Shane Jones. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
New Zealand First Ministers are refusing to back down from comments they made towards immigrant MPs in the House this week.
MPs were debating the Prime Minister's statement on Tuesday when Shane Jones yelled "send the Mexicans home" across the floor.
Winston Peters then told Green MPs Lawrence Xu-Nan and Francisco Hernandez to "show some gratitude" for being in New Zealand.
The Green Party has now written to the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the House asking they take action, saying the comments were "outwardly racist and xenophobic".
Mexico-born Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March told Morning Report the comments had impacts outside the four walls of Parliament.
"People who wish to cause harm and violence on migrant communities end up feeling empowered and embolden when they see people in positions of power saying those outwardly racist and xenophobic thing," he said.
"We are already seeing attacks on migrant communities on places like public transport and other parts of the community."
March said the NZ First were "straight up taking a page out of the Trump book."
"It is inexcusable for the prime minister to be completely silent when it comes to the behaviour of his own ministers who are getting away with this."
March also said the speaker should make a ruling.
The Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee received a letter of complaint from the Green MP late on Wednesday evening.
The letter took issues with the comments made by New Zealand First leader and deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and his colleagues Shane Jones.
Brownlee told RNZ he would consider the letter and respond to it in due course.
Shane Jones is doubling down on his comments.
"This guy's got to grow a pair, he swaggers around in Parliament, been there five or ten minutes and thinks he can tell Winston and I what to do," he told Morning Report.
"He brings alien ideas and woke-ism to New Zealand.
"He tries to impose ideas and make fun of New Zealand First's foundation beliefs.
"And he's going to get much more of what I gave him and if he doesn't like it he can get out politics."
Jones said he had nothing against new migrants in New Zealand and said he had lots of pleasant experiences in Latin America.
However, he said his party would not be "frog marched to the altar of climate cultism."
"I know the Greens have a host of colourful and strange members, but if you want to take on New Zealand's Nationalist party... return fire will happened"
"Look it's a Mexican stand-off, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Jones said.
After hearing Jones' latest comments, Menéndez March said the prime minister's silence and lack of condemnation spoke volumes.
"New Zealand First will continue being New Zealand First. They made a career out of anti-migrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Asian rhetoric. But this actually goes to whether the prime minister is willing to show leadership, and call those comments unacceptable and set the standards higher when it comes to his own ministers," he said.
"This impacts New Zealand on the global stage. When New Zealand is looking to trade with other nations, politicians will remember these kinds of comments."
In an earlier text to RNZ, Jones called the Greens "flakes" and said the party's MPs liked to dish it out but couldn't handle the return fire.
Asked if his comments had an anti-immigrant sentiment, Peters said that was a "stupid conclusion".
"I was talking about two people jeering and shouting from the back benches as though the debate was of no moment to them and I was pointing out in the historical parliamentary debating fashion if you can't take it go somewhere else. Or are you too soft for that?"
The Prime Minister's office has not responded to RNZ's request for comment.
Trade Minister Todd McClay apologised to the House in July last year after yelling "you're not in Mexico now!" at Menéndez March.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
