Winston Peters’ outsider pitch collides with decades inside the system

OPINION: Winston Peters wants New Zealanders to believe he represents a break from the political establishment but his own political record makes that pitch difficult to defend.

Peters was first elected to Parliament in 1978 and has since served as Deputy Prime Minister, Treasurer and Foreign Affairs Minister. He currently holds the Foreign Affairs, Racing and Rail portfolios.

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Image: Winston Peters is pitching New Zealand First as a force against the political establishment while the party also pushes its “war on woke”, including legislation defining “woman” and “man” in law. (File)

In New Zealand First’s latest election-run advertisement, Peters attacks the “establishment status quo”, dismisses National and Labour as “Tweedledum and Tweedledee” and argues his party has never had the “real power” needed to make the changes it wants.

New Zealand First has never governed alone and that is different from having no power. Peters has occupied some of the most influential jobs available to a minor-party politician in New Zealand. His latest outsider pitch therefore invites an obvious examination of what NZ First has done with the influence it has already held.

There is another question about priorities.

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Peters and New Zealand First have devoted considerable political attention to the question of “what is a woman?” backing changes that would define “woman” as an “adult human biological female” and “man” as an “adult human biological male” throughout New Zealand legislation.

In July, New Zealand First had introduced the bill as part of what the party describes as its “war on woke”.

The bill passed its first reading on May 20 and was referred to the Social Services and Community Committee. By September, the committee said it had received more than 40,000 written submissions and had not had time to hear other oral submissions before the end of the parliamentary term.

Whatever voters think about the substance of that debate, Peters has chosen to waste political capital and parliamentary time on it.

Image: With 91 petrol averaging about $3.50 a litre and inflation at 4.1 percent, rising household costs are putting renewed focus on the issues commanding Parliament’s attention. (Bennett Carter / Quiet Pact Network)

New Zealanders continue to deal with rising household costs, housing pressures and stretched public services, the question of which toilet a transgender person uses is unlikely to feel like the defining issue facing the country.

There is also much more concerning issue confronting New Zealanders at the fuel pump.

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The freshest available Gaspy data shows the national average price of 91 petrol at about $3.43 a litre, up from $3.01 on September 1. That is an increase of 39 cents a litre, or almost 13 percent, in little more than three weeks.

New Zealanders are dealing with problems that hit their wallets every day. Annual inflation reached 4.1 percent in the June 2026 quarter, with petrol prices up 27.5 percent and electricity prices up 12 percent over the year.

Image: Winston Peters Speaking to an audience at New Zealand First’s convention. NZ First must explain whether it will launch an internal investigation and unequivocally condemn Nazism and white supremacy, with voters entitled to scrutinise the conduct of its leadership and those it places in positions of influence and power. (Supplied)

Is this really where Peters should be spending his time? The bill is argued that legal definitions of biological sex matter and deserve Parliament’s attention. But I disagree.

Peters’ advertisement tells New Zealanders times are tough, promises hope and opportunity, and asks voters to give New Zealand First the “tools” to finish the job. After decades in Parliament, several governments and some of the most powerful ministerial positions available outside the prime ministership, voters are entitled to ask what Peters has already done with the tools he has had.

The political question is not just “what is a woman?” – it is why a veteran politician campaigning on the serious problems facing ordinary New Zealanders is spending so much energy asking it.

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