Labour Party MP David Shearer says he was shocked by a joke the Prime Minister John Key made about the fugitive murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith.
Labour Foreign Affairs spokesperson David Shearer Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Mr Key joked with reporters in Beijing that when he meets with the Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet tonight regarding the case, he would inform her there was a New Zealander in her country that she should not invite to lunch.
At the time, it was thought Smith was in Chile, but he had since travelled on to Brazil.
Mr Shearer said Smith's escape from New Zealand was appalling and certainly no laughing matter for his victims.
He said if the shoe was on the other foot, New Zealanders would not find it funny.
"If the reverse had been true that Chile had allowed a murderer and pedophile to come to New Zealand an joked about it, we wouldn't have been apreciative of that joke and I don't think they would be, and I don't think it's how New Zealanders see the situation either."
CCTV footage of Phillip Smith as he passed through Auckland Airport. Photo: NZ Police