'Big boys' trying to keep me out - Peters

NZ First Leader Winston Peters. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters claims the "big boys" are trying to keep him out of Parliament.

In two speeches in Auckland yesterday afternoon, Mr Peters accused other parties of trying to stop NZ First taking a place among opposition parties .

"We are in the last days of the election campaign and they've got us surrounded," he told a crowd of about 150 people in Aotea Square.

"The big boys are spending millions trying to keep NZ First out of Parliament."

Advertisements had demonised him as the devil incarnate, he said.

Speaking to a crowd in Takapuna later, Mr Peters again questioned the "extreme reaction" from other parties following his announcement that NZ First would be seeking a place in opposition rather than working with other parties.

"The parties that have been in Parliament over the last term want that same, safe situation to continue so they can get on with their cosy arrangements and agendas.

"New Zealand First is going to shine some sunlight on these."

His list of concerns included plans to sell off Crafar farms, seabed and foreshore deals, asset sales, and the constitutional review, which he said aimed to create a new system "in which everyone becomes subservient to the Treaty of Waitangi".

Mr Peters said NZ First would fight against all four points, no matter which party formed the next government.

Six candidates would enter Parliament should NZ First gain 5 per cent of the party vote. Mr Peters' team would include a former MP, a controversial former mayor, a winemaker and a TV weatherman.

At No 2 on the party list is Tracey Martin, the Rodney Local Board representative for the Auckland Council. She has been involved with NZ First since the party started in 1993, and has been a member of its board of directors since 2008.

Following Ms Martin is former North Shore City mayor Andrew Williams, who made headlines several times for unflattering incidents.

He was accused of sending aggressive late-night text messages to politicians, including Prime Minister John Key, and was reportedly caught urinating outside his council building in Takapuna after an evening at a bar.

Richard Prosser, a winemaker and Reiki massage master who has written a monthly column for Investigate magazine since 2002, has the party's No 4 list place, followed by Barbara Stewart, an MP for NZ First from 2002 to 2008 and the party's co-vice president.

In No 6 place is Brendan Horan, best known for his stint as a TVNZ weatherman between 2005 and 2007.

Although all the candidates except Mr Peters are standing in electorates, the party is campaigning primarily for the party vote.

In 2008, NZ First received 4.07 per cent of the vote, leaving it out of Parliament for the first time since its founding.