Election 2020: Virtual City Council – New Zealand’s First Leader Winston Peters Live in the Studio

NZ First leader Winston Peters says he has no regrets about forming a coalition with Labor and that it has not hurt his chances of returning to power.

Peters responded to questions from the public at a virtual meeting at City Hall hosted by the New Zealand Herald tonight.

The most common question from viewers was whether he regretted forming a coalition with Labor, particularly because of the apparent damage to his party at the polls.

“We decided we had to make a change,” Peters said. “And we negotiated very hard for the changes we wanted.”

He rejected a bystander’s suggestion that he had “shot himself in the foot” by choosing Labor.

“I haven’t lost my place. That’s why I’m sitting here, and that’s why they are going to be surprised on election night.

“It’s always difficult when you’re in the middle like us. But I set out to try to get a stable government in tough times for the last three years and I have to tell you that’s what we’ve done.”

He pointed to the Herald’s analysis showing that 80 percent of the NZ First coalition agreement had been achieved or partially achieved.

At Covid-19, Peters said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had done an “excellent job” of communication during the pandemic, but that the government had not done “a perfect job.” She noted that the Australian and Taiwanese economies had not taken as big a hit as New Zealand.

The NZ First leader and deputy prime minister distanced himself from some of the government’s biggest failures, notably Kiwibuild, and said he warned the government that it needed to have consulted more with builders on policy.

He championed NZ First policies, such as the $ 3 billion Provincial Growth Fund, where job creation of between 560 and 2,000 jobs was below the initial goal of 10,000.

“We are building the largest mussel farm in the world. We are going to have massive job creation in Opotiki and other parts of the country.

“The jobs are coming in. You have to start somewhere, and then you build trust, and that starts building other industries around you.”

He did not say which major party policies he preferred, or which policies could be a deciding factor in the coalition talks.

He took his traditional position by urging voters to choose NZ First as “safe.” A Labor-green government would be a “shift to the left and socialism,” while a National Law would be an austerity government, he said.

Both major parties had economic plans that would put generations of New Zealanders into debt: “Debt will be like ashes in your mouth.”

Peters made his strongest comments on the recovery of the Pike River mine, saying that he would continue to support re-entry. Tunnel reentry costs have doubled from an original estimate of $ 23 million to $ 47 million.

“Since 1882, we have had hundreds of miners lose their lives, apart from one case where two were not recovered.

“All the other cases were a case of going and finding the bodies.

“In Pike River, 29 people lost their lives in what I believed to be a murder scene in terms of negligence, and no one is interested.

“I would be interested in continuing with that because I think that is justice and justice sometimes has a price.”

Virtual town hall

Tonight’s virtual town hall with Winston Peters is the first in a series.

Broadcast live on nzherald.co.nz and our social platforms, it features video presentations from New Zealanders and everyday leaders within their fields, from economics to business, health and social justice.

With the general election just weeks away, who has the leadership, vision, and passion to guide us through one of the most difficult times in our nation’s history?

From the Covid-19 health response to addressing the economic consequences, we will seek answers. How will each party manage the border? Who will offer the best support to struggling businesses and the unemployed? What are your solutions to the housing crisis? Plans to deal with climate change, health debt and child poverty? Educational policies?

With nothing off the table, this is your chance to raise issues and get your questions answered directly.

Hosted by Focus Live’s Will Trafford, this series aims to answer your most pressing questions in the run-up to this historic election.

You can submit your questions live during the show on the NZ Herald Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages or, if you have a specific question for any of the other party leaders, send us a video via Facebook Messenger of yourself doing it. We will ask as many questions as we can of the leaders live.

Tomorrow night David Seymour from Act will be here to answer your questions starting at 8pm.