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David Seymour and Winston Peters. (Image: Tina Tiller)
David Seymour and Winston Peters. (Image: Tina Tiller)

PoliticsSeptember 25, 2023

Winston Peters vs David Seymour: their 15 most venomous insults, ranked 

David Seymour and Winston Peters. (Image: Tina Tiller)
David Seymour and Winston Peters. (Image: Tina Tiller)

Is it loathing, or is it love?

Love, as was so astutely observed by Pat Benatar, is a battlefield. So while the Chris and Chris Show was a balm for the soul, there is another great romance at play in New Zealand politics, waged in the verbal fisticuffs of Winston Peters and David Seymour.

Christopher Luxon’s 11th hour confirmation this morning that he would work with Winston Peters as well as David Seymour if it came to it has sent screaming from their cupboards a flock of love-hate letters, barbs exchanged over the years between the NZ First and Act leaders.

Here are 15 of them, ranked – to borrow the Australian vernacular – from least to most shirtfronty

15

“Winston Peters has been shredding his own credibility for decades.”

– Seymour, June 2022

14

“A political cuckold that has got so much integrity he has to get another party to prop him up.”

– Peters on Seymour, July 2020

13

“The least trustworthy person in New Zealand politics”

– Seymour on Peters, Newstalk ZB, September 25 2023

12

“Not only is that statement utterly false, but, worse still, we are not going to take it from a cuckolded puppet.”

– Peters appeals to the speaker of the house over a Seymour attack, March 2017

11

“I take offence at being referred to as a cuck by someone who smoked for 60 years.”
– Seymour, in response, March 2017

10

“It’s all right, grandpa.”

– Shortly after Seymour said this to Peters in the house (earlier, Peters had called Seymour “Sunshine”), he was chucked out of parliament, June 2020

9

“David Seymour reminds me of a chihuahua at the front gate barking at every cat, human being or fellow dog that passes by.”

– Winston Peters ruminates, August 2017

8

“We’re not going to sit around the cabinet table with this clown.” 

Seymour on Peters, after noting “obviously” if necessary he could agree to a government with both involved, on Gone By Lunchtime, September 2023 

7

“People are going to sit down and try and write the legacy of Winston Peters … As they sit and they try to describe what Winston Peters has achieved in 40 years, they will find they have nothing to write. What a shame, what a shame. But, sadly, it is still true that he is taking the shape of a Shouldbegone.”

– A David Seymour parliamentary speech, complete with visual aids, February 2020

6

“This is a guy who has more bottom lines than a 100-year-old elephant. He is now up to nine bottom lines. He has peaked too early in this election, and he is going to find out that the problem with Winston Peters’ politicking is eventually you run out of other people’s gullibility.”

– Seymour in parliament, July 2017

5

“Here’s the political cuckold from Epsom shouting out now. You know who that is, don’t you? The one who’s looking for a second tango partner. In fact, I saw him the other night on TV dancing, again … They pick these special moments on national TV to humiliate themselves.”

 – Peters has a go at Seymour in the house, February 2020

4

“It’s like an arsonist showing up dressed as a fireman, saying, ‘I am here to help and fix it all.'” 

– Seymour on Peters as a candidate for government, Newshub debate, September 21 2023

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3

“David Seymour discovered his Māori-ness the same way Columbus discovered America, purely by accident.”

– Peters lashes out at Seymour (Ngāpuhi) on Te Ao with Moana (Sept 18, 2023), though fails to acknowledge that Christopher Columbus would have voted for Act.

2

“You are a crook. A charismatic crook perhaps, but a crook all the same.”

– Seymour reaches for the hyperbole in a 2020 TV debate

1

A series …

“Winston Peters’ swansong promise to slash immigration is tragic. Peters himself will soon be retired and will require a care worker to help him get dressed and go for a walk. He’ll discover that such facilities can’t function without migrant workers.”

– Seymour on NZ First policy, July 2020

“I’ve spent much of my career respecting and working for retirees. You seem to want to euthanise them. As for your nasty comments about my physical – I reckon you’d last 10 seconds in the ring with me.”

– Peters 

The work of the Bad Boys of Brexit, possibly.

“He spends enough time in the hospital without my intervention. If his punches are as empty as his political promises, I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

– Seymour

There’d be three hits – you hitting me, me hitting you, and the ambulance hitting 100. Thank your lucky stars I’m not into physical violence.”

– Peters 

“I wouldn’t fight him like that, it would be elder abuse.” 

– Seymour 

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Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

PoliticsSeptember 25, 2023

Election 2023: The tertiary education policies in two minutes

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders engage with the tertiary education sector each year. Here’s everything you need to know about funding, governance, student allowances, fees and research in two minutes.

See more from our policy in two minutes series here.

More than 300,000 New Zealanders are enrolled in programmes of study, whether at universities, polytechs, private training institutions or wānanga, each year. Most domestic students have their fees subsidised by the government: a first-year fees-free policy was implemented by the Labour government from 2018, and domestic fees are substantially subsidised by the government. Many students also use the Studylink service to pay for their study with interest-free loans or, for those eligible, a student allowance. 

Universities in particular can be places for innovation and research that add knowledge to the world and value to the economy, which also contributes to their funding. However, due to a range of factors, many universities have been making staff and student cuts this year due to funding deficits. In June, the government responded to this by announcing a $128m boost to university funding

What role do the parties contending the 2023 election see for the tertiary education sector? Policy.nz has the full version and we have the extremely abbreviated one. 

University funding and research

Healthcare training in universities is a big deal for most of the major parties. The National Party wants a new med school and more places for trainee doctors in Otago and Auckland too. The desire for more places is shared by The Opportunities Party, who say that one way to increase the number of doctors would be to make it easier for those who already have a relevant degree to study medicine. Meanwhile, Labour would provide 50% more places in dental schools as part of their promise to make dental healthcare free (in stages, starting in 2026). Labour would also fund spots for more nurses and doctors to train

In terms of research funding, Labour would continue funding to remake the current research and innovation sector and start research centres for climate change, technology and pandemics. New Zealand First would focus the funding for Crown Research Institutions to go towards the productive sector. The Opportunities Party would add tax incentives for research activities, and focus on cancer research in Christchurch specifically. National wants more research about the construction sector

The Green Party would rethink the tertiary funding model as a whole, and particularly support more money for kaupapa Māori institutions, as would Te Pāti Māori. They also want students to have stronger voices in tertiary governance. Act would also completely change the educational funding model by giving each child $25,000 to use on primary and tertiary education that they and their parents could spend as they see fit. 

The New Conservatives want to reduce university funding in general. 

a red ball knocks over a row of dominoes against a pink background, while a person dressed in graduation attire attempts to hold them up
Getty Images

Student programmes and support

There is a mix of different approaches to supporting students with the costs of studying. The Act Party would abolish the first-year fees-free policy, while the Green Party would expand it. After initially saying they would abolish fees-free, National now says they would keep the policy.

Te Pāti Māori would put in place a universal student allowance, regardless of relationship status or parental income level. The Green Party includes students in their income guarantee policy, which would replace the current student allowance system while still functioning similarly. The Greens have also looked at the student loan system: they would increase the amount of time you need to be overseas before you have to start repaying your loan and increase the threshold you have to earn before loan repayments kick in. 

Beyond just details around studying, some parties have looked into the wider living situations of students. The Green Party, like Te Pāti Māori, supports free fares on public transport for all students. The Greens want to change student accommodation expenses and conditions (which they ran a “people’s inquiry” into last year) while the National Party would create a bonding scheme to support NZ-trained midwives and nurses who commit to staying in New Zealand (and not moving to Australia). 

Non-university education through trade pathways and polytechs are a focus, too. Labour would support more apprenticeship pathways in the health sector and continue learning options for Māori and Pasifika who want to train in trades for free. The National Party would address workforce shortages in the construction sector by continuing assistance for building and construction apprenticeships. The New Conservatives want to promote non-university careers after school, as does Te Pāti Māori. The Greens would support a lifetime of learning by funding training and re-entry programmes for parents returning to the workforce after their kids, and TOP would back a lifetime of learning through night schools. The Act Party is concerned that Workforce Development Councils, which assess learning standards for vocational education, require too much funding and would close these.

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Gabi Lardies
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