By Tova O’Brien
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been using dubious figures to prove a point.
Mr Peters says 22,000 Chinese immigrants are collecting superannuation they don't deserve, but he refused to show 3 News his research, which includes an anonymous tip from an old Chinese man.
He chose a room full of friendly faces at his party's annual conference to test his latest theory, then he tried it on reporters.
“There's possibly 22,000 and rising quite rapidly now.”
He's referring to the number of Chinese who arrived in New Zealand aged 56 and over and who are eligible for superannuation because they've lived here for 10 years
It is a figure which differs greatly from the Government’s, which says 14,000 immigrants are receiving superannuation, of which 3444 are Chinese.
Mr Peters declined to show 3 News his research.
"I'm not working and doing research for TV3. They've got millions of dollars to do that. I've got very limited resources and we don't intend to give over our research and our informant,” he says.
All we know about this mysterious informant is that he's old, he's Chinese and, like Mr Peters, he too thinks the Government's figures are wrong.
“We've got Government officials, and he's got some guy on Dominion Rd,” Prime Minister John Key says.
Mr Peters is right about one thing: those 14,000 immigrants are costing New Zealand a lot.
If they're all single and living alone, which is the highest super payout available, they will get $698 in the hand a fortnight.
At the most they'd be costing $254 million net a year.
“Go and ask the old Chinese in this country and the old Indians who have been here for decades paying their taxes and ask them what they think and they'll tell you that Winston Peters is right,” Mr Peters says.
But Mr Key disagrees.
“As per normal he's just plain wrong.”
Mr Peters may have got his numbers wrong, but he has still managed to crack back into that popular anti-immigrant sentiment.
3 News