I’ve never talked about it, but Winston Peters also told me to go back to my own country - Raybon Kan
Comedian Raybon Kan recounts a past experience of being told to 'go back to his own country' by Winston Peters, criticizing the current political discourse in New Zealand. Kan expresses frustration that politicians are not being held accountable for racist rhetoric.
Why it matters
The piece highlights ongoing debates regarding racism in New Zealand politics and the responsibility of public figures to maintain professional standards.
Comedian Raybon Kan (inset) has detailed an encounter with Winston Peters in the 1990s after a celebrity debate at Parliament. Photo / Stephen A’Court
I watched Tova O’Brien interview Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan on TVNZ the day after Winston Peters told him in Parliament: “I know you just came here five months ago. Go back to your own country”.
Outside Parliament, Peters doubled down: “He’s only been here for five minutes and can’t even speak the language properly.”
O’Brien, sympathetic, keeps asking Xu-Nan if Peters has been racist. Xu-Nan keeps pivoting to Green policy. O’Brien: “How do you feel when you hear someone, not just any someone, a Deputy Prime Minister, saying something like that ?” Xu-Nan: “This is someone’s desperate attempt to distract the New Zealand public from the real harm this Government is doing, whether it is criminalising homelessness or selling public conservation land.”
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