New Zealand First was ready to deal with protestors at party leader Winston Peter’s public meeting on Sunday.
Winston Peters
Matangi farmer and party co-coordinator for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions Craig Sinclair told The News he was disappointed with the protestors who began protesting half an hour into Peters’ speech at the Distinction Hotel in Hamilton.
“We were tipped off,” he said. “We were told that there were some protestors in that crowd. We were ready for it.”
Peters was interrupted halfway through his hour-long speech at the end of the party’s annual convention when protesters burst in at the back of the room shouting “free Palestine”. Party faithful including Hamilton-based NZ First candidate for Hamilton West, Kevin Stone ushered them out after a couple of minutes and two arrests were made after the meeting.
“Isn’t it amazing they think that’s a day’s work,” Peters quipped to the crowd of around 900.
Sinclair, who switched National party membership for NZ First in 2017, described the annual convention as “hugely successful” and “one of our biggest conventions ever”.
Stone said in the current political climate protesters were expected,
Stone said people did not realise that New Zealand was broke, and blamed immigration. Riffing on Peters’ suggestion that the policy should be tweaked to “bringing in people we need, not just the people who need us” Stone said: “We have had that open door policy. We can’t have that influx we have had for years now.”
Pirongia based board member Pip Eyre, who also works for the party leader’s office, saw “renewed excitement for what we are doing”.
New Zealand First board member Pip Eyre.
There was no chance for the public to ask questions at the public meeting, but the smiling audience didn’t seem to mind. They gave Peters a standing ovation when he entered the podium, and again when he left, applauding and chuckling throughout the hour he shared his philosophy of “one country, one people, one flag” and his “mission to bring equality to all” and build a society where people “survive and thrive if they make the effort to”.
“We have been knocked down, and we have got up again, over and over again, and we did not have a court case,” he quipped before rattling off a long list of success stories including SuperGold discount cards for people aged 65 and over.
He also celebrated the establishment of the Provincial Growth Fund, describing NZ First as a party that understands the provinces.
“For the third time we have addressed the problem of police numbers.”
The 2024 Budget included $191 million over four years to fund the recruitment and retention of 500 more sworn police officers and a further $34.6 million in capital to ensure that they are properly equipped to do their jobs.
Peters also spoke of assisting “the crucial funding” of Hato Hone St John.
He spoke out against the wokeness he pinned on former coalition partner the last Labour-led government and lamented the decline in political standards.
Winston Peters speaks at his public meeting
