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Foreign Minister Winston Peters revealed that China tried to dissuade New Zealand from entering the closure.
“Without speaking out of turn, they wanted a discussion about why we were doing it, because they thought it was an overreaction,” Peters told Stuff. NZ coronavirus podcast
In an extended interview, the deputy prime minister spoke about the “dying” moments of deciding how to react to the Covid-19 threat, and how New Zealand had “dodged a bullet.”
He also talked about his time locked up in Northland, juggling video calls with foreign governments at night, and enjoying seafood and mushrooms.
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“One of my brothers would go buy a lot of seafood and make sure we got our share,” he said. “Sometimes when it was raining, the mushrooms would get close, incredible.
“Of course, then you get a little more resources: I was making bread and sending a picture to the Prime Minister, to show that we are all ready for this game!”
Peters’ first call as Foreign Minister about the Covid-19 crisis was with his Chinese counterpart.
“They didn’t want us locked up … and I guess they wanted a discussion about it.
“We had a long discussion, but in the end I said: look, you will understand that we have heard what you have to say; that we must protect our own people, and as fast as we can; and ended with, “Well, I hope to see you someday,” something like that. “
Winston Peters Office / Supplied
Winston Peters reveals details of his life in the closing of the Coronavirus NZ podcast.
When asked if there was an agreement among Coalition partners on the “go hard, go early” approach, he said the only questions were how far and when.
“Those are agonizing moments because you are concerned about the level and speed to overcome the malignant health crisis that your people will face, given that this will have dire economic ramifications from which we will have to take a long time to recover.”
One of Peters’ roles was to oversee the repatriation of New Zealanders and help other countries seeking the safe return of their citizens.
While people are now required to be quarantined for two weeks when entering the country, passengers were initially expected to spend time in self-isolation.
Peters recognized that bringing so many New Zealanders home carried a certain risk of the spread of infection.
“Well that’s your biggest concern. It is still a concern now. But overall, yes, we dodge a bullet and we can thank the heavens for it. ”
twitter / Screenshot
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters posted this photo on social media during Level 4, showing himself fishing from his Northland property.
During the level 4 crash, Peters posted a photo to his social media accounts showing him fishing in his beachside backyard with his horse, Duke, nearby.
The photo drew some criticism, and people claimed it violated level 4 anti-fishing rules.
Peters said the fishing was unsuccessful that day anyway.
He was testing a casting rod to make sure it was winding properly, but he did put in some bait.
“The tide was turning, and therefore it was not the right tide.”
He posted the photo “to show that some of us are trying to live here, even in the most difficult circumstances. And then I realized that many people would say,” That is not a very difficult circumstance, Mr. Peters. “
NZ coronavirus It is a daily podcast, hosted by Adam Dudding of Stuff and Eugene Bingham, which looks at the Covid-19 pandemic from a Kiwi perspective.
Click here to watch each episode of Coronavirus NZ and here to see the full coverage of coronavirus in Stuff.
A new episode of NZ coronavirus It will be released every day of the week, around 5pm.
Listen up or subscribe via iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow Adam or Eugene on Twitter or email them at [email protected].
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