Winston Peters offers advice to anyone thinking of rolling a Prime Minister

Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is pleased to see the end of what he calls a "gruelling year", with his only regret being that the economy couldn't have been turned around sooner.

He also suggests it would be "unwise" to stage a leadership spill before speaking to others about the "continuance of the government."

Peters made the comments in a sit-down interview with RNZ, reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to the 2026 election campaign.

He said his personal belief was the tax cuts the government delivered should have been delayed and New Zealanders - if told just how bad the economy was - would have understood this was not a broken promise, but a delayed one.

"As a consequence, we would have been a year on from where we are now", he said.

It's the type of honesty Peters said his supporters wanted to see from politicians.

"They're even happy to hear that you might have made a mistake, as long as they know you keep on trying."

It may be working. The New Zealand First leader is heading into election year riding relatively high in the polls.

History indicates Peters isn't rewarded for being inside government, but is this the year he intends to defy expectations?

NZ First

Photo: RNZ

The party which has consistently been removed from Parliament after being in government is currently polling near 10 percent across a range of polls. What is the appeal?

"We are the only party relating to ordinary working-class New Zealanders.

"We have not forgotten how important they are in any economy."

With his "workers' party" rhetoric, Peters is deliberately muscling