New Zealand First leader Winston Peters kicked off his political year with a long, rambling, and late State of the Nation address to the Orewa Rotary Club last night.
Peters was more than an hour late, leading others to fill the gap. Certainly one of the event organisers, former National and ACT leader Don Brash was looking a little impatient waiting for the arrival of the guest speaker. Brash famously made Orewa notorious for race-baiting speeches after his appearance there in 2004.
When he finally got to the podium, Peters predicted the National-led government's downfall before the next election in a speech that was long on rhetoric but short on specifics.
"Two-thousand-and-sixteen is going to be a most fascinating and explosive year in New Zealand politics," he said. "We don't believe that the government can hold up to the next election. The reason for that is the seeds of their own destruction are there now."
Peters also delivered what have become hardy annuals for him, attacking immigration and both sides of the political spectrum, but had special consideration for what he called "Maori privilege".