Shamubeel drops the F-bomb on TVNZ's Q+A
Tactical strike justified, says one commentator.
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Hawke’s Bay
A lot of us think about using the F-word in reference to NZ First policy.
Shamubeel Eaqub actually did on TVNZ's Q+A this morning.
During a panel on immigration policy, the economist said , "You know, you've got to have a bit of balance here, and I know Winston in particular has a big thing about family reunification. Get f***king real."
Winston Peters is a long-time critic of the family renunification visa programme, which he claims is manipulated by Chinese immigrants.
Surprised laughter followed from host Michael Parkin and fellow guests Don Brash and Paul Spooney.
Mr Parkin quipped, "We'll await our complaint from the BSA."
He later tweeted: "That was flirting with disaster @SEaqub, the last person I had swearing on camera ended up on dancing with the stars."
In the blogosphere, Josie Pagani said Mr Eaqub was right to use the F-word, writing, "Don Brash said the housing bubble can be explained by a simple story of supply and demand; too many migrants means too many people for too few jobs and too few houses. Therefore reduce the number of people coming here and you’ll fix all our problems. As if you can fix the problems in the New Zealand economy by reducing it. What a paucity of vision that reveals. Other parts of the economy are transformed as a result of migration too: for example 60 per cent of new migrants come in under the skilled migrant programme. New migrants contribute nearly $2 billion each year to the New Zealand economy. International students contribute about $2.3 billion."
This is not the first time Mr Eaqub has hit controversy.
Last year, he coined the term "Zombie Town" to describe struggling regional centres.
And last month he called a critique of his book Generation Rent from ex-Reserve Bank official Michael Reddell racist. Both Mr Redell and Mr Eaqub see supply as a major factor in Auckland's housing shortage. Mr Reddel also sees bungled immigration policy playing a major role.
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Shamubeel drops the F-bomb on TVNZ's Q+A
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