Peters compares previous govt policies to ‘Nazi Germany’ in fiery address

New Zealand First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters gave a campaign-style State of the Nation speech this afternoon lambasting the previous government, the current opposition and the media.

MPs and supporters of NZ First gathered in Palmerston North to hear Peters’ speech, who was welcomed to the stage by the chorus – “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you are never gonna keep me down” from Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping.

For roughly the first half hour of his speech, Peters took jabs at both the previous Labour Government and the current opposition composed of Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.

“There’s no sugarcoating, we inherited a broken economy,” he said.

“Labour cared more about feelings and ideology than the journey to governing our country.”

He took jabs at the previous government’s “race-based theory”, alluding to co-governance, “where some people’s DNA … made them somehow better than others”.

“I’ve seen that sort of philosophy before. I saw it in Nazi Germany, we all did,” he told an approving crowd.

Peters also took aim at the Green Party, calling it “hopelessly incompetent” and targeting “this latest [MP to leave Parliament] with a moko on her chin”, alluding to Darleen Tana, who was suspended last week amidst migrant exploitation allegations against her husband’s business.

The Deputy PM took aim at the three left bloc parties in Parliament throughout his speech, addressing them with terms such as “leftist groupthink”, “woke cultural Marxism”, “ideological crusades” and saying they were competing to see “who can be the most culturally woke”.

Peters also addressed recent media job losses between TVNZ and Newshub, calling it “obviously devastating” for those who are set to be made redundant.

“It’s also seriously concerning for the robustness of our local media landscape in particular,” he said, suggesting the country’s largest media organisations are in need of “serious self-reflection”.

In the latter half of his speech, he began laying out NZ First’s priorities to the packed room, the loudest applause being for proposals to make English the official language of New Zealand, and removing lessons about gender and sexuality from school curriculums.

Other policies laid out by Peters, albeit without timelines in place, include to “properly fund” Mike King’s mental health initiative Gumboot Friday, upgrade the SuperGold and Veteran SuperGold cards, amending the Marine and Coastal Area Act and repealing the Therapeutic Products Act 2023.

He closed out his speech calling for unity and for “a great new culture” in New Zealand “where everybody gets to have an input”.

“We can become again the envy of the world,” he said.

“Too much of our country was left in a real mess, and that’s because the people who were suffering were not the ones who caused the mess.”

With nods to the Chumbawamba song that welcomed him in and the Starship song Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us now, Peters wrapped up his speech by celebrating NZ First’s return to Parliament and its newfound determination.

“We got knocked down, but we got back up again and nothing’s gonna stop us now” he concluded, as the chorus from the Starship hit played him out.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins responds

Labour leader Chris Hipkins responded to the speech by comparing Peters to “a drunk uncle”.

“Same old Winston Peters. Using racism and anti-media rhetoric to divide our country. He should be focusing on the real work of leading New Zealand forward, but that would require a plan and a vision. Sadly, this government is lacking in both,” he said.

“It’s hard to take Winston Peters’ concern for the health system seriously after his party overturned smokefree laws that would have taken billions in costs and pressure off the health system.

“I ruled out working with Winston Peters before the election. Every day that goes by I feel more and more vindicated by that decision. Kiwis deserve better than a deputy prime minister who behaves like a drunk uncle at a wedding.”