NZ First leader Winston Peters invoked 1930s US president Franklin D. Roosevelt in a speech in Rotorua yesterday by calling for a "new Kiwi deal" to solve problems of unemployment in New Zealand.
In a party conference address that included many of his favourite talking points - immigration, foreign ownership, the dangers of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement - Mr Peters also entertained the assembled party faithful with a series of swipes at John Key's National Government, at one point labelling the current administration as "new age political wideboys".
After entering the conference room at the Distinction Hotel to the sound of bagpipe players, Mr Peters quickly launched into combative mode.
He used the ongoing national debate over immigration and foreign ownership to attack the Government for its policies, which Mr Peters claimed helped no one - citizen or immigrant.
"Don't blame the immigrants or foreign buyers, blame those in this country who encourage it," said Mr Peters.
"They [the National government] don't really care about the immigrants, because they don't have a home for them, or a job."
He said National's recently announced policy to attract more immigrants to the regions was similar to something he suggested more than a year ago, adding his party was "sick and tired" of having others "reading our speeches back to us".
In a noisy, if not quite full conference room, Mr Peters outlined his plan to solve what he described as an economic "crisis" in New Zealand.
His party would be campaigning on the promise of a "new Kiwi deal," Mr Peters said, drawing inspiration from the policies of 1930s US president Franklin D. Roosevelt which focussed on job creation and public works projects.
"There would be projects right here in the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua if the money was available," he said.
Mr Peters said this new deal would include the introduction of a "community wage" that would combine the minimum wage and the unemployment benefit.
Te Arawa kaumatua Dr Ken Kennedy said Mr Peters speech had been "very motivational".
"He's realised this is the time for New Zealand to act now," Mr Kennedy said.
"I really enjoyed his speech, that's exactly how we see the country going at the moment."
Following the speech, Mr Peters was forced to defend comments made to the media about embattled Corrections minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.
The NZ First leader denied it was racist to suggest that Mr Lotu-Iiga, who is Samoan, might have a better understanding of prisoner psychology because of his ethnicity.