Views[edit]
Craig has stated he is not sure that "legislating morality" works well.
[9] He has described legalization of same-sex marriage as "social engineering",
[10] and is also opposed to gay adoption, adolescent access to abortion, school lunches for children in poor families,
[11] common-law marriages, and
voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide. In May 2012, Mr Craig described New Zealand's young men and women as "the most promiscuous in the world" based upon surveys such as
David P. Schmitt's International Sexuality Description Project research statistics
[12] and anecdotal evidence from New Zealand gynaecologists,
[13] a statement which was dismissed by Prime Minister
John Key[14] and other political leaders like
Tariana Turia and
Winston Peters.
[15]
In July 2012, Craig claimed during an interview with 3 News he could choose to be gay if he wanted to.
[16]
Following a series of child poverty items on current affairs show
Campbell Live and a fundraising effort from the show to raise money for school lunches,
[17] Craig said children sent to school without lunch should go without. Instead, their parents should be charged "cost of rectifying their bad behaviour".
[11]
In September 2012, Craig had 20,000 leaflets delivered to residents in the
Helensville electorate, claiming locals had told him Helensville MP and Prime Minister
John Key was "too gay" to be their representative in Parliament.
[18]
In April 2013 Craig sided with controversial Danish politician
Marie Krarup after she called a traditional
Maori greeting "grotesque".
[19] Craig said no visitors should have to face a "bare-bottomed native making threatening gestures" if they didn't want to.
[20]
Following the legalisation of same sex marriage in April 2013,
[21] Craig said "the day of reckoning" would come, that it was a "failure of democracy".
[22] and that "[it] was not a vote of the people of New Zealand," adding "If it had been, the answer would have been no."
[23]
Craig has been known to take offence at satirical articles directed at him, including a piece on the satirical website
The Civilian, which he said published a story designed "to make him look ridiculous". He threatened to sue the site unless they published a retraction and paid him $500, despite being a millionaire.
[24] Craig withdrew the threat the following day.
[25]
In November 2013 Craig said humans were not to blame for
climate change, instead pointing to sunspots and "the circulation of planets".
[26]