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

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. 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 or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

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 Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

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 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. It was inspired the Australian political party

Australians Against Further Immigration Australians Against Further Immigration (AAFI) was a far-right Australian political party founded by radiologist Rodney Spencer and his wife Robyn, the parents of actor Jesse Spencer. The party described itself as " eco-nationalist", was oppose ...

, 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 by not capitalising the letter P in the word

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

. 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 ...

who won 57 votes (0.33%) The party stood a candidate at the

1994 Selwyn by-election The Selwyn by-election, a by-election in the New Zealand electorates, New Zealand electorate of Selwyn (New Zealand electorate), Selwyn – a predominantly rural district in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island – took place on ...

, 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