3.30pm
Allegations New Zealand First leader Winston Peters ran a racist election campaign have been dismissed by one of the party's four new Maori MPs, a lecturer on the Treaty of Waitangi.
New Zealand First lifted itself from five seats in Parliament, to 13 after a campaign based on immigration, curtailing the treaty "gravy train" and law and order.
Critics accused Mr Peters, who has dubbed treaty issues the "white man's burden", of racist campaigning.
New MP Bill Gudgeon, an East Coast-born Maori who lectures on the treaty at Waikato Polytechnic, said people misunderstood what Mr Peters was saying.
"Winston has never been racist. His concern is about Maori being independent, not dependent on the state, and achieving and developing their own potential. Education is the key to that," he said.
Mr Peters was not anti-treaty, but anti those making big money for themselves while working in the its related industry, he said.
He had spent much of his campaign explaining that to concerned Maori.
Visions of the infamous 1996 intake of New Zealand First Maori MPs were immediately quelled by Mr Peters, as a strong Maori flavour emerged among his new MPs.
In addition to himself, Ron Mark, Mr Gudgeon, Pita Paraone, Jim Peters, and Edwin Perry are Maori.
But Mr Peters said today they were "not Maori, they are New Zealanders ... when will you get that through your heads".
His 1996 intake of Maori MPs -- Tuku Morgan, Tu Wyllie, Tuariki Delamere, Tau Henare and Rana Waitai -- moulded themselves into a semi-sinister sunglass-wearing group.
When the coalition with National broke apart all but Mr Wyllie abandoned Mr Peters, who told NZPA there was "no chance" of a repeat with his 2002 colleagues.
"These people have been so vetted, so checked out, they are rock solid, there is no chance of that happening," he said.
Nor could Mr Gudgeon, who served with the army in South East Asia, see a new tight-five being formed.
- NZPA
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Winston not racist, says new NZ First MP
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