Brown Peter: Identity (Citizenship and Travel Documents) Bill — First Reading 
Brown Peter: Identity (Citizenship and Travel Documents) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:618;Page:14499] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 There are two rights—I think one would call them rights—or entitlements that New Zealanders want need and expect. They are the right of freedom and the right of security. A few years back all New Zealanders virtually got those two entitlements without too much problem at all but nowadays we live in a volatile world and things have changed. On top of that we have become very PC or more and more so and we are gradually losing the right to what I would call basic free speech. New Zealanders want to be able to go where they want to go when they want to go to see what they want to see and to do what they want to do with little restriction. But those things now are having to be tightened up. 
For freedom New Zealanders went to war. For freedom men and women paid the price with their lives. For security we pay taxation; we pay our taxes so we can have a secure nation. This bill goes quite some way in my opinion to making us a more secure nation. 
This is a brilliant country an absolutely brilliant country. It saddens me that some New Zealanders born and bred here do not recognise that. Perhaps I recognise it more because I came here some years ago and fell in love with the place. Thankfully some of the people fell in love with me and they said: “Stay here Pete; stay here.” And I stayed here. 
But nowadays things have changed. Nowadays we have to be very careful who we let in when we let them in and for how long we let them in. 
Jill Pettis 
: Not too many whingeing poms! 
PETER BROWN 
: A few years ago—and that member will be interested in this—at the time of the last election New Zealand First members stood up and said exactly what I am saying now: we must be careful about immigration and immigrants. For our troubles our members and particularly our New Zealand First leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters were called homophobic xenophobic and any sort of phobic anybody could lay their tongue to. I had to confess that when people called me xenophobic I said I could not play any musical instrument whatsoever! But gradually these Government members—and I commend them for it—have listened to New Zealand First. 
Pansy Wong 
: Ha ha they have! 
PETER BROWN 
: Pansy Wong recognises that. I will remind the honourable Minister over there that at the time of the last election anybody could come to this country as long as they had 28 points. They could get 28 points by having a lot of money and they could then just arrive. Then the points level was raised and following that the Government after listening to New Zealand First said it wanted to tighten up on the English language test and that was a good common-sense move. 
 Then the Government said—and not that long ago—that people had to have a job before they came here. Again that echoed New Zealand First policy. Then the Government started to say: “We want to look at the people here who have a criminal history. We want to curtail those guys.” I think they are looking at people who commit crimes after being here a relatively short time and looking at tossing them out. I think they are looking at that. Again that is New Zealand First policy. 
Further and as though that is not enough—I can see Government members sitting there feeling a little bit uncomfortable that they have taken our policies—the Government has said it will impose health checks on people coming here. It has said that it will not just be satisfied as the previous Government was in 1999 with the ticking of a little box as people sat on an aircraft on their way here. The Government has said it will impose health checks. It is yet to do it but it has taken our point on that very very seriously. 
We will say one other thing to Government members and I am sure they will listen carefully. We believe that people who come to this country must have an incentive—an encouragement to integrate into our society or to assimilate so to speak. We in New Zealand First abide by a simple saying in that context: when in Rome do as the Romans do. We say: “Don’t come here to impose your standards your qualities and your attitudes on this country.” That does not mean that individuals who come here cannot have some feeling and respect for where they have come from but they have to be able to fit in and assimilate. 
David Parker 
: They need to change to rugby—not cricket. 
PETER BROWN 
: The honourable member over there has to take some note that the British—Britain is where I come from—brought rugby soccer netball and cricket. Does he acknowledge that? I thank the member for acknowledging that. 
Hon Paul Swain 
: But we don’t like warm beer. 
PETER BROWN 
: Ha ha! All I can say before I get too carried away with my own glory is that New Zealanders can do most of those things far better than the people who invented them—and that pleases me no end. 
This country has three major attributes. First it is a beautiful country physically. It is an absolutely gorgeous country physically. Second it is filled to a very large degree with hard-working decent flexible friendly people. They are regarded very very highly when they go overseas and we should be proud of New Zealanders and their achievements in this country. The third and final attribute this country has—but not final from my point of view—is that we do not have too many people. Four million people or just over is enough and that number should grow naturally. We do not have to fill this country with whoever wants to come here—any johnny-come-lately who feels uncomfortable here there or anywhere. We can afford to be selective and we must value the space this country has. If people want the rat race they should go to London Tokyo or wherever they want but we should value the society we have here. 
This bill goes quite some way to putting on some controls. I would like to say that New Zealand First is totally happy with the bill but on our reading of it we can find some concerns. One concern is that we are not yet convinced that the life of a passport should be reduced from 10 years to 5 years. We know that the Minister has a reputation for revenue gathering by his attitude to the police collecting money from drivers—quite unfairly in many cases—and we think this could well be another smart little trick the Minister has come up with to get a few more dollars for the Government. 
We also have concerns that this bill does not stop pregnant people from coming to New Zealand from here there and everywhere from having a baby here—who automatically becomes a New Zealander—and then from moving on to another country. 
Hon George Hawkins 
: There’s going to be a Supplementary Order Paper on that. 
PETER BROWN 
: Based on the New Zealand First member’s bill in the ballot? I am very pleased to hear it. Yet again the Government is listening to New Zealand First. I thank the Minister very much for that advice. 
New Zealand has a high standard and it has to maintain that high standard if for no other reason than that people who become New Zealand citizens get automatic entry into Australia. As much as we want to battle with the Australians on the rugby field and the cricket field I think there is mutual respect for keeping both our countries safe and secure for the respective peoples in our nations. Therefore we have to have a secure control system over people who come here and become New Zealand citizens. 
I think this Government has really listened to New Zealand First and I commend it. We will support this bill’s referral to the select committee.