Apparently Prime Minister Now Bill English has offered a strong rebuke of the notion of ethnic cleansing today, saying that while he could not himself weigh in on whether or not it would be wrong or even racist, his Government certainly “disagrees with it” and it “won’t be the direction we’ll be taking.”

“No, that’s not something that, I mean, no, I’m not here to defend that policy,” he told Radio New Zealand’s Guyon Espiner this morning. “I’m not trying to defend or explain it, no. That is the job of whoever decides to cleanse in an ethnic manner.”

The Prime Minister reiterated that he “does disagree” with ethnic cleansing, though would not go so far as to commit to labelling it a “racist policy.”

“I’m not sure that it is,” he said. “I guess I’d say it’s not the New Zealand way. That’s not a policy we plan to implement.”

Asked if such a policy would be a crime against humanity, English said that was “for others to decide.”

“It’s not for me to say that,” he explained. “I’m only the Prime Minister of a whole nation.”

Espiner also sought clarification from the Prime Minister about when John Key is “coming home” and whether he’s “just on holiday, right?”