Peters caught puffing on smokefree uni campus
NEW Zealand First leader Winston Peters came to Dunedin yesterday to deliver campaign messages, but it was a sneaky smoko on the University of Otago’s campus that grabbed the attention on social media.
A video of the deputy prime minister taking a puff in front of a ‘‘no smoking’’ sign along with Young NZ First executive member Robert Griffith and NZ First MP and candidate for Taieri Mark Patterson was posted on social media with the tagline, ‘‘Apparently smokefree policy only applies to some.’’
The post resulted in a mix of opinions.
Some supported Mr Peters, saying he had already said smokefree New Zealand would never work and that people should not be dictated to.
But others were outraged at his ‘‘arrogant’’ disregard for the rules.
All of the University of Otago’s campuses have been smokefree since January 1, 2014.
Mr Peters was at the campus to take part in Vote 2020 — a question and answer session run by students in the Department of Politics.
Mr Peters also visited Hillside workshop in South Dunedin. The State Owned Enterprises Minister was on a whistlestop tour of the southern city, where he also criticised Covid19 restrictions in the South Island and said a potential new public holiday for Matariki was illtimed.
Mr Peters said Hillside was on track to support more than 100 jobs thanks to a NZ First policy.
In October, the Government announced it was dedicating $19.97 million from its Provincial Growth Fund to reestablish the Hillside workshop as a mechanical hub and heavy engineering facility to service KiwiRail’s trains.
‘‘I’m not coming promising someone something. I’ve already done it,’’ Mr Peters said.
The cash injection would get the increased workforce, from a present 23, ‘‘back doing what it used to do in a more modern context’’.
‘‘Before someone else comes in here and claims that they’re doing it, I’m making sure that you know that as the minister of railways [Minister of State Owned Enterprises] this is the first time this [Hillside] has been revived in decades.
‘‘Having rail is a nobrainer — you’ve got to have balance. If you want to get your heavy cargo movements going at the cheapest carbon footprint price, this is it,’’ Mr Peters said.
‘‘‘Shovelready’ and being ‘jobready’ is a phrase that comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, which is a New Zealand First invention.’’
Facing media in the Octagon, he said the South Island should not be under the Covid19 alert level restrictions it is.
He also said Labour leader Jacinda Ardern’s promise to make Matariki a public holiday if reelected was poorly timed when the country needed to be focused on returning to work.
‘‘Covid19 has been an event that has caused us to seriously focus with our eyes wide open on what our best assets are.
‘‘They are on exporting, they are on manufacturing at home if we can, they are on import substitution — all the things that one party’s argued for, for a long time,’’ Mr Peters said.
‘‘We haven’t had an announcement from Labour, apart from whether we’re going to get a new holiday,’’ he said.
‘‘And right now, work and sacrifice and collective effort is what’s required — not another holiday.
‘‘Now is not the time when we are in the throes of huge financial challenges to start thinking about a holiday.
‘‘I’m sorry — work is going to be our way out of it; working smarter and working more clever than we did in the past — not leisure and holiday time.’’