liberation

[NZ First party history] 14: The Anti-immigration surge

Prior to New Zealand First moving right-wards in its economic policy during 1996, it also began to give more emphasis to the more socially conservative or right-wing policies and stances it held. In particular, Winston Peters revitalised NZ First’s electoral prospects in early 1996 by opening up a debate about immigration with his views that the number of immigrants to New Zealand needed to be further restricted. [Read more below]

Immigration controls and impoverishment

Gary Younge of the Guardian has written a good article on immigration - The west persists in using race to decide who can cross its borders. Younge is therefore part of a growing number of commentators who are questioning why there are restraints on labour travelling between countries when ' Capital, we are told, must flow freely around the world to ensure international prosperity.' He points out the hypocrisy of the west in demanding that the former eastern bloc give freedom of movement to its citizens and then putting a new wall up to replace the old barrier to stop them leaving. He sees the elite in the west forcing both poverty and lack of mobility on the poor world:

Facing hunger and destitution, the poor move in search of work. But when they seek to gain access to the wealthiest countries - the very ones which created the rules that keep them poor - the doors are closed. Politicians desperate to galvanise popular support at home argue not for correcting the global inequalities in wealth but instead for stiffer immigration laws to keep the poor out. Since most, but by no means all, of these impoverished people are not white, racism almost inevitably informs and infects these immigration laws and the debate that surrounds them.

The liberal case for open borders and immigration

The liberal economist Philippe Legrain has been asking 'why are so many people are against the free movement of labour'. He's just published a new book arguing the case for open borders, in which he assembles strong evidence that immigration brings benefits to everyone. He says that immigration controls really just boil down to fear of change or to racism. The Guardian have just published a think piece of his on immigration to Britain entitled Don't believe this claptrap. Migrants are no threat to us.

New regressive immigration rule changes

New Zealand First says the new immigration rule changes announced by the Labour Government are 'a step in the right direction' - which must mean they are a step in the conservative direction. According to the NoRightTurn blog the changes 'will make our immigration system more vicious, more unfair, and more arbitrary, with less oversight, less accountability, and substantially greater potential for injustice'. Amongst many regressive elements, according to NoRightTurn, the new rules include lower deportation thresholds, tightened time-limits for appeals, the ability to revoke permanent residency retrospectively, an increase in detention periods, a decrease in judicial oversight, and the Immigration Department gets to run its own jails. What's more, 'indefinite detention will be allowed where people refuse to cooperate in being deported back to torture and death'.

Labour parties in decline

With the Labour Party in New Zealand slipping to 13 points behind National in the latest TV One News poll, it's interesting to note that here in Britain the latest Guardian poll puts the British Labour Party at their lowest point in 20 years, with only 29% support. Although voters are very positive about their National Health Service, it's interesting that only 25% think the NHS has improved under Labour, while 30% think it's got worse and others think they've made little difference. While Labour has doubled the NHS budget, only 14% believe this money has been well spent - much has gone into private firms. Note also, that Labour has moved further to the right in adopting a xenophobic and unworkable ban on Bulgarians and Romanians (both now in the EU) working in Britain.