Winston Peters applies brickbat to Paula Bennett's bouquet: 'Seriously bad taste'

NZ First leader Winston Peters has re-gifted Paula Bennett's gift of flowers, saying "they looked like she just picked them in a local park".

Peters is on leave after a knee operation, and Bennett sent a "get well soon" bouquet yesterday.

Peters responded to the gift of flowers on Twitter today, saying he had received them in hospital and it was "seriously bad taste".

"Also, they looked like she just picked them from a local park! Gave them away to an elderly patient. Not knowing their origin, she really appreciated them."

Bennett ordered them from a florist and had the flowers delivered to Peters' home in Auckland - but they had clearly been taken into the hospital for him.

Bennett's rather tongue-in-cheek gesture followed reports on Newstalk ZB that Peters' legal team had discussed Bennett's resignation as a condition for settling legal action against her and fellow National MP Anne Tolley for the alleged leak of details of his superannuation over-payments in 2017.

Bennett told the NZ Herald yesterday it was because Peters had clearly needed cheering up given his "grumpiness".

Peters' tweet earned him a bit of a backlash from other Twitter users.

While some admired the slap-down many were critical of the response, describing him as "miserable", and an "ungrateful old sod".