‘Not the words I would have used’: PM weighs in on Winston Peters’ ‘Nazi Germany’ comments

Monday, 18 March 2024

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Winston Peters' comments about migrant communities aren't befitting of his role as Deputy Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon “plans to talk to” Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who yesterday controversially compared co-governance to Nazi Germany.

Peters delivered his ‘State of the Nation’ speech in Palmerston North on Sunday, where he painted a picture of NZ First as a political underdog, governing against the odds. Much of the speech was focused on the Labour Party.

He criticised “bulldust” academia, promised to rid the public service of “co-governance”, and accused the previous government - which he was part of from 2017 to 2020 - of holding “contempt for democracy”. On co-governance he said, “I've seen that sort of philosophy before, I saw it in Nazi Germany, we all did.”

Today Opposition leader Chris Hipkins rebuked Peters’ comments , saying they reflected badly not just on the Government but on New Zealand. Peters also holds the foreign affairs portfolio and last week was meeting officials in India. Today he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters holds a NZ First rally for his ‘State of the Nation’ speech in Palmerston North’s Convention Centre on Sunday.

“I think Winston Peters should start behaving like the deputy prime minister,” Hipkins said this afternoon. “New Zealanders should expect greater leadership from the prime minister and deputy prime minister.

“I think the sorts of comments he is making are unnecessarily inflammatory, and I don’t think he’s living up to the standards of behaviour we expect from someone in that role.”

On Monday Luxon said he hadn’t spoken with Peters, but, “I plan to talk to him about it. From my point of view that’s not what I would say, that’s not how I would phrase it at all. Across politics…there is a need for everyone to be very careful about our language. I don’t think any of that inflammatory language is helpful at all.”

Chris Hipkins says Winston Peters was not behaving like a deputy PM.

He refused to be drawn on whether, if it were one of his own party members, he would have sacked them. Luxon said leaders should be more mindful about using inflammatory language - phrases used in recent times about the current government including referring to it as a “dictatorship”.

Hipkins had spoken to media this afternoon after a war of petty words broke out with Peters.

Hipkins said Peters “behaves like a drunk uncle at a wedding” to which Peters said that comment was laughable “coming from someone who would get drunk on a wine biscuit”.

Hipkins, speaking to media this afternoon, said Luxon should “do something about” Peters’ behaviour.