KEY POINTS:
Winston Peters has taken over Don Brash's old speaking slot at this month's traditional agenda-setting speech to the Orewa Rotary Club.
The genteel club has been catapulted into the national spotlight in recent years as the host of a series of landmark speeches by the former National Party
leader.
From race relations to welfare to economic management, Dr Brash used Orewa to try to set the agenda for the year ahead.
But the resignation of Dr Brash and the decision of successor John Key to use a Christchurch platform has forced a change of scenery for Orewa's Rotarians.
Later this month, instead of hearing a National leader making a fourth successive address in late January, the conservative ears of the Rotarians will hear Mr Peters speak about foreign affairs.
Both the Rotary Club and people near Mr Peters are playing down any suggestion that the New Zealand First leader is attempting to seize a key platform left vacant by National's leadership change.
Rotary Club of Orewa president Doug Parker said yesterday that the club invited Mr Peters to speak when he first became Minister of Foreign Affairs more than a year ago.
The club has heard from lots of politicians, including Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples, he said.
"As far as Winston goes, it's purely a normal weekly Rotary meeting with a guest speaker and he happens to be the guest speaker," Mr Parker said.
"We're very comfortable with the fact that Don's [Brash] not speaking. They [National] want to change things and they want to do it from Christchurch, and that's fine."
But Orewa's links to National go back a lot further than just Dr Brash's tenure, and New Zealand First is certain to be aware that Mr Peters' speaking engagement - and particularly the timing of it - will raise eyebrows.
In the 1970s, former National leader Sir Robert Muldoon made state of the nation speeches at the Orewa club, which was near his holiday bach at Hatfields Beach.
Since Dr Brash revived the tradition in 2002, the club has almost become synonymous with National.
In his valedictory speech last year, Dr Brash said he was pleased he had "managed to convert the town of Orewa from a place to a date - so that people no longer talk about north of Orewa or south of Orewa, but about pre-Orewa and post-Orewa".
But it appears his pleasure at putting Orewa on the map has not been shared by all of the town's Rotarians.
One member resigned in 2005 because he felt the club was becoming too closely associated with National.
And now the club has decided that it doesn't want media to be present at Mr Peters' speech.
"Our committee has decided that there won't be any press there," Mr Parker said.
"The Don Brash thing sort of got a little bit out of hand, really."
