There should be little surprise at Shane Jones’ latest racist outburst against Indians living in New Zealand. The
typically florid, bombastic, pompous comments were, by his own admission, aimed not at the Indian community, nor the
vast majority of the rest of the country, but rather at just the small percentage of it that identifies as supporters of
the New Zealand First Party.
After all, they have had a tough time in recent weeks defending the apparently indefensible way their party funds
itself, so might welcome the party making the headlines for other reasons. What better way therefore to make the party
troops feel positive again than trotting out some good, old core message rhetoric as light relief? No matter the offence
the comments understandably and justifiably caused the Indian community, because although they were the group attacked,
they were not the group at whom the remarks were aimed. Playing minorities off against the rest of the population in
this way is a classic New Zealand First tactic and is the height of electoral cynicism.
But it is also much more than that. It is a blunt expression of New Zealand First’s beliefs. Moreover, what it really
shows is that racially motivated criticisms by New Zealand First MPs are not just some casual occurrence to be brushed
aside as “their personal views”. There have been too many instances of this type of behaviour over the years for them to
be dismissed credibly as just coincidence. Rather, they are at the heart of New Zealand First’s monocultural,
anti-immigrant message, which the party is unashamed and unabashed in promoting. It is a deliberate pitch to that
segment of the population that holds similar views.
One only need recall Winston Peters’ quarter century of attacks on non-white migrants; former deputy leader Peter
Brown’s outburst that there were too many Asian immigrants coming to New Zealand; former MP Richard Prosser’s references
to people from “wogistan”, Ron Mark telling a Korean born MP to “go home”, or Clayton Mitchell’s anti-Semitic comments
in Parliament. The list goes on and on. Shane Jones is no different – he is just playing the same old tune his party has
scratched out for years.
But it is not just the frequent attacks on foreigners and their values that mark New Zealand First out as racist. It has
also been the party most consistently opposed to correcting Treaty of Waitangi imbalances, or enabling greater
power-sharing with, or public participation by, iwi in the nation’s life. New Zealand First has always opposed moves in
this direction as encouraging separatism, an anti-social justice and equality tactic frequently employed by
white-supremacy groups elsewhere.
New Zealand First has consistently and deliberately played the race card in New Zealand politics like no other party in
the last quarter century. And given its electoral success in that time it has to be conceded, sadly, that the strategy
has succeeded. Unfortunately, its overt racism has legitimised the latent prejudices of a small group of New Zealanders
who have supported New Zealand First as the public expression of their own private bigotry. And, at three of the eight
elections held under MMP, that support has been sufficient to put the party in a key position which it came to
government formation.
However, this year, the party is locked in a real battle for political survival. There are steady signs that New
Zealanders may be tiring of the New Zealand First presence in Parliament. But, as previous elections have shown, the
party often performs best when its back is to the electoral wall. And it does so by playing to its traditional appeals.
Therefore, during this year’s election campaign, all ethnic and cultural minorities are likely to be targets of some
type or other of New Zealand First’s hostility, if it considers that fomenting such division is in its selfish political
interests. After all, it has worked for them in the past, so why would it not do so again? Unfortunately, therefore, any
hope that New Zealand First will moderate its racism in the slightest in the lead-up to this year’s election seems
likely to be extremely forlorn.
All the while, it is becoming increasingly ironic and incredible that the Labour Party which professes itself to the
world as progressive, compassionate and kind should be propped up in office by such a regressive, racist coalition
partner. Sadly, while National has already reduced New Zealand First’s relevance for the future by ruling out working
with it, Labour is too electorally reliant on New Zealand First’s potential numbers to do likewise. And with the Prime
Minister’s do-nothing response to New Zealand First’s racist attacks likely to continue, the country seems set to endure
yet more ignorant and intemperate outbursts from Shane Jones and his colleagues over the next few months until the
election, when the majority of New Zealanders will have the opportunity to finally put an end to this racism in politics
once and for all.