NZ First detonates silly ideas — Peters

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters will use his party conference this weekend to reveal some of the “silly ideas” which he is taking credit for torpedoing at the Cabinet table.

He also plans to “let New Zealand know what really happened” with some Government policies on the campaign trail in coming weeks.

Peters, also Deputy Prime Minister, has hinted that he will unveil some sizeable economic and social policies when he takes the stage tomorrow afternoon as well.

Speaking ahead of the two-day conference in East Auckland, he said his speech would have a “highly persuasive narrative”.

Peters yesterday took aim at National, saying he had “never seen a political circus like this in my life”.

Peters, who entered politics in 1979 as a National MP, said: “I’ve never seen such a cacophony of egos . . . in my whole political career.”

As well as pitching new policy, Peters will also take stock of the past three years. He said NZ First had been “a seriously, stable, common-sense force in this coalition — a handbrake for silly ideas and a serious accelerator for good ideas” in that time.

NZ First has taken credit for stopping “silly ideas” in the past. For example, minister Shane Jones said the fact that his party stopped the Government from implementing a capital gains tax (CGT) was a “trophy”.

And in recent weeks, NZ First has spoken of its ministers preventing a policy championed by the Green Party. Peters said he planned to let New Zealand know what really happened with such “silly ideas”.

The strategy comes as NZ First remains well under the 5 per cent threshold in opinion polls. If it fails to push past this level, or win an electorate seat, it will be out of Parliament.

Predictably, Peters did not want to talk about public polls.

He was also, at first, reluctant to talk about the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the handling of donations to the NZ First Foundation.

The outcome of the office’s investigation will be announced before September 19, election day.

Peters said he was not worried, and added that the saga was attempted to “try and take NZ First out”.

“We know it’s actually watertight. So am I concerned? No.”