Minister of Foreign Affairs and leader of the nationalist New Zealand First party Winston Peters has been in the news this week over controversy involving a $100,000 donation from ex-pat millionaire Own Glenn. It has been suggested that Mr Peters breached Parliament’s rules by not declaring the donation towards his legal bills as a gift in the MPs’ register of pecuniary interest. Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Television New Zealand’s Breakfast program that the affair is obviously “embarrassing for Mr Peters”. The bigger embarrassment however is Peters himself, how embarrassing for New Zealand that the country has a foreign affairs minister who has built his political career on a xenophobic hatred of foreigners. The New Zealand First party conference last weekend showed that Peters anti-immigration views are as strong as ever. Between the populist rhetoric in his speech one could find such quotable’s as:

just last night on TV the tragedy of our flawed immigration system was highlighted.
Murders and kidnapping. Our convention was pushed to third place – remember the years we spent warning them this would happen. The crime wave in Auckland is all too real – as are its racial and ethnic undertones.

Commenting on a recent immigration scam he stated “If any recent immigrant is behind this scam his lawful right to be here should be revoked.” and implored to party faithful that “When tomorrow comes, you must take back your country.” As if the xenophobia wasn’t bad enough, later this week Peters will be meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, one of the key politicians behind the invasion of Iraq. As John Minto wrote in his opinion column in yesterdays Press “Peters will positively preen beside the most powerful woman in international politics. It will be an embarrassing, nauseating sight.”