New NZTA board appointee refuses to apologise to Winston Peters for insulting tweet

Speaking to media this morning, Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said Patrick Reynolds was "very, very stupid" to have made the comments. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters has threatened a new NZTA Board member who criticised him on social media that if he does so again, he would be sacked.

But Patrick Reynolds – a former transport blogger – has refused to apologise for calling New Zealand First a "personality based" party and saying that Peters would soon retire.

Speaking to media this morning, the Acting Prime Minister said Reynolds was "very, very stupid" to have made the comments.

"My message to him would be that'll be your last outing with your mouth, get on with your job and if we ever hear from you again, we'll have a new board member on."

But he insisted this was not a threat and that he wanted Reynolds to focus on his job and to butt out of politics.

When contacted by the Herald, Reynolds said he would not comment and refused to apologise for the comments, before abruptly hanging up the phone.

The now-deleted two-year-old tweet says: "Peters, however, will retire soonish (sic), and his personality based party with him."

Patrick Reynolds' tweet.

Reynolds deleted his Twitter account after he was appointed to the NZTA board.

Speaking to media this morning, Peters was clearly upset at the comments.

He said he had already been made aware of the tweet, adding that Reynolds has been talked to about what he says, now that he is an NZTA board member.

"He's been given a critical job to fix up the transport system of this country … and I expect him to focus 100 per cent on that."

Peters said he had not spoken to Transport Minister Phil Twyford about Reynolds' appointment.

Reynolds was appointed to the NZTA's board last week and subsequently resigned from his role at the Greater Auckland transport blog.

Twyford said Reynolds brought a strong knowledge of the integration of transport into urban development and a well-developed understanding of transport systems.

National Leader Simon Bridges has already taken a swing at Reynolds' appointment, saying Twyford had appointed "enthusiasts" to the board.