Peters Will Consider National As A Partner

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says he will consider the National Party as a coalition partner after next years election.

Speaking on TV One's "Agenda" Mr Peters said the National Party could be a potential political partner, nine years on from their 1996 coalition-breakdown.

"Look nobody's beyond redemption. The fact is they have been out for nine years. they may have learnt that whence you shake hands you keep your word in this business".

Mr Peters said post-election night he'd look to the parties with the most votes and put aside his differences.

"Election night you have to get to put aside your distastes and your dislikes and try and make a government work in the interests of not yourself or the politicians but for the country to have a stable government".

He said his prime consideration would be whether or not relationships could be built and maintained between parties, making a functional government in the next term.

"You have also got to say to yourself, what one is capable of forming a coalition? And after the last election you had the national party, the act party, the Maori party and the united party. Now any realistic person would have said this is impossible. This is only designed so that national can go to the next election in five months, a snap election. On this basis we can't govern, we need a full mandate by ourselves and that was the strategic thinking behind the puppeteers who run the National Party".

Peters Hints He Might Stand For Tauranga Seat

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters may still stand for the Tauranga electorate seat in next year's election.

On TV One's "Agenda" programme Mr Peters refused to confirm or deny his challenge for the seat, saying; "Look that is an issue I will deal with shortly. I will give you the answer when the time comes".

In the 2005 election Mr Peters lost the Tauranga seat which he had held since 1984.

Mr Peters added however that his standing for a seat was a matter of rules and practicality in the MMP system.

".You have to stand in a seat to contest the list as well".

Peters To Pursue Transport And Power Companies For Goldcard Discount

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says he will make New Zealand's state-owned power and public transport companies' sign up to his GoldCard.

Speaking on TV One's "Agenda" Mr Peters said it won't happen overnight but he will persuade electricity and transport companies to offer GoldCard discounts.

"I said Rome wasn't built in a day and I will, get public transport and attend to power all in good time."

Mr Peters promised the GoldCard to senior citizens in the last election, saying there would be discounts on power, transport and phone bills. Following its August unveiling, recipients have expressed disappointment over the lack of benefits offered by the card.

But Mr Peters said he would continue to campaign for discounts with the help of senior citizens; "But you know there is a whole lot of people out there who are retired and they can help me do it - by being more proactive themselves".

FULL TRANSCRIPT: AGENDA Presented by RAWDON CHRISTIE

RAWDON In 1996 New Zealand First Leader, Winston Peters spent the election campaign attacking the National Party and then formed a coalition with them, now he says he's never seen an opposition bench as weak as the current National Party and they won't make it in 2008 because they don’t have any integrity. So is that it, has Winston Peters finally thrown in his lot with Helen Clark or could he yet do a u-turn like he did in 1996. The New Zealand First Leader joins Guyon Espiner now.

GUYON ESPINER – TVNZ One News
Well Winston Peters we'll get to the politics in just a second but firstly the sport and is there a connection. Do you see that today's All Blacks getting thrown out of the World Cup will have any resonance in terms of the political scene the effect on the New Zealand psyche if you like?

WINSTON PETERS – Leader, New Zealand First
Well I think it's very depressing time because had we won and gone on to win the World Cup it would have been a big lift for our country psychologically and a big lift economically as well, when people feel better they produce more, they work harder, they just are happier, they don’t beat up their children and their husbands or their wives and so you know it's a tragedy, it's 80 minutes long it's a very short time, you get an incompetent referee and that’s a face, and that’s the result.

GUYON And I come to what happened in foreign policy this week in terms of the National Party it released its discussion paper on foreign policy, you described it as a sort of pale imitation of the current philosophy but given there are many points of difference in that area now could you see yourself working as a foreign minister under that sort of policy with National?

WINSTON With that policy, the policy that’s in place now? With a few adjustments yes I could but the bigger picture is what else about National is the case. I recall very well 1996 it was no u-turn, I never said I was going to go with either side, I said the voters should cast their vote first and that’s how democracy works, the reality is though that the National Party has shown just in recent times their propensity to go back to that secret agenda that’s been around since Ruth Richardson's day where you say one thing in public and you have your hip pocket agenda ready to go the moment the election's over, Jenny Shipley displayed that clearly in 1997/98 against Jim Bolger and Brash in the Hollow Men shows clearly from his own documents what he was about.

GUYON Okay and you’ve been critical recently about their proposals to sell state assets and you’ve been personally scathing about their front men.

WINSTON Well it's economical lunacy to take the best assets of the country that the countries in the world like Dubai and Canadian pension funds want and somehow downscale them and tell the world that it's wise to sell them. If they want them they want them because they're good, so why would we get rid of our good assets and repeat the18 billion dollars asset sale that the Labour and National Party engaged in between 1984 and 1996, it's a disgrace.

GUYON Okay a lot of people listening to that sort of language and that criticism of National would assume that to mean that you couldn’t work with National, does it mean that?

WINSTON Let's get something clear, since 84 to now under the Labour regime first under Douglas and then Ruth Richardson in National we saw this country slide against Australia in real terms, in terms of our growth by about 35%. Imagine had we not failed in the way we did where we'd be today. I'm not relitigating it because if we don’t learn from our mistakes we'll go on staggering through the world as we are now not performing the way we should.

GUYON Okay well let's superimpose that on to have you learnt from your mistakes with National. You joined a coalition with them in 96, they tried to sell a strategic asset and you said no and you walked out, so how could you go in with these guys again, they're looking at doing the same thing, surely that means that you can't work with them.

WINSTON Oh look nobody's beyond redemption, the fact is they might have learned something themselves they’ve been out for nine years, they will have been out for nine years by next year, they may have learnt that once you shake hands you keep your word in this business if you want to make an MMP government work, and the current government is working because we have made commitments and we're sticking to them and you’ve got to post election night, you’ve gotta put aside your distastes and dislikes and try and make a government work in the interests of not yourself or the politicians but to have the country having a stable government.

GUYON Okay can we get it clear from you today what your policy on coalition agreements would be when last time you said you would negotiate first with the party that won the most seats, is that your position?

WINSTON That'd be the basic position yes, post the election, you look at the party with the most votes and you’ve also got to say to yourself which one is capable of forming a coalition. I mean after the last election you had the National Party, the Act Party, the Maori Party and the United Party. Now any realistic person would have said this is impossible, this is only designed so that National can go to the election within five months a snap election on the basis we can't govern we need a full mandate by ourselves and that was the strategic thinking behind the puppeteers who run the National Party. This is not the National Party of Holyoake of course or Muldoon, this is a new type of party where outsiders run the show. I know because I was there and they’ve not changed in some ways. So if they're prepared to change then of course it'd be a new menu you're looking at.

GUYON Can I ask you about your own personal intentions, will you stand in Tauranga in the 2008 election?

WINSTON Look all those decisions are going to be made shortly.

GUYON But isn't it true that under your constitution you have to stand in a seat to be on the list?

WINSTON I'm glad you’ve read our constitution. You have to stand in a seat to contest the list as well.

GUYON So let me put it another way, is there another seat you're considering?

WINSTON Look I'll give you the answer when the time comes, of course if you want to become a signed up member of the New Zealand First Party you'll know sooner.

GUYON Can I take you back a bit to the formation of New Zealand First 1993, I look at that and then I look at your coalition agreement in 1996, there's a very consistent theme with you which is really you could sum up as economic sovereignty the retention of state assets, you adjusted the Reserve Bank inflation target under your 1996 deal with National.

WINSTON It didn’t work of course.

GUYON Okay, but do you want an economic role in government again?

WINSTON Well we certainly want to, in our negotiations post election to ensure that there's a strong economic conditionality to our agreement. Look the Reserve Bank Act, the effects at the moment are murderous upon our exporters, it's bad for our economy, even now rational people who used to criticise me of saying look maybe it's right.

GUYON That’s right, but you’ve been very consistent – why haven’t you taken a ministerial role in that because what I'm wondering is you’ve been very good at gaining power at getting traction, at getting influence, it's how you use that power, you're now the Minister for Foreign Affairs, you're able to achieve none of those economic restructuring.

WINSTON I was the Treasurer of this country from 96 to 98 and the first thing I changed was the policy targets agreement but I had a Reserve Bank Governor who decided he would ignore it. What Don Brash did was, he was outside the band countless times before I go the job and then I set the band at a wider range and now he …inside the 2% band that’s what he did the facts are all there, and so what you’ve gotta do is take control of things here with an agreement where all those things are nutted out. I want the Reserve Bank Act changed to take effect to the damaging effects of an unsympathetic export dollar and more particularly the American dollar as it falls at the moment it screams for reaction from New Zealand instead of us being paralysed by theory.

GUYON And you're screaming about the economic injustices in this country but you haven’t got a role in doing that, let me put this another way, in what way does New Zealand First or your own political philosophy benefit from you being the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

WINSTON Well let me make this very clear, there would be no Cullen Fund without Winston Peters and New Zealand First.

GUYON I'm asking you about your portfolio Mr Peters.

WINSTON But I'm getting to the economic part.

GUYON I'm asking you now…

WINSTON I know what you're asking, I'm telling you how I'm interpreting it. You asked me what is the effect on our economy of Winston Peters being Minister of Foreign Affairs. There would be no Cullen Fund without Winston Peters and New Zealand First, there would be no Kiwi Saver without Winston Peters and New Zealand First, there would be no serious injection into the health care sector of 530 million dollars in two years without New Zealand First and Winston Peters.

GUYON How does any of this relate to you being the Foreign Minister?

WINSTON Well that was your question, you were saying as Foreign Minister I've got no effect on the economy, I've just demonstrated to you that the very converse is true, a thousand extra police men and women, front line, 234 extra administrative police as well to back that up. Look at the things, what's the company tax now, it's not what it was 33 it's 30 right, and there'll be changes in that as well when it comes to export taxes. Export year 2007, whose idea was that, the fact that it's been derailed by a failure to attend to the Reserve Bank Act is not my fault, but all I'm saying to some people is you can carry on with your perverse view about who's right and who's wrong but time is seeing me right on these matters.

GUYON Okay let's look at one of your achievements this year that is the Gold Card the discount card for seniors, are you happy with the amount of businesses that have signed up to that?

WINSTON I'm very happy with the amount of businesses that have signed up, look you can't build a bridge in a day, the first pile is where you start and right now we've got over 3000 businesses lined up already and we're away ahead of where Australia is.

GUYON You must be disappointed that the power companies, the state owned power companies, you couldn’t convince them to sign up, why was that?

WINSTON Oh because Rome wasn’t built in a day and I will.

GUYON You will get the state companies to sign up?

WINSTON I said Rome wasn’t built in a day and I will, get public transport and attend to power all in good time, but you know there's a whole lot of people out there who are retired and they can help me do it, by being more proactive themselves.

GUYON Do people know enough about this card is there a publicity campaign planned for next year?

WINSTON Well I'm not going to waste public funds in the way that some people have on public programmes, and this has been a very low cost budget, all of the work's been done inhouse without consultants and I'm proud of that. When I get out there on the hustings next year and in the halls and the small villages of this country we will tell people what we've done and we've got a record to campaign on like no other new party can.

GUYON You talked about some parties wasting public money, the Auditor General had a report which deemed a number of parties spending money inappropriately, your own party $158,000 now you remain the only party not to have paid that money back.

WINSTON Yeah but we will attend to that, just make this very clear, two particular parties were particularly exempt in what he said, although he's decided to include us the United Party and New Zealand First, in every respect every item of expenditure was approved by others not ourselves and so I don’t take kindly as someone with colleagues who have spent more money personal money on issues like the Wine Box and others to have someone say that I somehow robbed the taxpayer, I'll make it very clear when we pay back what our feelings are on that. We won't have our election campaign next year derailed by false allegations.

GUYON When will you pay the money back Mr Peters?

WINSTON You'll find out first like everybody else. Very soon actually.

GUYON Very soon?

WINSTON Mm.

GUYON You haven’t got the cheque with you today?

WINSTON Why would I do it here without you giving me – and I'm gonna make sure there's a speech to go round this, the real facts of the matter. We were told, look Mr Dunne is my witness for this, Mr Dunne protested and said that we were never told that and he mentioned another party New Zealand First and the conclusion from … general office was sorry you know you're just collateral damage. I don’t take that as being the law in this country fair right or proper and my officials who I trust at every point had every item of expenditure cleared.

GUYON Okay that’s all from me for the moment but I'm sure Rawdon and the panel have got things…

RAWDON Yeah absolutely, I'll open it up to the panel, Fran O'Sullivan.

FRAN O'SULLIVAN – Columnist, New Zealand Herald
I'm just interested when you have pointed out what you have managed to achieve bar the last coalition agreement and I agree with you I don’t think we would have seen changes in company tax for instance if there hadn’t been New Zealand First and United Future at that table, but I'm also wondering what sort of pressure you might be able to bring to bear potentially on the government around tax cuts in the personal agenda where clearly you’ve raised earlier this issue about the big drop in growth between Australia and New Zealand and that I we have seen from the Australian immigration figures is a major issue for us all now.

WINSTON It's huge you see, I've tried to persuade people in the National Party and Labour on the commonsense of a targeted export profits taxation regime of not more than 20%, we just can't match Australia we've gotta beat them easily, have a far better regime in place, Ireland has done it, Singapore's done it, Taiwan has done it, these are the kind of things that New Zealand must do, but we've got this sort of perverse view particularly in the business world that if there's to be tax cuts we all most get it. Now would I if I got a tax cut increase New Zealand's exports tomorrow – no, but if I went to the New Zealand business people and said look here and abroad you have got thousands and thousands of investors and we're gonna give you an edge against all of the world basically and particularly our part of the world, I think we'd have a roaring turnaround here, but we've gotta do something concrete, remove the bureaucracy and all the those who want to fiddle with applications for exports and have these decisions made clearly by businessmen and professionals and investors with one important rider, anyone who cheats the system on the taxation incentivisation gets ten years in gaol or more, like the do abroad, we don’t give them a knighthood.

BERNARD HICKEY- Fairfax Media
Mr Peters you said you supported the creation of Kiwi Saver and the Cullen Fund surely unless you allow the partial floatation of some of these assets there's gonna be nothing for them to invest in in the New Zealand stock market and they’ll be forced to invest that Kiwi Saver and Cullen Fund money overseas, so shouldn’t you allow the partial floatation of some of these assets so New Zealand investors can invest in these public companies?

WINSTON Well that’s extraordinary that you should say that, right now there's a party in parliament called National and Act who believe that we should open up public utilities to overseas investment to privatisation.

BERNARD What they're saying is they should be floated on the Stock Exchange.

WINSTON Oh well I'm saying our savings regime can handle all of that and what we can't handle we'll borrow, so that we keep control of our economy, that’s the contrast, that’s the way the National Party used to think, not like this new bunch of far righters who put up prospects which are economically damaging for New Zealand because when they start working there's huge dividend and ownership repatriation offshore so your country looks like it's growing but it's not growing for your people.

BERNARD But surely if you're talking about National sovereignty a solid strong stock market is about national sovereignty and not being able to put these key assets the ones that provide so many of the services that we have on to that market, at least partially restricts that national sovereignty.

WINSTON Well that sounds good until I put to you just recently they wanted to sell themselves off to Sydney, that’s the stock market of this country, the business people of the this country for example their record in the share market crash was the worst in the world.

BERNARD I think if you talk to Mark Weldon though he's not keen on selling to Sydney, he wants to build up the local market.

WINSTON Well that’s the local market, but a lot were and they tried to, I sat there and watched them in parliament try and do that two and a half years ago.

BERNARD Surely that’s the inevitable result though, if you can't have a strong local market you're gonna have to connect up with an Australian market, and by not putting these companies on to the market you're weakening that market.

WINSTON You won't have a strong local market until you get a powerful savings regime where New Zealanders own the asset the investment they're going into and alongside that you clear up the pernicious jungle that investment is in in New Zealand today. Ten finance companies go down who's going to prison? Look that’s New Zealand's record, we've got parliamentarians who won't change the environment in which a retired mother or father can make an investment and know that the law will protect them. What we've done was throw them into the jungle and they’ve been through the experience and they're never coming back.

FRAN But do you think the government should have moved earlier to tighten up that regime I mean they're now doing things but it's very after the effect.

WINSTON It's way after the effect but for years they’ve been – I've asked for that, I've asked for a change in the immigration laws, you get the fastest of Achmed Zaoui jumped in the queue costing us almost four million, of course New Zealand's gonna be frustrated but I look at parliamentarians and say why haven’t you acted, why for example did it take us so long to deregulate telecommunications in this country, I'll tell you why, because they had control of the political parties, how do you explain 16 years of doing nothing after Telecom was privatised in 1990. Telecom with Rob Dean running it with massive salaries and what have you and ripping off New Zealand business and New Zealand consumers and parliament wouldn’t act, now you’ve got to explain that.

BERNARD Would you then use government money to buy back the Telecom network to renationalise that resource and invest in it…?

WINSTON Well it's not renationalisation to buy back fairly on the market.

BERNARD So you would do that…?

WINSTON I supported the repurchase of that magnificent business enterprise called Air New Zealand, I supported the repurchase of New Zealand Railways, I opposed both of their sales, of course I would it's not nationalisation to buy back on the market.

BERNARD So you would support the purchase back of Telecom's network and investing in it to produce a much better broadband network in New Zealand?

WINSTON Well but you’ve gotta make sure that the thing is performing properly, but the idea of public ownership with commissioned management is a sound idea. The idea that was put out by Douglas and Richardson, the … official is no alternative, was really sucking up to international investment none of whom had a patriotic interest in this country.

GUYON That is interesting though Mr Peters isn't it, you're looking at actually purchasing back other state assets not just retaining what we've got.

WINSTON If it makes sense yes.

GUYON Can I ask you also – you’ve been Maori Affairs Minister, you’ve been Treasurer, Foreign Minister, what is it you want to do next?

WINSTON Oh look you know I've never stated my ambitions publicly, it is a very unwise course of action, you only make enemies and I've made enough legitimately.

FRAN Mr Peters you’ve talked over the last week or so about a need to look at perhaps increasing the defence expenditure. One of the things which is quite apparent is that there used to be a lot of information put out by the External Assessments Bureau and other entities showing what is the strategic risk to New Zealand, none of that information's put out there any more, is there some way as Foreign Minister you can get more information on the table and also what are those risks that you think are out there that New Zealand needs to build up it's defence capability for?

WINSTON Well I'm not in charge of the EAB but and I can't really make too many comments about it given who is in charge of it, but I want to say this that when you look at New Zealand's defence and some of the decisions we've made some people have got off enormously lightly. How can you have a 172 million armed personnel carrier contract blow out by over half a million and now probably going towards 650 million, that’s where our strike force went.

RAWDON Excuse me Minister I'm going to have to interrupt there because we're getting into nitty gritty which we need a great deal more time to really analyse, we certainly will put that on hold for next time. Thank you Winston Peters.

ends

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