Peters Winston: General Debate 
Peters Winston: General Debate 
[Volume:631;Page:2917] 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 That is the kind of brainless point of order that that member is famous for with no Standing Order and no Speaker’s ruling cited. It is not his business who speaks next; it is yours. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Thank you. Speaking order is in the gift of the party and Labour is not the only party that has decided to reallocate a speaking slot in this particular debate. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Madam Speaker— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: He’s joined the Labour Party. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: No no—if New Zealand First reminds anyone in New Zealand of another political party it is of the National Party when it had a bit of truth honesty and integrity. That is what New Zealand First reminds most people of: the National Party when it had leadership and a sense of decency and honour—not the shallow shilly-shallying group over there now on the Opposition benches who have no policy and no principles but are permanently obsessed with just one thing; power. Those members just want to have power. The speech made by Mr McCully reminded me of a deer caught in the headlights. The National members are flailing around for an escape hatch. Don Brash got nailed yesterday. In the House he took a bazooka out to the press conference and he turned it on himself—not me—and that is why he must go. 
First of all I say I have been abroad. I went overseas to study political campaigns in the USA in 1988 at the request of the American Government and was with the Republican campaign. For people’s information I say I have been to Australia likewise and to the UK. The issue is not that the Americans might have been involved—or the Germans or the outer Mongolians or the Russians or the British—in any campaign that is going on. Do members know what the problem is? Don Brash denied that. He said it was not true. He said just as he did over the Exclusive Brethren funding National that he knew nothing about it. When the question was first raised as to whether Don Brash knew anything about the Exclusive Brethren paying for National’s campaign and doing all the pamphlets he said no he did not. He was asked whether he knew who had put out the pamphlets attacking the Greens and he said that he did not know. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Come on Winnie—own up. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Then a few days later he owned up yes. I thank Tau. That is right; a few days later he owned up—I thank the member very much. I was searching around for the word “confessed” but “owned up” is good enough. It is standard 3 English but that is OK. 
The issue is not that the British the Americans or anybody else might have been involved in any party campaign; the problem arises when one denies that and then resorts in this House to pure fiction. John Foote is a New Zealand citizen. John Foote did not bring any money in from overseas. Do members know that John Foote was offered $87 an hour by the National Party to run its campaign? I ask National members to deny that. That is the kind of hypocrisy that I am hearing now. [ 
Interruption 
] Oh I say to Tau that that is very good—it is a boomerang. He is quite right; it is a boomerang. But here is the truth: Dr Brash said all the allegations were a thundering lie. 
Hon Member 
: How did you get on in Tauranga? What did you lose by? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Well I tell people what I have not done in my career. I was not promoted for exactly 48 hours. A promotion did not so overwhelm me that I had to go off and get some Valium and I did not find a promotion to be so much for me that I lost my nerve and my mind—and that after being described by my leader as “the best deputy National could ever possibly want”—and was gone within 48 hours of being promoted. That is what I have never done at all. 
Hon Bill English 
: Is this the best you can do? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Oh no I can do better than this. I am just warming up. 
Here is the truth: the National Party denied overseas involvement in its campaign. It denied American involvement in its campaign. There is nothing wrong with having American involvement; why do those members not just own up? But last night at the end of the press conference we again found out the truth. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Who paid the legal fees for the wine box? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Who paid for the wine-box inquiry? Yours truly. That member should go and ask the BNZ. I will tell members who did not pay 1c: Tau Henare. He got into Parliament on my back and on the back of New Zealand First and he never paid 1c ever. [ 
Interruption 
] That was another boomerang question. I would never have thought Tau Henare would have the temerity to raise that question. Shame on the member! I had to carry the whole can by myself.