Peters slams NZ's vaccine rollout on Australian breakfast TV

Winston Peters was interviewed on Channel Nine's Today show, in Queenstown today. Photo: Channel...
Winston Peters was interviewed on Channel Nine's Today show, in Queenstown today. Photo: Channel Nine
Former deputy prime minister Winston Peters has picked a surprise place to end his media boycott: Australian breakfast television.

And the 76-year-old doyen of Kiwi politics has used it to slam the government's Covid-19 vaccine rollout, deriding as "too late" and leaving NZ open to potential tragedy.

Mr Peters first entered parliament more than 40 years ago, but lost his seat last year in Jacinda Ardern's Labour landslide.

The proud populist has kept a low profile since October's poll humbling, declining all interview requests.

On Friday morning, he shocked political observers by giving an interview with Channel Nine's Today show from Earnslaw Park on the Queenstown waterfront.

Mr Peters, who made Ms Ardern prime minister by forming a coalition with Labour in the last parliament, attacked the current government's vaccination programme.

"We're halfway through the vaccine year and we've done about a tenth of the job. That's the problem," he said.

"It's months too late. A lot of the strands right now are real dangerous. If (an outbreak) would happen we could see a tragedy again."

NZ is ranked 120th in the world for vaccine doses administered per capita - last in the developed world.

It is likely to hit one million doses next week.

NZ has five million people, including about four million adults, each of whom need two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The government's vaccination plan includes a major spike from July.

"We've got to get our rollout going much faster," Mr Peters said.

"When we get 80, 90 percent, we'll be safe, so to speak."

Mr Peters' New Zealand First party picked up just 2.6 percent of the nationwide vote in the 2020 election.

NZ First is holding its AGM in Auckland on Sunday, where Mr Peters is expected to speak and potentially rejoin the political fray.