Here, the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with India has pumped immigration up the political agenda. They're not the most populous country in the world for nothing," Peters told Politik. Debating immigration out loudWhile some say the media ignores the issue, immigration had aired extensively often in the news. "In an election year, it's so predictable that immigration becomes a really contested issue," Tahu Kukutai from the Te Ngira Institute for Population Research told the forum. Accused of racism and scapegoating, Winston Peters told Parliament the next day he wasn't sorry.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 21, 2026 20:27 UTC