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Winston Peters denies NZ First delayed roll out of cameras on fishing boats

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 1 Jul 2020, 3:57PM
Winston Peters. (Photo / NZ Herald)

Winston Peters denies NZ First delayed roll out of cameras on fishing boats

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 1 Jul 2020, 3:57PM

New Zealand First's leader says his party didn't stall the roll out of cameras on fishing vessels.

A recording of Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash speaking in 2018 has been leaked in which he says Winston Peters and Shane Jones delayed the monitoring system.

But Nash admits his claims were wrong.

Peters told The Country the Labour party asked them if they could slow the implementation.

"The Labour Party said to us 'can we delay it because we've got problems about how we get information, and also the technology costs on small fisherman who's going to be decimated'.

"It was them that asked for the delays, not New Zealand First."

He says that the recording of Stuart Nash was clearly illegal and a breach of Nash's rights. 

Peters also told The Country host Jamie Mackay it was defamatory to imply there was a Serious Fraud Office investigation over his head - and got offended that the party might do a deal with another party to win the Northland electorate. 

"We have never done a deal with another party. We have never done a deal, and we won't."

And in some positive news for his political adversaries, Peters says that he won't be writing a book in the lines of Judith Collins of Golriz Ghahraman, though he did get through five chapters. 

"I stopped one day and thought 'what are you doing writing a book? Why don't you put it away and try and live a life that's meaningful and do things?'"

He guarantees though that any book he could write would be a bestseller and would shock New Zealanders, but that it would be distrustful to write a book that would end up betraying his colleagues. 

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