Speech by New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston PetersPublic meetingCelebrating Age Centre, 30 Victoria St, HamiltonMonday, 8 August, 201610.45amGovernment deaf to the harsher realities of what is happening in New Zealand
It must now be apparent to all New Zealanders that we are too dependent on China.
We have got so close to them, they are telling us what to do.
In 2008 I warned the then Labour Government as well as the National Party, as Labour negotiated the China Free Trade deal that we would rue the day that our largest exporters became perilously dependent on China.
At the time it was clear far too much of the economy would be dependent upon one exporter, Fonterra, one product, milk powder and one market, China.
That warning has come to pass.
Two weeks ago Mataura Valley Milk announced it had given China Animal Husbandry Group (CAHB) a 71.8 per cent ownership share in a new $200 million dairy plant to be built near Gore.
New Zealand First welcomes overseas investment when the controlling interests are held by New Zealanders.
It is economic lunacy to give over control of our wealth to foreign interests.
In April the prime minister went to China and promised the Chinese he would speed up decision making so it would be easier and quicker for Chinese to buy land and assets here.
Let’s remember China is a country which refuses to allow foreign nationals to buy land there.
At the time of his visit Chinese media warned Mr Key that if he raised the issue of the South China Sea, he could risk compromising New Zealand's trade relationship with China.
In recent weeks China has not been happy with New Zealand inquiries into a glut of Chinese steel imports flooding the market "and threatened retaliatory measures" against New Zealand trade, warning it will slow the flow of dairy, wool and kiwifruit imports.
China was also unhappy an international tribunal in The Hague rebuked them over its behaviour in the South China Sea, and found its expansive claim to sovereignty over the waters had no legal basis.
The question you need to ask from all this is: Why is New Zealand surprised?
Melamine, Chinese steel in our motorways, asbestos trains bouncing off our rail tracks and now a billion dollar threat to New Zealand’s dairy and horticulture industry, were all predictable events except to New Zealand’s political and economic leadership.
How ordinary New Zealanders are meant to react to the appalling failures of both must surely be at issue.
How well they must remember the cacophonous cheerleading of the New Zealand China Free Trade ‘industry’ and its derisory response to anyone who dared question the wisdom of what they were doing.
We are sycophantic in our relationship with China.
It’s time for Mr Key’s Government to demand China abide by international trade rules.
It’s time the government told China you are not our master: we will not be bullied around.
IMMIGRATION
It has taken a long time but New Zealand is beginning to wake up to the implications and impact of massive immigration.
How long can the National government encourage record numbers to come into New Zealand and ignore what is happening as a result?
Even when Treasury six months ago sounded warnings about the negative impact of immigration the government would not listen.
They are the only people in this country who continue to deny that mass immigration is contributing to Auckland’s crisis and to other dire problems.
Treasury advised Finance Minister Bill English that immigration could push Kiwis out of low-skilled jobs, depress wages and increase housing pressures.
ANZ chief executive David Hisco said he wanted to see an immigration review.
But the government won’t listen.
In the past year immigration to New Zealand is up to 125,000 with a net gain of 69,100.
Add to this, thousands of international students from 176 countries that came here last year, many of them having visas allowing them to work.
Auckland has climbed from being the world’s ninth most expensive city for housing to the fifth.
It’s still climbing.
It’s ordinary Kiwis who suffer by struggling to find homes, losing jobs or having wages reduced because many of the foreign students are desperate for work to pay for their education and will take any amount that is offered – even as low as $4 an hour.
Our hospitals are bursting at the seams; schools and infrastructure are under massive pressure.
The Auckland Primary Principals Association says they are crying out for teachers because New Zealand trained and qualified teachers rule out Auckland as a place to live and work because it is too expensive.
We have the crazy situation of a chronic shortage of primary school teachers in Auckland and a surplus around the country.
But the Ministry of Education are like the government.
Their solution to the Auckland teacher shortage is not to try and make it easier for Kiwi teachers, instead they are “working to smooth the way for overseas teachers to work in Auckland.” (RNZ, Recruiting Auckland teachers ‘a nightmare’, July 19)
That’s how ludicrous it has become.
The same thing is happening in the building sector.
The Minister for Housing Nick Smith said it was crucial to have skilled workers in Auckland for the building boom.
But at the same time the skilled workers are leaving the city or not going to work because it is too expensive. So the government says we will have to bring in builders from overseas.
Ordinary New Zealanders cannot get their foot on the housing market in Auckland and at the same time we have companies like Ray White linking up with Lianjia, also known as Homelink, China’s largest real estate agency, to market Auckland and New Zealand property to 260 million Chinese.
If you picked up a copy of The Straits Times recently (Saturday July 30, 2016, pA36) you would find a full page advertisement marketing New Zealand property in a “Prime New Zealand Properties Expo.’
The advertisement said “No stamp duty; no restrictions on resale to foreigners.”
The advertisement was targeting off-shore investors.
Again the government refuses to listen to this sort of thing.
They should listen.
The results of the Brexit referendum in the UK, the American presidential election and the recent Australian early election showed that.
The UK’s decision to leave the European Union – has shaken the political world.
The British public told their leaders that they have had enough of not being listened to.
It is the same in the United States also.
Donald Trump, despite his approach, has upset the applecart by achieving what many did not expect and securing the Republican nomination in the presidential race.
In the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders gave Hillary Clinton a hard run for her money.
This mood of discontent is evident here in New Zealand also.
And one of the common threads that run through this mood of change is the unhappiness over one thing in particular.
Immigration.
This is an issue that political parties tip toe around in spite of what the people think.
The people are being told – “keep in your place”; it’s not politically correct to touch on this issue – and if you do you can be quickly labelled racist or xenophobic.
The New Zealand media toe the line also – never looking for the deeper story but grabbing and running with the political spin which emanates from the beehive.
Ordinary New Zealanders know what the consequences of open door immigration are.
And one of the biggest impacts is on housing.
New Zealanders are seeing their dream of home ownership disappearing over the hill as foreign buyers clean out the market and send house prices through the roof.
NZ First has no issue with immigrants – it’s the open door immigration policy that is wrong.
We do not blame people for wanting to come to New Zealand
But we must address this issue of open door immigration and comprehend the impact it is having on our country.
The Reserve Bank knows this.
The Reserve bank deputy governor Grant Spencer told the Government to take another look at its immigration to stem rising house prices.
When New Zealand First said this, and we have for a long time, we were called racist and xenophobic.
But no-one accused the Reserve Bank of that.
Mr Spencer said New Zealand could not ignore that the 160,000 net inflow of permanent and long-term migrants over the last three years had generated an unprecedented increase in the population and a significant boost to housing demand.
But, again the government refused to listen. Again the government is concocting a poisoned chalice which others will have to deal with.
Brexit showed what happens if you do not listen to the people, and if you treat them as though their views do not count.
NZ being used
Overseas countries cannot believe how generous we are.
Where else in the world can a migrant come to a country at the age of 55, as happens here, live here 10 years and contribute nothing to our economy and qualify for full superannuation?
In the last 15 years over 82,000 people have done this.
That’s the equivalent of Palmerston North’s population.
New Zealand First says only New Zealanders and those who have qualified by length of stay and other requirements should get full superannuation.
Changes must be made in entitlement criteria so that payments are adjusted directly proportionate to the years of residence.
Labour and Greens
Even Labour and the Greens are getting worried about immigration and have buddied up with an agreement.
But New Zealand First will not be part of it.
We are not going to compromise our beliefs by buddying up with other political parties.
Before the election you should know what political parties stand for.
We’ll stand on our own feet.
We’ll concentrate on growing our vote and not waste time with cobbled together pre-election arrangements.
We have never liked this type of politics and never will.
We have an old fashioned view of democracy which is – we wait until the votes are counted.
We are not signing up to any pre-election deals.
Voters need to be fully aware of what an individual party’s policies are and not be confused.
Conclusion
When the views of the general public are ignored – dismissed and brushed aside on fundamental issues like immigration the scene is set for deep fault lines to emerge in a society between the people and those who govern them.
Next year New Zealanders will have their say – in the election
New Zealand First is a party of moderation and inclusion.
We have never stopped listening to the New Zealand public; their concerns, their hopes and their aspirations.
So we are confident that our policies – on immigration and on other issues vital to our country – reflect the view of the public.
