Negotiating the terms of a coalition government was hard work but there was one issue that everyone could agree on says Winston Peters, "there wasn't any real argument that the regions had been seriously neglected."
The Deputy Prime Minister-elect spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay about how he secured $1 billion for the regions and how the new Labour-New Zealand First coalition policies will affect Kiwi farmers.
When it comes to climate change and the environment, Peters says "the farming community will be required to pay far less than they were originally threatened with," and even if a tax did arise "all that money would go back into the rural community for innovation, for mitigation and for forestry."
"We've made farmers part of the solution, not part of the problem."
Listen to the full interview in the Soundcloud embed below: