Battling hypocrisy

Rt Hon Winston Peters was back in the metaphorical ring vs Te Pati Māori during question time last week, even earning us a spot back in the news headlines. You know this isn’t our first rodeo, and we certainly won’t be bullied by any person or party who peddles separatist ideology as they seek to divide New Zealanders. 

Te Pati Māori sending an open letter of complaint to the speaker on how to conduct oneself in the house is the very definition of hypocrisy. Fear not, we won’t be distracted from our mission to continue standing for one people, one country, and one flag. 

One year since the election 

One year on from the general election and what a week it was to mark the milestone. 

We welcomed a huge crowd last Sunday to hear Party Leader Winston Peters speak in Hamilton following the New Zealand First annual convention. Not even a few protestor infiltrations were going to take the limelight away from a successful weekend celebrating our achievements in Government so far. 

Continuing to champion New Zealand’s economic prosperity, Winston announced another policy proposal from New Zealand First, a ‘Future Fund’ to secure international investment for infrastructure projects. If you missed it, you can find replays to all our convention videos on our YouTube channel. 

And you can hear our MPs champion our first year worth of achievements as both Winston Peters and Mark Patterson spoke in the house this week. 

Member’s Bills Support and Submission

New Zealand First’s Tanya Unkovich has submitted a Member’s Bill to the ballot; ‘Improving Access to Palliative Care Bill’. Seeking to uphold the dignity of New Zealanders as they approach end of life, this Bill would ensure that Health New Zealand maintains a palliative care strategy to provide equitable and compassionate access to Kiwis in their final stages of life as they need it. 

New Zealand First Employment spokesperson Mark Patterson also summed up our position on another Member’s Bill, Labour’s ‘Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Bill’ that passed its second reading in the house with New Zealand First’s support. 

When this Bill was introduced to the house New Zealand First was on our unwanted sabbatical from parliament, so this was our first opportunity to speak to it and we have given our support in order for it to be evaluated through the select committee process as a way to protect workers. 

New Zealand First has always believed in “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work” and with the right details progressed, this Bill will protect workers by ensuring that withheld wages are not just an employment issue, but a criminal one.