'Not as attractive as it used to be' - Winston Peters on living in NZ today

Analysis: Winston Peters is on a mission and says the idea that either Chris will be calling the shots once the votes are counted is a nonsense.With just 26 days of the election campaign to go, the New Zealand First leader is by far the most experienced political leader, having first entered Parliament with the National Party in 1978 before breaking off and setting up his own party in 1993.In the first MMP election held in 1996, New Zealand First won 17 seats and Peters took on his first stint as deputy prime minister and treasurer.Heading into the November election, 30 years after the birth of MMP, Peters is convinced stability will return to the increasingly fragmented political landscape this year.Asked about the evolution of MMP and the potential for three or four parties being needed to form a government based on current polling, Peters said that was a suspicion he did not agree with."I think that things are going to be stabilised at the end of this event," he says with confidence.RNZ / Nick MonroAsked to explain whether he thought a two-party governing arrangement was still possible, he replied, "I'm not going to tell you what the permutations are, but there are variations on the thing, which go to the core of your question.""Let's just say the composition of the government," he added.Last week National's Christopher Luxon and Labour's Chris Hipkins sparred in the first televised leaders' debate - something Peters is miffed about."Why have we seen these two leaders going head-to-head when they will not be deciding the outcome come election day, of that I can guarantee you."The first person gets up and says 'the National government's going to do this'. The other person says the 'Labour government's going to do that'."Neither such things exist anymore; they just don't exist," he exclaimed."But they're allowed to get away with that sort of language, and in so many ways, the tragedy is - deliberate or not - that the mainstream media are allowing a conversation to happen as though it's first-past-the-post when it was no longer the case for 33 years."RNZ / Nick MonroLabour and ACT have both released fiscal plans already this campaign and National is due to do the same on Monday, but Peters pushes back on questions about whether his party will do the same."Well, we have got a fiscal plan, and we've outlaid it for two years. We talked about having a future sovereign fund, what it would cost, and how much would be put into it."We laid out that plan two years ago, and we're going to keep on developing that in more detail in the next few weeks," he said.As for other parties, Peters doesn't believe anything is adding up."When you talk about costings, see nobody's costings are working."They're just lying when they say they are working."Peters says that is because the country's growth rate is nowhere near high enough to afford what is being promised."If the economy goes on the way that it is, then all these promises that are being made are worthless because they won't have the money to do it."So after nearly 50 years in and around politics is the octogenarian, who has held some of the most senior roles in government multiple times, enjoying being back in the thick of another campaign for re-election?"Well, I'm still getting inspirations, yes, I get serious inspirations from it, but I never understood why people say, "are you enjoying it? Because it's not a matter of enjoyment."When you're on a mission, you're there to make sure something happens and you believe in the national interest."So whether you get an enjoyment out of it, it's not the point, whether you, like as any decent servant does, feel rewarded by the outcome, that's probably more important," he concluded.Peters still firmly believes New Zealand is an attractive place to live, work, and raise a family - "but it's not as attractive as it used to be"."Our job is to restore it, make it an attractive place again for people to come here who we need, not who need us."New Zealand First released its party list last week with well-known new candidates getting prime spots near the top.While Peters and his fellow current ministers Shane Jones, Casey Costello and Mark Patterson took the top four spots, the next five rankings went to fresh candidates over sitting MPs.Former National Party minister Alfred Ngaro, former National MP and Whanganui Mayor Michael Laws, former National MP Harete Hipango-Brownlie, former chair of the Financial Markets Authority Craig Stobo, and former All Black captain Taine Randell rounded out the top nine.In a surprise move, former Defence Minister and New Zealand First MP Ron Mark - who left politics in 2020 - was given the low ranking of 16 on the list despite the party talking up his chances of reclaiming his old ministerial posting if back in government.Mark had approached the party about a return some time ago, but then dragged the chain confirming whether he would actually run.Not helping his prospects were comments to media he had other opportunities abroad he could pursue, and making clear he wasn't excited by the idea of returning to Parliament.The party has also been keen to present as a rejuvenated version of itself that is attracting candidates from the old National guard.Ngaro would have secured a decent list ranking before committing to joining the party, while Laws' high spot lines up with the party being keen for him to hold local government minister in any future government.Hipango-Brownlie has political experience but also brings a background in law, and a similar te ao Māori view of the world to Peters and Jones.Stobo has credibility in finance and the economy while Randell is arguably more of a household name than Peters himself, and will be getting primed for a leadership role down the line.Peters believes the list is the "best set of candidates we've ever had"."We've got a real team, make no bones about it, and that's what's giving us the confidence in our present circumstance that we're going to do well."But our job is to ensure we get the maximum number of those people into Parliament."It's all still on the table according to Peters who is convinced nothing is set in stone yet."The election is going to be decided in the next three weeks."