Kiwis Against Further Immigration was a small right-wing extremist lobby group and political party in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It changed its name from the New Zealand Defence Movement in 1994. The group vehemently opposed immigration to New Zealand, and treated "multiculturalism" with deep suspicion. They were opposed to

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

organisations, saying they had no role to play in modern society. They claimed immigrants were reintroducing tuberculosis to New Zealand, and that immigration policies were turning Auckland into a "polluted zoo".

History

The group was re-launched on

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

1994 and had 150 members at its launch with a target of reaching 500 members to contest the 1996 general election. Leader Bevan Skelton stated that the "defence" label had caused confusion with voters in the 11 electorates it contested in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. It was inspired the Australian political party

Australians Against Further Immigration Australians Against Further Immigration (AAFI) was an Australian far-right political party which described itself as " eco-nationalist", was opposed to mass immigration and aimed for zero net migration. The party was founded in 1989 and register ...

, sharing the same philosophy of halting immigration and preserving the existing culture of the country. Skelton stated "We are not racist. We are pro New Zealand citizens." The party instigated a campaign to the Complaints Review Tribunal arguing that the ''

Sunday Star-Times The ''Sunday Star-Times'' is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand. ...

'' breached the

Human Rights Act 1993 The Human Rights Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand that deals with discrimination. It was a consolidation and amendment of the Race Relations Act 1971 and the Human Rights Commission Act 1977. It came into force on 1 February ...

by not capitalising the letter P in the word

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

. Their spokesperson, Bevin Skelton, said "We've got a society where people are running around throwing bricks through Somali family's windows. It's my contention that as the pakeha are unable to express their ethnicity and coherently argue their case - in fear of being racist - they instead sneak around and throw rocks through bedroom windows." The newspaper's lawyer said the case was a costly "nutter complaint". In 1997 the group was jeered and heckled at the New Zealand Population Conference. Their spokesperson, Evan Skelton, told the conference that New Zealand didn't need any Asian migrants and said "I want to keep my distance from Asia forever. I don't want my kids to have to die in their wars." The group displayed placards in the banquet room reading "The best thing about New Zealand is its small population" and "New Zealand's population policy is archaic - only three other nations actually encourage immigration."

Elections

Auckland lawyer Bevin Skelton stood for the party in the

1992 Tamaki by-election The Tamaki by-election 1992 was a by-election held in the electorate during the 43rd New Zealand Parliament, on 15 February 1992. It was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Sir Robert Muldoon and was won by Clem Simich with a majority of ...

. The party stood a candidate at the

1994 Selwyn by-election The Selwyn by-election, a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Selwyn – a predominantly rural district in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island – took place on 13 August 1994. The previous sitting MP, Ruth Richardson ...

, automotive repairer Bruce Annan, who won 29 votes (0.14%). Other candidates have included Anthony Van Den Heuvel.

References

{{Historic New Zealand political parties Nationalist parties in Oceania Political parties established in 1994 Defunct political parties in New Zealand Far-right politics in New Zealand 1994 establishments in New Zealand Conservative parties in New Zealand New Zealand nationalism Anti-immigration politics in Oceania Anti-immigration politics in New Zealand