Winston Peters’ partner has been injured by some of the glass that smashed into the couple’s Auckland home after an alleged crowbar attack.
The incident just before 6pm on Monday, for which a 29-year-old man was due to appear in court today charged with burglary, came days after a pro-Palestine protest outside the central city home where actor Acacia O’Connor shared Peters’ address during a livestream – prompting One NZ to say this week it would remove her from its ads.
This morning, Peters – with the boarded-up window behind him – told Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW his partner, Jan Trotman, and her guest were “lucky they’d just left the room” when the window was smashed.
“But, this morning, Janice cut herself because she found some glass. So this is a deplorable, gutless, spineless situation.
“I wish I had been here at the time this person pulled this filthy act off.”
Bridge had initially asked how Peters’ dog Kobe was, as the dog was in the room at the time and left covered in glass.
“Thank you very much for asking. A terrible thing. I suppose we’re perverted to be worrying about the dog and not the two women who were here who could have been covered with glass.
“But they’re very, very lucky … and he’s awfully lucky despite all the glass on him.”
Meanwhile, Peters has described the ceasefire plan in the Hamas-Israel war that was announced by US President Donald Trump yesterday as the “first steps”.
The plan will see all remaining hostages from the October 7 2023 attack released and Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza.
Caution was still needed, the Foreign Minister said.
“Anybody that’s ever had any regard to the history of this area will know to be ultra cautious. However, we’ve got our fingers crossed.
“People in different countries are putting a lot of work into this, and it is possible, just hopefully, that peace will be breaking out and it’ll be permanent.”
He was pleased countries with influence had shown the leadership needed in what was an “absolute crisis”, and not just Trump but Middle Eastern nations and others, including Indonesia and Pakistan.
Last month Peters told the United Nations that New Zealand was not yet recognising Palestine’s statehood in fear it would embolden terrorist group Hamas, justify Israel’s illegal land acquisition in Palestinian territory and be used for political propaganda.
The move separated New Zealand from countries including formal ally Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada which have formally recognised Palestine, and sparked protests at home – including outside Peters’ home.
Asked by Bridge who should run Gaza, noting UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron had said there was no role for Hamas in any future governance of the area, Peters said the UK’s position was New Zealand’s “position as well”.
“There’s no role for them to be there, to have armaments, or in any country. And that’s one of the reasons why, when all this conversation about recognition was going on, here’s the point – can people see the blunt on the ground facts? These negotiations are taking place, guess with who? With Hamas. That’s not Palestine of the future.
“So those of us who’ve been cautious about recognition have been proven right. And whether this [peace plan] works or not, we’ll still be proven right just on the chronological facts of who’s dealing with who.
“But we hope to see a situation where they’re gone, that the utilities and institutions of an independent state can be quickly established, and the two-state solution will then begin to operate.”