Peters says no to ‘this Labour crowd’
Winston Peters has ruled out working with the current Labour Party.
Peters told the NZ Herald that NZ First was ‘‘not going to go with the Labour Party, this present Labour Party crowd, because they can’t be trusted’’, referring to Labour’s work on He Puapua report and Three Waters.
When asked his thoughts on National, Peters would not be drawn in.
‘‘I’m focused on one party’s outcome and that’s NZ First,’’ he told
yesterday.
‘‘The days of mainstream media ignoring NZ First . . . is over,’’ he added.
His party is continuing its roadshow, with New Plymouth and Hastings still in for a visit this year, where Peters talks about crime, Three Waters, cogovernance and the cost of living.
In October, Peters promised a return to Parliament during his party’s annual conference, saying the 2023 campaign would be nothing like that of 2020.
‘‘There’s no comparison,’’ he said at the time. ‘‘We are far more ready.
‘‘We’re a party that’s been seriously rejuvenated. We took a hammering in 2020 in a Covid election where we couldn’t campaign and every other thing that was going on.’’
Peters launched an attack on Labour during the conference, saying that ‘‘if anybody thinks that the Labour Party is going to survive this next election, they know nothing about politics’’, calling the current government ‘‘one of the worst’’.
NZ First’s slogan is ‘‘Bring Back Balance: Bring Back New Zealand First.’’
It comes the week Peters forced the High Court to remove comments about a speech he made in Parliament from a defamation judgment, after raising constitutional arguments that could have far-reaching effects.
‘‘Parliamentary privilege is the cornerstone of our democracy and the court has reaffirmed that,’’ Peters said in a statement.
NZ First was voted out in 2020, gaining only 2.6% support of the 5% needed to get into Parliament without an electorate seat.
The party shook off a scandal that troubled Peters in 2020, with a Serious Fraud Office case into party donations concluded in July with not guilty verdicts.