Catching the Asian flu

by frog

Back in February, Unlimited’s Kate Wrath asked:

Will Winston Peters catch his familiar dose of the Asian flu in time for election day?

Well, almost three months later, and with the election in sight, that nasty Asian flu has indeed found its way into Winston’s system. The Herald reported yesterday that Winston’s concerned about New Zealand becoming more Asian. Says Winston:

Maori will be disturbed to know that in 17 years’ time they will be outnumbered by Asians in New Zealand.

Quite apart from the dodginess of his figures, Winston’s worrying about Asians outnumbering Maori is completely inconsistent with some other of his musings. For example, isn’t Winston constantly banging on about how Maori should see themselves simply as New Zealanders, and not expect special status or privilege or treatment? And if that is what he thinks, why should he care how many people are Maori and how many people are of other ethnicities? Aren’t we all just New Zealanders?

Could it be that he’s seeking the votes of bigots no matter their colour: he’ll pick up the bigoted Pakeha by talking about the “treaty industry” (whatever that means) and the bigoted Maori (and Pakeha) by talking about an Asian invasion. Maybe next we can expect him to seek support from the bigoted Chinese by talking about a “Japanese influx” imperilling the Chinese dominance of New Zealand’s Asian community.

Hey, when opportunity knocks, Winston opens the door, no matter how grimy the handle.