Speaker Gerry Brownlee has declined to take action after New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan to "go back to your own country," saying the complaint came too late.

Brownlee told Parliament that the rules require an MP to ask for an apology at the time the comment is made, not nearly a week later. RNZ

The comment happened during what Brownlee called a "boisterous" debate, with MPs calling out across the room. Peters made the remark to Xu-Nan during that exchange. Brownlee noted that if Peters had withdrawn the comment at the time, it could not have been brought up again later.

Brownlee said he personally found the comments offensive. But he said there is a difference between his own disapproval and what the rules let him do as Speaker. He also said he would not treat the comments as a breach of privilege — the special rules Parliament uses to discipline its own members. He said free speech in New Zealand and the public's right to hear what politicians think were his reasons.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called Peters' statement racist. Luxon planned to talk with Peters about it "at some point." 1News Peters has refused to apologise and said he did not agree the remarks were racist. 1News NZ Herald

The Green Party had written to the Speaker asking him to encourage Peters to apologise. They said if no apology was made, they would treat it as a breach of privilege. With Brownlee declining to act on either front, that option now appears closed unless the Greens find another way to pursue it.

Green Party whip Ricardo Menendez March said the lack of action showed the Speaker and the Prime Minister were scared of holding Peters accountable. He said Luxon was "too scared" and that Peters was "walking all over" him.

The tension reached the debating chamber itself. Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick was kicked out of the House by Brownlee after she said the Speaker had "double standards."

The rules Brownlee used require the person who is offended to speak up at the time. That means if a comment is not challenged right away, it generally cannot be revisited. This is a high bar during noisy debates, where MPs may not catch what was said straight away or may choose not to make a scene.

Brownlee's free-speech reasoning is also worth noting. Complaints about parliamentary privilege are rare and usually reserved for serious matters, like a member being blocked from doing their job or deliberately misleading Parliament. The Speaker's comments suggest he does not see offensive or racist remarks during debate as serious enough to reach that level, at least when no one asked for an apology at the time.

The wider picture is uncomfortable for the government. Luxon leads a government in which Peters is a senior minister and partner. His calling the remarks racist sits alongside Peters' refusal to apologise, and Luxon's plan to raise it "at some point" leaves it unclear when or whether the matter will be resolved. Menendez March's claim that Luxon is intimidated by Peters will fit with what Opposition parties are saying, though the government would reject that.

For the Greens, Swarbrick's ejection makes things worse. They wanted an apology or a privilege complaint. They got neither, and lost a co-leader from the room for the rest of the sitting.