Winston Peters

New Zealand welcomes the announcements by the United States and Iran over the past few hours - as we welcome all efforts to bring an end to this conflict. While this is encouraging news, there remains significant important work to be done in the coming days to secure a lasting ceasefire. We are grateful for the work of Pakistan, and others such as Turkiye and Egypt, to seek to find a solution to the crisis.  As we discussed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio today, this conflict has had wide-ranging impacts and disruptions - for both those in the Middle East and further afield including in New Zealand and the Pacific region. In the coming days and weeks, New Zealand will stand in support of all efforts to bring about a lasting, durable end to this conflict. -WP

The Minister was invited to visit Washington DC this week by US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. They met on Tuesday morning (US time), and discussed: - US/NZ bilateral relations. The Secretary and the Minister traversed the warm, wide-ranging, and longstanding relationship between New Zealand and the United States - including on defence & security and trade & economic matters. They discussed the ongoing conversations led by our Trade Ministers on the issue of tariffs as well as the ongoing dialogue between our two governments on critical minerals cooperation. - The conflict in the Middle East. Secretary Rubio outlined US progress towards ending the war. Minister Peters outlined the significant negative economic impacts on New Zealand, and our Pacific neighbours, arising from the war - and New Zealand’s desire to see dialogue and de-escalation. Given the impacts on the Indo-Pacific of Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Minister Peters and Secretary Rubio stressed the crucial importance countries around the world attach to international law as it applies to freedom of navigation. - The Pacific Islands region. The Minister outlined New Zealand’s aspiration as host of next year’s Pacific Islands Forum, invited Secretary Rubio to attend, and encouraged the United States to continue to play a fulsome role in the region in close cooperation with New Zealand and Australia. Secretary Rubio and Minister Peters discussed priority matters in the Pacific, including energy supply chain issues and transnational organised crime. - The Indo-Pacific. The Minister and the Secretary discussed the shared strategic interests of New Zealand and the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, as two Pacific democracies. @SecRubio 🇺🇸 🤝 🇳🇿

We didn’t realise the NZ Herald now thought that printing verbal diarrhoea was their new standard for so-called ‘opinion pieces’ – maybe it’s just the fact that Jonathon Ayling is clearly a mouth-breather and they felt sorry for him. Either way, at the very least they should have fact-checked what he was saying before allowing it to be printed. Ayling used a half-page spread to make it obvious to all and sundry that his motivation for writing his ‘opinion piece’ was that he is very hurt personally or more likely politically aggrieved. It always happens when New Zealand First is winning – the pasty incel losers come out from their mother’s basements to hide behind a keyboard and start crying into their soy lattes. He attempts to accuse New Zealand First of not being a socially conservative party by saying that we supported the liberalising of abortion, euthanasia, and strangely uses the example of the initial government decisions when the pandemic hit. Only a four-flushing moron wouldn’t know that when the abortion legislation was voted on in parliament it was an individual conscience vote, not party vote, and one which I voted against. Only a half-wit dunce wouldn’t know that the legalisation of euthanasia was not decided in parliament, it was decided by the people of New Zealand via a referendum. It was New Zealand First who demanded that referendum so that it wasn’t decided by politicians - it’s called ‘democracy’ Mr Ayling. Assuming Mr Ayling is neither a four-flushing moron nor a half-wit dunce, for him to use those examples as ‘proof’ that New Zealand First is not a socially conservative party, only shows he must’ve known those facts before he wrote his nonsense - it will be up to the readers of the Herald to come to their own conclusion about what that then means. The most astonishing part of his ‘opinion piece’ is when Mr Ayling decided to criticise the way New Zealand First is utilising Members Bills and the ballot – specifically how we keep adding pieces of legislation via our four backbench MPs and rotating them when our party policy and election manifesto keeps on growing. Putting aside the obvious fact that we have just had one of those socially conservative bills drawn from the ballot and now will be read in the House, the reason it is astonishing is that Mr Ayling himself, when he was the head of the Free Speech Union, actually contacted us and gave us a bill to put into the ballot as a Members Bill. It seems the irony is lost on him that he is now complaining about the very process he was gladly a part of. Or maybe it is not lost on him and he is just the definition of the word that starts with an “H” and ends in “ypocrit”. The fact that at the time he fell over himself to thank us for doing that for the Free Speech Union makes it even more poetic. This type of pathetic baseless attack full of misleading missives and lies does not surprise our party one bit. It just gives us confidence that what we are doing is working and that we are winning. We are packing the halls around this country and people like Mr Ayling clearly don’t like it because he votes for his mates in another political party. There is one thing he did get right – we are a nationalist party, and we are a populist party. Newsflash Mr Ayling, what New Zealand First is doing is very popular – and what political party wouldn’t want to be popular. Whether you like it or not Mr Ayling, New Zealand First is the only socially conservative, nationalist, patriotic party in parliament - and we aren’t going anywhere but up. Good luck on your newfound long journey ahead to try and find some relevance – maybe you should have the courage to take the risk like the rest of us did and run for office, then we will see how many people would be foolish enough to listen to your vacuous ‘opinion’.

New Zealand First Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law, has been drawn and will be debated in the House. This bill is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the term 'woman' in law. New Zealand First is the only party that campaigned on keeping men out of women’s sports, keeping men out of women's and girl's changing rooms, and we have received two petitions this term calling for protecting the term ‘woman’ in legislation. We were told at the time that we were going down a ‘rabbit hole’ and ‘on another planet’. But if you look at recent events, both internationally and in New Zealand, the pendulum is swinging back towards common sense and is proving us right. The Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill will provide clarity and consistency in New Zealand law by defining “woman” as “an adult human biological female” and “man” as “an adult human biological male” in the Legislation Act 2019. This Bill would ensure our country moves away from the woke ideology that has crept in over the last few years, undermining the protection, progression, and safety of women. The Bill will add new sections 13A and 13B to the Legislation Act 2019 to safeguard sex-based protections and the importance of sex-based rights. Our laws should reflect biological reality and provide legal certainty. These definitions in law fight back against the cancerous social engineering we’ve seen being pushed in society by a woke minority. The need for legislation like this shows how far the deluded left has taken us as a society. But we are fighting back. This bill is a win for common sense.

The decision of the Broadcasting Standards Authority that it has jurisdiction over The Platform is breathtaking in its audacity. It has singlehandedly decided it knows better than the regulatory framework it operates under and that it should regulate the entire internet in New Zealand. The BSA even acknowledges in its decision that there is a regulatory gap between the Act and the modern world of communications - but has decided it can make the staggering leap to bridge that gap by ‘interpreting’ the law. This is not interpretation – this is obviously a case of targeting an outlet, in this case The Platform, not because it believes the regulatory framework applies to it, but because it disagrees with the content of what it is communicating. That is an egregious case of overreach and total fascist behaviour. The BSA has crossed a line. As far as New Zealand First is concerned, this decision commences a process that has to see the end of the BSA. It is no longer fit for purpose, and decisions like this are frankly dangerous to democratic discourse.

When are some in the media going to ask Hipkins why he said that he “didn’t see the health advice” on the risks to under 18s for the vaccine, then said he did see it but “it was too late”, then said he would’ve “done things differently” if he had seen it, then is now found to have put out a press release promoting boosters for kids – after he had seen the advice. When are some in the media then going to do their job and ask themselves why have none of the responsible ministers told the inquiry they saw the advice – when it is evidenced now that all of them did. When are some in the media going to figure out that the reason why Hipkins and the other ministers didn’t want to give evidence publicly is so they couldn’t be asked all of these important questions under a spotlight publicly. This question about getting the advice from officials wasn’t put to him without notice. This was part of the inquiry, he had time, he had information, and he had the understanding of how important this question was. He still said no. They all still said no. They all instead reverted to hiding behind a keyboard being filtered by his lawyers. We were the first to show evidence in the House that they were aware of it but never shared it with the public and even continued the mandates - and in the House during question time we said that there was more coming. The March 2022 Cabinet paper, in his name, proves that he did know and that other ministers knew – and there will be even more evidence to come. It is an outrageous situation where one hundred thousand children were exposed to the known risks of having two vaccine doses yet the public, and more importantly the parents, were not told. Hipkins says the advice “came too late" – but when he received that advice there were still 30,000 kids who only had the one shot. Too late for who? It is alarming that the Inquiry did not come to this obvious and provable conclusion but instead relied upon his denials. This was an inquiry that was originally set up by Labour themselves, with inadequate terms of reference, and hand-picked people on it. How can it be that this second phase of the inquiry did not pick these important documents up when we and some journalists did. Its time the rest woke up, took their rose-tinted lenses off, and stopped believing everything that comes out of Hipkins’ mouth. To attempt to deny these facts publicly, and rely on the inept Inquiry report, points to this being a disgraceful cover up as it now seems to be.

Another packed hall at Westport Public Meeting today. A great reception from the crowd where we announced our royalties to the regions and mining package policy.

Just finished a great meeting in Blackball this afternoon. Packed hall with a great response. On to Westport tomorrow for another public meeting at 1pm for an important election announcement. If you’re in the area we will see you there.

NZ First Campaign Announcement: Funding for Christ Church Cathedral Rebuild New Zealand First has today announced a campaign commitment to fund an extra $15 million for the Christ Church Cathedral to get the rebuild moving. This is a rebuild project that has been waiting for 15 years now, and the time has come to ensure this vitally iconic symbol of Christchurch City is completed. There have been a number of plans over the last decade or more to get this done, but now there is a board in charge of the rebuild who have the backing of the Anglican Church, local council, key businesses, community leaders, and the people of Christchurch. This is more than just a Church, it is a part of the city’s heritage. It is a symbol of the long road of the Christchurch earthquake recovery. Rebuilding the cathedral will catalyse further development around the area and boost important tourism numbers in the city. The original plan was reviewed by Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd, and in September they unveiled a new affordable, common sense, staged pathway forward – and just need the government to assist with funding. The rebuild project has been mothballed since 2024 because of lack of funds. Around $90 million had been invested already, with $38 million funded by the Anglican Church, $25 million by the Government, $24 million coming from donors, and $3 million from Christchurch council. There is still $40 to $45 million shortfall. The project managers are now seeking more from the Church, which has been agreed to, and a bigger contribution from the Christchurch City Council. The additional government funding would help complete the first stage of the new rebuild project which will finally re-open the Cathedral and remove the hoardings from the square on its way to full revitalisation. When last in government in 2018 we ensured a government commitment of $25 million towards the project, made up of $10 million with an additional $15 million interest free loan. The additional funding commitment from government would see the new, more affordable, and workable project finally get moving. Today, we are making the commitment, that we will give them the tools so they can finish the job.

Do you remember this? We do.

New Zealand First has received a lot of feedback from recreational fishers about the current legislation going through parliament – in particular about the proposed catch size limit changes for commercial companies and how that would affect a large number of ordinary kiwis. I spoke with the Minister in charge Shane Jones on this matter. We decided to review this part of the legislation and use the select committee to remove this clause. We believe in democracy, and the most important part of democracy is listening to the people. We are doing that.

What has Labour been doing for the last two years? Remember when they had a ‘bonfire’ of their old policies? Then, in an election year, at their ‘State of the Nation’, in front of the media, he said he was not going to announce any policy until around July. Now he says ‘we’re not in government’ so has no policies about the fuel supply issues. He just admitted to New Zealand that the Labour Party was out of ideas. That they are rudderless.

Huge crowd turned out today for our State of the Nation speech in Tauranga. Over a thousand people packed the main hall and three over flow rooms with a hugely positive response. There is a movement happening…

A joint statement by the Governments of the Cook Islands and New Zealand:    The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Hon. Mark Brown, and the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Rt Hon. Winston Peters, held an informal discussion at Mr Peters’ private residence in Auckland today.    Prime Minister Brown was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Karopaerangi Ngatoko, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Elizabeth Wright-Koteka. Foreign Minister Peters was accompanied by his Specialist Ministerial Advisor, Jon Johansson, and his Senior Foreign Affairs Advisor, Michael Appleton.   The two delegations discussed the fundamental challenges facing the New Zealand-Cook Islands relationship over the past 18 months and possible ways forward.    Political dialogue between the two countries will continue in the coming weeks in order to determine whether these challenges can be resolved in the present circumstances.   In the meantime, the Governments of the Cook Islands and New Zealand will not be providing further comment. 🇨🇰 🤝 🇳🇿

We are not interested in a politician's current personal relationship issues and won’t be commenting at all on the matter - apart from the fact that there are lies now being spread including that the person involved works for New Zealand First – this is false. This person does not work for New Zealand First nor has any affiliation or role with New Zealand First. They worked for a short period of time in an office then left amicably for another role around a year ago. We are not saying anything further on the matter - we have serious national and international concerns that we have to deal with.

Today New Zealand has informed the Director General of the World Health Organisation via New Zealand’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva that in accordance with Article 61 of the International Health Regulations, New Zealand has officially rejected the proposed Amendments. New Zealand First has always said that any decisions about the health of kiwis should be made from Wellington, not Geneva. We have fought on your behalf for these IHR amendments to be fully rejected, we made a promise to put the national interests of New Zealanders first, to maintain our sovereign decision making, and to push back on globalist bureaucrats - and we have kept that promise.

As we predicted last year when Fonterra sold off our iconic kiwi dairy brands like Mainland, Anchor, Kapiti and others to a foreign owned company Lactalis, CEO Miles Hurrell has resigned and will leave once his bonuses are paid. We said this exact thing would happen in our open letter to farmers last year - he of course denied it. Hurrell has sold off almost every consumer brand since he started, leaving Fonterra as a commodity price taker, not a market maker. Their decision leaves serious questions for New Zealand about what we must do to protect dairy manufacturing in our country as a result of Fonterra's dereliction of duty. The last time a Fonterra CEO resigned, Theo Spierings was paid out a ridiculous $4.67 million after being paid a total of $43 million in just seven years in the role. How much will Hurrell be paid out? And as for the sale to Lactalis, we hear the deal is not going well. Last week Fonterra announced deep job cuts to staff. Insiders are saying they are ripping cost out of the business to make up for a lesser sale price. When will the media start asking the right questions instead of printing Fonterra's press releases for them, and when will they understand that Fonterra has gone from a propped up nationalist company to a sell-out globalist company.

This is the health advice about the risks for under 18s having the double dose of the COVID19 vaccine from the Chief Health Advisor. This information was not made public by Labour ministers or officials, and Hipkins said no minister was aware of the advice - we showed evidence in the House this week that they were aware of it but never shared it with the public and even continued the mandates. You can see for yourself that they were advised clearly about the myocarditis health risks and the recommendation to stop the double dose mandates for children. When is Labour going to be held accountable?