Peters launches into Bridges

NZ First leader Winston Peters delivered a blistering attack on free market economics and the National Party with a major speech yesterday defending his decision to go with Labour.

Peters was speaking to about 500 people at his party’s 25th annual conference in Tauranga, its first since coming to Government in a coalition with Labour late last year.

The speech lacked any major policy announcements, instead acting as a clear statement of his party’s history and values and why those values saw him pick Labour.

This included a direct frontal attack on National and its leader, Simon Bridges, who he said would not last until the next election. ‘‘National’s behaviour since the election has only confirmed our good sense in choosing to go with Labour,’’ Peters said.

‘‘National is leaderless, it’s moribund, and it’s vacuous, and it’s got bitter and jealous.

‘‘It’s a shell of its former self because it has been seduced by big money and marketing.

‘‘Simon Bridges will not lead National into the next election. ‘‘He’s a desperate man.’’ Peters said his party was formed in opposition to neoliberalism and trickle-down economics, and it still held that position.

‘‘To quote Clint Eastwood: don’t piddle on me and tell me it’s raining.’’

With Labour and the Greens, he had found two parties who agreed with this.

Peters defended his decision to go after Bridges so forcefully when speaking to media after the speech, saying that while he had issues with a Bridges-led National, that wouldn’t constrain his decisions after the next election – because Bridges wouldn’t be the leader any more.

Peters said there could be up to two more National leaders prior to that election.

He also used the speech to defend the coalition Government from any charges that it was divided, saying close to 1100 decisions had been made by Cabinet, and just four of them had required some more work.

‘‘National is leaderless, it’s moribund, and it’s vacuous, and it’s got bitter and jealous. It’s a shell of its former self because it has been seduced by big money and marketing.’’ NZ First leader Winston Peters

‘‘Too many in the media instead targeted four policy areas that were still works in progress, and then endlessly interviewed their keyboard, with each piece becoming more breathless than the last one,’’ Peters said.

He signalled that his party’s issues with Labour’s flagship employment law legislation had been worked out and the final version of the policy would be announced when Parliament resumed this month.

Peters also said he had seen private polling that had the party tracking ‘‘better than it ever had in Government before’’.

Most public polls in recent weeks have seen NZ First below the all-important 5 per cent mark.

He would not reveal the number to media but did concede it was still a single digit.

Peters has led the party for all of its 25 years and shows no signs of going anywhere.

The conference did see the end of NZ First president Brent Catchpole’s tenure, however, as he lost a re-election bid to Tauranga’s Lester Gray.