- “Immigrants Take Your Jobs” and Other Quotes of Enlightenment

I went to a lecture from Winston Peters last week and he claimed that International Investors, and students, coming to New Zealand are the reason that “none of you can get a job.” 

None of you, to a room full of stage two and three politics students at Auckland University. Quality pre-speech research was made there considering maybe a tenth of the room are more than two generations Kiwi if that.

“None of you will ever afford a house”, again because of immigrants. It’s funny how that works considering a number of my friends already have property investments in Auckland and the ones who don’t generally don’t care if they own property, like myself. Mr Peters also seemed to forget that structures known as houses have the capacity to exist outside of Auckland if people were that concerned about ‘owning land.’

“It is your tax money,” again I’m not sure which part of the supposedly through and through indigenous room that Winston saw he was talking to, “is paying for these people to come here and live on our benefit system.” Says the man who in the same lecture proclaimed that these people would be stealing jobs? That would seem like a contradiction.

I can say with confidence that anyone, Maori/indigenous New Zealander, multi-generation migrant like myself, or international citizen or visitor can find a job if they want one. I had a job from 11 years old, during school holidays I helped at a family friend’s butchery in West Auckland. I can promise you that I was probably the only white guy working, and there was a balanced mix of immigrants, Maori and multi-generational citizens. That was 10 years ago.

I currently hold down six separate venues of employment and know of a lot more work going. Jobs on offer in Auckland right now may not be dream jobs but they are jobs. 

Properties available throughout New Zealand may not be dream homes, but they are homes nonetheless.

‘Concern over the impact of immigration’ is just another fancy term for racially unenlightened. 

Maybe we should be questioning the dangers our own people bring on New Zealand this election for a change?

*lecture by Winston Peters took place as party of POLITICS 232, Week 13 lecture 1, 30/05/2016. Old Choral Hall 2 (104-G54), 12:00pm