New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has used a major election-year speech to sharpen his attack on a potential Labour, Green and Te Pāti Māori government, portraying the three parties as a political bloc that would take Aotearoa in a fundamentally different direction.
Speaking in Nelson, Peters framed the coming election as a contest over the future direction of the country, directing much of his criticism towards Labour and the parties it could potentially need to form a government.
The speech, titled The Labour, Green, Māori, Opportunity – Antipodean Animal Farm, continues New Zealand First’s push to position itself as a counterweight to both the political left and policies Peters argues divide New Zealanders along ethnic lines.
Te Pāti Māori was firmly in his sights as Peters sought to connect its kaupapa with Labour and the Greens and raise questions about what concessions could be required if the three parties needed one another to command a majority after the election.
The strategy places Māori policy and Te Tiriti issues squarely into the election campaign, with New Zealand First continuing to campaign against what it regards as race-based policy and separate systems of public services and representation.
It also comes after a politically charged period for Peters, including controversy over comments directed at Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan and subsequent calls from critics for him to apologise.
For Māori voters, the speech provides another indication that issues including Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori political representation and the place of kaupapa Māori approaches in government are likely to remain significant dividing lines during the campaign.
Peters is also seeking to drive a wedge between traditional Labour voters and the modern Labour Party, arguing the party has moved away from the working-class constituency it once represented. His Nelson address formed part of a wider series of speeches attacking Labour and presenting New Zealand First as an alternative for those voters.
With the election contest intensifying, Peters’ message is designed not only to rally New Zealand First supporters but to make the potential shape of the next government an issue in itself.
That sets up an increasingly stark campaign battle: New Zealand First presenting Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori as a combined political risk, while those parties will have the opportunity to make their own case about what Māori representation, Te Tiriti and a change of government could deliver.
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