KEY POINTS:
It has been a rough 10 months, health-wise, for Foreign Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters but he appears to be through the worst of it. He was hospitalised after complications from a suspected spider bite in Malaysia but continued to suffer from a mystery virus.
He then returned to work within a week of having knee reconstruction surgery from an old rugby injury. Before leaving for Australia and Europe today, he talked to political editor Audrey Young about his health, the state of his party and his plans for next year.
How has your mystery illness and knee operation impacted on your health and ability to do your job?
I have no doubt the virus was very debilitating but I'm almost over it. I was told it could take 12 months and I've seen colleagues pick up similar illnesses. Bill Birch had a similar illness for eight months. You've just got to live with that. The good news is that I'm almost over it and I had my knee operation because I wanted to be in the best shape of my political career for a long, long time. And I will be. I wanted to be physically leading a party with all the ability that one has from being fit, experienced and ready to go.
There has been quite a bit of concern about your health.
It's not a health issue. The All Black lock from Otago is going to take 10 months to recover from a knee reconstruction. I was back at work within a week.
That's the point. You went back to work too early.
But I'm over that part now. It was against my doctors' orders but I had no option. The other side of the coin is that every week it gets better. It will be in great shape in three months' time. It's about 80 per cent now.
Why won't you use a walking stick?
Because I don't need one now. It's only if I want to walk a couple of miles that it gets to be a problem. I went floundering the other night with torchlight - I got 18 flounders. You can hardly have a torch in one hand and walking stick in the other and catch flounders.
When your knee is better would you go on Dancing with the Stars?
No. I have never engaged in such trivial things. I don't do photo opportunities for the sake of them. But I have no doubt I could do better than some of the people on there. I am not going to disgrace my party by going on those sorts of things.
Can you guarantee you will still be Foreign Minister as you head into the election next year?
No one can guarantee that but I don't see any changes happening.
Why is NZ First polling so low?
Because your polls are rubbish. We've been through all that before. We've been below 1 per cent. As Muhammad Ali would say "we're going to shock the world again". How many times do you have to do it before you people actually wake up and realise that it's your credibility on the line and not ours.
Were you disturbed at the public row between your president and two MPs over the smacking row and what has been done about it?
The answer to that is no. Our experience in politics tells us that that is exactly the kind of issue in which parties do have disputes. I've seen it in other parties in the past. I expect to see it in the future. The real issue is how we handle it. Personally, I don't mind discussion on the issue of a conscience vote because we began as a party asserting the right to dissent.
You've already committed to standing next election. Will you stand in a seat? If so where?
I'm going to make all those announcements when the time comes. There's no doubt I'm going to be standing in 2008 and leading a rejuvenated party. Our two-day caucus has given me every cause to believe we are in a strong position. We have had a chance to remind ourselves how distinctive we are from the rest of the political system, that NZ First is unique. We are not lined up on either side. And our founding principles are as fundamental today as they ever were.
Is the next leader of NZ First already in Parliament?
I've always said a number of people could take over NZ First when that day comes. But I'm fighting fit. Why would I even consider this?
Do you find it hard juggling Foreign Affairs and being NZ First leader?
No. Because Foreign Affairs is unique. Offshore we should be one people. There is no other ministry that affords you that exceptional environment. That's why I knew it would work. Plus in the last 10 years on foreign policy, we had agreed with Labour on nearly everything. Some areas we didn't agree was that they should be putting far more work into the Pacific, far greater investment into Foreign Affairs. But to be fair to Labour, [spending on] foreign affairs by 2002 had declined by 40 per cent. They turned that around. We in this Budget [May 17] will turn it around a lot more substantially.
In aid?
In all aspects. If we want to be a first-world trading country, we are going to have to put more on the ground abroad. That is the good news that is coming.
You are about to head off on a three-week trip to Gallipoli to represent New Zealand and then bilateral meetings in Europe and Indonesia. How can that sort of work benefit NZ First?
First of all, 92 years ago there was a major sacrifice by the New Zealand people. It was awful, so one is obligated to commemorate that occasion and we have done it every year in recent times by attendance by the Government. The second thing is the EU chair has passed for six months to Germany. There are huge amounts of money that we are working collaboratively with the EU on and is demonstrated in East Timor. Being there and talking to these people is important. My meeting in Jakarta is important. It is the biggest Islamic country in the world and one with which our relations are improving. These are unavoidable. How does it help NZ First? The fact of the matter is the Foreign Minister comes from their caucus and I have set out to demonstrate that abroad we should be one country.
