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NZ MP Calls One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts' Comments 'Absolutely Nuts'

'Spending so much time in Canberra has denied a village somewhere in Australia of its idiot.'
A New Zealand MP has labelled One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts a
Fairfax/Andrew Meares
A New Zealand MP has labelled One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts a

A New Zealand politician has called One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts a "village idiot" and claimed his calls for sanctions to be imposed on Kiwis living in Australia are "absolutely nuts".

New Zealand Labour Party Member Kelvin Davis took aim at Roberts in an interview on New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB, after the controversial Australian senator called for tighter immigration procedures for New Zealanders entering Australia and cutting benefits for those in Australia.

"The guy is a failure in the mining industry, he's became a political stalker, he's a climate change conspiracy theorist [and] he's a racist," he said.

"The saddest aspect of his entry into Australian politics? Spending so much time in Canberra has denied a village somewhere in Australia of its idiot. Now what he's saying is absolutely nuts."

The comments came after Roberts spoke to Newstalk ZB host Tim Downer about his proposal to place pressure on the New Zealand government following its decision to co-sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine. Roberts released a statement on Facebook on Wednesday, saying "this is why New Zealanders can't have nice things".

"The real message in this is to our federal government in Canberra. You need to work closely with the Kiwi government to prevent them from doing this type of thing that undermines Israel's existence," Roberts said on-air.

"We need to look at any kinds of alternatives that will put pressure to the New Zealand government so that the New Zealand government doesn't do this kind of thing in the future."

New Zealand MP Davis then took aim at the One Nation party, saying there should be no surprise that Roberts' suggestions of Kiwis establishing settlements in Australia pursues politics based on "hate and division".

"We shouldn't be surprised at One Nation's low IQ politics, which is basically to create an enemy... persecute that enemy and use the politics of hate and division for self-promotion," he said.

"It makes it sound like there's some sort of conspiracy for New Zealanders to annex parts of Australia for ourselves -- that's nonsense. New Zealanders go to Australia, they get jobs, they pay tax, they contribute to Australian society like any other immigrant, like he [Roberts] and his ancestors."

Working as the New Zealand Labour Party's Corrections spokesman, Davis has previously campaigned against the mistreatment and deportation of New Zealand citizens from Australia.

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