Coalition negotiations discredited

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will return from attending Apec in the secure knowledge he can hide behind court proceedings and not face questions outside of Parliament on pending legal action.

It emerged last week Mr Peters served court papers on nine people, including former government ministers, journalists and a government department chief executive, over leaked details about his superannuation.

Even more damning, Mr Peters issued legal proceedings the day before the election, then spent two weeks apparently negotiating with National "in good faith" about forming a government.

In the end, Mr Peters signed up with Labour, using New Zealand First’s small percentage of the party vote to lock in huge gains for his party. The Green Party found itself, once again, on the outside of Cabinet, although this time there are three Green Ministers outside of Cabinet. Green Party leader James Shaw should be feeling relieved he and his fellow MPs are in fact only guaranteeing confidence and supply and are not tied to the Labour-NZ First coalition.

When Mr Peters went with Labour, there was an uproar from National, which some felt had a moral majority as the largest party and should be in power.

That was a cue for MMP supporters to point out the benefits of our electoral system and how three parties could work together to form a stable government.

How wrong they were. It is difficult to understand the concept of Mr Peters negotiating with National MPs knowing some of those sitting across the table were in his legal sights. This is an affront to the democratic process of actually forming a government.It was patently wrong for someone to leak the details of Mr Peters’ superannuation overpayments, but someone did and he is seeking revenge.

Mr Peters has long been a supporter of compulsory superannuation and has acted in the interests of pensioners for an extensive period of his political life. Surely he, above most people, would have kept a careful eye on his superannuation and recognised the overpayments he was receiving. When he was alerted to the overpayments, he did repay the debt quickly.

In his sights are former prime minister Bill English, Steven Joyce, Paula Bennett and Anne Tolley. Ministry of Social Development chief executive Brendan Boyle is also in the firing line as Mr Peters attempts to cut a swathe through anyone even slightly aligned with the superannuation leak.

Two journalists are also named, and Mr Peters is seeking — trawling really — interview notes, text messages, recorded conversations and emails from them. This is a total affront to the concept of freedom of the press.

Mr Peters already has an aggressive attitude to the media, usually refusing to answer direct questions or subjugating the interview to his own means.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been caught in the crossfire. She was apparently alerted to the legal proceedings but not all the details. One of the questions now is whether Mr Peters went through a charade with National to increase leverage on Labour.

For a small party with a small vote, NZ First did very well out of the coalition agreement.

It seems now the only reason Ms Ardern is prime minister is because of the need by Mr Peters to get revenge on National.

Mr Peters had a chance to leave a legacy from this term. In fact, many say his support of the regions as an essential part of the economy growing more evenly than before kept him in power.

Whether more detailed questions can be asked in Parliament under privilege is yet to be tested. Mr Peters will understand what is about to come his way from MPs like Judith Collins, Gerry Brownlee and Simon Bridges. Mr Peters has tested the patience of former prime ministers and has been found wanting in loyalty to anyone but himself. Any gains from the mood for change before the election have been squandered by Mr Peters. Voters will be left disillusioned.