Coalition Finance

Secretly, you know, I think that Nicola Willis and Winston Peters are enjoying their performative scrap against each other that waged last week. Their war of words highlight the difference between each party and their philosophy, and that's handy in an election year. So Nicola's warnings over superannuation reinforce her credentials as a representative of the fiscally prudent, the guardian of our economy. And Winston's refusal to change super in any way, shape, or form, reinforces his credentials as the defender of the rights of the elderly. But it also reinforces something we should never forget about Winston Peters. So he's in this government and he's being seen as a warrior along with his other partners against excessive government spending. And yet, his track record suggests otherwise. I mean, who can forget his provincial growth fund? That $3 billion lolly scramble that was criticized by the audit office for a lack of oversight. And even in this coalition government, he's continued to have a slush fund for regional development. The New Zealand First Regional Fund is a 1.2 billion dollar capital fund established in the coalition agreement. And now his Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been found out to be a major funder of the Moana Pacifica rugby side since its inception. And now there's talk he's willing to mount some sort of salvage campaign again, using taxpayers' money.