Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she has spoken to the Speaker over the trespassing of Winston Peters. Video / Mark Mitchell
Among the questions New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is fielding from the public, there is one that is becoming more critical for him to answer.
"Why would we want to trust NZ First [after] your decision five years ago to go with Labour, as a traditionally conservative party, [which] has got us into this mess we are in now," one man asked Peters after his public speech in Tauranga last month.
Not one to back down from a challenge, Peters returned serve.
"You can recall who said, 'We're not going into coalition with Winston Peters', you can recall who said in 2017, 'Cut out the middle man', can't you? Peters demanded, in a not-so-subtle nod to National.
"If people want to start throwing stones, as Elvis would say in that song, 'If you're looking for trouble, you've come to the right place'."
In his traditional style, Peters leaves the backdoor open - saying if Labour gave up its "racist policies", he would "think about it".
On his relationship with National leader Christopher Luxon, Peters did not elaborate.
"I'm not wasting my time talking about other parties, I'm here to talk about one party, NZ First, and the people of this country."
While speculation about NZ First's future political collaboration is important for some, Peters' focus is squarely on the party's annual convention this weekend in Christchurch.
"We said in 2021 we would be a phoenix that would rise from the ashes and in 2022, we're going to be in Christchurch to celebrate that," he told the Herald on Thursday.
The latest Talbot-Mills poll, which has been more favourable to NZ First than other polls, showed the party above 4 per cent.
The last 1News-Kantar poll had NZ First at 3 per cent. The Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll for October out Friday has it at 2 per cent.
Peters prefers to assess his party's success through his two public engagements which he says have been well-attended - the Tauranga crowd was large enough to require extra chairs fetched from the restaurant next door.
"We don't care about the polls or the commentariat, we care about the people."
Without giving much away, Peters' main address on Sunday will include proposals concerning the economy and education, alongside a raft of other expected topics including crime, health and co-governance.
"If we are to be the economy we should and could be - in the top three in the world - there's no reason at all, apart from lack of political leadership, that we can't get back there again," he says.
Peters estimates there are eight or nine candidates, including former MPs, who are still in the fold and could "hit the ground running".
NZ First's Shane Jones will be among the key figures in the party's resurgence. Photo / Michael Cunningham
He offers up the likes of former MPs Shane Jones, Darroch Ball, Fletcher Tabuteau and Mahesh Bindra, as those with significant political experience who are connected with the party.
Whether they would represent the party is part of "ongoing discussions" but Peters expects such details to be confirmed before the end of the year.
SenateSHJ partner Margaret Joiner, who has studied NZ First for many years, says the stars are aligning for Peters to gain traction.
"At this stage, a number of signals are pointing to quite a high protest vote and probably, sadly, low voter turnout as we've seen in the local body elections.
"That combination has, in the past, dealt NZ First a very good hand because NZ First voters vote."
It's understood the party has a healthy pool of candidates to choose from with a number of people - some with local government experience - said to have made contact as candidate applications open this weekend.
The level of interest has surprised new party president Julian Paul, given the hibernation NZ First entered from 2020 until midway through last year, but it is something he takes as a good sign.
Paul's shift from board member to president is among several signs NZ First has endured a significant rebuilding phase.
A members council had been established, giving the party a more formal regional structure.
The board has reduced from 11 members to nine, with former candidates Jamie Arbuckle and William Flesher as new additions. Within the split of five men to four women, four are under 40 years old.
NZ First leader Winston Peters is primed to make an impact on New Zealand's political environment, according to one expert. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Paul said a younger board is a reflection of the party's recent transition.
"I guess there's been an external perception of what the party is. Back in the 1990s, a lot of political parties were a bit more conservative and I don't believe that all of a sudden, there's a younger, more diverse board, it's just that it's time that we distribute that leadership across more of the members."
One person buoyed by changes within the party is former NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft.
In January last year, Marcroft told RNZ she had quit the party because she wasn't "comfortable" about a shift she had observed in the party's values.
Speaking to the Herald, Marcroft says the addition of women and younger people in the party's hierarchy is heartening.
"I'm really pleased that I've seen some positive change ... the boys club perceptions can now be dispelled.
"I didn't see [the party] as particularly against women, just women hadn't put themselves forward into those roles so I think it also has to be a safe place for women to do that."
Former NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft, seen here in an election debate for the Auckland Central seat in 2020. Photo / Dean Purcell
Two days out from the convention, Marcroft was still unsure whether she would be attending.
Whether she re-joins or not, Marcroft believes New Zealanders are taking note of what Peters is offering.
"I think he's certainly got a message that's resonating and I think there is a group of people who have the sense that he's still needed in the political discourse."
