We might have views on immigration and the terrible manner many migrant workers are exploited and the negative impacts that exploitation can cause domestic pay rates and infrastructure gridlock, but I think we can all universally agree refugees are not and should not be part of that debate.
Behrouz Boochani has suffered at the hands of Australian bigotry and to question his refugee status as some type of immigration issue that NZ First wish to exploit is pretty jaw dropping in its needless spite.
Refugees are not part of any immigration debate, refugees are the rent we pay as a liberal progressive democracy, a downpayment on our basic humanity to those who have been forced through circumstance and persecution from their home.
To expand Boochani’s status as a refugee into a wider debate about immigration is malicious and disingenuous.
The Brexit Bad Boys now running NZ First’s campaign have dialled NZ First race baiting dog whittles into a canine trumpet.
We are better than this type of explicit political enmity aimed towards the most vulnerable amongst us.
Ugly politics by NZ First.
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Newstalk, Hosking’s hangout, has an article headline today that says the National Party is “unconvinced Behrouz should qualify as a refugee”. “Qualify”??
Funny they should talk about “qualifying” just now. Many people out here are starting to ask just how many National Party MPs qualify as our representatives in Parliament, here in NZ.
Since both the current Labour coalition and the previous National led Government’s offered to take some or all of the refugees held in detention in Australia, isn’t this simply starting a process of taking them one by one?
Probably to appeal to his right wing white racist base, Winston Peters was recently quoted as saying, we should have opened up our borders with white majority settler country Australia “yesterday”.
Peters largess on open borders with Australia does not apply to Iranian born Behrouz Boochani
This is a man who has carved a political career out of catering to racist sentiment among white New Zealanders. To pander to his right wing base, even exploiting anti-Maori Pakeha racism has not been a step too far for Peters, taking the side of Fletchers against the rightful indigenous owners of Ihumatao.
The sooner this self serving political opportunist is evicted from parliament by the voters, the better.
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