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Perspective with Andrew Dickens: Here's one thing we shouldn't forget about Winston Peters

Author: Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2026, 6:48pm

Secretly, I think Nicola Willis and Winston Peters are enjoying their performative scrap against each other.

Their war of words highlights the differences between each party and their philosophies and that's handy in an election year.

Nicola’s warnings over superannuation reinforce her credentials as the representative of fiscal prudence - the guardian of our economy. Winston’s refusal to change super in any way, shape or form reinforces his credentials as a defender of the rights of the elderly.

But it also reinforces something we should never forget about Winston Peters.

He’s in this Government and is being seen, along with his coalition partners, as a warrior against excessive Government spending. Yet his track record suggests otherwise.

I mean, who can forget his Provincial Growth Fund - that $3 billion lolly scramble that was criticised by the Audit Office for a lack of oversight?

Even in this coalition Government, he has continued to have a slush fund for regional development. The New Zealand First Regional Fund is a $1.2 billion capital fund established in the coalition agreement.

And now, his Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been revealed to be a major funder of the Moana Pasifika rugby side since its inception. There is also talk he is willing to mount some sort of salvage campaign, again using taxpayers' money.

I think it’s important to remind ourselves that, in some respects, Winston Peters is an old-fashioned conservative -but he also resembles an old-fashioned socialist who believes in the primacy of Government and in the paternalistic splashing around of public money to curry favour.

These are all things to remember if you are abandoning National for New Zealand First under the false belief that Winston will introduce greater financial rigour than already exists.

It also serves as a reminder of why Winston went with Labour back in 2017 in the first place.

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