NZ First campaign bus spotted parked on yellow lines as Winston Peters announced law and order policy

"It's pretty ironic, considering he was announcing their law and order policy," a witness said. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand First Party bus was spotted parked on yellow lines while leader Winston Peters unveiled the party's law and order policy outside a nearby police station.

But the deputy prime minister says the driver never left the bus.

A Freemans Bay office worker spied the unmissable bus outside his work this afternoon.

"I had a good chuckle when I saw it," he said.

"It's pretty ironic, considering he was announcing their law and order policy.

"I think the driver was sitting in the bus, but it's on a clear yellow line in a narrow street, with a building site right there - it was blocking a fair amount of the road as well."

He said the bus was parked in the spot for at least 30 minutes.

Peters was outside a nearby central police station, where he promised NZ First would push for the training of 1000 new cops and for a law to protect first responders from assaults while on the job.

He also spoke for the first time about his party's plans to introduce a "Coward Punch" law – a piece of legislation he said would reduce "gutless acts of violence".

A spokeswoman for Peters told the Herald: "The driver never left the bus."

An Auckland Transport spokesman said tickets for illegal parking can only be issued by warranted parking officers who are at the location - not based on a photo alone.

"If you see a vehicle parked illegally the best way is to call Auckland Transport so we can send an officer out," he said.

It's not the first time the Deputy Prime Minister has been spotted breaking the rules on the campaign trail.

A month ago today Peters was snapped taking a sneaky smoko break on Otago University's Dunedin campus, breaking its no-smoking rules.

The video of Peters taking a puff in front of a no-smoking sign along with two other men was circulated on social media with the tagline, "Apparently smokefree policy only applies to some."

According to Otago University's website, the campus has been smokefree since 2014.

A university spokesman said

staff were not aware of the breach so did not speak with Peters about it.

However the spokesperson said it promoted a healthy environment for all staff and students which included a smoke-free environment.