There is an unspoken rule in New Zealand politics when it comes to immigration. You are allowed to praise it, expand it, and rely on it to prop up weak policy decisions. What you are not allowed to do is question it, or you’re instantly labelled xenophobic or racist by the radical left.
In a video posted to X, Jones has said plainly what many New Zealanders have been thinking for a long time. Immigration that is unfettered and untargeted is not harmless. It has real consequences for jobs, wages, housing, infrastructure, and social cohesion. Pretending otherwise does not make those consequences disappear.
With unemployment sitting around 5.2 percent, it is entirely reasonable to ask why New Zealand continues to import large numbers of low-skilled workers. Why are we told the economy needs more Uber drivers while young Kiwis struggle to find work or are pushed into casual, insecure jobs? Why is immigration so often treated as a shortcut instead of addressing deeper problems like low wages, weak training pathways, and poor workforce planning?
As always with everything I write, this is not an attack on migrants. It is an argument for putting New Zealanders first.
For years, governments of all stripes have leaned on immigration to mask failure. When businesses complain about labour shortages, the default response is to open the tap rather than improve pay or conditions. When infrastructure buckles under pressure, officials act shocked, even though rapid population growth was entirely predictable.
Jones is also right to reject the idea that questioning immigration makes someone intolerant or backward. Wanting an open debate about population growth, cultural cohesion, and national identity is not racism. It is the bare minimum of a functioning democracy. A country should be able to decide who it brings in, why it does so, and at what pace.
New Zealand is not limitless. Our roads, hospitals, schools, housing, and water systems do not automatically expand because migration numbers look good on paper. Communities feel the pressure long before politicians admit there is a problem.
There is nothing extreme about prioritising your own citizens. Every serious nation does it. Encouraging young New Zealanders to work, train, and contribute is not cruel. It is responsible governance. Importing labour while telling locals to accept lower wages or endless competition sends the wrong signal entirely.
The distinction Jones draws between targeted immigration and mass immigration is crucial. Bringing in skilled workers we genuinely need is sensible. Allowing large-scale intake simply because it is convenient or ideologically fashionable is not. Immigration should serve the country, not override it.
