Rights Aotearoa Utterly Condemns Winston Peters Repeated Use of the term 'Globalists', A Well-Worn Antisemitic Dog Whistle.

Rights Aotearoa utterly condemns NZ First Leader The Rt Hon Winston Peters' persistent deployment of "globalist" terminology as an antisemitic dog whistle, most recently in his Herald interview published today where he explicitly contrasted his "nationalist" party against his coalition partners whom he labels "globalists."

This calculated rhetoric follows his February statement attacking "unelected, globalist, climate radicals" in the banking sector, demonstrating a disturbing pattern of coded antisemitic language from New Zealand's Former Deputy Prime Minister that directly echoes the conspiracy theories that fuelled the Holocaust and continue to endanger Jewish communities worldwide.

Peters' strategic use of antisemitic terminology—positioning "globalists" as disloyal outsiders manipulating international systems while he champions "nationalist" values—represents a textbook deployment of fascist rhetoric that has historically preceded violent attacks on marginalised communities. His praise for Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, whose immigration rhetoric has been condemned across Britain for emboldening racism, reveals the international far-right networks amplifying these dangerous conspiracy theories. At a time when New Zealand Jewish Council data shows antisemitic incidents are running at 11.6 times higher than the almost-decade preceding October 7, 2023, with Jewish New Zealanders now 160 times more likely to be victims of hate crimes than European New Zealanders—Peters' deployment of coded antisemitic language from the highest levels of government represents an unconscionable betrayal of his constitutional duty to protect all New Zealanders.

Rights Aotearoa demands Peters immediately cease using antisemitic dog whistles and calls on Prime Minister Luxon to publicly distance his government from this hate speech that threatens the safety and dignity of Jewish communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and all those targeted by the intersectional conspiracy theories that "globalist" rhetoric is designed to propagate. There is no international conspiracy of Jewish people controlling the world, and if you think there is, you are utterly unhinged.

Rights Aotearoa is New Zealand's leading non-governmental organisation devoted to promoting and defending universal human rights with a focus on transgender, non-binary, and intersex rights.