Winston Peters says Andrew Little should not have been surprised by NZ First’s stance on the Abortion Law Reform Bill.
“Peters said it has long been the party’s policy to seek a public mandate on conscience issues, and it was proper for the party to consider the matter only after the proposal had been finalised.
This morning Peters told Sky News that abortion law reform was part of Labour’s 2017 campaign, but not New Zealand First’s, nor is it mentioned in the Labour-New Zealand First coalition agreement.
“You should pay attention to other parties’ policies. I know what their policy is. They campaigned on it. We didn’t. Did it come up in our coalition talks? No, it didn’t.”
“If you want to good look at the chronology of this event, the only party that has acted in good faith is us.
“It wasn’t part of our coalition agreement, so why is it there? The fact that we’re prepared to accept that they’ve put it there is a matter of good faith on our part.
“If anyone got blind-sided, it was us. But we didn’t get upset or have a hissy fit, as some do in politics.”
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But why then didn’t Tracey Martin raise NZ First’s position during her discussions with Andrew Little?
Mike Hosking opines it is inconceivable that her party sent her out without making their position on Abortion Law Reform clear. Hosking says either Martin has been hung out to dry by Peters or she “is Machiavellian and hiding something”; he also wonders why she didn’t think to ask Little whether a referendum would be part of the mix.
Hosking is right about Peters being the villain of the piece, saying Peters never gave anyone a heads up “because it didn’t suit his agenda” which is to separate himself from Labour. Read Cracks are appearing in the CoL.
“A Stuff survey showed that the bill will likely pass its first reading with or without NZ First’s nine votes, with 67 MPs saying they were definitely or likely to vote for the bill.”
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In any case, Peters was grandstanding because he already knew the government’s abortion reform was likely to pass its first reading – which it did today by 94 votes to 23.
NZ First MP Darroch Ball will introduce a clause in the committee of the whole house – between the second and third reading – requesting any new abortion law goes to a referendum.
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Peters has flexed his political muscle and dealt a blow to Andrew Little and the Labour government by making them look clueless. In Hosking’s words “it makes them [the CoL] look as if one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing”.
Hosking tells us to “buckle up – there is more, much more where this came from”.
Although he does not have history on his side, Winston has begun his quest to reach the 5% threshold.
We should expect more from the master of political manoeuvring as he ratchets up his campaign to garner public support for his party’s position on matters of public concern, which will, of course, make the CoL look ridiculous.