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Wikipedia

Winston Peters

April 08, 2024

For Winston Edward Peters, the Trinidad and Tobago calypsonian and politician, see Gypsy (calypsonian).

Winston Raymond Peters PC (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician who has been the leader of New Zealand First since it was founded in 1993.[2] He was re-elected for a fifteenth time at the 2023 general election,[3] having previously been a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 1981, 1984 to 2008 and 2011 to 2020. Peters has served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and 25th minister of foreign affairs since November 2023.

The Right Honourable
Vaovasamanaia
Winston Peters
PC MP
Peters in 2019
13th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
Assumed office
27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon
Governor-GeneralCindy Kiro
Preceded byCarmel Sepuloni
In office
26 October 2017 – 6 November 2020
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Governor-GeneralPatsy Reddy
Preceded byPaula Bennett
Succeeded byGrant Robertson
In office
16 December 1996 – 14 August 1998
Prime MinisterJim Bolger
Jenny Shipley
Governor-GeneralMichael Hardie Boys
Preceded byDon McKinnon
Succeeded byWyatt Creech
25th Minister of Foreign Affairs
Assumed office
27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon
Preceded byGrant Robertson
In office
26 October 2017 – 6 November 2020
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Preceded byGerry Brownlee
Succeeded byNanaia Mahuta
In office
19 October 2005 – 29 August 2008
Prime MinisterHelen Clark
Preceded byPhil Goff
Succeeded byHelen Clark (Acting)
Murray McCully
8th Minister for Racing
Assumed office
27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon
Preceded byKieran McAnulty
In office
26 October 2017 – 6 November 2020
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Preceded byDavid Bennett
Succeeded byGrant Robertson
In office
19 October 2005 – 19 November 2008
Prime MinisterHelen Clark
Preceded byDamien O'Connor
Succeeded byJohn Carter
Leader of New Zealand First
Assumed office
18 July 1993
DeputyTau Henare
Peter Brown
Tracey Martin
Ron Mark
Fletcher Tabuteau
Shane Jones
Preceded byOffice established
Ministerial offices
1990–1998
1st Treasurer of New Zealand
In office
16 December 1996 – 14 August 1998
Prime MinisterJim Bolger
Jenny Shipley
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byBill Birch
35th Minister of Māori Affairs
In office
2 November 1990 – 2 October 1991
Prime MinisterJim Bolger
Preceded byKoro Wētere
Succeeded byDoug Kidd
Parliamentary offices
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
Assumed office
14 October 2023
ConstituencyNew Zealand First List
In office
23 September 2017 – 17 October 2020
ConstituencyNew Zealand First List
In office
28 March 2015 – 23 September 2017
Preceded byMike Sabin
Succeeded byMatt King
ConstituencyNorthland
In office
26 November 2011 – 28 March 2015
Succeeded byRia Bond
ConstituencyNew Zealand First List
In office
17 September 2005 – 3 October 2008
ConstituencyNew Zealand First List
In office
17 July 1984 – 17 September 2005
Preceded byKeith Allen
Succeeded byBob Clarkson
ConstituencyTauranga
In office
24 May 1979 – 28 November 1981
Preceded byMalcolm Douglas
Succeeded byColin Moyle
ConstituencyHunua
Personal details
Born
Wynston Raymond Peters

(1945-04-11) 11 April 1945 (age 78)
Whangārei, New Zealand
Political partyNew Zealand First (since 1993)
Other political
affiliations		National (before 1993)
Children2, including Bree[1]
RelativesJim Peters (brother)
Ian Peters (brother)
Lynette Stewart (sister)
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
Signature

Peters was born in Whangārei to a family of mixed Ngāti Wai and Scottish descent. He was raised in Whananaki in rural Northland before attending school in Dargaville. Widely known simply as "Winston",[4] Peters has had a long and turbulent political career since first entering Parliament following the National Party win in the 1978 general election. Peters first served in the Cabinet as minister of Māori affairs when Jim Bolger led the National Party to victory in 1990. He was dismissed from this post in 1991 after criticising his own Government's economic, fiscal and foreign ownership policies. Leaving the National Party in 1993, Peters briefly served as an independent before founding New Zealand First, a populist party.

As leader of New Zealand First, he held the balance of power after the 1996 election and formed a coalition with the National Party, securing the positions of deputy prime minister and treasurer, the latter position created for Peters. However, the coalition dissolved in 1998 following the replacement of Bolger by Jenny Shipley as prime minister. In 1999, New Zealand First returned to opposition before entering government with Labour Party Prime Minister Helen Clark, in which Peters served as minister of foreign affairs from 2005 to 2008.

In the 2008 general election, after a funding scandal involving Peters and his party, New Zealand First failed to reach the 5% threshold. As a result, neither Peters nor New Zealand First were returned to Parliament.[5] In the 2011 general election, New Zealand First experienced a resurgence in support, winning 6.8% of the party vote to secure eight seats in Parliament.[6] Peters returned to Parliament and spent two terms in opposition before forming a coalition government with the Labour Party in 2017. The new prime minister Jacinda Ardern appointed Peters as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. Peters was acting prime minister from 21 June 2018 to 2 August 2018 while Ardern was on maternity leave.[7][8] He failed to be elected for a third time in the 2020 election, but staged another comeback in 2023 and is part of the Sixth National Government.[9][10] After entering into a coalition agreement with National leader Christopher Luxon, Peters serves as Luxon's deputy prime minister from 27 November 2023 to 31 May 2025; he will be succeeded by David Seymour.[11]

Early life and education edit

Peters's birth certificate records his birth in Whangārei and his registration as Wynston Raymond Peters.[3] His father was Māori, primarily of the Ngāti Wai iwi, but also of Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi.[12] His mother was of Clan MacInnes Scottish ancestry. Two of his brothers, Ian and Jim, have also served as MPs, and another brother, Ron, has also stood as a New Zealand First candidate.[13][14][1] According to the journalist Ian Wishart, Peters is not fluent in the Māori language because as a child English was the language in his home and children were not allowed to speak Māori at his primary school.[15]

He grew up on a farm in Whananaki,[16] and after attending Whangarei Boys' High School and Dargaville High School, Peters studied at the Auckland Teachers' Training College. In 1966 he taught at Te Atatū Intermediate School in Auckland[17] but the next year went to Australia where he became a blast-furnace worker with BHP in Newcastle and later a tunneler in the Snowy Mountains.[18]

In 1970 Peters returned to New Zealand and studied history, politics and law at the University of Auckland. During his university years, Peters joined the New Zealand Young Nationals, the youth wing of the centre-right New Zealand National Party, and became acquainted with Bruce Cliffe and Paul East, who later served as Cabinet ministers in the Fourth National Government. Like his brothers Ron, Wayne, and Allan, Peters played rugby. He was a member of the University Rugby Club in Auckland and captain of the Auckland Māori Rugby team. In 1973, Peters graduated with a BA and LLB. He married his girlfriend Louise, and later worked as a lawyer at Russell McVeagh between 1974 and 1978.[19][20]

Early political career edit

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
1979–1981 39th Hunua National
1984–1987 41st Tauranga National
1987–1990 42nd Tauranga National
1990–1993 43rd Tauranga National
1993 43rd Tauranga Independent
1993–1996 44th Tauranga NZ First
1996–1999 45th Tauranga 1 NZ First
1999–2002 46th Tauranga 1 NZ First
2002–2005 47th Tauranga 1 NZ First
2005–2008 48th List 1 NZ First
2011–2014 50th List 1 NZ First
2014–2015 51st List 1 NZ First
2015–2017 51st Northland NZ First
2017–2020 52nd List 1 NZ First
2023–present 54th List 1 NZ First

Peters entered national politics in 1975 general election, standing unsuccessfully for the National Party in the electorate seat of Northern Maori; he gained 1,873 votes, and became the first National candidate in a Māori seat for some[quantify] years who did not lose his deposit.[21] This followed a successful campaign by Peters and other members of his Ngāti Wai iwi to retain their tribal land in the face of the Labour government's plan to establish coastal-land reserves for the public. As a result, the government of the day took virtually no ancestral land in the Whangārei coastal areas, and the initiative helped inspire the 1975 Land March led by Whina Cooper.[22]

Peters first became a member of parliament following the 1978 general election, but only after winning in the High Court an electoral petition which overturned the election-night result for the seat of Hunua (an electorate in the southern Auckland city area) against Malcolm Douglas, the brother of Roger Douglas. Peters took his seat – six months after polling day – on 24 May 1979.[23] He lost this seat in 1981, but in 1984 he successfully stood in the electorate of Tauranga.[24][25][26]

After re-entering parliament Peters was appointed Shadow Minister of Māori Affairs, Consumer Affairs and Marketing by National leader Sir Robert Muldoon.[27] When Muldoon was replaced as leader by Jim McLay, Peters retained only Māori Affairs in a reshuffle but was also allocated the transport portfolio.[28] In March 1986 when McLay was replaced by Jim Bolger as leader, Peters was nominated for the deputy leadership, but he declined the nomination.[29]

On 16 December 1986 Peters exposed the Māori loan affair in Parliament; this involved the-then Māori Affairs Department attempting to raise money illegally through a NZ$600 million loan-package offered by the Hawaiian businessman Michael Gisondi and the West German businessman Max Raepple.[30][31] Peters became the National Party's spokesperson on Māori Affairs, Consumer Affairs, and Transport. In 1987 Jim Bolger elevated him to National's Opposition front bench as spokesperson for Māori Affairs, Employment, and Race Relations. After National won the 1990 election, Peters became Minister of Māori Affairs in the fourth National government, led by Jim Bolger.[32][33]

 
Peters became an outspoken critic of his party leader, Jim Bolger (pictured in 1992).

As Minister of Māori Affairs, Peters co-authored the Ka Awatea report in 1992 which advocated merging the Ministry of Māori Affairs and the Iwi Transition Agency into the present Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry for Māori Development).[34] Peters disagreed with the National Party leadership on a number of matters—such as the Ruthanasia economic policies—and frequently spoke out against his party regarding them. This earned him popular recognition and support. However, his party colleagues distrusted him, and his publicity-seeking behaviour made him increasingly disliked within the party. While the party leadership tolerated differences of opinion from a backbencher, they were far less willing to accept public criticism from a Cabinet minister, which (they determined) was undermining the National government. In October 1991, Bolger sacked Peters from Cabinet.[35][36]

Peters remained as a National backbencher, continuing to publicly criticise the party. In late 1992, when the National Party was considering possible candidates for the elections in the following year, it moved to prevent Peters from seeking renomination (under any banner). In Peters v Collinge, Peters successfully challenged the party's actions in the High Court, and in early 1993, he chose to resign from the party and from Parliament. This prompted a by-election in Tauranga some months before the scheduled general election. Peters stood in Tauranga as an independent and won easily.[37][38]

Fourth National Government (1993–1999) edit

Shortly before the 1993 election in November, Peters established New Zealand First in July of the same year.[39] He retained his Tauranga seat in the election. Another New Zealand First candidate, Tau Henare, unseated the Labour incumbent in Northern Maori, helping to convince people that New Zealand First was not simply Peters's personal vehicle. Peters started the Winebox Inquiry in 1994, which concerned companies using the Cook Islands as a tax haven.[40][41]

 
Peters on the campaign trail in Auckland, c. 1993

During the 1992 and 1993 electoral reform referendums, Peters advocated the adoption of the mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system.[42] In the 1996 general election, the MMP system delivered a large increase in representation for New Zealand First. Instead of the 2 seats in the previous parliament, the party won 17 seats and swept all of the Māori electorates.[43] More importantly, it held the balance of power in Parliament. Neither National nor Labour had enough support to govern alone. Neither party could form a majority without the backing of New Zealand First, meaning Peters could effectively choose the next prime minister.[44] As a result, Peters became known as the "kingmaker".[45]

It was widely expected that he would throw his support to Labour and make Labour leader Helen Clark New Zealand's first female prime minister. Peters had bitterly criticised his former National colleagues, and appeared to promise that he would not even consider a coalition with Bolger. However, after over a month of negotiations with both parties, Peters decided to enter into a coalition with National.[46] Michael Laws, then New Zealand First's campaign manager, later claimed that Peters had already decided to enter into an agreement with National and used his negotiations with Labour simply to win more concessions from Bolger.[47]

Whatever the case, Peters exacted a high price for allowing Bolger to stay on as Prime Minister. Peters became Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer (senior to the Minister of Finance), the latter post created especially for him. Initially, there were concerns about whether Peters would be able to work with Bolger, the National prime minister who had previously sacked him from Cabinet, but the two did not seem to have any major difficulties.[48]

 
Peters had a strained relationship with Prime Minister Jenny Shipley (pictured), who sacked him from Cabinet.

Later, however, tensions began to develop between Peters and the National Party, which only worsened after Jenny Shipley staged a party room coup and became prime minister. After a dispute over the privatisation of Wellington International Airport, Peters was sacked from Cabinet again on 14 August 1998. He immediately broke off the coalition and led New Zealand First back into opposition.[49][50] However, several MPs, including deputy leader Henare, opted to stay in government and leave New Zealand First. It later came out that Henare had tried to oust Peters as leader, but failed.[51] Henare and other disaffected New Zealand First MPs formed the short-lived Mauri Pacific party. None of the MPs who opted to stay in government retained their seats in the next election.[52]

Fifth Labour Government (1999–2008) edit

New Zealand First was severely mauled in the 1999 election, which saw Labour oust National from power. The party suffered for the rash of party-switching. Additionally, there was a wide perception that Peters had led voters to believe a vote for New Zealand First would get rid of National, only to turn around and go into coalition with National. New Zealand First dropped to 4.3% of the vote. Under New Zealand's MMP rules, a party that falls below the 5% threshold can still qualify for MMP by winning one electorate seat. However, Peters just barely held onto Tauranga after losing almost 20 percent of his vote from 1996, defeating a National challenger by 63 votes. As a result, New Zealand First remained in parliament but was reduced to five seats. Still in opposition (to the Fifth Labour Government), Peters continued to promote his traditional policies, but also became more noticeably concerned about immigration policies.[53]

In the 2002 election, Peters performed well once again, campaigning on three main issues: reducing immigration, increasing punishments for crime, and ending the "grievance industry" around Treaty of Waitangi settlements.[3] This message regained much support for both Peters and his party, especially from among the elderly who had in the past backed Peters, and New Zealand First won 10% of the vote and 13 seats. Peters seemed to hope that Labour would choose to ally with New Zealand First to stay in power. However, Clark explicitly rejected this possibility, instead relying on support from elsewhere.[54]

In a speech at Orewa in 2005, he criticised immigration from Asian countries as "imported criminal activity" and warned that New Zealanders were "being colonised without having any say in the numbers of people coming in and where they are from". He also accused the Labour Party of having an "ethnic engineering and re-population policy".[55] In July 2005, Peters said New Zealand should err on the side of caution in admitting immigrants until they "affirm their commitment to our values and standards".[56]

2005 election edit

 
Peters greets US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at Auckland Airport in 2008.

As the 2005 general election approached, Peters did not indicate a preference for coalition with either of the major parties, declaring that he would not seek the "baubles of office".[57] He promised to either give support in confidence and supply to the party with the most seats, or to abstain from no-confidence votes against it, and that he would not deal with any coalition that included the Greens. He pledged to keep post-election negotiations to under three weeks following criticism of the seven-week marathon it took to broker a deal with National in 1996.[58]

In the election, some of New Zealand First's traditional support moved to National. Peters himself narrowly lost his longstanding hold on Tauranga to National MP Bob Clarkson, but New Zealand First did well enough to receive seven seats (down from 13 in 2002), allowing Peters to remain in Parliament as a list MP. Soon after the 2005 election Peters launched a legal challenge against Clarkson. The case alleged that Clarkson had spent more than the legal limit allowed for campaign budgets during elections in New Zealand. This legal bid ultimately failed, with a majority of the judges in the case declaring that Clarkson had not overspent.[59]

In negotiations with Helen Clark after the election, Peters secured the ministerial portfolios of Foreign Affairs and Racing in the Labour-led government, a move which apparently lay at odds with his earlier promise to refuse the "baubles of office".[57] He was a member of the Executive Council, although he was outside cabinet; he was able to criticise the government in areas not related to his portfolios, which experts said was an unprecedented situation.[60] Considering his previous comments relating to immigration, there were mixed reactions from commentators.[61] His selection for the Foreign Affairs portfolio created some measure of surprise within the country and beyond. National Party leader Don Brash said the choice was "astonishing", because "the whole region distrusts Winston Peters – Australia, Asia [...]. I think putting him as minister of foreign affairs does huge damage for our international reputation."[62] The Age, in Australia, expressed surprise that the position had been given to an "outspoken, anti-migrant populist [and] nationalist".[62]

Allegations concerning Peters's involvement with Simunovich Fisheries and former Member of Parliament Ross Meurant, who was engaged as both adviser to Peters and in undefined business activities with Peter Simunovich (managing director of Simunovich Fisheries), culminated in a Parliamentary Select Committee enquiry into what became known as the 'scampi enquiry'. The enquiry cleared Peters, Simunovich and Meurant of any wrongdoing.[63]

In October 2006, Peters affirmed that he would continue to serve as leader for the 2008 election.[64]

SuperGold Card edit

The SuperGold Card has been one of Peters's flagship initiatives.[65] As a condition of the 2005 confidence-and-supply agreement between New Zealand First and the Labour Government, Peters launched the SuperGold Card in August 2007.[66] It included public transport benefits like free off-peak travel[67] (funded by the Government) and discounts from businesses and companies[68] across thousands of outlets. Peters negotiated with then Prime Minister Helen Clark despite widespread opposition to the card on the grounds of high cost.[69]

Party donations edit

Peters attracted media attention in 2008 over controversial payments for legal services and party donations. He had received $100,000 in 2006 to fund legal costs of challenging the election of Bob Clarkson to the Tauranga electorate. The money came from Owen Glenn, a wealthy New Zealand businessman and philanthropist based in Monaco. Under parliamentary rules, any gift to MPs over the value of $500 must be declared. Peters denied knowing about the source of the money but this was not corroborated by his lawyer Brian Henry and Glenn contradicted Peters's denial.[70]

The Vela family, prominent in the racing industry, had donated $150,000 to Peters over a four-year period. The payments were made in sums of $10,000 to remain within rules governing political party funding. The Dominion Post published details from New Zealand First sources that before the 2005 election $25,000 had been donated to the party from Sir Bob Jones via the Spencer Trust. The Trust is administered by Wayne Peters, one of Winston's brothers. Jones confirmed that he had paid the money to the Spencer Trust and was asked by Winston Peters to make the donation.[71] Peters denies that he had asked Jones for a donation to the party.[72] The donation was not declared to the Electoral Commission as required by law.[73]

On 29 August 2008, Peters offered to stand down from his portfolios as Foreign Affairs and Racing Minister,[74] pending an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office as to whether the donations from Sir Bob Jones and the Vela brothers reached New Zealand First as intended.[75] On 10 September 2008, Peters gave evidence to the Privileges Committee of the New Zealand Parliament in an attempt to refute evidence given by Owen Glenn. The Privileges Committee returned a report on 22 September recommending that Peters be censured for "knowingly providing false or misleading information on a return of pecuniary interests".[76][77] Parliament passed a motion censuring Peters the following day. All but three of the parties in Parliament (New Zealand First, Labour, and Progressives who abstained) supported the censure.[78]

Peters was later cleared by the Serious Fraud Office with respect to political donations, however some matters were referred back to the Electoral Commission as it was determined that, while no fraud had taken place, some electoral law matters with regard to funding declarations were not complied with.[79] The police subsequently decided that no offence had been committed.[80] Peters has referred to the affair as part of the "most vicious character assassination seen in any campaign this country has ever witnessed" and unsuccessfully sued Television New Zealand for defamation.[81][82]

2008 election edit

 
Peters at the Europa Lecture 2008, University of Auckland

Peters tried to regain Tauranga in the 2008 election and lost to National's Simon Bridges by a margin of 11,742 votes, a much larger loss than in 2005.[83] The loss was attributed to fallout from the fundraising scandal that was seen to have damaged Peters's credibility.[57]

With New Zealand First falling to 4.07% of the party vote—and failing to win a single electorate—Peters and his party were shut out of the 49th New Zealand Parliament.[84] In his concession speech, Peters promised, "This is not the end", and alluded to the fact that while New Zealand First would not have any members in Parliament, its 4.07% of the vote meant it was still New Zealand's fourth largest party (after National, Labour, and the Greens). Despite this, political commentators described the defeat as "the end of the road" for Peters.[85]

In opposition (2008–2017) edit

Peters generally shunned the media spotlight following the 2008 election. In 2009, he caused a brief flurry of interest when it was revealed he was still using a ministerial car, some months after his election defeat.[86] Later it was reported he had started writing a rugby column for a local magazine.[87] He appeared on TV ONE's Q & A programme on 5 July 2009, confirming that he was still the leader of New Zealand First. He hinted at a political comeback and attacked the New Zealand government's review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act.[88] In late 2010 and early 2011 Peters made a number of appearances on television and radio where he made it clear his and New Zealand First's intention to contest the 2011 election. New Zealand First's annual convention in July 2011 received widespread media coverage and somewhat restored the media's interest in Peters and the party.[89]

2011 election edit

 
Peters talking to Bryce Edwards as a part of the Vote Chat forum at the University of Otago, 2011

In the 2011 general election New Zealand First experienced a resurgence in support, winning 6.8% of the party vote to secure eight seats in Parliament.[6] Shortly after the election, Peters stated that his party would be in opposition and hold the "balance of responsibility".[57] During this term, he was the New Zealand First spokesperson for finance, economic development, foreign affairs, trade, defence, immigration, senior citizens, broadcasting, racing, state owned enterprises, and Treaty of Waitangi issues, and a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee.[90]

2014 election edit

During the 2014 general election, Peters tactically endorsed the Labour candidate Kelvin Davis in the Te Tai Tokerau Māori electorate as a means of opposing the Mana Movement MP Hone Harawira. Harawira had formed an electoral pact with the Internet Party, which was funded by controversial internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom. Peters denounced Dotcom as a "crooked German" who "had been here for five minutes".[91] Peters was joined by Prime Minister and National Leader John Key and the Māori Party candidate Te Hira Paenga.[92][93] As a result, Harawira was defeated during the 2014 election.[94] During the election, New Zealand First increased their parliamentary representation further, winning 8.6% of the party vote to secure 11 seats in the New Zealand Parliament.[95] Peters continued as New Zealand First spokesperson on finance, economic development, foreign affairs, racing and senior citizens, and as a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee.[90]

2015 Northland by-election edit

See also: 2015 Northland by-election

In 2015, National MP Mike Sabin resigned, leaving his seat of Northland open. The seat, located in the Far North District, and its predecessors had been in National hands for decades. However, Peters ran for the seat and won it with a commanding majority—the first time that New Zealand First had won an electorate seat since 2005. With Peters resigning his list seat to take up the Northland seat, this allowed New Zealand First's representation in parliament to increase to 12, with Ria Bond, the next available candidate on New Zealand First's party list filling the vacant list seat.

2017 election edit

During the lead-up to the 2017 general election, Peters reaffirmed his support for the campaign by families of the victims of the 2010 Pike River Mine disaster to re-enter the mine to recover their loved ones. Peters publicly stated that re-entry to the mine would be non-negotiable in any coalition deal and dismissed claims that it was too dangerous to re-enter the mine.[96]

On 13 July, Peters traded barbs with Green Party MPs Barry Coates and Metiria Turei. Coates had written on the left-wing The Daily Blog that the Greens would prefer a snap election to being left out of a Labour and New Zealand First coalition government.[97] Meanwhile, Turei had criticised what she alleged was Peters's "racist approach towards immigration". Peters responded that Coates' comments were the "height of stupidity". He also rejected Turei's claims that New Zealand First was racist and warned that there would be consequences for the Greens in any post-election talks. Green co-leader James Shaw later clarified that Coates' remarks did not represent Green Party policy.[98][99]

At New Zealand First's convention in South Auckland on 16 July 2017, Peters announced that if elected his party would hold a double referendum on eliminating the Māori seats and reducing the number of MPs in Parliament from 120 to 100 in mid-term 2017–2020.[100] Peters also outlined his party's policies which included reducing immigration to 10,000 a year and nationalising the country's banks. Peters also proposed making KiwiBank the New Zealand government's official trading bank. In terms of law and order, Peters said that his party would build no more prisons but would make prisoners do hard labour six days a week.[101]

During the 2017 election held on 23 September, Peters lost his Northland electorate seat to the National candidate Matt King by a margin of 1,389 votes.[102] Despite losing his seat, New Zealand First secured 7.2% of the party vote with the party's parliamentary presence being reduced from twelve to nine seats. Since Peters ranked first on the New Zealand First list, he remained in Parliament as a list MP.[103][104]

Following the 2017 election, Peters entered into coalition–forming talks with senior figures from the National and Labour parties. Neither major party had enough support to govern alone. National Party leader and Prime Minister Bill English signalled an interest in forming a coalition with New Zealand First; a potential National–New Zealand First coalition would have had 65 seats between them, enough to govern without the need for support from other parties. Labour leader Jacinda Ardern announced that her party was considering a three-way coalition with New Zealand First and the Greens. Peters indicated that he would not make his final decision until the special votes results were released on 7 October 2017.[105][106]

During negotiations with Ardern, Peters abandoned his party's policy to hold a referendum on Māori seats.[107] He clarified that the defeat of the Māori Party during the 2017 election had eliminated the rationale for his call to abolish the Māori electorates.[108] Peters stated that foreign ownership of homes would be one of the topics discussed during negotiations with both National and Labour.[109] He also called for Labour to scrap its contentious water tax policy on farmers.[110] Peters also refused to negotiate with the Greens directly on the grounds that they had campaigned on a partnership with Labour. He described the Greens as a minor party with a minimal role in any potential government.[111][112]

Sixth Labour Government (2017–2020) edit

 
Peters with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy at the swearing-in of the new Cabinet on 26 October 2017
See also: Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand

On 19 October 2017, Peters announced that New Zealand First would form a coalition with the Labour Party under Jacinda Ardern,[113] citing changing international and internal economic circumstances as the reasoning behind his decision,[114] coupled with a belief that a Labour government was best-placed to handle the social and economic welfare of New Zealanders in a global environment that was undergoing rapid and seismic change.[115]

As part of the agreement, New Zealand First had four portfolios inside Cabinet and one outside. On 26 October 2017, Peters assumed the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for State Owned Enterprises and Minister for Racing.[116][117] On 19 January 2018, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she was pregnant and that Peters would take the role of Acting Prime Minister for six weeks after the delivery, which happened on 21 June 2018.[7] Peters managed the "day to day" business of the country while Ardern was on maternity leave—a first in modern politics.[8] Ardern returned to the role of Prime Minister full-time on 2 August 2018.

In August 2019, Peters called for a binding referendum on the Government's proposed Abortion Legislation Bill, claiming that it had not been part of New Zealand First's coalition agreement with Labour. Peters's remarks surprised both Justice Minister Andrew Little of the Labour Party and New Zealand First MP and cabinet minister Tracey Martin, who had participated in months of negotiations on the bill. Peters also declared that New Zealand First MPs would not be allowed a conscience vote on the issue and would vote as a caucus to support the bill at first reading. He warned that New Zealand First would withdraw support if the proposed law was not put to a public referendum.[118][119] Little rejected Peters's demands for a referendum on the grounds that the legislation was a parliamentary matter.[120]

In October 2019 Peters announced $7.7 million investment into the SuperGold Card scheme. The "upgrade" includes a new website, a mobile app, and 500 new partner businesses.[121]

According to The New Zealand Herald in July 2020, Peters's New Zealand First fully or partially achieved 80% of the 70 promises made by Ardern in order to secure its support for her premiership.[122]

Foreign affairs edit

 
Peters meets US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 17 July 2018.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, his commitments include the initiation of a closer economic relations agreement with the UK, Australia, Canada, and other Commonwealth countries and to work towards a bilateral free-trade agreement with the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union.[123] In July 2019, during a visit to Washington, DC, Peters proposed a bilateral free-trade agreement between New Zealand and the United States.[124]

On 5 May 2020, Peters expressed support for Taiwan rejoining the World Health Organization during a press conference.[125] Peters's announcement was welcomed by the Taiwanese Government, which reiterated its friendship with New Zealand.[126] The New Zealand Government subsequently announced its support for Taiwan's bid to join the WHO, putting New Zealand alongside Australia and the United States who have taken similar positions. In response, the Chinese Embassy issued a statement reminding Wellington to adhere to the One China Policy.[127][128] In response, Peters told the Chinese Ambassador to "listen to her master", and stated that New Zealand should follow Taiwan's example of making the wearing of face masks compulsory.[129] Peters's remarks were criticised by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who warned that they violated the One China Policy and would hurt China–New Zealand relations. Peters has stood by his remarks.[130][131]

On 28 July 2020, Peters announced that New Zealand was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to the Hong Kong national security law, which he claimed "eroded rule of law principles" and undermined the "one country, two systems" rule.[132] In response, the Chinese Embassy criticised the New Zealand Government for violating international law and norms, and interfering in China's internal affairs.[133]

On 22 July 2020, Peters attracted media scrutiny for allegedly using his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs to get Antarctica New Zealand to arrange a taxpayer–funded trip to Antarctica for two wealthy friends. Peters defended his actions and claimed that he was trying to raise NZ$50 million in private sponsorship to offset some of the costs of the NZ$250 million redevelopment of New Zealand's Antarctic base Scott Base.[134][135]

In response to evidence that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned in September 2020, Peters called it "deeply troubling".[136]

Superannuation payments edit

In late August 2017, Peters admitted being overpaid in superannuation for seven years while living with his longtime partner Jan Trotman. The overpayment occurred because the relationship status box on his application form was left blank. Peters stated that he and the Ministry agreed that there had been a payment error but said he had paid the money back – amounting to nearly $18,000. Peters paid interest and penalties on the overpayment.[137]

The overpayment was subsequently leaked to the media. Peters described it as a private matter and expressed outrage that it had been leaked. In 2019, while serving as Deputy Prime Minister, he took former National ministers Paula Bennett and Anne Tolley, the Ministry of Social Development, its former chief executive Brendon Boyle, and State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes to court seeking $450,000 from each defendant for breaching his privacy.[138]

On 20 April 2020, Justice Geoffrey Venning of the Auckland High Court dismissed Peters's case against Bennett, Tolley, the Ministry of Social Development, Boyle, and Hughes on the basis that Peters had not been able to establish that they were responsible for the disclosure of the payment irregularity to the media. However, the High Court also ruled that Peters's privacy had been deliberately breached during the lead-up to the 2017 general election in order to publicly embarrass him and cause him harm.[139][140]

On 20 July 2020, Peters was ordered by the Auckland High Court Justice Venning to pay a total $320,000 to the defendants Bennett and Tolley, State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes, the Ministry of Social Development and its former chief executive Brendan Boyle. In response, Peters announced that he would appeal the High Court's judgment.[141][142] In August 2021, the Court of Appeal dismissed Peters’ appeal and ordered him to pay the legal costs of the Attorney-General, Boyle and Hughes – in addition to the $320,000 bill from the High Court.[143]

2020 general election edit

In the 2020 New Zealand general election held on 17 October, Peters and his fellow New Zealand First MPs lost their seats after the party's share of the popular vote dropped to 2.6%, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.[144][9] Peters continued to serve in a caretaker role until 6 November 2020 (the date the members of the next Parliament took their seats), after which he was replaced by Grant Robertson as Deputy Prime Minister, and Nanaia Mahuta as Minister of Foreign Affairs.[145]

Out of parliament (2020–2023) edit

On 20 June 2021, Peters announced during New Zealand First's annual general meeting in East Auckland that he would continue leading the party for the 2023 general election. Peters also made a speech attacking the Labour, National and Green parties, the increasing use of the Māori language in official reports and public life, the Auckland cycle bridge, Auckland light rail, the Government's COVID-19 vaccination rollout, purchase of Ihumātao land, Bright Line Test, elimination of referenda on Māori wards, and so-called wokeness in New Zealand society. This speech marked his first major public appearance since the 2020 general election.[146][147]

On 9 October 2021, Peters attracted media attention after he alleged that a female sex worker connected to the criminal organisation Mongrel Mob had caused the Northland Region's COVID-19 scare by traveling to Whangārei on false pretenses.[148] Peters's allegation that the woman was linked to the Mongrel Mob was disputed by Mongrel Mob leader Harry Tam on Māori Television's Te Ao Māori News, who also threatened legal action.[149] On 11 October, Peters criticised the Government's failure to prevent a COVID-19 breach in the Northland region involving the sex worker, which had led to an Alert Level 3 lockdown in the region.[150] On 19 October, Peters apologised to Tam for alleging that he helped a COVID-19 positive case breach the Auckland border.[151][152]

In February 2022, Peters expressed support for the Convoy 2022 New Zealand protest outside Parliament, which called for an end to vaccine mandates.[153] On 22 February, Peters visited the Parliament protest camp with former New Zealand First Member of Parliament Darroch Ball. He claimed that the mainstream media had been gaslighting protesters and urged Ardern and her Cabinet to speak with protesters.[154]

On 3 May 2022, Peters was trespassed from Parliament for two years by the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard for visiting anti-vaccine mandate protesters.[155] In response, Peters announced that he would seek a judicial review of the trespass notice. In addition, several other people including former National MP Matt King were issued with similar trespass notices.[156] On 4 May, Mallard withdrew five of the trespass notices, including Peters' trespass notice, in response to Peters' threat to seek a judicial review.[157]

2023 general election edit

In late March 2023, Peters announced that if New Zealand First was elected into government, the party would remove Māori names from government departments and bring back English names.[158][159] During the party's campaign launch on 23 July, Peters announced that New Zealand First would campaign on five key issues: combating so-called "racist separatism," fighting Australian-owned banks and the supermarket duopoly, investing in health, social services, and elderly care, and adopting "tough on crime" policies including building a "gang prison" and designating all gangs as terrorist organisations.[160]

On 30 July, Peters campaigned on relocating the Ports of Auckland and the Royal New Zealand Navy's Devonport base to Northport, extending the North Island Main Trunk Line to Marsden Point, building a new four-lane alternative highway through the Brynderwyn Range, and establishing a full inquiry into the Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.[161][162] On 16 August, Peters announced New Zealand First's policy on restricting transgender people's access to bathrooms and their participation in female sporting events. The National Party criticised the policy.[163] On 20 August, Peters announced that New Zealand First would designate English an official language of New Zealand and withdraw New Zealand from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.[164]

On 3 September, New Zealand First released a cowboy-themed campaign video featuring Peters riding a horse.[165] On 10 September, Peters made remarks during a public meeting in Nelson that Māori people were not indigenous to New Zealand on the grounds that they originated in the Cook Islands and China.[166] National Party leader Christopher Luxon criticised Peters's remarks but avoided confirming nor denying whether his party would enter into coalition with New Zealand First in a future government.[167] The National leader later confirmed that he would work with Peters in a government "to keep Labour and the Coalition of Chaos out".[168]

On 16 September, Peters was ranked first on New Zealand First's party list as a list candidate.[169] While campaigning in Levin on 18 September, Peters reiterated New Zealand First's opposition to government funding for news media, COVID-19 vaccine mandates, gangs, co-governance and changing New Zealand's name to Aotearoa.[170]

On 14 October, New Zealand First won 6.46% of the vote with 96.5% of ballots cast in the preliminary results during the 2023 general election. This marked a return for Peters and his party to Parliament.[10] The final results confirmed that NZ First won 6.08% of the popular vote and eight seats.[171] Peters was re-elected to Parliament on the party list.[172]

Sixth National Government (2023–present) edit

 
Peters with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro at the swearing-in of the new Cabinet on 27 November 2023

Coalition negotiations edit

Following the 2023 election, National entered into talks with both NZ First and ACT.[173][174] University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis speculated that National's coalition talks would be influenced by Peters' demands and history of playing a "kingmaker" role in previous elections. Peters had early publicly criticised several National and ACT policies during the 2023 election campaign including National's proposal to ease the ban on foreign home purchases, tax cuts, agricultural emissions pricing, proposal to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67, and ACT's proposal to slash government expenditure and public service jobs.[174]

Following the release of the final election results on 3 November, National and ACT fell short of the 62-seat parliamentary majority needed to form the next government. As a result, the National-led government needed NZ First as its coalition partner.[175] In early November, Peters along with several senior NZ First officials including Darroch Ball and Shane Jones took part in negotiations with National and ACT.[176] Following the release of final results, David Seymour attempted to contact Peters via text message but Peters alleged that he mistaken it for a scam.[177] Due to the prolonged negotiation process, Peters criticised a law change by the previous Labour Government allowing voters to register on election day for delaying the Electoral Commission's publication of final results by one week. Peters had earlier supported the law change in 2020.[178]

On 23 November, coalition negotiations between the three parties concluded, with Peters meeting with Christopher Luxon and David Seymour in Wellington to finalise the coalition agreement. After Luxon informed Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro that he had the numbers to form the incoming government, the three leaders signed the coalition agreement on 24 November, which was subsequently released to the public.[179][180] Under the terms of the agreement, Peters and Seymour would share the position of deputy prime minister, with Peters holding the office for the first half of the 54th parliamentary term and Seymour holding the office during the second half. Peters also assumed the office of minister of foreign affairs in the new government.[181] Peters took on the role of Acting Prime Minister for a single day on 12 December 2023, whilst Christopher Luxon was in Australia for his daughter's graduation,[182] and again on 20 and 21 December 2023 during Luxon's diplomatic visit to Australia.

Foreign affairs edit

On 15 December 2023, Peters visited Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in his first overseas engagement as Foreign Minister in the National-led coalition government. He reaffirmed bilateral relations between New Zealand and Fiji.[183]

On 12 January 2024, Peters expressed New Zealand's support for Anglo-American airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, which had been disrupting international shipping in response to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. He said that the strikes supported international security and trade, adding that "we are a trading nation that relies on international maritime law and the free flow of goods, and Houthi actions strike at the heart of New Zealand’s national security."[184][185]

On 22 February 2024, Peters announced that New Zealand would contribute a NZ$25.9 million aid package to Ukraine including NZ$6.5 million to procure weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, NZ$7 million in humanitarian assistance, and $3 million to supporting the World Bank's Ukrainian reconstruction fund. This aid package brings NZ's total aid contribution to Ukraine since the war began to over NZ$100 million.[186][187]

Between 10 and 16 March 2024, Peters undertook a tour of India, Indonesia and Singapore where he met with his foreign counterparts Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Retno Marsudi and Vivian Balakrishnan, Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendrabhai Patel, Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Clermont Group chair Richard Chandler. Peters stated that the coalition government regarded South and Southeast Asia as a priority in "maintaining and building New Zealand's security and prosperity."[188][189] On 14 March, Peters attracted media attention after making remarks, such as "Where’s the evidence?", during an interview with the Indian media outlet The Indian Express that appeared to cast doubt on Five Eyes intelligence material from Canada asserting that the Indian Government was responsible for assassinating Canadian Sikh independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In response, a Foreign Affairs spokesperson issued a statement asserting New Zealand's position that if the allegations were proven correct, "then that would be of serious concern." The Foreign spokesperson added that Peters' point was that the matter "is an ongoing investigation ... that needs to run its course before clear conclusions can be drawn." During a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner to Indian Cameron MacKay in New Delhi, Peters clarified that New Zealand's position on Hardeep Singh remained unchanged and that he was not questioning Canada's claim.[190]

On 18 March, Peters hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his state visit to Wellington. The two leaders discussed a range of issues important to China-New Zealand relations including trade, business, people-to-people relations links, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Peters also voiced New Zealand's concerns about human rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, and tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.[191][192]

Domestic politics edit

In late January 2024, Peters was part of a delegation of government ministers from the National and New Zealand First parties that attended the annual hui (meeting) at the Rātana Church's pā (village) near Whanganui.[193] During the hui, Peters along with fellow NZ First MP Shane Jones and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon gave speeches, which were booed by members of the audience. In his speech, Peters criticised Labour and Te Pāti Māori's record for Māori and clashed with hecklers, stating that "if you're looking for trouble you've come to the right place." [194] On 6 February 2024, Peters also spoke at the annual Waitangi Day gathering where protesters heckled his speech. Peters responded by telling protesters to "get an education" and "get some manners".[195]

On 17 March 2024, Peters delivered a State of the Nation speech in Palmerston North where he likened the previous Labour Government's co-governance policies to "race-based theory" in Nazi Germany. He also claimed the Government's proposed tax cuts were still possible despite media reports that the Government was facing a NZ$5.6 billion deficit. Peters also criticised the opposition Labour, Green and Māori parties, accusing them of competing to be "most culturally woke." Peters also highlighted the migrant exploitation allegations against Green MP Darleen Tana and her husband. Peter also criticised the mainstream media for accepting government funding, allegedly favouring left-wing political narratives and agendas, and marginalising opposing views.[196]

Peters' remarks likening co-governance to Nazism and the Holocaust were criticised by the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand's spokesperson Ben Kepes, who described them as offensive to Holocaust victims and survivors. Labour leader and leader of the opposition Chris Hipkins described Peters as a "drunk uncle at a wedding" and accused him of "using racism and anti-media rhetoric to divide the country."[196] On 18 March, in an interview with Radio New Zealand, Peters doubled down on his comparison of co-governance with Nazi Germany's race-based theories.[197] On 19 March, Prime Minister Luxon subsequently spoke to Peters about his co-governance remarks, stating that such comments by political leaders were "unhelpful" but defended his work as Foreign Minister. In response to media coverage and political criticism, Peters defended his remarks, claiming they had been "deliberately misrepresented." Peters said his remarks about Nazi Germany were a response to Te Pāti Maori co-leader Rawiri Waititi's remarks about Māori genes being superior. Peters also denied mentioning the Holocaust and genocide. In response to Peters' doubling down on his remarks, Hipkins accused Luxon of being unable to control Peters.[198] Peters later announced that Luxon was "misinformed" by the media about his state of the nation speech, quoting Luxon that he never listened to it.[199] British anarchist punk band Chumbawamba also objected to Peters using their song Tubthumping for political campaigning and expressed disagreement with his politics. They also asked their record label Sony to issue a cease and desist notice against Peters.[200]

Views and policies edit

 
Peters speaks to Grey Power members, August 2011

Politics edit

Peters has been labelled a nationalist and a populist by political commentators.[62][201][202] He has long advocated direct democracy in the form of "binding citizen initiated referenda", to create "a democracy that is of the people and for the people", while forcing government "to accept the will of the people".[203] Peters has also used anti-establishment and anti-elite rhetoric,[204][201] such as criticising what he regards as the "intellectually arrogant elite in government and bureaucratic circles".[203]

Economic and welfare issues edit

He favours cutting taxes;[205] however, he was critical of the free market policies enacted by the fourth Labour and fourth National governments in the 1980s and 1990s, opposing privatisations and deregulation. His platform retains elements of National Party economic policy from the Muldoon era.[3]

Peters supports compulsory superannuation schemes for all New Zealanders.[206] He has cultivated support amongst the elderly in particular, and support for his party has been concentrated among New Zealanders over 60 years of age.[207]

Immigration edit

Peters is opposed to high levels of immigration, in order "to avoid New Zealand's identity, values and heritage being swamped".[208] He has highlighted the "threat" of immigration in both cultural and economic terms.[209] Peters has on several occasions characterised the rate of Asian immigration into New Zealand as too high; in 2004, he stated: "We are being dragged into the status of an Asian colony and it is time that New Zealanders were placed first in their own country."[210] On 26 April 2005, he said: "Māori will be disturbed to know that in 17 years' time they will be outnumbered by Asians in New Zealand", an estimate disputed by Statistics New Zealand, the government's statistics bureau. Peters responded that Statistics New Zealand had underestimated the growth-rate of the Asian community in the past.[211]

In June 2016, Peters advocated interviewing immigrants and reducing immigration numbers between 7,000 and 15,000 a year on TVNZ's Q+A show. During the interview, he stated that he would want prospective migrants "to salute our flag, respect our laws, honour our institutions and, above all, don't bring absolutely anti-women attitudes with them, treating women like cattle, like fourth-class citizens". Peters also clarified that he was not opposed to refugees nor Muslim migrants per se. In addition, Peters argued that reducing immigration would stabilise the Auckland housing market and enable younger and poorer New Zealanders to buy their first home.[212]

Foreign affairs edit

Also in June 2016, Peters backed Brexit and told the New Zealand Parliament that he hoped "Britain [will] show its independence from an ungrateful European parliamentary yoke and come back to the Commonwealth".[213]

In March 2017, Peters criticised the then Foreign Minister Murray McCully for endorsing United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 without consulting his fellow Cabinet ministers.[214][215] The resolution controversially condemned Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and passed with the support of the United Nations Security Council including New Zealand, which held a rotating membership on the council.[216]

Islamophobia edit

Peters has condemned discrimination on the basis of religion and he denounced Islamophobia following the Christchurch mosque shootings. He called for the terrorist perpetrator to be deported to his home country Australia.[217]

In March 2022, Indian drama film The Kashmir Files had received an R16 classification from the New Zealand Classification Office, with a scheduled release date of 24 March 2022.[218] Members of the Muslim community in New Zealand raised concerns with chief censor David Shanks that the film could promote Islamophobia, citing intercommunal tensions relating to the film's release in India. Shanks stated that the film's R16 classification did not mean that the film was being banned.[218][219] In response to the film's R16 classification in New Zealand, Peters claimed that the film's age restricted classification amounted to censorship of terrorist actions during the 9/11 attacks and the Christchurch mosque shootings. He added that efforts towards combating Islamophobia should not be used to "shield the actions of terrorists in the name of Islam".[219][220][221]

LGBT issues edit

In 1986, Peters voted, together with all but three of his fellow National MPs, against the Homosexual Law Reform Act which decriminalised sexual acts between males over 16.[222] In 2012, Peters voted, together with all of his fellow New Zealand First MPs, against the Marriage Amendment Bill, which aimed to permit same sex marriage in New Zealand.[223] Peters also had called for a referendum on the issue.[224]

Māori issues edit

During the 2017 New Zealand general election, Peters called for the abolition of Māori seats.[100] After entering into a coalition government with Labour, Peters dropped his objection to the Māori seats, citing the defeat of the Māori Party.[107][108]

Following the 2020 New Zealand general election, Peters objected to the Labour Government's promotion of the Māori language and expansion of Māori wards and constituencies in local government councils.[146] During the 2023 New Zealand general election, Peters campaigned on removing Māori names from government departments, against so-called separatism, withdrawing New Zealand from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and opposed co-governance and renaming New Zealand Aotearoa.[158][160][164][170] In September 2023, Peters claimed that Māori were not indigenous to New Zealand on the grounds that they originated in the Cook Islands and China.[166]

Peter's remarks on Māori issues during the 2023 general election campaign led 17 Māori leaders including David Letele to pen an open letter to National Party leader Christopher Luxon calling on him to condemn NZ First's alleged racist comments. In response, Peters accused the letter writers of racism and reiterated his claims that co-governance was Apartheid.[225]

In mid March 2024, Peters controversially likened co-governance to Nazi race theory, drawing criticism from the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand's spokesperson Ben Kepes and Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins.[196] Later that month, Peters objected to the University of Auckland's decision to create "safe zones" for Māori and Pasifika students, stating that some universities had become a haven for "woke cultural brainwashing." He also compared the policy to the Ku Klux Klan and Apartheid.[226]

Media edit

Peters has a fraught relationship with the New Zealand media. In the run up to the 2011 New Zealand general election, he claimed that New Zealand First had been banned from leaders' debates on TVNZ and Radio New Zealand, and ignored by The New Zealand Herald, Dominion Post and The Press.[227]

In 2023, his interactions with them became increasingly confrontational. After an antagonistic interview with TVNZ journalist Jack Tame, he referred to him as a "left-wing shill" and a "moron".[228] After becoming Deputy Prime Minister in the Sixth National Government, Peters accused TVNZ and Radio NZ on 28 November of lacking editorial independence since they had accepted funding from the previous Labour Government's Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF), which included a controversial clause to honour the Treaty of Waitangi and to use te reo Māori.[229] On 28 November, Andrew Shaw, a veteran broadcaster who served on the board of New Zealand On Air (which oversaw the PIJF funding), resigned after social media posts in which he said of Peters: "He's not truthful. He's not accurate. He's malicious and he is here on behalf of international tobacco."[230] The comments violated NZ On Air's code of conduct, which requires board members to maintain political impartiality.[231] On 29 November, Peters confirmed that he was "at war" with the press gallery and mainstream media.[232] While Peters has avoided mainstream media outlets, he has taken part in lengthy interviews with Sean Plunket's online radio station The Platform.[233]

In response, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not condemn Peters's bribery allegations and said National had not agreed with the fund either, and that it led to perceptions of bias.[234] ACT leader David Seymour disputed Peters allegations against the Public Interest Journalism Fund, stating that "many people felt that [the PIJF] was distorting [media's] priorities. I don't know that it did, for the simple reason that it's a tiny amount of overall revenue and journalists generally, while they may have a view I disagree with in some cases, they're pretty fierce about that independence. The whole thing [notions of bribery] isn't quite plausible." In addition, Finance Minister Nicola Willis stated that Peters was not the only MP who was critical of the media but added "I think there's a bit of hyperbole in there, but that's Winston being Winston."[233]

On 18 December 2023, Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific Bureau Director Cédric Alviani criticised Peters' attacks on journalists and media organisations, and called on Prime Minister Luxon to reaffirm his government's support to press freedom. The media watchdog cited Peters' remarks that he was at war with the media, his criticism of the Public Interest Journalism Fund, his questioning of the editorial independence of broadcasters TVNZ and Radio New Zealand, and his description of TVNZ journalist Jack Tame as a "dirt merchant." Alviani expressed concerns that these verbal attacks could imperil the media sector if they were used to support a policy of restricting the right to information.[235]

After Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to shut down television news service Newshub by late June 2024, Peters described the imminent closure of Newshub as "obviously devastating not only for those who will lose their jobs, but it is also seriously concerning for the robustness of our media scene." He also attributed the struggles facing Newshub and other New Zealand media outlets to a lack of trust caused by the mainstream media failing to be "unbiased, independent and non-political."[236]

Honours and awards edit

On 21 May 1998, Peters was appointed to the Privy Council and gained the style of "The Right Honourable".[237]

In 2007, Peters was bestowed with the chiefly Samoan title Vaovasamanaia, meaning "beautiful, handsome, awesome, delighted and joyful".[238]

Personal life edit

Peters is married to Louise but they have separated.[239] The couple have two children, a son and a daughter named Bree Peters, who is an actress.[1] His current partner is Jan Trotman.[239]

See also edit

References edit

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Works cited edit

  • Hames, Martin (1995). Winston First: The unauthorised account of Winston Peters' career. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. ISBN 1869412575.
  • Boston, Jonathan (1997). From campaign to coalition: New Zealand's first general election under proportional representation (1st publ ed.). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press. ISBN 0864693141.
  • Vowles, Jack (2002). Proportional representation on trial. Auckland, N.Z: Auckland University Press. ISBN 9781869402655.
  • Miller, Raymond; Mintrom, Michael (2006). Political leadership in New Zealand. Auckland: Auckland Univ. Press. ISBN 9781869403584.
  • Wishart, Ian (2014). Winston: The Story of a Political Phenomenon (1st ed.). Auckland: Howling at the Moon Publishing. ISBN 9780994106414.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Winston Peters.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Winston Peters.
  • The Beehive: Winston Peters biography
  • Winston Peters – personal website
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April 08, 2024
winston, peters, winston, edward, peters, trinidad, tobago, calypsonian, politician, gypsy, calypsonian, winston, raymond, peters, born, april, 1945, zealand, politician, been, leader, zealand, first, since, founded, 1993, elected, fifteenth, time, 2023, gener. For Winston Edward Peters the Trinidad and Tobago calypsonian and politician see Gypsy calypsonian Winston Raymond Peters PC born 11 April 1945 is a New Zealand politician who has been the leader of New Zealand First since it was founded in 1993 2 He was re elected for a fifteenth time at the 2023 general election 3 having previously been a member of Parliament MP from 1979 to 1981 1984 to 2008 and 2011 to 2020 Peters has served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and 25th minister of foreign affairs since November 2023 The Right Honourable VaovasamanaiaWinston PetersPC MPPeters in 201913th Deputy Prime Minister of New ZealandIncumbentAssumed office 27 November 2023Prime MinisterChristopher LuxonGovernor GeneralCindy KiroPreceded byCarmel SepuloniIn office 26 October 2017 6 November 2020Prime MinisterJacinda ArdernGovernor GeneralPatsy ReddyPreceded byPaula BennettSucceeded byGrant RobertsonIn office 16 December 1996 14 August 1998Prime MinisterJim BolgerJenny ShipleyGovernor GeneralMichael Hardie BoysPreceded byDon McKinnonSucceeded byWyatt Creech25th Minister of Foreign AffairsIncumbentAssumed office 27 November 2023Prime MinisterChristopher LuxonPreceded byGrant RobertsonIn office 26 October 2017 6 November 2020Prime MinisterJacinda ArdernPreceded byGerry BrownleeSucceeded byNanaia MahutaIn office 19 October 2005 29 August 2008Prime MinisterHelen ClarkPreceded byPhil GoffSucceeded byHelen Clark Acting Murray McCully8th Minister for RacingIncumbentAssumed office 27 November 2023Prime MinisterChristopher LuxonPreceded byKieran McAnultyIn office 26 October 2017 6 November 2020Prime MinisterJacinda ArdernPreceded byDavid BennettSucceeded byGrant RobertsonIn office 19 October 2005 19 November 2008Prime MinisterHelen ClarkPreceded byDamien O ConnorSucceeded byJohn CarterLeader of New Zealand FirstIncumbentAssumed office 18 July 1993DeputyTau HenarePeter BrownTracey MartinRon MarkFletcher TabuteauShane JonesPreceded byOffice establishedMinisterial offices1990 19981st Treasurer of New ZealandIn office 16 December 1996 14 August 1998Prime MinisterJim BolgerJenny ShipleyPreceded byOffice establishedSucceeded byBill Birch35th Minister of Maori AffairsIn office 2 November 1990 2 October 1991Prime MinisterJim BolgerPreceded byKoro WetereSucceeded byDoug KiddParliamentary officesMember of the New Zealand ParliamentIncumbentAssumed office 14 October 2023ConstituencyNew Zealand First ListIn office 23 September 2017 17 October 2020ConstituencyNew Zealand First ListIn office 28 March 2015 23 September 2017Preceded byMike SabinSucceeded byMatt KingConstituencyNorthlandIn office 26 November 2011 28 March 2015Succeeded byRia BondConstituencyNew Zealand First ListIn office 17 September 2005 3 October 2008ConstituencyNew Zealand First ListIn office 17 July 1984 17 September 2005Preceded byKeith AllenSucceeded byBob ClarksonConstituencyTaurangaIn office 24 May 1979 28 November 1981Preceded byMalcolm DouglasSucceeded byColin MoyleConstituencyHunuaPersonal detailsBornWynston Raymond Peters 1945 04 11 11 April 1945 age 78 Whangarei New ZealandPolitical partyNew Zealand First since 1993 Other politicalaffiliationsNational before 1993 Children2 including Bree 1 RelativesJim Peters brother Ian Peters brother Lynette Stewart sister Alma materUniversity of AucklandSignaturePeters was born in Whangarei to a family of mixed Ngati Wai and Scottish descent He was raised in Whananaki in rural Northland before attending school in Dargaville Widely known simply as Winston 4 Peters has had a long and turbulent political career since first entering Parliament following the National Party win in the 1978 general election Peters first served in the Cabinet as minister of Maori affairs when Jim Bolger led the National Party to victory in 1990 He was dismissed from this post in 1991 after criticising his own Government s economic fiscal and foreign ownership policies Leaving the National Party in 1993 Peters briefly served as an independent before founding New Zealand First a populist party As leader of New Zealand First he held the balance of power after the 1996 election and formed a coalition with the National Party securing the positions of deputy prime minister and treasurer the latter position created for Peters However the coalition dissolved in 1998 following the replacement of Bolger by Jenny Shipley as prime minister In 1999 New Zealand First returned to opposition before entering government with Labour Party Prime Minister Helen Clark in which Peters served as minister of foreign affairs from 2005 to 2008 In the 2008 general election after a funding scandal involving Peters and his party New Zealand First failed to reach the 5 threshold As a result neither Peters nor New Zealand First were returned to Parliament 5 In the 2011 general election New Zealand First experienced a resurgence in support winning 6 8 of the party vote to secure eight seats in Parliament 6 Peters returned to Parliament and spent two terms in opposition before forming a coalition government with the Labour Party in 2017 The new prime minister Jacinda Ardern appointed Peters as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Peters was acting prime minister from 21 June 2018 to 2 August 2018 while Ardern was on maternity leave 7 8 He failed to be elected for a third time in the 2020 election but staged another comeback in 2023 and is part of the Sixth National Government 9 10 After entering into a coalition agreement with National leader Christopher Luxon Peters serves as Luxon s deputy prime minister from 27 November 2023 to 31 May 2025 he will be succeeded by David Seymour 11 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Early political career 3 Fourth National Government 1993 1999 4 Fifth Labour Government 1999 2008 4 1 2005 election 4 2 SuperGold Card 4 3 Party donations 4 4 2008 election 5 In opposition 2008 2017 5 1 2011 election 5 2 2014 election 5 3 2015 Northland by election 5 4 2017 election 6 Sixth Labour Government 2017 2020 6 1 Foreign affairs 6 2 Superannuation payments 6 3 2020 general election 7 Out of parliament 2020 2023 7 1 2023 general election 8 Sixth National Government 2023 present 8 1 Coalition negotiations 8 2 Foreign affairs 8 3 Domestic politics 9 Views and policies 9 1 Politics 9 2 Economic and welfare issues 9 3 Immigration 9 4 Foreign affairs 9 5 Islamophobia 9 6 LGBT issues 9 7 Maori issues 9 8 Media 10 Honours and awards 11 Personal life 12 See also 13 References 14 Works cited 15 External linksEarly life and education editPeters s birth certificate records his birth in Whangarei and his registration as Wynston Raymond Peters 3 His father was Maori primarily of the Ngati Wai iwi but also of Ngati Hine and Ngapuhi 12 His mother was of Clan MacInnes Scottish ancestry Two of his brothers Ian and Jim have also served as MPs and another brother Ron has also stood as a New Zealand First candidate 13 14 1 According to the journalist Ian Wishart Peters is not fluent in the Maori language because as a child English was the language in his home and children were not allowed to speak Maori at his primary school 15 He grew up on a farm in Whananaki 16 and after attending Whangarei Boys High School and Dargaville High School Peters studied at the Auckland Teachers Training College In 1966 he taught at Te Atatu Intermediate School in Auckland 17 but the next year went to Australia where he became a blast furnace worker with BHP in Newcastle and later a tunneler in the Snowy Mountains 18 In 1970 Peters returned to New Zealand and studied history politics and law at the University of Auckland During his university years Peters joined the New Zealand Young Nationals the youth wing of the centre right New Zealand National Party and became acquainted with Bruce Cliffe and Paul East who later served as Cabinet ministers in the Fourth National Government Like his brothers Ron Wayne and Allan Peters played rugby He was a member of the University Rugby Club in Auckland and captain of the Auckland Maori Rugby team In 1973 Peters graduated with a BA and LLB He married his girlfriend Louise and later worked as a lawyer at Russell McVeagh between 1974 and 1978 19 20 Early political career editNew Zealand Parliament Years Term Electorate List Party1979 1981 39th Hunua National1984 1987 41st Tauranga National1987 1990 42nd Tauranga National1990 1993 43rd Tauranga National1993 43rd Tauranga Independent1993 1996 44th Tauranga NZ First1996 1999 45th Tauranga 1 NZ First1999 2002 46th Tauranga 1 NZ First2002 2005 47th Tauranga 1 NZ First2005 2008 48th List 1 NZ First2011 2014 50th List 1 NZ First2014 2015 51st List 1 NZ First2015 2017 51st Northland NZ First2017 2020 52nd List 1 NZ First2023 present 54th List 1 NZ FirstPeters entered national politics in 1975 general election standing unsuccessfully for the National Party in the electorate seat of Northern Maori he gained 1 873 votes and became the first National candidate in a Maori seat for some quantify years who did not lose his deposit 21 This followed a successful campaign by Peters and other members of his Ngati Wai iwi to retain their tribal land in the face of the Labour government s plan to establish coastal land reserves for the public As a result the government of the day took virtually no ancestral land in the Whangarei coastal areas and the initiative helped inspire the 1975 Land March led by Whina Cooper 22 Peters first became a member of parliament following the 1978 general election but only after winning in the High Court an electoral petition which overturned the election night result for the seat of Hunua an electorate in the southern Auckland city area against Malcolm Douglas the brother of Roger Douglas Peters took his seat six months after polling day on 24 May 1979 23 He lost this seat in 1981 but in 1984 he successfully stood in the electorate of Tauranga 24 25 26 After re entering parliament Peters was appointed Shadow Minister of Maori Affairs Consumer Affairs and Marketing by National leader Sir Robert Muldoon 27 When Muldoon was replaced as leader by Jim McLay Peters retained only Maori Affairs in a reshuffle but was also allocated the transport portfolio 28 In March 1986 when McLay was replaced by Jim Bolger as leader Peters was nominated for the deputy leadership but he declined the nomination 29 On 16 December 1986 Peters exposed the Maori loan affair in Parliament this involved the then Maori Affairs Department attempting to raise money illegally through a NZ 600 million loan package offered by the Hawaiian businessman Michael Gisondi and the West German businessman Max Raepple 30 31 Peters became the National Party s spokesperson on Maori Affairs Consumer Affairs and Transport In 1987 Jim Bolger elevated him to National s Opposition front bench as spokesperson for Maori Affairs Employment and Race Relations After National won the 1990 election Peters became Minister of Maori Affairs in the fourth National government led by Jim Bolger 32 33 nbsp Peters became an outspoken critic of his party leader Jim Bolger pictured in 1992 As Minister of Maori Affairs Peters co authored the Ka Awatea report in 1992 which advocated merging the Ministry of Maori Affairs and the Iwi Transition Agency into the present Te Puni Kōkiri Ministry for Maori Development 34 Peters disagreed with the National Party leadership on a number of matters such as the Ruthanasia economic policies and frequently spoke out against his party regarding them This earned him popular recognition and support However his party colleagues distrusted him and his publicity seeking behaviour made him increasingly disliked within the party While the party leadership tolerated differences of opinion from a backbencher they were far less willing to accept public criticism from a Cabinet minister which they determined was undermining the National government In October 1991 Bolger sacked Peters from Cabinet 35 36 Peters remained as a National backbencher continuing to publicly criticise the party In late 1992 when the National Party was considering possible candidates for the elections in the following year it moved to prevent Peters from seeking renomination under any banner In Peters v Collinge Peters successfully challenged the party s actions in the High Court and in early 1993 he chose to resign from the party and from Parliament This prompted a by election in Tauranga some months before the scheduled general election Peters stood in Tauranga as an independent and won easily 37 38 Fourth National Government 1993 1999 editShortly before the 1993 election in November Peters established New Zealand First in July of the same year 39 He retained his Tauranga seat in the election Another New Zealand First candidate Tau Henare unseated the Labour incumbent in Northern Maori helping to convince people that New Zealand First was not simply Peters s personal vehicle Peters started the Winebox Inquiry in 1994 which concerned companies using the Cook Islands as a tax haven 40 41 nbsp Peters on the campaign trail in Auckland c 1993During the 1992 and 1993 electoral reform referendums Peters advocated the adoption of the mixed member proportional MMP electoral system 42 In the 1996 general election the MMP system delivered a large increase in representation for New Zealand First Instead of the 2 seats in the previous parliament the party won 17 seats and swept all of the Maori electorates 43 More importantly it held the balance of power in Parliament Neither National nor Labour had enough support to govern alone Neither party could form a majority without the backing of New Zealand First meaning Peters could effectively choose the next prime minister 44 As a result Peters became known as the kingmaker 45 It was widely expected that he would throw his support to Labour and make Labour leader Helen Clark New Zealand s first female prime minister Peters had bitterly criticised his former National colleagues and appeared to promise that he would not even consider a coalition with Bolger However after over a month of negotiations with both parties Peters decided to enter into a coalition with National 46 Michael Laws then New Zealand First s campaign manager later claimed that Peters had already decided to enter into an agreement with National and used his negotiations with Labour simply to win more concessions from Bolger 47 Whatever the case Peters exacted a high price for allowing Bolger to stay on as Prime Minister Peters became Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer senior to the Minister of Finance the latter post created especially for him Initially there were concerns about whether Peters would be able to work with Bolger the National prime minister who had previously sacked him from Cabinet but the two did not seem to have any major difficulties 48 nbsp Peters had a strained relationship with Prime Minister Jenny Shipley pictured who sacked him from Cabinet Later however tensions began to develop between Peters and the National Party which only worsened after Jenny Shipley staged a party room coup and became prime minister After a dispute over the privatisation of Wellington International Airport Peters was sacked from Cabinet again on 14 August 1998 He immediately broke off the coalition and led New Zealand First back into opposition 49 50 However several MPs including deputy leader Henare opted to stay in government and leave New Zealand First It later came out that Henare had tried to oust Peters as leader but failed 51 Henare and other disaffected New Zealand First MPs formed the short lived Mauri Pacific party None of the MPs who opted to stay in government retained their seats in the next election 52 Fifth Labour Government 1999 2008 editNew Zealand First was severely mauled in the 1999 election which saw Labour oust National from power The party suffered for the rash of party switching Additionally there was a wide perception that Peters had led voters to believe a vote for New Zealand First would get rid of National only to turn around and go into coalition with National New Zealand First dropped to 4 3 of the vote Under New Zealand s MMP rules a party that falls below the 5 threshold can still qualify for MMP by winning one electorate seat However Peters just barely held onto Tauranga after losing almost 20 percent of his vote from 1996 defeating a National challenger by 63 votes As a result New Zealand First remained in parliament but was reduced to five seats Still in opposition to the Fifth Labour Government Peters continued to promote his traditional policies but also became more noticeably concerned about immigration policies 53 In the 2002 election Peters performed well once again campaigning on three main issues reducing immigration increasing punishments for crime and ending the grievance industry around Treaty of Waitangi settlements 3 This message regained much support for both Peters and his party especially from among the elderly who had in the past backed Peters and New Zealand First won 10 of the vote and 13 seats Peters seemed to hope that Labour would choose to ally with New Zealand First to stay in power However Clark explicitly rejected this possibility instead relying on support from elsewhere 54 In a speech at Orewa in 2005 he criticised immigration from Asian countries as imported criminal activity and warned that New Zealanders were being colonised without having any say in the numbers of people coming in and where they are from He also accused the Labour Party of having an ethnic engineering and re population policy 55 In July 2005 Peters said New Zealand should err on the side of caution in admitting immigrants until they affirm their commitment to our values and standards 56 2005 election edit nbsp Peters greets US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at Auckland Airport in 2008 As the 2005 general election approached Peters did not indicate a preference for coalition with either of the major parties declaring that he would not seek the baubles of office 57 He promised to either give support in confidence and supply to the party with the most seats or to abstain from no confidence votes against it and that he would not deal with any coalition that included the Greens He pledged to keep post election negotiations to under three weeks following criticism of the seven week marathon it took to broker a deal with National in 1996 58 In the election some of New Zealand First s traditional support moved to National Peters himself narrowly lost his longstanding hold on Tauranga to National MP Bob Clarkson but New Zealand First did well enough to receive seven seats down from 13 in 2002 allowing Peters to remain in Parliament as a list MP Soon after the 2005 election Peters launched a legal challenge against Clarkson The case alleged that Clarkson had spent more than the legal limit allowed for campaign budgets during elections in New Zealand This legal bid ultimately failed with a majority of the judges in the case declaring that Clarkson had not overspent 59 In negotiations with Helen Clark after the election Peters secured the ministerial portfolios of Foreign Affairs and Racing in the Labour led government a move which apparently lay at odds with his earlier promise to refuse the baubles of office 57 He was a member of the Executive Council although he was outside cabinet he was able to criticise the government in areas not related to his portfolios which experts said was an unprecedented situation 60 Considering his previous comments relating to immigration there were mixed reactions from commentators 61 His selection for the Foreign Affairs portfolio created some measure of surprise within the country and beyond National Party leader Don Brash said the choice was astonishing because the whole region distrusts Winston Peters Australia Asia I think putting him as minister of foreign affairs does huge damage for our international reputation 62 The Age in Australia expressed surprise that the position had been given to an outspoken anti migrant populist and nationalist 62 Allegations concerning Peters s involvement with Simunovich Fisheries and former Member of Parliament Ross Meurant who was engaged as both adviser to Peters and in undefined business activities with Peter Simunovich managing director of Simunovich Fisheries culminated in a Parliamentary Select Committee enquiry into what became known as the scampi enquiry The enquiry cleared Peters Simunovich and Meurant of any wrongdoing 63 In October 2006 Peters affirmed that he would continue to serve as leader for the 2008 election 64 SuperGold Card edit The SuperGold Card has been one of Peters s flagship initiatives 65 As a condition of the 2005 confidence and supply agreement between New Zealand First and the Labour Government Peters launched the SuperGold Card in August 2007 66 It included public transport benefits like free off peak travel 67 funded by the Government and discounts from businesses and companies 68 across thousands of outlets Peters negotiated with then Prime Minister Helen Clark despite widespread opposition to the card on the grounds of high cost 69 Party donations edit Peters attracted media attention in 2008 over controversial payments for legal services and party donations He had received 100 000 in 2006 to fund legal costs of challenging the election of Bob Clarkson to the Tauranga electorate The money came from Owen Glenn a wealthy New Zealand businessman and philanthropist based in Monaco Under parliamentary rules any gift to MPs over the value of 500 must be declared Peters denied knowing about the source of the money but this was not corroborated by his lawyer Brian Henry and Glenn contradicted Peters s denial 70 The Vela family prominent in the racing industry had donated 150 000 to Peters over a four year period The payments were made in sums of 10 000 to remain within rules governing political party funding The Dominion Post published details from New Zealand First sources that before the 2005 election 25 000 had been donated to the party from Sir Bob Jones via the Spencer Trust The Trust is administered by Wayne Peters one of Winston s brothers Jones confirmed that he had paid the money to the Spencer Trust and was asked by Winston Peters to make the donation 71 Peters denies that he had asked Jones for a donation to the party 72 The donation was not declared to the Electoral Commission as required by law 73 On 29 August 2008 Peters offered to stand down from his portfolios as Foreign Affairs and Racing Minister 74 pending an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office as to whether the donations from Sir Bob Jones and the Vela brothers reached New Zealand First as intended 75 On 10 September 2008 Peters gave evidence to the Privileges Committee of the New Zealand Parliament in an attempt to refute evidence given by Owen Glenn The Privileges Committee returned a report on 22 September recommending that Peters be censured for knowingly providing false or misleading information on a return of pecuniary interests 76 77 Parliament passed a motion censuring Peters the following day All but three of the parties in Parliament New Zealand First Labour and Progressives who abstained supported the censure 78 Peters was later cleared by the Serious Fraud Office with respect to political donations however some matters were referred back to the Electoral Commission as it was determined that while no fraud had taken place some electoral law matters with regard to funding declarations were not complied with 79 The police subsequently decided that no offence had been committed 80 Peters has referred to the affair as part of the most vicious character assassination seen in any campaign this country has ever witnessed and unsuccessfully sued Television New Zealand for defamation 81 82 2008 election edit nbsp Peters at the Europa Lecture 2008 University of AucklandPeters tried to regain Tauranga in the 2008 election and lost to National s Simon Bridges by a margin of 11 742 votes a much larger loss than in 2005 83 The loss was attributed to fallout from the fundraising scandal that was seen to have damaged Peters s credibility 57 With New Zealand First falling to 4 07 of the party vote and failing to win a single electorate Peters and his party were shut out of the 49th New Zealand Parliament 84 In his concession speech Peters promised This is not the end and alluded to the fact that while New Zealand First would not have any members in Parliament its 4 07 of the vote meant it was still New Zealand s fourth largest party after National Labour and the Greens Despite this political commentators described the defeat as the end of the road for Peters 85 In opposition 2008 2017 editPeters generally shunned the media spotlight following the 2008 election In 2009 he caused a brief flurry of interest when it was revealed he was still using a ministerial car some months after his election defeat 86 Later it was reported he had started writing a rugby column for a local magazine 87 He appeared on TV ONE s Q amp A programme on 5 July 2009 confirming that he was still the leader of New Zealand First He hinted at a political comeback and attacked the New Zealand government s review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 88 In late 2010 and early 2011 Peters made a number of appearances on television and radio where he made it clear his and New Zealand First s intention to contest the 2011 election New Zealand First s annual convention in July 2011 received widespread media coverage and somewhat restored the media s interest in Peters and the party 89 2011 election edit nbsp Peters talking to Bryce Edwards as a part of the Vote Chat forum at the University of Otago 2011In the 2011 general election New Zealand First experienced a resurgence in support winning 6 8 of the party vote to secure eight seats in Parliament 6 Shortly after the election Peters stated that his party would be in opposition and hold the balance of responsibility 57 During this term he was the New Zealand First spokesperson for finance economic development foreign affairs trade defence immigration senior citizens broadcasting racing state owned enterprises and Treaty of Waitangi issues and a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee 90 2014 election edit During the 2014 general election Peters tactically endorsed the Labour candidate Kelvin Davis in the Te Tai Tokerau Maori electorate as a means of opposing the Mana Movement MP Hone Harawira Harawira had formed an electoral pact with the Internet Party which was funded by controversial internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom Peters denounced Dotcom as a crooked German who had been here for five minutes 91 Peters was joined by Prime Minister and National Leader John Key and the Maori Party candidate Te Hira Paenga 92 93 As a result Harawira was defeated during the 2014 election 94 During the election New Zealand First increased their parliamentary representation further winning 8 6 of the party vote to secure 11 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 95 Peters continued as New Zealand First spokesperson on finance economic development foreign affairs racing and senior citizens and as a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee 90 2015 Northland by election edit See also 2015 Northland by election In 2015 National MP Mike Sabin resigned leaving his seat of Northland open The seat located in the Far North District and its predecessors had been in National hands for decades However Peters ran for the seat and won it with a commanding majority the first time that New Zealand First had won an electorate seat since 2005 With Peters resigning his list seat to take up the Northland seat this allowed New Zealand First s representation in parliament to increase to 12 with Ria Bond the next available candidate on New Zealand First s party list filling the vacant list seat 2017 election edit During the lead up to the 2017 general election Peters reaffirmed his support for the campaign by families of the victims of the 2010 Pike River Mine disaster to re enter the mine to recover their loved ones Peters publicly stated that re entry to the mine would be non negotiable in any coalition deal and dismissed claims that it was too dangerous to re enter the mine 96 On 13 July Peters traded barbs with Green Party MPs Barry Coates and Metiria Turei Coates had written on the left wing The Daily Blog that the Greens would prefer a snap election to being left out of a Labour and New Zealand First coalition government 97 Meanwhile Turei had criticised what she alleged was Peters s racist approach towards immigration Peters responded that Coates comments were the height of stupidity He also rejected Turei s claims that New Zealand First was racist and warned that there would be consequences for the Greens in any post election talks Green co leader James Shaw later clarified that Coates remarks did not represent Green Party policy 98 99 At New Zealand First s convention in South Auckland on 16 July 2017 Peters announced that if elected his party would hold a double referendum on eliminating the Maori seats and reducing the number of MPs in Parliament from 120 to 100 in mid term 2017 2020 100 Peters also outlined his party s policies which included reducing immigration to 10 000 a year and nationalising the country s banks Peters also proposed making KiwiBank the New Zealand government s official trading bank In terms of law and order Peters said that his party would build no more prisons but would make prisoners do hard labour six days a week 101 During the 2017 election held on 23 September Peters lost his Northland electorate seat to the National candidate Matt King by a margin of 1 389 votes 102 Despite losing his seat New Zealand First secured 7 2 of the party vote with the party s parliamentary presence being reduced from twelve to nine seats Since Peters ranked first on the New Zealand First list he remained in Parliament as a list MP 103 104 Following the 2017 election Peters entered into coalition forming talks with senior figures from the National and Labour parties Neither major party had enough support to govern alone National Party leader and Prime Minister Bill English signalled an interest in forming a coalition with New Zealand First a potential National New Zealand First coalition would have had 65 seats between them enough to govern without the need for support from other parties Labour leader Jacinda Ardern announced that her party was considering a three way coalition with New Zealand First and the Greens Peters indicated that he would not make his final decision until the special votes results were released on 7 October 2017 105 106 During negotiations with Ardern Peters abandoned his party s policy to hold a referendum on Maori seats 107 He clarified that the defeat of the Maori Party during the 2017 election had eliminated the rationale for his call to abolish the Maori electorates 108 Peters stated that foreign ownership of homes would be one of the topics discussed during negotiations with both National and Labour 109 He also called for Labour to scrap its contentious water tax policy on farmers 110 Peters also refused to negotiate with the Greens directly on the grounds that they had campaigned on a partnership with Labour He described the Greens as a minor party with a minimal role in any potential government 111 112 Sixth Labour Government 2017 2020 edit nbsp Peters with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy at the swearing in of the new Cabinet on 26 October 2017See also Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand On 19 October 2017 Peters announced that New Zealand First would form a coalition with the Labour Party under Jacinda Ardern 113 citing changing international and internal economic circumstances as the reasoning behind his decision 114 coupled with a belief that a Labour government was best placed to handle the social and economic welfare of New Zealanders in a global environment that was undergoing rapid and seismic change 115 As part of the agreement New Zealand First had four portfolios inside Cabinet and one outside On 26 October 2017 Peters assumed the positions of Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister for State Owned Enterprises and Minister for Racing 116 117 On 19 January 2018 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she was pregnant and that Peters would take the role of Acting Prime Minister for six weeks after the delivery which happened on 21 June 2018 7 Peters managed the day to day business of the country while Ardern was on maternity leave a first in modern politics 8 Ardern returned to the role of Prime Minister full time on 2 August 2018 In August 2019 Peters called for a binding referendum on the Government s proposed Abortion Legislation Bill claiming that it had not been part of New Zealand First s coalition agreement with Labour Peters s remarks surprised both Justice Minister Andrew Little of the Labour Party and New Zealand First MP and cabinet minister Tracey Martin who had participated in months of negotiations on the bill Peters also declared that New Zealand First MPs would not be allowed a conscience vote on the issue and would vote as a caucus to support the bill at first reading He warned that New Zealand First would withdraw support if the proposed law was not put to a public referendum 118 119 Little rejected Peters s demands for a referendum on the grounds that the legislation was a parliamentary matter 120 In October 2019 Peters announced 7 7 million investment into the SuperGold Card scheme The upgrade includes a new website a mobile app and 500 new partner businesses 121 According to The New Zealand Herald in July 2020 Peters s New Zealand First fully or partially achieved 80 of the 70 promises made by Ardern in order to secure its support for her premiership 122 Foreign affairs edit nbsp Peters meets US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 17 July 2018 As Minister of Foreign Affairs his commitments include the initiation of a closer economic relations agreement with the UK Australia Canada and other Commonwealth countries and to work towards a bilateral free trade agreement with the Russia Belarus Kazakhstan Customs Union 123 In July 2019 during a visit to Washington DC Peters proposed a bilateral free trade agreement between New Zealand and the United States 124 On 5 May 2020 Peters expressed support for Taiwan rejoining the World Health Organization during a press conference 125 Peters s announcement was welcomed by the Taiwanese Government which reiterated its friendship with New Zealand 126 The New Zealand Government subsequently announced its support for Taiwan s bid to join the WHO putting New Zealand alongside Australia and the United States who have taken similar positions In response the Chinese Embassy issued a statement reminding Wellington to adhere to the One China Policy 127 128 In response Peters told the Chinese Ambassador to listen to her master and stated that New Zealand should follow Taiwan s example of making the wearing of face masks compulsory 129 Peters s remarks were criticised by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian who warned that they violated the One China Policy and would hurt China New Zealand relations Peters has stood by his remarks 130 131 On 28 July 2020 Peters announced that New Zealand was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to the Hong Kong national security law which he claimed eroded rule of law principles and undermined the one country two systems rule 132 In response the Chinese Embassy criticised the New Zealand Government for violating international law and norms and interfering in China s internal affairs 133 On 22 July 2020 Peters attracted media scrutiny for allegedly using his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs to get Antarctica New Zealand to arrange a taxpayer funded trip to Antarctica for two wealthy friends Peters defended his actions and claimed that he was trying to raise NZ 50 million in private sponsorship to offset some of the costs of the NZ 250 million redevelopment of New Zealand s Antarctic base Scott Base 134 135 In response to evidence that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned in September 2020 Peters called it deeply troubling 136 Superannuation payments edit In late August 2017 Peters admitted being overpaid in superannuation for seven years while living with his longtime partner Jan Trotman The overpayment occurred because the relationship status box on his application form was left blank Peters stated that he and the Ministry agreed that there had been a payment error but said he had paid the money back amounting to nearly 18 000 Peters paid interest and penalties on the overpayment 137 The overpayment was subsequently leaked to the media Peters described it as a private matter and expressed outrage that it had been leaked In 2019 while serving as Deputy Prime Minister he took former National ministers Paula Bennett and Anne Tolley the Ministry of Social Development its former chief executive Brendon Boyle and State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes to court seeking 450 000 from each defendant for breaching his privacy 138 On 20 April 2020 Justice Geoffrey Venning of the Auckland High Court dismissed Peters s case against Bennett Tolley the Ministry of Social Development Boyle and Hughes on the basis that Peters had not been able to establish that they were responsible for the disclosure of the payment irregularity to the media However the High Court also ruled that Peters s privacy had been deliberately breached during the lead up to the 2017 general election in order to publicly embarrass him and cause him harm 139 140 On 20 July 2020 Peters was ordered by the Auckland High Court Justice Venning to pay a total 320 000 to the defendants Bennett and Tolley State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes the Ministry of Social Development and its former chief executive Brendan Boyle In response Peters announced that he would appeal the High Court s judgment 141 142 In August 2021 the Court of Appeal dismissed Peters appeal and ordered him to pay the legal costs of the Attorney General Boyle and Hughes in addition to the 320 000 bill from the High Court 143 2020 general election edit In the 2020 New Zealand general election held on 17 October Peters and his fellow New Zealand First MPs lost their seats after the party s share of the popular vote dropped to 2 6 below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament 144 9 Peters continued to serve in a caretaker role until 6 November 2020 the date the members of the next Parliament took their seats after which he was replaced by Grant Robertson as Deputy Prime Minister and Nanaia Mahuta as Minister of Foreign Affairs 145 Out of parliament 2020 2023 editOn 20 June 2021 Peters announced during New Zealand First s annual general meeting in East Auckland that he would continue leading the party for the 2023 general election Peters also made a speech attacking the Labour National and Green parties the increasing use of the Maori language in official reports and public life the Auckland cycle bridge Auckland light rail the Government s COVID 19 vaccination rollout purchase of Ihumatao land Bright Line Test elimination of referenda on Maori wards and so called wokeness in New Zealand society This speech marked his first major public appearance since the 2020 general election 146 147 On 9 October 2021 Peters attracted media attention after he alleged that a female sex worker connected to the criminal organisation Mongrel Mob had caused the Northland Region s COVID 19 scare by traveling to Whangarei on false pretenses 148 Peters s allegation that the woman was linked to the Mongrel Mob was disputed by Mongrel Mob leader Harry Tam on Maori Television s Te Ao Maori News who also threatened legal action 149 On 11 October Peters criticised the Government s failure to prevent a COVID 19 breach in the Northland region involving the sex worker which had led to an Alert Level 3 lockdown in the region 150 On 19 October Peters apologised to Tam for alleging that he helped a COVID 19 positive case breach the Auckland border 151 152 In February 2022 Peters expressed support for the Convoy 2022 New Zealand protest outside Parliament which called for an end to vaccine mandates 153 On 22 February Peters visited the Parliament protest camp with former New Zealand First Member of Parliament Darroch Ball He claimed that the mainstream media had been gaslighting protesters and urged Ardern and her Cabinet to speak with protesters 154 On 3 May 2022 Peters was trespassed from Parliament for two years by the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard for visiting anti vaccine mandate protesters 155 In response Peters announced that he would seek a judicial review of the trespass notice In addition several other people including former National MP Matt King were issued with similar trespass notices 156 On 4 May Mallard withdrew five of the trespass notices including Peters trespass notice in response to Peters threat to seek a judicial review 157 2023 general election edit In late March 2023 Peters announced that if New Zealand First was elected into government the party would remove Maori names from government departments and bring back English names 158 159 During the party s campaign launch on 23 July Peters announced that New Zealand First would campaign on five key issues combating so called racist separatism fighting Australian owned banks and the supermarket duopoly investing in health social services and elderly care and adopting tough on crime policies including building a gang prison and designating all gangs as terrorist organisations 160 On 30 July Peters campaigned on relocating the Ports of Auckland and the Royal New Zealand Navy s Devonport base to Northport extending the North Island Main Trunk Line to Marsden Point building a new four lane alternative highway through the Brynderwyn Range and establishing a full inquiry into the Government s handling of the COVID 19 pandemic in New Zealand 161 162 On 16 August Peters announced New Zealand First s policy on restricting transgender people s access to bathrooms and their participation in female sporting events The National Party criticised the policy 163 On 20 August Peters announced that New Zealand First would designate English an official language of New Zealand and withdraw New Zealand from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People 164 On 3 September New Zealand First released a cowboy themed campaign video featuring Peters riding a horse 165 On 10 September Peters made remarks during a public meeting in Nelson that Maori people were not indigenous to New Zealand on the grounds that they originated in the Cook Islands and China 166 National Party leader Christopher Luxon criticised Peters s remarks but avoided confirming nor denying whether his party would enter into coalition with New Zealand First in a future government 167 The National leader later confirmed that he would work with Peters in a government to keep Labour and the Coalition of Chaos out 168 On 16 September Peters was ranked first on New Zealand First s party list as a list candidate 169 While campaigning in Levin on 18 September Peters reiterated New Zealand First s opposition to government funding for news media COVID 19 vaccine mandates gangs co governance and changing New Zealand s name to Aotearoa 170 On 14 October New Zealand First won 6 46 of the vote with 96 5 of ballots cast in the preliminary results during the 2023 general election This marked a return for Peters and his party to Parliament 10 The final results confirmed that NZ First won 6 08 of the popular vote and eight seats 171 Peters was re elected to Parliament on the party list 172 Sixth National Government 2023 present edit nbsp Peters with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro at the swearing in of the new Cabinet on 27 November 2023Coalition negotiations edit Following the 2023 election National entered into talks with both NZ First and ACT 173 174 University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis speculated that National s coalition talks would be influenced by Peters demands and history of playing a kingmaker role in previous elections Peters had early publicly criticised several National and ACT policies during the 2023 election campaign including National s proposal to ease the ban on foreign home purchases tax cuts agricultural emissions pricing proposal to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 and ACT s proposal to slash government expenditure and public service jobs 174 Following the release of the final election results on 3 November National and ACT fell short of the 62 seat parliamentary majority needed to form the next government As a result the National led government needed NZ First as its coalition partner 175 In early November Peters along with several senior NZ First officials including Darroch Ball and Shane Jones took part in negotiations with National and ACT 176 Following the release of final results David Seymour attempted to contact Peters via text message but Peters alleged that he mistaken it for a scam 177 Due to the prolonged negotiation process Peters criticised a law change by the previous Labour Government allowing voters to register on election day for delaying the Electoral Commission s publication of final results by one week Peters had earlier supported the law change in 2020 178 On 23 November coalition negotiations between the three parties concluded with Peters meeting with Christopher Luxon and David Seymour in Wellington to finalise the coalition agreement After Luxon informed Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro that he had the numbers to form the incoming government the three leaders signed the coalition agreement on 24 November which was subsequently released to the public 179 180 Under the terms of the agreement Peters and Seymour would share the position of deputy prime minister with Peters holding the office for the first half of the 54th parliamentary term and Seymour holding the office during the second half Peters also assumed the office of minister of foreign affairs in the new government 181 Peters took on the role of Acting Prime Minister for a single day on 12 December 2023 whilst Christopher Luxon was in Australia for his daughter s graduation 182 and again on 20 and 21 December 2023 during Luxon s diplomatic visit to Australia Foreign affairs edit On 15 December 2023 Peters visited Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in his first overseas engagement as Foreign Minister in the National led coalition government He reaffirmed bilateral relations between New Zealand and Fiji 183 On 12 January 2024 Peters expressed New Zealand s support for Anglo American airstrikes against Iranian backed Houthi forces in Yemen which had been disrupting international shipping in response to the 2023 Israel Hamas war He said that the strikes supported international security and trade adding that we are a trading nation that relies on international maritime law and the free flow of goods and Houthi actions strike at the heart of New Zealand s national security 184 185 On 22 February 2024 Peters announced that New Zealand would contribute a NZ 25 9 million aid package to Ukraine including NZ 6 5 million to procure weapons and ammunition for Ukraine NZ 7 million in humanitarian assistance and 3 million to supporting the World Bank s Ukrainian reconstruction fund This aid package brings NZ s total aid contribution to Ukraine since the war began to over NZ 100 million 186 187 Between 10 and 16 March 2024 Peters undertook a tour of India Indonesia and Singapore where he met with his foreign counterparts Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Retno Marsudi and Vivian Balakrishnan Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendrabhai Patel Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Clermont Group chair Richard Chandler Peters stated that the coalition government regarded South and Southeast Asia as a priority in maintaining and building New Zealand s security and prosperity 188 189 On 14 March Peters attracted media attention after making remarks such as Where s the evidence during an interview with the Indian media outlet The Indian Express that appeared to cast doubt on Five Eyes intelligence material from Canada asserting that the Indian Government was responsible for assassinating Canadian Sikh independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar In response a Foreign Affairs spokesperson issued a statement asserting New Zealand s position that if the allegations were proven correct then that would be of serious concern The Foreign spokesperson added that Peters point was that the matter is an ongoing investigation that needs to run its course before clear conclusions can be drawn During a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner to Indian Cameron MacKay in New Delhi Peters clarified that New Zealand s position on Hardeep Singh remained unchanged and that he was not questioning Canada s claim 190 On 18 March Peters hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his state visit to Wellington The two leaders discussed a range of issues important to China New Zealand relations including trade business people to people relations links and cooperation in the Indo Pacific Peters also voiced New Zealand s concerns about human rights in Hong Kong Xinjiang and Tibet and tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait 191 192 Domestic politics edit In late January 2024 Peters was part of a delegation of government ministers from the National and New Zealand First parties that attended the annual hui meeting at the Ratana Church s pa village near Whanganui 193 During the hui Peters along with fellow NZ First MP Shane Jones and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon gave speeches which were booed by members of the audience In his speech Peters criticised Labour and Te Pati Maori s record for Maori and clashed with hecklers stating that if you re looking for trouble you ve come to the right place 194 On 6 February 2024 Peters also spoke at the annual Waitangi Day gathering where protesters heckled his speech Peters responded by telling protesters to get an education and get some manners 195 On 17 March 2024 Peters delivered a State of the Nation speech in Palmerston North where he likened the previous Labour Government s co governance policies to race based theory in Nazi Germany He also claimed the Government s proposed tax cuts were still possible despite media reports that the Government was facing a NZ 5 6 billion deficit Peters also criticised the opposition Labour Green and Maori parties accusing them of competing to be most culturally woke Peters also highlighted the migrant exploitation allegations against Green MP Darleen Tana and her husband Peter also criticised the mainstream media for accepting government funding allegedly favouring left wing political narratives and agendas and marginalising opposing views 196 Peters remarks likening co governance to Nazism and the Holocaust were criticised by the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand s spokesperson Ben Kepes who described them as offensive to Holocaust victims and survivors Labour leader and leader of the opposition Chris Hipkins described Peters as a drunk uncle at a wedding and accused him of using racism and anti media rhetoric to divide the country 196 On 18 March in an interview with Radio New Zealand Peters doubled down on his comparison of co governance with Nazi Germany s race based theories 197 On 19 March Prime Minister Luxon subsequently spoke to Peters about his co governance remarks stating that such comments by political leaders were unhelpful but defended his work as Foreign Minister In response to media coverage and political criticism Peters defended his remarks claiming they had been deliberately misrepresented Peters said his remarks about Nazi Germany were a response to Te Pati Maori co leader Rawiri Waititi s remarks about Maori genes being superior Peters also denied mentioning the Holocaust and genocide In response to Peters doubling down on his remarks Hipkins accused Luxon of being unable to control Peters 198 Peters later announced that Luxon was misinformed by the media about his state of the nation speech quoting Luxon that he never listened to it 199 British anarchist punk band Chumbawamba also objected to Peters using their song Tubthumping for political campaigning and expressed disagreement with his politics They also asked their record label Sony to issue a cease and desist notice against Peters 200 Views and policies edit nbsp Peters speaks to Grey Power members August 2011Politics edit Peters has been labelled a nationalist and a populist by political commentators 62 201 202 He has long advocated direct democracy in the form of binding citizen initiated referenda to create a democracy that is of the people and for the people while forcing government to accept the will of the people 203 Peters has also used anti establishment and anti elite rhetoric 204 201 such as criticising what he regards as the intellectually arrogant elite in government and bureaucratic circles 203 Economic and welfare issues edit He favours cutting taxes 205 however he was critical of the free market policies enacted by the fourth Labour and fourth National governments in the 1980s and 1990s opposing privatisations and deregulation His platform retains elements of National Party economic policy from the Muldoon era 3 Peters supports compulsory superannuation schemes for all New Zealanders 206 He has cultivated support amongst the elderly in particular and support for his party has been concentrated among New Zealanders over 60 years of age 207 Immigration edit Peters is opposed to high levels of immigration in order to avoid New Zealand s identity values and heritage being swamped 208 He has highlighted the threat of immigration in both cultural and economic terms 209 Peters has on several occasions characterised the rate of Asian immigration into New Zealand as too high in 2004 he stated We are being dragged into the status of an Asian colony and it is time that New Zealanders were placed first in their own country 210 On 26 April 2005 he said Maori will be disturbed to know that in 17 years time they will be outnumbered by Asians in New Zealand an estimate disputed by Statistics New Zealand the government s statistics bureau Peters responded that Statistics New Zealand had underestimated the growth rate of the Asian community in the past 211 In June 2016 Peters advocated interviewing immigrants and reducing immigration numbers between 7 000 and 15 000 a year on TVNZ s Q A show During the interview he stated that he would want prospective migrants to salute our flag respect our laws honour our institutions and above all don t bring absolutely anti women attitudes with them treating women like cattle like fourth class citizens Peters also clarified that he was not opposed to refugees nor Muslim migrants per se In addition Peters argued that reducing immigration would stabilise the Auckland housing market and enable younger and poorer New Zealanders to buy their first home 212 Foreign affairs edit Also in June 2016 Peters backed Brexit and told the New Zealand Parliament that he hoped Britain will show its independence from an ungrateful European parliamentary yoke and come back to the Commonwealth 213 In March 2017 Peters criticised the then Foreign Minister Murray McCully for endorsing United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 without consulting his fellow Cabinet ministers 214 215 The resolution controversially condemned Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and passed with the support of the United Nations Security Council including New Zealand which held a rotating membership on the council 216 Islamophobia edit Peters has condemned discrimination on the basis of religion and he denounced Islamophobia following the Christchurch mosque shootings He called for the terrorist perpetrator to be deported to his home country Australia 217 In March 2022 Indian drama film The Kashmir Files had received an R16 classification from the New Zealand Classification Office with a scheduled release date of 24 March 2022 218 Members of the Muslim community in New Zealand raised concerns with chief censor David Shanks that the film could promote Islamophobia citing intercommunal tensions relating to the film s release in India Shanks stated that the film s R16 classification did not mean that the film was being banned 218 219 In response to the film s R16 classification in New Zealand Peters claimed that the film s age restricted classification amounted to censorship of terrorist actions during the 9 11 attacks and the Christchurch mosque shootings He added that efforts towards combating Islamophobia should not be used to shield the actions of terrorists in the name of Islam 219 220 221 LGBT issues edit In 1986 Peters voted together with all but three of his fellow National MPs against the Homosexual Law Reform Act which decriminalised sexual acts between males over 16 222 In 2012 Peters voted together with all of his fellow New Zealand First MPs against the Marriage Amendment Bill which aimed to permit same sex marriage in New Zealand 223 Peters also had called for a referendum on the issue 224 Maori issues edit During the 2017 New Zealand general election Peters called for the abolition of Maori seats 100 After entering into a coalition government with Labour Peters dropped his objection to the Maori seats citing the defeat of the Maori Party 107 108 Following the 2020 New Zealand general election Peters objected to the Labour Government s promotion of the Maori language and expansion of Maori wards and constituencies in local government councils 146 During the 2023 New Zealand general election Peters campaigned on removing Maori names from government departments against so called separatism withdrawing New Zealand from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and opposed co governance and renaming New Zealand Aotearoa 158 160 164 170 In September 2023 Peters claimed that Maori were not indigenous to New Zealand on the grounds that they originated in the Cook Islands and China 166 Peter s remarks on Maori issues during the 2023 general election campaign led 17 Maori leaders including David Letele to pen an open letter to National Party leader Christopher Luxon calling on him to condemn NZ First s alleged racist comments In response Peters accused the letter writers of racism and reiterated his claims that co governance was Apartheid 225 In mid March 2024 Peters controversially likened co governance to Nazi race theory drawing criticism from the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand s spokesperson Ben Kepes and Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins 196 Later that month Peters objected to the University of Auckland s decision to create safe zones for Maori and Pasifika students stating that some universities had become a haven for woke cultural brainwashing He also compared the policy to the Ku Klux Klan and Apartheid 226 Media edit Peters has a fraught relationship with the New Zealand media In the run up to the 2011 New Zealand general election he claimed that New Zealand First had been banned from leaders debates on TVNZ and Radio New Zealand and ignored by The New Zealand Herald Dominion Post and The Press 227 In 2023 his interactions with them became increasingly confrontational After an antagonistic interview with TVNZ journalist Jack Tame he referred to him as a left wing shill and a moron 228 After becoming Deputy Prime Minister in the Sixth National Government Peters accused TVNZ and Radio NZ on 28 November of lacking editorial independence since they had accepted funding from the previous Labour Government s Public Interest Journalism Fund PIJF which included a controversial clause to honour the Treaty of Waitangi and to use te reo Maori 229 On 28 November Andrew Shaw a veteran broadcaster who served on the board of New Zealand On Air which oversaw the PIJF funding resigned after social media posts in which he said of Peters He s not truthful He s not accurate He s malicious and he is here on behalf of international tobacco 230 The comments violated NZ On Air s code of conduct which requires board members to maintain political impartiality 231 On 29 November Peters confirmed that he was at war with the press gallery and mainstream media 232 While Peters has avoided mainstream media outlets he has taken part in lengthy interviews with Sean Plunket s online radio station The Platform 233 In response Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not condemn Peters s bribery allegations and said National had not agreed with the fund either and that it led to perceptions of bias 234 ACT leader David Seymour disputed Peters allegations against the Public Interest Journalism Fund stating that many people felt that the PIJF was distorting media s priorities I don t know that it did for the simple reason that it s a tiny amount of overall revenue and journalists generally while they may have a view I disagree with in some cases they re pretty fierce about that independence The whole thing notions of bribery isn t quite plausible In addition Finance Minister Nicola Willis stated that Peters was not the only MP who was critical of the media but added I think there s a bit of hyperbole in there but that s Winston being Winston 233 On 18 December 2023 Reporters Without Borders Asia Pacific Bureau Director Cedric Alviani criticised Peters attacks on journalists and media organisations and called on Prime Minister Luxon to reaffirm his government s support to press freedom The media watchdog cited Peters remarks that he was at war with the media his criticism of the Public Interest Journalism Fund his questioning of the editorial independence of broadcasters TVNZ and Radio New Zealand and his description of TVNZ journalist Jack Tame as a dirt merchant Alviani expressed concerns that these verbal attacks could imperil the media sector if they were used to support a policy of restricting the right to information 235 After Warner Bros Discovery announced plans to shut down television news service Newshub by late June 2024 Peters described the imminent closure of Newshub as obviously devastating not only for those who will lose their jobs but it is also seriously concerning for the robustness of our media scene He also attributed the struggles facing Newshub and other New Zealand media outlets to a lack of trust caused by the mainstream media failing to be unbiased independent and non political 236 Honours and awards editOn 21 May 1998 Peters was appointed to the Privy Council and gained the style of The Right Honourable 237 In 2007 Peters was bestowed with the chiefly Samoan title Vaovasamanaia meaning beautiful handsome awesome delighted and joyful 238 Personal life editPeters is married to Louise but they have separated 239 The couple have two children a son and a daughter named Bree Peters who is an actress 1 His current partner is Jan Trotman 239 See also editPopulism in New Zealand Contents of the United States diplomatic cables leak New Zealand References edit a b c Verdon Tony 29 September 2017 Winston Peters Politician family man and enigma The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 28 September 2023 Bale Tim Blomgren Magnus 2008 Close but no cigar Newly governing and nearly governing parties in Sweden and New Zealand New Parties in Government Routledge p 94 ISBN 9780415404990 a b c d Cooke Henry 6 October 2017 A brief history of Winston Raymond Peters Stuff Retrieved 13 November 2017 Vowles Jack Coffe Hilde Curtin Jennifer 2012 A Bark But No Bite Inequality and the 2014 New Zealand General Election Canberra ANU Press Australian National University p 167 Official Count Results Overall Status a b The return of Peters 3 News NZ 27 November 2013 Archived from the original on 28 June 2013 a b Cooke Henry 18 June 2018 Jacinda Ardern is still prime minister but Winston Peters is chairing Cabinet Here s why Stuff Retrieved 21 June 2018 a b Patterson Jane 21 June 2018 Winston Peters is in charge His duties explained Radio New Zealand Retrieved 21 June 2018 a b Election results 2020 Labour s Jacinda Ardern wins second term crushes National s Judith Collins Winston Peters and NZ First out The New Zealand Herald 18 October 2020 Archived from the original on 19 October 2020 Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b Livingstone Helen 14 October 2023 New Zealand election 2023 right leaning coalition poised to form government after Labour swept from power as it happened the Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 14 October 2023 Live Winston Peters David Seymour to take turns as deputy PM coalition deal unveiled Stuff 24 November 2023 Retrieved 24 November 2023 Wishart 2014 p 9 Hames 1995 p 4 5 Wishart 2014 p 9 10 13 Wishart 2014 p 12 13 Manhire Toby 4 June 2018 Here comes the maternity cover PM But which Winston Peters will we get Retrieved 6 August 2018 Hames 1995 p 6 Wishart 2014 p 14 Hames 1995 p 6 7 Wishart 2014 p 14 15 Hames 1995 p 7 Wishart 2014 p 18 24 Henderson Calum 21 September 2017 Chartlander The dynamite singles chart the day Winston Peters first entered parliament The Spinoff Retrieved 13 November 2017 Hames 1995 p 8 16 28 32 Wishart 2014 p 25 29 Candidate profile Winston Peters 3 News MediaWorks New Zealand 13 October 2011 Archived from the original on 28 February 2014 Line up For Opposition The New Zealand Herald 28 July 1984 p 5 National shadow cabinet named The Evening Post 29 January 1985 p 1 Herbert Patricia 27 March 1986 Mr McLay fought to last ditch The Press p 1 Hames 1995 p 46 54 Wishart 2014 p 62 71 Hames 1995 p 54 108 Wishart 2014 p 72 115 116 Luxton John 2008 The Ministry of Maori Development Te Puni Kōkiri 2008 ed Wellington New Zealand Business Roundtable ISBN 9781877394270 Retrieved 11 October 2017 Hames 1995 p 91 137 Wishart 2014 p 115 137 Hames 1995 p 138 189 Wishart 2014 p 138 148 Vowles 2002 p 10 Hames 1995 p 192 204 209 221 Wishart 2014 p 148 164 170 182 208 231 Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine 21 Years of MMP Q A TVNZ 1 October 2017 General Elections 1996 2005 Electoral Commission Retrieved 29 October 2017 Wishart 2014 p 260 261 Boston 1997 p 270 Wishart 2014 p 260 275 Sachdeva Sam 30 July 2017 Reading the tea leaves from 1996 Newsroom Retrieved 10 May 2020 Wishart 2014 p 276 281 Laking Rob 2004 Selling the Family Silver The Sale of Wellington Airport A Case Study in Local Government Decision Making PDF p 28 Archived from the original PDF on 14 October 2008 Wishart 2014 p 282 292 Wishart 2014 p 287 292 Final results update for the 1999 New Zealand general election New Zealand Parliament 23 December 1999 Retrieved 21 July 2020 Wishart 2014 p 301 310 Young Audrey Mold Francesca 23 July 2002 Clark rules out offensive NZ First The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 21 July 2020 Winston Peters 27 May 2005 Securing Our Borders and Protecting Our Identity New Zealand First 28 July 2005 The End of Tolerance Scoop co nz Retrieved 10 May 2020 a b c d Haines Leah 26 November 2011 Election 2011 Winston Peters dramatic rise from the mire The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 10 May 2020 Jones Nicholas 18 October 2017 In Winston s words Timeline for a decision The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 10 May 2020 Gulliver Aimee 27 March 2015 Bob Clarkson The man who beat Winston Peters Stuff Miller amp Mintrom 2006 pp 114 115 Hill Ruth 17 October 2005 Making Peters Foreign Affairs Minister bad for country s image The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 15 July 2007 a b c NZ gets anti migrant foreign minister The Age Melbourne Australia Australian Associated Press 18 October 2005 Retrieved 4 December 2011 Tunnah Helen 9 February 2004 Speaker says no case against Peters over Scampi allegations The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 10 May 2020 Winston in for long haul The New Zealand Herald 15 October 2006 Retrieved 15 July 2007 SuperGold Card media release Beehive website Retrieved 1 July 2013 188 businesses add weight to SuperGold Card NZ Government website Retrieved 1 July 2013 What is the SuperGold card busit website Archived from the original on 7 May 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 SuperGold Card directory updated NZ Government website Retrieved 1 July 2013 Social Security Entitlement Cards Amendment Bill Third Reading HANSARD Retrieved 1 July 2013 Oliver Paula 27 August 2008 Peters under fire after Glenn says he asked for donation The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 11 September 2012 Retrieved 27 August 2008 Businessman wants NZ First to confirm donation Radio New Zealand 24 July 2008 Archived from the original on 1 August 2008 Retrieved 24 July 2008 Gay Edward 25 July 2008 Peters attacks critics sidesteps donation issues The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 25 July 2008 Kitchin Phil 24 July 2008 Jones gave 25 000 to NZ First Dominion Post Retrieved 24 July 2008 Peters steps down from Government The New Zealand Herald 29 August 2008 Retrieved 29 August 2008 Oliver Paula Gower Patrick 28 August 2008 NZ First facing serious and complex fraud inquiry The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 29 August 2008 Report Peters censured for false misleading information The New Zealand Herald 22 September 2008 Report of the Privileges Committee into Peters allegations New Zealand Parliament September 2008 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 10 October 2008 Peters officially censured by Parliament The New Zealand Herald 23 September 2008 Winston Peters cleared of fraud TV3 10 October 2008 Archived from the original on 21 May 2011 Retrieved 29 October 2008 Gower Patrick 4 November 2008 Police decide no charges for NZ First The New Zealand Herald NZ First Campaign Launch Election 2011 Rt Hon Winston Peters 30 October 2011 Winston Peters appeals defamation ruling The New Zealand Herald NZPA 24 March 2011 Official Count Results Tauranga New Zealand Ministry of Justice Retrieved 25 November 2008 New Zealand Ministry of Justice 8 November 2008 2008 Election Results Savage Jared Haines Leah 9 November 2008 Winston Peters last stand is a lost battle The New Zealand Herald Milne Rebecca 1 February 2009 Peters big black shopping trolley The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 25 June 2009 Gower Patrick 20 June 2009 Peters life after politics Travel commerce and a little journalism The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 25 June 2009 ONE News 5 July 2009 Peters slams review of foreshore law We are not a cling on party Peters slams PM sordid cronyism The New Zealand Herald 1 August 2011 Retrieved 12 September 2011 a b Peters Winston New Zealand Parliament www parliament nz Retrieved 12 November 2023 Te Tai Tokerau Peters backs Labour s Kelvin Davis The New Zealand Herald 18 September 2014 Retrieved 9 October 2017 McQuillan Laura 17 September 2014 Key s subtle endorsement for Kelvin Davis Newstalk ZB Retrieved 3 October 2014 Davis picking up endorsements Radio Waatea 19 September 2014 Retrieved 3 October 2014 Smith Simon 20 September 2014 Davis win a critical blow for Harawira Internet Mana Stuff Retrieved 30 September 2014 New Zealand 2014 General Election Official Results New Zealand Electoral Commission Retrieved 9 October 2017 Winston Peters reaffirms his support for Pike families campaign to re enter mine 1 News 15 January 2017 Retrieved 9 October 2017 Coates Barry 11 July 2017 Great Together The Daily Blog Retrieved 11 October 2017 Green MP s comments on NZ First the height of stupidity Winston Peters The New Zealand Herald 13 July 2017 Retrieved 11 October 2017 Lynch Jenna 13 July 2017 Green MP threatens new election if Labour goes with NZ First Newshub Retrieved 11 October 2017 a b Moir Jo 16 July 2017 Winston Peters delivers bottom line binding referendum on abolishing Maori seats Stuff Retrieved 9 October 2017 NZ First leader Winston Peters confirms Maori seat referendum for all voters The New Zealand Herald 19 July 2017 Retrieved 9 October 2017 Northland Official Result Electoral Commission Retrieved 9 October 2017 2017 General Election Official Results New Zealand Electoral Commission Retrieved 9 October 2017 2017 General Election Party Lists Electoral Commission Retrieved 9 October 2017 New Zealand election stalemate leaves maverick populist Winston Peters as kingmaker South China Morning Post 23 September 2017 Retrieved 29 September 2017 Kirk Stacey Walters Laura 28 September 2017 Recommended by Winston Peters launches tirade on media stays mum on coalition talks Stuff Retrieved 28 September 2017 a b Winston Peters drops Maori seat referendum pledge Radio New Zealand 28 September 2017 Retrieved 22 June 2019 a b Burrows Matt 28 September 2017 Winston Peters hints at U turn on Maori seat referendum Newshub Retrieved 29 September 2017 Jones Nicholas 9 October 2017 Winston Peters says foreign ownership issues part of coalition talks with National and Labour The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 9 October 2017 Watkins Tracy 9 October 2017 Clear the bad blood between Winston Peters and the Greens Stuff co nz Retrieved 9 October 2017 Cheng Derek 10 October 2017 Winston Peters dismisses idea of meeting with Greens The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 11 October 2017 Rub of the Greens Winston Peters heaps scorn on Labour s partner The New Zealand Herald 11 October 2017 Retrieved 11 October 2017 Labour finally retake power after Winston Peters gives Jacinda Ardern his support Stuff co nz 19 October 2017 Retrieved 19 October 2017 Winston Peters on why he chose a Labour led government The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 20 October 2017 Roy Eleanor Ainge 19 October 2017 Jacinda Ardern to be New Zealand s next PM after Labour coalition deal The Guardian Retrieved 20 October 2017 Jacinda Ardern reveals ministers of new government The New Zealand Herald 26 October 2017 Retrieved 26 October 2017 New government ministers revealed Radio New Zealand 25 October 2017 Retrieved 26 October 2017 Patterson Jane 8 August 2019 Abortion legislation It wasn t part of our coalition agreement so why is it there Winston Peters Radio New Zealand Retrieved 19 August 2019 Thomas Ben 9 August 2019 Is Winston Peters s abortion referendum call a ploy to get Labour to break up with him Metro Retrieved 19 August 2019 Moir Jo 7 August 2019 Abortion reform Andrew Little says no deal as Winston Peters springs referendum call The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 19 August 2019 Small Zane 1 October 2019 Winston Peters hails major SuperGold Card upgrade including app updated website Newshub Retrieved 10 May 2020 Young Audrey 18 July 2020 Election 2020 New Zealand First Coalition agreement progress report The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 16 August 2020 New Zealand First and Labour Coalition Agreement New Zealand First Archived from the original on 15 November 2017 Retrieved 15 November 2017 Small Zane 17 July 2019 White House catch up Winston Peters pitches free trade deal to United States Newshub Retrieved 10 May 2020 McKay Ben Cooke Henry 5 May 2020 Covid 19 Winston Peters personally supports Taiwan rejoining WHO Stuff Archived from the original on 5 May 2020 Retrieved 7 May 2020 Everington Keoni 5 May 2020 NZ foreign minister backs Taiwan s entry into WHO bucks Beijing s bullying Taiwan News Archived from the original on 7 May 2020 Retrieved 7 May 2020 Sachdeva Sam 7 May 2020 NZ formally backs WHO role for Taiwan Newsroom Archived from the original on 7 May 2020 Retrieved 7 May 2020 Press spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand answers questions on Taiwan related issues Embassy of the People s Republic of China in New Zealand 5 May 2020 Retrieved 7 May 2020 Walls Jason 7 May 2020 Foreign Minister Winston Peters tells China s NZ Ambassador to listen to your master after criticism The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 7 May 2020 Retrieved 7 May 2020 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian s Regular Press Conference on May 11 2020 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People s Republic of China 11 May 2020 Archived from the original on 12 May 2020 Retrieved 12 May 2020 Manch Tomas 12 May 2020 Winston Peters says he has no regrets despite China s Taiwan warning Stuff Archived from the original on 12 May 2020 Retrieved 12 May 2020 New Zealand suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong Radio New Zealand 28 July 2020 Retrieved 28 July 2020 Small Zane 28 July 2020 New Zealand suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong over China s controversial security law Newshub Archived from the original on 28 July 2020 Retrieved 28 July 2020 Malpass Luke Manch Thomas 22 July 2020 Winston Peters I was trying to shake Antarctica NZ from its torpor Stuff Archived from the original on 22 July 2020 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Winston Peters says taxpayer funded Antarctica trip for friends aimed to raise funds for Scott Base 1 News 22 July 2020 Archived from the original on 22 July 2020 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Small Zane 3 September 2020 Winston Peters weighs in on deeply troubling evidence Russian opposition leader was poisoned Newshub Archived from the original on 2 March 2022 Murphy Tim 28 August 2017 Peters overpaid and under pressure Newsroom Archived from the original on 15 June 2020 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Cheng Derek 11 November 2019 Winston Peters fact check 18 000 repayment amount demonstrably false in 2017 The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 13 November 2019 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Winston Peters superannuation leak privacy court claim fails Radio New Zealand Archived from the original on 13 June 2020 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Davison Isaac 20 April 2020 Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters fails in privacy claim against Paula Bennett Anne Tolley and others The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 22 June 2020 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Hurley Sam 20 July 2020 Winston Peters to pay 320 000 over failed superannuation leak privacy court case The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 21 July 2020 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Winston Peters ordered to pay nearly 320k in costs for court battle Radio New Zealand 20 July 2020 Archived from the original on 21 July 2020 Retrieved 22 July 2020 Manch Thomas 2 August 2021 Former deputy prime minister Winston Peters loses court battle over superannuation privacy breach Stuff Archived from the original on 16 December 2023 Retrieved 6 April 2024 2020 General Election and Referendums Official Result Electoral Commission Retrieved 6 November 2020 Full list of Jacinda Ardern s new Cabinet Newshub 2 November 2020 Retrieved 2 November 2020 a b Cheng Derek 20 June 2021 Winston Peters announces New Zealand First will be back in 2023 The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 20 June 2021 Retrieved 20 June 2021 Cooke Henry 20 June 2021 Winston Peters attacks Labour cancel culture and te reo usage in comeback speech Stuff Archived from the original on 20 June 2021 Retrieved 20 June 2021 Pearse Adam Leahy Ben 9 October 2021 Covid 19 Delta outbreak Winston Peters TV claims woman at centre of Northland scare connected to Mongrel Mob The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 9 October 2021 Retrieved 11 October 2021 Trafford Will 9 October 2021 Covid 19 Delta outbreak Mongrel Mob hit back at Winston Peters over Northland claims The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 9 October 2021 Retrieved 11 October 2021 Covid 19 Delta outbreak Winston Peters on Northland level 3 lockdown The New Zealand Herald 11 October 2021 Archived from the original on 11 October 2021 Retrieved 11 October 2021 Owen Catrin 19 October 2021 Winston Peters apologises for alleging Harry Tam link with Northland Covid 19 case Stuff Archived from the original on 20 October 2021 Retrieved 21 October 2021 Winston Peters apologises to Harry Tam over Northland allegation The New Zealand Herald 19 October 2021 Archived from the original on 19 October 2021 Retrieved 21 October 2021 Coughlan Thomas 10 February 2022 Parliament protesters buoyed by support from Winston Peters The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 10 February 2022 Retrieved 11 February 2022 Covid 19 Omicron outbreak Anti mandate protest s 15th day at Parliament Radio New Zealand 22 February 2022 Archived from the original on 17 March 2022 Retrieved 4 May 2022 Peters says he has been trespassed from Parliament for two years Radio New Zealand 3 May 2022 Archived from the original on 3 May 2022 Retrieved 4 May 2022 Winston Peters plans to take on Speaker over trespass notice Radio New Zealand 4 May 2022 Archived from the original on 4 May 2022 Retrieved 4 May 2022 Cooke Henry 4 May 2022 Parliament trespass Trevor Mallard withdraws five trespass notices after Winston Peters threatens legal action Stuff Archived from the original on 4 May 2022 Retrieved 4 May 2022 a b Winston Peters NZ First would remove Maori names from Govt depts 24 March 2023 Archived from the original on 31 March 2023 Retrieved 31 March 2023 NZ First leader Winston Peters wants government departments to have English names again Radio New Zealand 27 March 2023 Archived from the original on 31 March 2023 Retrieved 31 March 2023 a b McConnell Glenn 23 July 2023 Take our country back Winston Peters fires up as he launches comeback campaign Stuff Archived from the original on 23 July 2023 Retrieved 24 July 2023 On the campaign trail ERA reforms gang talk moving ports and animal rights Radio New Zealand 30 July 2023 Retrieved 15 August 2023 On the campaign trail ERA reforms gang talk moving ports and animal rights Radio New Zealand 30 July 2023 Archived from the original on 29 August 2023 Retrieved 11 September 2023 Desmarais Felix 17 August 2023 Luxon says NZ First transgender bathrooms policy on another planet 1 News Archived from the original on 19 August 2023 Retrieved 20 August 2023 a b McGuire Casper 20 August 2023 Winston Peters proposes to make English an official language 1 News Archived from the original on 20 August 2023 Retrieved 20 August 2023 Election 2023 Winston Peters gets back on the horse for election campaign video The New Zealand Herald 4 September 2023 Archived from the original on 5 September 2023 a b Tan Lincoln 10 September 2023 Election 2023 Winston Peters claims Maori are not indigenous during Nelson meeting with NZ First supporters The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 10 September 2023 Retrieved 11 September 2023 He s wrong Luxon disagrees with Winston Peters Maori comments 1 News TVNZ 10 September 2023 Archived from the original on 11 September 2023 Retrieved 11 September 2023 National s Christopher Luxon would work with NZ First if he has to 1 News Retrieved 26 September 2023 Election 2023 New Zealand First releases party list Radio New Zealand 16 September 2023 Archived from the original on 28 September 2023 Retrieved 29 September 2023 a b New Zealand First s Winston Peters proves a crowd pleaser in Levin Radio New Zealand 18 September 2023 Archived from the original on 28 September 2023 Retrieved 28 September 2023 Official count Overall Results Electoral Commission 3 November 2023 Archived from the original on 7 November 2023 Retrieved 20 November 2023 2023 General Election Successful candidates Electoral Commission 3 November 2023 Archived from the original on 17 November 2023 Retrieved 20 November 2023 Election 2023 Christopher Luxon ready to get to work on coalition negotiations Radio New Zealand 16 October 2023 Archived from the original on 16 October 2023 Retrieved 20 October 2023 a b Corlett Eva 16 October 2023 New Zealand in political limbo as National considers shape of coalition The Guardian Archived from the original on 18 October 2023 Retrieved 20 October 2023 National and Act lose majority in final vote count Newsroom 3 November 2023 Archived from the original on 3 November 2023 Retrieved 7 November 2023 Trevett Claire 8 November 2023 Election 2023 NZ First and Act make first contact in coalition talks as National NZ First hold secret meetings around Parliament The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 8 November 2023 Retrieved 9 November 2023 Hendry Tennent Ireland 6 November 2023 Election 2023 ACT s David Seymour reveals what he said in text that likely coalition partner Winston Peters thought was fake Newshub Archived from the original on 6 November 2023 Retrieved 9 November 2023 Coughlan Thomas 10 November 2023 National Act NZ First coalition talks Winston Peters blames delayed negotiations on decision supported by Winston Peters The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 10 November 2023 Retrieved 12 November 2023 Couglan Thomas 24 November 2023 Coalition talks live updates New Government next week legislation bonfire planned for first 100 days The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 23 November 2023 Retrieved 24 November 2023 New Zealand s Luxon forges deal to lead new coalition government Al Jazeera English 23 November 2023 Archived from the original on 24 November 2023 Retrieved 24 November 2023 Live Luxon makes call to Gov General to say he can form a govt 1 News TVNZ 24 November 2023 Archived from the original on 24 November 2023 Retrieved 24 November 2023 Winston Peters acting Prime Minister while Christopher Luxon in Australia MSN Winston Peters swaps gifts with Fiji s PM on first overseas engagement 1 News 15 December 2023 Archived from the original on 18 December 2023 Retrieved 18 December 2023 Collins Judith Peters Winston 12 January 2024 NZ support for strikes against Houthis Beehive govt nz New Zealand Government Archived from the original on 14 January 2024 Retrieved 13 January 2024 NZ Govt throws support behind US UK s strikes in Yemen 1 News TVNZ 12 January 2024 Archived from the original on 12 January 2024 Retrieved 15 January 2024 New support for Ukraine New Zealand Defence Force 22 February 2024 Archived from the original on 23 February 2024 Retrieved 27 February 2024 McKay Ben 23 February 2024 Russia Ukraine war Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks New Zealand for new aid The New Zealand Herald Australian Associated Press Archived from the original on 23 February 2024 Retrieved 27 February 2024 FM announces detail of South East Asian tour Inside Government JSL Media 5 March 2024 Archived from the original on 21 March 2024 Retrieved 21 March 2024 Winston Peters confirms plans to visit India next week Radio New Zealand 5 March 2024 Archived from the original on 19 March 2024 Retrieved 21 March 2024 Winston Peters wades into India Canada spat over Sikh leader s death 1 News TVNZ 14 March 2024 Archived from the original on 13 March 2024 Retrieved 16 March 2024 Peters meets with Chinese counterpart at Parliament House 1 News TVNZ 18 March 2024 Archived from the original on 21 March 2024 Retrieved 21 March 2024 Zhou Laura 18 March 2024 China and New Zealand are a force for stability in a turbulent world says Foreign Minister Wang Yi South China Morning Post Archived from the original on 20 March 2024 Retrieved 21 March 2024 de Silva Tommy 23 January 2024 This week s hui at Ratana pa explained The Spinoff Archived from the original on 24 January 2024 Retrieved 26 January 2024 O Brien Tova 25 January 2024 Three headed taniwha government the enemy of Maori Ratana criticism should give PM pause Stuff Archived from the original on 26 January 2024 Retrieved 26 January 2024 Clark Emily 6 February 2024 Maori protesters march to Waitangi for historic protest as simmering tensions boil over ABC News Retrieved 7 February 2024 a b c Pearse Adam 17 March 2024 NZ First leader Winston Peters compares co governance to Nazi Germany says promised tax cuts not impossible The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 17 March 2024 Retrieved 19 March 2024 Winston Peters not going back on co governance Nazi reference RNZ 18 March 2024 Retrieved 19 March 2024 Pearse Adam 19 March 2024 Winston Peters digs in over Nazi Germany comments Chris Hipkins calls on Prime Minister to act The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 19 March 2024 In fiery interview Winston Peters says Luxon misinformed by media 1News Retrieved 22 March 2024 O Brien Tova 19 March 2024 UK bans takes aim at Peter s use of hit song after Nazi comments Stuff Archived from the original on 21 March 2024 Retrieved 21 March 2024 a b Rydgren Jens 2005 Movements of Exclusion Radical Right wing Populism in the Western World Nova Publishers p 30 ISBN 9781594540967 Graham McLay Charlotte 2 August 2020 I m going nowhere but up Winston Peters on populism politics and the polls The Guardian Retrieved 16 August 2020 a b Peters Winston 12 November 2003 Replacing Political Tyranny With Direct Democracy Scoop News Scoop Retrieved 20 June 2017 Duncan Grant Who s NZ s anti establishment candidate Massey University massey ac nz Massey University Retrieved 16 June 2017 Jones Nicholas 7 May 2017 Winston Peters not credible on tax cuts Prime Minister Bill English says The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 3 November 2017 Policies Superannuation New Zealand First 2017 Archived from the original on 5 November 2017 Retrieved 3 November 2017 Roper Juliet Holtz Bacha Christina Mazzoleni Gianpietro 2004 The Politics of Representation Election Campaigning and Proportional Representation Peter Lang p 40 ISBN 9780820461489 Landis Dan Albert Rosita D 2012 Handbook of Ethnic Conflict International Perspectives Springer Science amp Business Media p 52 ISBN 9781461404484 Liu J H Mills D March 2006 Modern racism and market fundamentalism The discourses of plausible deniability and their multiple functions Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 16 83 99 PDF Download Available Journal of Community amp Applied Social Psychology 16 83 99 Winston Peters memorable quotes The Age 18 October 2005 Retrieved 6 April 2024 Berry Ruth 26 April 2005 Peter s Asian warning The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 23 October 2017 Kirk Stacey 5 June 2016 Interview every migrant into NZ says Winston Peters Stuff Retrieved 9 October 2017 Peters Winston Motions Queen Elizabeth II 90th Birthday New Zealand Parliament www parliament nz Retrieved 12 October 2021 11 United Nations Security Council Resolution Criticising Israel Cabinet Approval New Zealand Parliament Hansard Retrieved 26 October 2017 New Zealand FM went rogue in backing UN resolution opposition charges The Times of Israel Jewish Telegraphic Agency 21 March 2017 Retrieved 26 October 2017 Harman Richard 26 October 2017 Peter tilts towards Israel Politik Retrieved 26 October 2017 Cheng Derek Christchurch mosque shootings sentencing Jacinda Ardern Winston Peters at odds over extraditing Brenton Tarrant New Zealand Herald Retrieved 13 June 2021 a b Franks Josephine 19 March 2022 Chief censor reviewing classification of The Kashmir Files after concerns from Muslim community Stuff Retrieved 23 March 2022 a b NZ chief censor reviews The Kashmir Files classification ex deputy PM criticises move Times of India 20 March 2022 Retrieved 23 March 2022 Kashmir Files faces row in New Zealand Here s what former deputy PM says Hindustan Times 20 March 2022 Retrieved 23 March 2022 NZ tightens Kashmir Files rating after anti Muslim concerns The New Zealand Herald 26 March 2022 Retrieved 27 March 2022 Homosexual Law Reform Act Archived from the original on 31 March 2018 Marriage equality bill How MPs voted The New Zealand Herald 29 August 2012 Retrieved 15 June 2018 Parliament passes same sex marriage bill Radio New Zealand 17 April 2013 Retrieved 17 June 2018 Heikell Leighton 29 September 2022 Election 2023 Accusations of racism and race baiting take centre stage as campaign turns ugly Newshub Archived from the original on 30 September 2023 Retrieved 30 September 2023 Tan Lincoln 27 March 2024 University s designated areas for Maori and Pasifika students comparable to Ku Klux Klan says Winston Peters The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 4 April 2024 Retrieved 6 April 2024 Cheng Derek 11 November 2011 Winston Peters slams disgusting NZ media The New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 28 September 2023 Retrieved 1 December 2023 Winston Peters blasts moron Jack Tame NZ media in Port Waikato 1 News TVNZ 5 November 2023 Archived from the original on 30 November 2023 Retrieved 1 December 2023 Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters continues media attacks during first Cabinet meeting photo opportunity Radio New Zealand 28 November 2023 Archived from the original on 29 November 2023 Retrieved 1 December 2023 New Zealand on Air board member Andrew Shaw quits over comments about Winston Peters Radio New Zealand 28 November 2023 Archived from the original on 28 November 2023 Retrieved 1 December 2023 Neilson Michael 28 November 2023 Gang of thugs NZ On Air board member resigns over Peters criticism NZ Herald Retrieved 1 December 2023 McConnell Glenn 29 November 2023 Deputy PM Winston Peters says he is at war with media amid ongoing baseless claims Stuff Archived from the original on 30 November 2023 Retrieved 1 December 2023 a b How the new government is responding to Peters media bias claims The Spinoff 29 November 2023 Archived from the original on 1 December 2023 Retrieved 1 December 2023 Neilson Michael 29 November 2023 Christopher Luxon s first Cabinet Unveils Government s 100 day plan pressure to rein in Winston Peters NZ Herald Retrieved 1 December 2023 New Zealand RSF calls on Prime Minister to reaffirm his government s commitment to press freedom Reporters Without Borders 18 December 2023 Archived from the original on 26 December 2023 Retrieved 29 December 2023 Peters Winston 1 March 2024 The state of New Zealand s media Newstalk ZB Archived from the original on 2 March 2024 Retrieved 3 March 2024 Appointments to the Privy Council 28 May 1998 74 New Zealand 1613 at 1644 Tait Maggie 13 July 2007 Peters given chiefly Samoan title The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 17 July 2007 a b Trotman forced out of Winston s shadow Newsroom 6 November 2019 Retrieved 9 October 2023 Works cited editHames Martin 1995 Winston First The unauthorised account of Winston Peters career Auckland Random House New Zealand ISBN 1869412575 Boston Jonathan 1997 From campaign to coalition New Zealand s first general election under proportional representation 1st publ ed Palmerston North Dunmore Press ISBN 0864693141 Vowles Jack 2002 Proportional representation on trial Auckland N Z Auckland University Press ISBN 9781869402655 Miller Raymond Mintrom Michael 2006 Political leadership in New Zealand Auckland Auckland Univ Press ISBN 9781869403584 Wishart Ian 2014 Winston The Story of a Political Phenomenon 1st ed Auckland Howling at the Moon Publishing ISBN 9780994106414 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Winston Peters nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Winston Peters New Zealand First Winston Peters biography The Beehive Winston Peters biography Winston Peters personal websiteNew Zealand ParliamentPreceded byMalcolm Douglas Member of Parliamentfor Hunua1978 1981 Succeeded byColin MoylePreceded byKeith Allen Member of Parliamentfor Tauranga1984 2005 Succeeded byBob ClarksonPreceded byMike Sabin Member of Parliamentfor Northland2015 2017 Succeeded byMatt KingPolitical officesPreceded byKoro Wetere Minister of Maori Affairs1990 1991 Succeeded byDoug KiddNew office Treasurer of New Zealand1996 1998 Succeeded byBill BirchPreceded byDon McKinnon Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand1996 19982017 20202023 present Succeeded byWyatt CreechPreceded byPaula Bennett Succeeded byGrant RobertsonPreceded byCarmel Sepuloni IncumbentPreceded byPhil Goff Minister of Foreign Affairs2005 20082017 20202023 present Succeeded byHelen Clark acting Preceded byGerry Brownlee Succeeded byNanaia MahutaPreceded byGrant Robertson IncumbentPreceded byDamien O Connor Minister for Racing2005 20082017 20202023 present Succeeded byJohn CarterPreceded byDavid Bennett Succeeded byGrant RobertsonPreceded byKieran McAnulty IncumbentPreceded byTodd McClay Minister for State Owned Enterprises2017 2020 Succeeded byDavid ClarkParty political officesNew political party Leader of New Zealand First1993 present Incumbent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Winston Peters amp oldid 1217844999, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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