Peters WinstonGENERAL DEBATERt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister): I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business. No doubt today we're going to hear speeches from the Labour Party the Greens and Te Pāti of radicals" about how they think our Government is racist colonisers and anti-Māori because we've restored democracy to local ratepayers.But first let's have a look at this pointless ill-informed nonsense article that Arena Williams Labour MP had published in the NZ Herald today about the Cook Strait ferries. [Holds up newspaper] There it is.Hon Willie Jackson: Oh good on you good publicity.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No no no. Not all publicity is good—not all publicity is good.Arena Williams: What are you holding up Cabinet with? Tell us what your plan is?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The headline should read—SPEAKER: That's enough.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The headline should read—but in her shouting over there she knows enough to think she is right but doesn't know enough to know she's wrong.She says "A reliable Cook Strait ferry connection is an invaluable strategic asset for New Zealand." Well we all fell out of our chairs. Too many people in the Labour Party don't understand what a strategic asset was if their future depends on it. And it does.Here's the real point. Here's the party that allowed the shutdown of Marsden Point allowed the Ned Kellys to commit economic sabotage by drilling holes in the pipes and filling them with concrete and abandoned our greatest and the most essential strategic assets our country had. That's what a strategic asset looks like and what's she doing about it? Nothing.What Miss Williams doesn't mention in her article is the fact that in 2020 when yours truly was the Minister in charge we insured a cost of no more than $400 million was set for replacement ferries. No more than $400 million for two ferries.Hon Willie Jackson: Well you mucked that up.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh Willie says we mucked that up. Isn't it unbelievable. Once Labour took over—Arena Williams: Is that realistic? You told Cabinet it would cost $400 million.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No no no. You've got it in the article honey don't worry about it. Once Labour took over they allowed the project to bloom to guess how much? To $3.2 billion.Arena Williams: Under which SOE Minister? You were the Minister!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Miss Williams where's that in the article? See what I mean? Not even there. And the cost was meant to be $400 million for two had blown to $551 million in one year but here's the point: only 20 percent of the whole project was for the ferries. How perverse can you be and come into this House and say you know something about economic management? What Miss Williams is saying is that they may as well have made it $10 billion and let us sign the contract. The level of economic mismanagement by Labour of a simple ferry replacement is just astonishing. And you could almost rest your case there but here's my point: why would the NZ Herald publish a story like that? Why would the NZ Herald publish a story like that and not ask the Labour Party transport spokesperson whether they agreed to such drivel? What's going on with their society?You know they used to represent—the Labour Party—the workers the gold miners the coal miners the labourers the foresters the fishery guys the hard-working blue collar battlers. But over there now they wouldn't know what a worker looked like if they fell over one. And you can see the way they lie and sit down there—ask them to turn their hands down there are no veins showing. You know why? Never done any physical work. That's their problem and it shows. They used to represent those workers they used to understand. But I want to tell the Labour Party [Interruption] The Labour Party can shout and shout—Hon Member: Show us your hands Winston are they steady mate?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Listen sunshine I've done more work than you've ever dreamt of doing and more jobs than you ever thought of doing. Which is the reason why we are more sympathetic to the ordinary people than their party. And here's the real point: the Labour Party doesn't realise—Rawiri Waititi: You wouldn't know what work is you've been in here for so long.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh no—look Mr Waititi you wouldn't know what work looked like either. We all know about your background. You're all talk mate. It's all show-off loudmouth—Rawiri Waititi: You've only been pushing paper all your life.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Take your hat off. Come on give us a look at you.Rawiri Waititi: You take it off—you come and take it off.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Take your hat off. Go on.Rawiri Waititi: Take yours off! Ha ha!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Hey sunshine I'm not going to have a duel of wits—I'm not having a duel of wits with an unarmed opponent. What a waste of my time.SPEAKER: Righto we'll get back to the debate.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Yes it's going fine. You know the Labour Party's entire election strategy—and I've found out from inside information—is the sort of jilted boyfriend or girlfriend or the divorced person who says standing back after the divorce "Don't you miss me yet?" That's their whole plan for next year. That was put to them as a proposal. All you'll do is wait and say when it's all the two years have gone by "Don't you miss me yet?" And they'll all come and vote for Labour. That's how bereft of opinion and ideas they have got.Now these three parties are in a race to the bottom and if an MP from any one—Hon Members: Time's up!Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is that five minutes up?SPEAKER: Yep.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Point of order. I want to move an extension of time. Ha ha!SPEAKER: Leave is sought. Is there any objection?Hon Members: Yes!"