Not much has been seen or heard of Winston Peters since he installed the present Government six and a half months ago. A Deputy Prime Minister is normally more prominent, particularly when the Prime Minister is overseas. But on Jacinda Ardern's jaunts so far, Peter has chosen to accompany her, giving priority to his role as Foreign Minister.
Yet in that role too he has been quiet since making an ill-judged comment on an apparent Russian assault on a former spy in the United Kingdom. But behind the scenes he clearly has been exerting some leverage for the ministry that serves him.
This week he announced a $900 million increase in funds for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Government's first Budget, to be delivered next Thursday. The money will enable the ministry to employ an additional 50 diplomats, re-open an embassy in Sweden and provide more foreign aid, mostly to the Pacific but also to United Nations agencies and institutions such as the World Bank.
Members and supporters of New Zealand First are probably surprised that these should be their leader's priorities. A need for more diplomats, embassies and foreign did not exactly feature in his election campaign. Yet nobody should be surprised. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade did exceptionally well in Budget allocations when he was its minister in the last Labour Government, as did his other portfolio then, and now, racing.
Announcing the foreign ministry's windfall this week, Peters said it had effectively had a 10-year funding freeze under National and was required to show "efficiency returns" that were cuts by another name. The ministry certainly had a demanding task-master in Murray McCully and a restructuring took a toll on diplomats' morale, but Peters should not simply restore their previous funding levels.