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Welcome to Inside Politics.

It will be with some relief to many that Winston Peters departs New Zealand today for his nexttrip as Foreign Minister – not least to others in the Government.

Perhaps the only people not sorry to see him go will be the Opposition parties, because recently, Peters has done more for their chances to take power in November than just about anything else. Just about. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has also contributed.

The reason that Peters’ behaviour could destroy the coalition’s chances of re-election is not because people feel sorry for his treatment of Chinese-born MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, or because Peters has behaved like a fringe-dwelling thug instead of an elder statesman, or because he has clearly ignored the national interest in defending his indefensible comments.

While all of those are true, the most immediate political effect of Peters’ recent behaviour over matters related to China and India is that it has seriously undermined trust between parties and personnel within the Government.

No matter how much Luxon attempts to dismiss it as irrelevant to the workings of Government, people are not stupid. They can see that the relationship between Peters and Luxon is irreparably damaged.

Peters has accused Luxon of being subservient and obsequious, inexperienced and egotistical.

Not without some cause, Luxon has accused Peters of putting politics ahead of the national interest, of being racist and offensive.

As Lincoln said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

One of the main selling points of the coalition has been its ability to work together, despite the differences between the parties. To suggest that that could continue as before stretches credulity. How can the coalition promote its ability to govern when it cannot govern itself?

Fortunately for the Opposition, Peters will be gone only a day to meet Pacific counterparts in Fiji ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum later this month. He will be back next week, no doubt continuing to leave a trail of destruction in his wake.

Sleazy headlines piling up

Peters has been the primary culprit, but he is not alone. Christopher Luxon’s lecture to businesses in Rotorua doing it tough illustrated a lack of self-awareness, as did the distribution of the transcript in the deluded belief it would help him, not harm him. Where Luxon differs admirably from Peters is in his willingness to acknowledge mistakes and apologise when he gets it wrong. Luxon listened to colleagues. Peters either doesn’t, or his colleagues don’t dare to tell the emperor that he has no clothes on.

Luxon, however, is presiding over what appears to be a very untidy Government. The array of sleazy political headlines in the past week are the sort one might expect to see at the end of a long-term government’s life, not at the end of one term, such as: $9 million being spent on rongoā Māori healthcare in prisons, including traditional massage; controversy over the Prime Minister taking a Defence Force flight after a National Party fundraiser; the whole Ministry of Justice coming under review after a staffer facing fraud charges was suspended on full pay for five years; and MPs claiming whopping housing entitlements for houses they own.

These are the sorts of stories that get embedded in the brain.

Speaker helps Greens prosecute Peters

The fallout from the comments made by Peters about Xu-Nan in the House last week (“Go back to your own country – that’s where they lie like a flatfish, but they don’t lie like that here, all right?”) continue, understandably. The Chinese Government has become involved, with a diplomatic protest lodged.

Peters issued a statement last week as Foreign Minister about China’s protest, but said through his spokesman in the same statement that the minister “stands by his comments over the last couple of days”. The statement was on ministerial letterhead and was issued by his ministerial staffer. It was not made as leader of New Zealand First.

But whether or not the original offending comments were made by Peters as a minister or party leader, he is obliged to answer questions in Parliament about matters relating to foreign affairs.

Speaker Gerry Brownlee made that clear in the House yesterday.

The Greens appear to have no House expert in their team who could have helped Xu-Nan prosecute his questions to Peters yesterday. There was certainly no need to over-egg what Peters said last week. But Xu-Nan made two obvious errors. He said Peters had issued a statement through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he didn’t. And he said that Peters had said that Chinese people lie like flatfish, which he didn’t. The implication in Peters’ comments, in the context of a speech on Covid-19, was that the Chinese Governmentlied. But he didn’t actually say it.

Brownlee was helpful to Xu-Nan yesterday. He suggested a way for Xu-Nan to ask the question and allowed him to ask it four times.

Brownlee ruled against Peters’ claim that he did not need to answer any question about the matter as Foreign Minister.

Labour and the Greens are often frustrated by Peters and blame Brownlee, quite unfairly.

Brownlee gets it right far more often than he gets it wrong and tries hard to avoid Question Time becoming an unbearable, toxic bearpit.

How about some gratitude from the Opposition instead of grandstanding?

Mark Mitchell witnesses a special moment of courage

Peters has now reached peak belligerence, so much so that he could not even make a positive contribution to the parliamentary tributes on Tuesday to New Zealand’s team at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

His speech consisted of 27 words: “We endorse, in their entirety, the Prime Minister’s comments on behalf of our nation – not wishing to try and gain some ill-entitled, vicarious, collateral, political advantage.”

Minister for Sport and Recreation Mark Mitchell spent a day and a half in Glasgow and arrived at New Zealand House shortly after Zoe Hobbs won gold in the 100m sprint.

“It was very special to have her talk me through the whole race,” Mitchell tells me.

“The next day, I visited the team hotel. [Weightlifter] David Liti was there and he was just so keen to get competing. After he won the gold medal, he was asked if he would eat a steak, cheese and bacon jam pie to celebrate like [Open Championship-winning Kiwi golfer] Ryan Fox, and he said yes but it wouldn’t be one pie, it would be five.”

Mitchell watched some of the bowls, some weightlifting, the Silver Ferns’ match against Trinidad and Tobago, the cyclists and some athletics.

He said it was hard to pick a favourite moment.

“But it was heart-wrenching to see Emma Foy and Jessie Hodges get knocked off their bike and take a heavy fall – it happened right in front of me. They left the track both limping and then 30 minutes later, they came back out and won a Commonwealth gold medal. That was a very special moment of Kiwi courage.

“The entire NZ team did us proud. Whether they won medals or not, the way they competed, interacted with other competitors, officials and the crowd made me proud to be a Kiwi.”

By the way

Political theatre: Wellington’s Circa Theatre has begun its satirical election-year production Election Meltdown. In the audience on Saturday night were Green MPs Tamatha Paul and Julie Anne Genter, who were among the many MPs depicted, and National Party polling guru David Farrar. They all thoroughly enjoyed it. Farrar’s personal rating for the show was 4.5 stars out of five. “It was equally brutal to all parties,” he told me. Paul also rated it 4.5 stars out of five. She said it lost half a star because of a certain skit in which she shows some sympathy towards Shane Jones. “I’m the last person to care about Shane Jones and his feelings,” she told me.

Stop press: Labour has this morning released a significant policy promising to scrap Investment Boost if elected – the $6.6 billion centrepiece of last year’s Budget. Labour’s small business policy would cost $1.56b (see below).

Quote unquote

“Let’s be honest, there are a lot of little sh**s in classrooms, and we need to address that if we’re going to lift education standards” – Act candidate Paul Henry.

Micro quiz

The unemployment rate released yesterday is the highest in 11 years. What is it? (Answer at the bottom of this article.)

Brickbat

Goes to Winston Peters for not taking the time to contribute meaningfully to the parliamentary speeches on Tuesday congratulating the New Zealand team at the Commonwealth Games. Twenty-seven words in total (see above).

Bouquet

Goes to Oriini Kaipara for her personal tribute to the athletes and support crew in Glasgow, having previously worked with the New Zealand Olympic Committee as cultural lead/pouwhiringa at the Paris Olympics in 2024, before being elected as a Te Pāti Māori MP the following year.