National MP called out on ‘racist’ claim
Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker has been reprimanded by his leader for what has been dubbed a ‘‘racist’’ press release.
The first-term National MP has also been called out by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. On Thursday, Walker sent out a press release claiming that up to 11,000 people from ‘‘India, Pakistan and Korea’’ could be heading to Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown for quarantine.
Walker did not single out arrivals from other countries, nor did he state they were Kiwis returning home – who, along with permanent residents, are currently the only people allowed into the country.
It came after the Government announced it was looking to Queenstown and Dunedin as potential destinations for managed isolation facilities.
His press release stated 11,000 people from overseas could be destined for quarantine in the South without any consultation – a situation he called ‘‘disgraceful’’.
Yesterday, National Party leader Todd Muller said he had spoken to Walker and expressed his ‘‘disappointment’’ and ‘‘concern’’.
When asked what his issues were, or if he considered the statement racist, he only repeated that he had spoken to Walker and outlined his concern.
Muller repeatedly said: ‘‘I had that conversation with Hamish and I expressed my concern and I don’t condone what he said.’’
Stuff understands from National sources the release did not receive official sign-off from the party, and the party hierarchy were ‘‘livid’’.
This will be the second black mark against Walker’s name, after he made a misleading claim on Facebook about doorknocking a Southland community, when he hadn’t.
When Ardern was asked if she thought Walker’s press release was racist, she said: ‘‘I certainly thought it was inappropriate.
‘‘We need to make sure that we are welcoming the return of our permanent residents and our Kiwi citizens.
‘‘The response I have had from a number of those housing them is that they see this as the return of their people and their communities, and we should treat it as such.’’ Earlier, Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins told RNZ’s Morning Report that Walker’s comments were a ‘‘dog whistle’’ and the 11,000 figure did not match what he had been told.
‘‘I am not sure where Mr Walker gets his sources from, one only hopes it is not the same place where Michael Woodhouse gets his,’’ Hawkins said.
‘‘At this stage, all we have been told is that the existing locations for managed isolation and quarantine will be insufficient to meet the number of New Zealanders returning to the country.’’
He told RNZ the conversations about managed isolation and quarantine could be held in a mature fashion without ‘‘getting into an unhelpful conversation about where our citizens might be returning from’’.
Housing Minister Megan Woods, who is in charge of quarantine and isolation facilities, called the press release racist.
‘‘I think it is disgraceful and reprehensible. It is scaremongering and frankly it is racist,’’ Woods said. ‘‘I don’t think stirring up this kind of sentiment has any place in modern New Zealand.’’
But Walker defended the remarks, saying they were not racist – and that his claims could be substantiated.
‘‘Calling me a racist is Labour’s default tactic when they are unable to defend their blatant failures. It is not about race,’’ Walker said on Thursday. ‘‘This is about the live cases in New Zealand and what countries they come from.’’
The 11,000-person figure had come from a source who had also said the arrivals would be coming from those three countries, he explained.