said Peters had “no regards for the rules of the House”.
“What we have is language and behaviour that can translate to harm outside of these four walls ... I am absolutely concerned that these attacks on migrant Members of Parliament cause harm outside of these four walls.”
Asked if it was appropriate to bring up Menéndez March’s immigration status, Peters said: “It was utterly appropriate.
“He applied to a country in 2000 just called New Zealand. And in this Parliament he has just changed the country’s name without the mandate, the authority or referendum of the New Zealand people. It’s totally appropriate and that’s why I said it.”
Peters said he wanted clarity from the Speaker on the use of just Aotearoa in the House.
“The mass majority of New Zealanders believe this country’s name is New Zealand. If the name is going to change, we’re gonna ask New Zealand people first.”
He said he would go to the Business Committee to change the standing order.
Peters later posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March is clearly arrogant and ignorant enough to think NZFirst attacking him and his cultural-Marxist way of thinking means we are somehow attacking everyone else”
“We called March out because of his arrogant and self-righteous attitude in lecturing New Zealanders and Parliament, including senior Māori MPs, on what the name of our country is. New Zealanders - including the majority of Māori - who have been here for generations, won’t sit back and be lectured by a Green Party self-confessed Marxist MP who has comparatively been here for five minutes.”
Menéndez March posted an Instagram video saying Peters was attacking migrant communities, while the Prime Minister was out of action.
Seymour: ‘Aotearoa is on our money’
Seymour told reporters Peters’ statement in the House was “not a comment I would make”.
“My principle is if you live here legally, you’re a Kiwi and you have equal rights. So we’ve got to stop obsessing over when people arrive, whether it was 1350 or 2025. If you’re committed to making a home in this country, you should be treated equally.”
Asked whether New Zealand should be used rather than Aotearoa, Seymour said MPs needed to adhere to Standing Orders.
“The Standing Orders say that you can use either te reo Māori or English. There’s a Māori word for New Zealand. There’s obviously New Zealand. The Māori word Aotearoa is on our money and it’s on our passport, so I would just make the argument that while I prefer to use New Zealand, I’m not here to stop other people saying Aotearoa.”
“An unwillingness to offer an apology in English shows contempt for the vast majority of the New Zealand members of the public who pay his salary,” said Jones.
And in January, Jones shouted “send the Mexicans home” during a parliamentary debate, which Menéndez March, who was born in Mexico, said was “xenophobic”.
He said that type of language “emboldens” others to say similar things in public and he called on the Prime Minister to act.
That same day, Peters told Green MPs Lawrence Xu-Nan and Francisco Hernandez to “show some gratitude” for being in New Zealand.
And in July 2024, National Minister Todd McClay yelled “you’re not in Mexico now” during a debate.
