KEY POINTS:
What an exquisite dichotomy we have in Winston Peters
There is Winston the Foreign Minister. The immaculately-dressed politician who confers behind scenes with his esteemed Chinese counterpart before stating publicly that New Zealand shouldn't rush into judgment over Tibet.
The kind of diplomatic manoeuvre you would expect from
the country's top envoy and one which has certainly removed any potential roadblocks in the way of Helen Clark's trip to Beijing to sign the China free trade deal.
There is Winston the leader of New Zealand First. A flagging political party whose deputy leader marched it back into media prominence by warning of a real danger New Zealand will be inundated by Asian immigrants who have no intention of integrating into society.
The kind of bombastic nationalistic nonsense from a British immigrant that Winston the Foreign Minister could easily shoot down as not in New Zealand's external interests.
Most Kiwis are not all that confused about Peters' various faces. They've worked out long ago that he is capable of whipping up outrageous hysteria on the Asian invasion score.
He doesn't need Peter Brown to carry his verbal spears. When he's finished beating up on journalists for misinterpreting him he might sometimes feel he's overstepped the mark, but Peters knows he only has to break out a crocodile smile and the punters will be all over him.
But surely a politician who is charged with presenting New Zealand's face to the world must (even occasionally) feel a twinge of embarrassment at having to resort to such blatant theatrics to steal a march in the opinion polls.
Just a few weeks ago, an Asia New Zealand official told me of a successful meeting that the foundation's chairman, Philip Burdon, and its incoming CEO, Richard Grant, had with Peters.
The official seemed reasonably confident that NZ First wouldn't be making political capital out of Asian immigration this election. So what's changed?
The answer to that question seems to have baffled Burdon judging by an Op Ed column he circulated to leading newspapers. Burdon railed against the reporting of the recent population statistics as showing Maori will be overtaken by Asians by 2026, when the various ethnic sub-groups like Indians and Chinese did not themselves lump themselves together under an Asian umbrella.
He didn't mention Brown directly. Or NZ First.
I suspect Burdon was too well-disposed towards his old friend and flatmate Winston to fire an ill-considered shot. It's not his style.
But if the foundation's officials can lay Press Council complaints against journalists for misreporting the negative impact of Asian immigration, why can't they take even the gentlest direct whack at Brown?
The Foreign Minister has shown considerable skills in leading diplomatic initiatives on our behalf with leading players like US Secretary of State Condi Rice. Next week his party will consider its formal response to the Government's free trade deal with China.
The NZ First caucus was to make a decision this week. But too many members were tied up in select committee meetings. In any event (says their press secretary) the briefing papers didn't arrive from the Trade Minister till late in the piece.
Peters the Foreign Minister is quite capable of rearranging a timetable, so that Helen Clark is spared the embarrassment of her Government's prime diplomat stating his own party opposes a major bilateral treaty until Clark has the agreement safely tucked in her handbag.
Peters the NZ First leader faces a quandary. As Foreign Minister, he would have been in receipt of cable traffic on the issue from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Trade Minister Phil Goff tells me that he had kept Peters well briefed on the free trade deal negotiations. Goff was in fact is obliged to consult Peters before putting the China free trade treaty up to Cabinet. Once the text of the treaty is finalised, the appropriate minister (in this case Goff ) - in consultation, or jointly with, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade - must seek Cabinet approval via the appropriate Cabinet committee for the proposed treaty action.
Surely Clark isn't about to sign a free trade deal that her Foreign Minister can now turn around and say he opposes, wearing his separate hat at NZ First leader? That would render his continuance in the portfolio untenable.
I suspect the real reason why Peters has said it is up to his caucus to make the decision is because Winston the Foreign Minister did not raise substantial objections at the consultative stage.
If his caucus does pan the deal when they next meet on Tuesday, Peters the NZ First leader can say he is bound by their collective decision.
Peters the Foreign Minister can say that as he is not in Cabinet he's not bound by their collective decision-making responsibility.
Peters the diplomat should talk his MPs round then come out and do the decent thing as New Zealand's foreign minister by publicly supporting this major foreign policy initiative.
