New Zealand's political leaders are facing renewed divisions after comments made by Foreign Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters in Parliament prompted accusations of racism and calls for his dismissal from Cabinet.
The controversy stems from remarks Peters directed at Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan during a parliamentary debate, telling him to "go back to your own country," as quoted by 1News.
Labour and the Green Party have condemned the comments, while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and senior National Party figures have publicly distanced themselves from the remarks.
Defending his statement, Peters said he was "defending New Zealand's democracy" and dismissed allegations of racism as "drivel," as quoted by 1News.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon criticised the comments, describing them as an attempt to generate publicity rather than focus on public concerns.
"To our Kiwi-Chinese community, National and I back you, and to every New Zealander who wants representatives focused on the issues that matter to you, rather than attention-seeking for cheap headlines, Party Vote National," he said, 1News has quoted.
National's campaign spokesperson Simeon Brown took a stronger stance, describing the remarks as "racist".
"I represent an electorate with a huge number of Chinese New Zealanders, and they'll be looking at that and saying... that's someone who doesn't represent me," he told reporters, 1News has quoted.
Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni said Peters should no longer remain Foreign Minister.
"Those comments are so incredibly racist and offensive, and you cannot make those types of comments as a minister, as a Cabinet minister, but particularly as the Minister for Foreign Affairs," she said, as quoted by 1News.
Green MP Tamatha Paul also criticised Peters' remarks, saying, "Racism is unacceptable... it's not the 70s anymore," 1News has quoted.
Deputy Prime Minister and ACT leader David Seymour echoed Luxon's criticism, describing the comments as "attention-seeking" and saying he preferred not to give them further publicity.
While Seymour acknowledged the remarks were inappropriate for a Foreign Minister, he noted Peters had been speaking in his capacity as leader of New Zealand First.
Race Relations Commissioner Melissa Derby also expressed concern, saying she was "extremely disappointed", particularly given Peters' ministerial responsibilities.
"While the nature of politics often comes with rough-and-tumble dialogue, it's also important for our leaders to remember that they set a tone in terms of what's acceptable, and real people are affected when comments like this are made," she said, as quoted by 1News.
Derby urged politicians to "be better" and avoid "adding to polarisation for the sake of clicks," as quoted by 1News.
The latest controversy follows several other comments by senior New Zealand First figures that have attracted criticism in recent months.
In April, Deputy Leader Shane Jones described the Government's proposed free trade agreement with India as a "butter chicken tsunami", warning that "unfettered immigration" would reduce wages, increase traffic congestion and place pressure on public services, 1News has reported.
At the time, Jones defended his remarks, saying, "I don't care how much criticism we get. I am just never going to agree with a butter chicken tsunami coming to New Zealand," as quoted by 1News.
The comments drew criticism from members of New Zealand's Indian community. Prime Minister Luxon described them as "unhelpful", while Jones later said the language was "hyperbole" intended to achieve political "cut-through".
According to 1News, earlier this month, Jones again sparked controversy after telling politicians to "take off your kneepads" when greeting visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Luxon described that remark as "crass and unprofessional", while Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Jones would have been dismissed had he been a Labour MP.
Political communication professor Aeron Davis said the increasingly confrontational language reflected a broader trend in populist politics.
"Directly imported from the Trump playbook," Davis said, adding that such rhetoric often emerged "whenever populist parties are on the rise," as quoted by 1News.
Political commentator Brigitte Morton said New Zealand First was developing "a record now of comments that are out of step with the standards that we expect", citing the "butter chicken tsunami" and "kneepads" remarks among recent examples, as reported by 1News.
The political fallout over Peters' latest comments continues, with Opposition parties maintaining their calls for his removal as Foreign Minister while the Government has stopped short of taking disciplinary action.