a smirking winston peters surrounded by the words "Māori loans affair" "sir Peter Buck" "Winebox Inquiry" "super gold card"

(Image: Tina Tiller)

PoliticsOctober 10, 2023

The Winston Peters glossary

Contributing writer

(Image: Tina Tiller)

A Gen Z writer attempts to figure out what Winston Peters is talking about.

Winston Peters is one of New Zealand’s longest-standing politicians ever. He has been around since the 1978 general election, when he was elected as an MP for the Hunua electorate*, representing National. He founded his party New Zealand First in 1993, the last election before MMP came in, and has been its leader ever since. He’s been deputy prime minister twice, under Jacinda Ardern, Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley. During that period, he’s been out of parliament thrice, from 1981-1984, 2008 to 2011 and 2020 until now.

Peters’ long political life means that the children of people who were born after he became an MP could be voting in the 2023 election. This means that multiple generations of people haven’t been around for the whole Peters story – and while much of his party’s policy is aimed at those in the 60+ and/or north of Warkworth demographic, Peters clearly relishes in demonstrating the knowledge born of his longevity to others, like in the multi-party leaders’ debate at TVNZ last week, where he pulled out a copy of Āpirana Ngata’s book and answered a question about white collar crime by talking about the Winebox Inquiry.

The Winebox what now? I did not study politics and lived outside of Aotearoa for most of my life until 2018, so I’m basically a blank slate when it comes to most of Peters’ political career (although this deep dive on Stuff is helpful). But at least now I (kind of?) know what the Winebox Inquiry was.

a māori man with bron skiin, in a suit, infront of a cloudy sky — Winston Peters. (Illustration: Ross Murray for the Spinoff)

Historical figures

Āpirana Ngata

Who is he? Ngata was a lawyer and politician who is on the $50 note and was an MP for nearly 40 years, from 1905 to 1943. He was especially focused on Māori rights, standards of living and land access and was the founder of the Young Māori Party, not a political party per se but an organisation dedicated to improving the position of Māori, in part by encouraging them to adopt European ways of life. Peters often mentions Ngata when he is talking about why he believes co-governance is bad.

Did I know them before writing this article? Yes, I knew that Ngata was a famous Māori MP but nothing else about him. Maybe I should spend more time examining our currency…

Peter Buck

Who is he? Buck, aka Te Rangi Hīroa, was a Māori doctor and anthropologist in the early 20th century, who was a member of Ngata’s Young Māori Party. He wrote about traditional Māori medicine and was an athlete, an MP and, later in his life, an American museum director. As with Ngata, Peters likes to mention Buck as a famous Māori man who (Peters says) would agree with his stances, like saying that Māori are not indigenous.

Did I know who Buck was before writing this article? I thought I did but then I read the Wikipedia page and realised I must have been thinking of someone else.

a black and white picture of two men wtahnding ina field and wearing suits — Āpirana Ngata and Peter Buck alongside a tukutuku panel at Ngata’s home at Waiomatatini, during a Dominion Museum expedition by Elsdon Best, James Ingram McDonald and Johannes Andersen. (Photograph taken by James Ingram McDonald in 1923. http://tapuhi.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/spydus/NAV/GLOBAL/OPHDR/1/511195)

Political events

Māori loans affair of the 1980s

What is it? The Māori loans affair occurred when Peters was in opposition as a National MP: he heard that the then Department of Māori Affairs (now Te Puni Kōkiri) had attempted to raise hundreds of millions of dollars overseas.

Did I know about it before writing this article? No.

The Winebox Inquiry

What is it? Turns out this is a spicy media/politics story from 1994, where Peters initiated an investigation of corruption in the Serious Fraud Office and Inland Revenue Department. (Incidentally, the SFO has since investigated Peters around his election donations.) The Wikipedia page gets into some of the gnarly detail. It’s called the Winebox Inquiry because Peters brought the documents to parliament in a winebox. The investigation didn’t find anything (although this is quite controversial) but it did successfully raise Peters’ profile. Peters mentions the inquiry when, as at the debate last week, he wants to assert that New Zealand First goes harder than other parties on corruption.

Did I know about it before writing this article? No.

Do I understand it now? Honestly, no. I’m not sure anyone except Winston Peters does.

a red background with wine in a cardboard box — Not *that* kind of winebox (Image: Archi Banal)

SuperGold card

What is it? It’s a card that gives people over the age of 65 free off-peak public transport and various other discounts. It’s one of Peters’ and New Zealand First’s flagship victories, which was a condition of him supporting Helen Clark’s Labour Party to form a government after the 2005 election. Peters mentions the SuperGold card when he wants to remind older people to vote for him or point out the concessions he’s been able to gain as a coalition partner.

Did I know about it before writing this article? Yes – and I even knew Peters was responsible!

The electoral petition in 1978

What is it? It’s the reason we had to put an asterisk above the 1978 election result for Peters. He didn’t actually assume the seat of Hunua until 1979 – he had to petition the High Court to overturn the electoral result. The songs that were at the top of the charts then were bangin’, by the way.

Did I know about it before writing this article? No.

The waka-jumping bill

What is it? It’s a law that makes it harder for electorate MPs to leave their party and still retain their electorate seat; if the party leader requests it, the MP must re-contest their seat in a byelection. While Peters has waka-jumped in the past to form New Zealand First, supporting the bill was part of the coalition deal between NZ First and National in 2017.

Did I know about it before writing this article? Uh, sort of?

winston peters holding up a sign that says "no" — When Peters chooses not to speak, a sign will do

Catchphrases and anecdotes

Philadelphia lawyer

What does it mean? It’s one of Winston Peters’ favourite insults for Jack Tame and means “a lawyer who cleverly uses technicalities”. 1News cleverly used SEO to write an article about the term just after *that* explosive Q&A interview.

Did I know what this meant before writing this article? Not at all.

‘Cinderella-ise’

What does it mean? I can’t readily find any other examples of “Cinderella” being used as a verb so perhaps this is a Peters neologism? Peters uses it to mean “neglected and ill-treated in an extremely unfair way”, which is what happens to Cinderella in the eponymous fairytale, I guess. He’s used it to refer to what the mainstream media has done to New Zealand First (OK) or what would happen to Southland without the Tiwai Point smelter.

Had I heard of this before writing this article? No, and tbh I’m still somewhat confused.

Riding horses to school

What is it? This is exactly what it sounds like: Peters simply loves to mention how he used to convey himself to his place of education on a horse. Peters grew up in very rural Northland; he walked to school along the beach if the tide was low, and used a horse when the tide was high. Sounds like a nice time!

Did I know about it before writing this article? Yes, because my grandmother used to ride horses to school in rural Waikato too.

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Madeleine Chapman
— Editor

Keep going!

Photo: Getty

PoliticsOctober 10, 2023

Election 2023: The small business policies in two minutes

Gabi Lardies

Staff writer

Photo: Getty

Voting is under way, so here’s a two-minute version of what’s on offer for small businesses. To explore the parties’ offerings in more depth, check out Policy.nz.

See more from our policy in two minutes series here.

Small and micro businesses have long been considered the bread and butter of New Zealand’s economy, representing 97% of all firms. While elsewhere under 50 employees is considered small, here it’s defined as under 20. Even with this categorisation, we have a high percentage of small businesses compared to other countries. They provide 29.3% of employment, contribute over a quarter of our gross domestic product, and are found across industries.

The success of small businesses is vital to the sustainability and growth of the economy as well as the wellbeing of their owners and employees. They received support through the Covid-19 pandemic, but are now facing an economy scraping recession, a cost of living crisis, inflation, and the major parties agreeing on the need for restraint. Here are some of the policies on offer to them.

Training support

Labour would support small businesses to digitise, through existing programmes like online learning platform Digital Boost and Business Connect, which aims to streamline permit and licence applications. They would develop and trial a mentorship programme for women on low and middle incomes who want to start a small business. The scholarships would be funded partly by the Ministry for Women and MBIE, and would also seek private sector sponsorship for ongoing mentorship and support.

Tax

The Green Party and Te Pāti Māori would raise the corporate tax rate to 33%, which was its level in 2008. The Greens say this would raise $2.4bn in revenue during the 2024-2025 financial year.

Both Labour and National want to remove depreciation tax write-offs from commercial buildings, which was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic response. Labour says it is now time to fund other policies. National estimates this change would generate $525m in revenue on average per year.

Labour would retain the tax rebate for business research and development. National would reverse what it calls the “app tax” due to come into effect in April 2024, which would impose GST on services delivered by digital platforms like Airbnb and Uber, even when individual sellers are making less than $60,000. National would consider changing tax rules for startups, which often pay employees with shares in the business. The party says unrealised gains are taxed.

The Act Party would end tax exemptions for charity-owned companies that do not solely exist for charitable purposes.

Funding

Labour would provide $100 million in venture capital for agritech businesses and continue funding the Horticulture Technology Catalyst.

Labour would invest a further $300 million in NZ Green Investment Finance, set climate change as a research and development priority, and establish climate innovation platforms designed to help businesses absorb climate innovation.

National would stop support for companies’ emissions-reductions projects, saying this undermines the emissions trading scheme. They would create a $5m fund for promoting regional tourism events outside of traditional destinations.

Te Pāti Māori would support the creation of Māori supermarket chains, acquiring land and providing seed funding.

Act would end various business support programmes including the Provincial Growth Fund, Callaghan Innovation, domestic and international film subsidies, growth and development spending and Industry Transformation Plans. Act would halt government contributions to the Venture Capital Fund, which invests in firms that support early-stage tech companies.

The Green Party would instruct government departments to prioritise buying goods and services from New Zealand businesses. They would support the development of local food economies with funding for community-supported agriculture.

Employment incentives

Labour would continue the Apprenticeship Boost scheme and continue to support Regional Skills Leadership Groups to identify skills and workforce needs now and in the future.

National would abolish median wage requirements for work visas, saying they have made it harder for tourism and hospitality operators affected by worker shortages. They would also raise the upper age limit to apply for a working holiday visa from 30 to 35 and would allow people to apply for a second or third working holiday visa if they worked in areas with worker shortages, such as tourism. National would also relax rules for employers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, so that employers would not have to pay a minimum of 30 hours a week, but instead an average of 30 hours a week for the contracted period. It would also allow workers to consider other accommodation options.

The Greens would implement the recommendations from the Holidays Act Taskforce, including additional leave and clear, transparent methods to calculate it.

Act would remove the January 2 public holiday to “help small business absorb the cost of Matariki”. They would abolish fair pay agreements.

Regulation and compliance

National would simplify verification protocols for businesses that need to comply with anti-money laundering requirements, saying too much regulation is making it hard for businesses to grow. National would repeal the Conduct of Financial Institutions Act, which is meant to manage financial misconduct, but they say it imposes additional burdens on lenders. They would also reverse changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, which were intended to control predatory lenders, but they say have made it more difficult to access credit.

National would require DOC to make concession decisions for businesses within one year and grant them for a minimum period of five years with a right of renewal. They say the concessions system for tourism is cumbersome, and creates uncertainty for tourism operators.

National would reduce duplication of information requests from government to primary industries, which would apply to farmers and forestry, and would limit the ability to convert farmland to exotic forestry, saying it’s resulting in the loss of valuable agricultural land.

The Greens would strengthen laws that protect against anti-competitive practices, and would provide more resources to the Commerce Commission for effective oversight. They would implement right-to-repair laws for consumer products and implement more regulation on fisheries, including banning bottom trawling and dredging by 2028, and requiring cameras on all commercial fishing vessels.

Act would abolish the significant natural areas policy, which it says undermines private property rights and the efforts of farmers. They would abolish tariffs on imports, saying these reduce competition.

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Gabi Lardies
— Staff writer