Peters milks fear of one-party rule

By HELEN TUNNAH

Winston Peters has portrayed New Zealand First as the only party that can keep Labour honest, despite Prime Minister Helen Clark this week ruling out a coalition with him.

At his final Auckland rally before Saturday's election, Mr Peters said NZ First was the only party which could rein in Labour and keep a check on its dreams of one-party rule.

He would not reveal NZ First's preferred coalition options, and laughed off Helen Clark's rejection of his party and its "offensive and daft" policies.

"She's had a bad week," Mr Peters said. "I am going to take my instruction from the voters come Saturday. And on Sunday, we'll all have to take directions from the people of this country."

The chance of New Zealand First having a potentially key role has taken on more weight in the past few days as opinion polls showed a fall in support for Labour and the Greens.

A Herald-DigiPoll this week put Labour at 40.8 per cent and the Green Party at 6.9 per cent.

National was still struggling at 23.6 per cent but NZ First moved into third on 10.2 per cent.

The surprise rise of centre-right and Christian-linked United Future might allow Labour to strike a coalition deal with it, and avoid talks with the Greens or NZ First.

Mr Peters said it was now clear a vote for National or Act would achieve nothing.

"They are both by association irrelevant. Your choice of who is best placed to keep Labour honest becomes clearer every hour now.

"A vote for New Zealand First has become the only option - to keep an eye on Labour and to do what is almost impossible, keep them honest."

He said history would mark down this election, called four months early by Helen Clark on the back of high Labour poll ratings, as a "gamble that failed".

Mr Peters' final rally attracted more than 300 devout supporters to the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall yesterday.

As his name was announced, one woman three rows from the front leaped to her feet, waved a New Zealand flag in the air and cried "hooray" - sparking the mainly elderly crowd into a frenzy of cheering and clapping.

Grandparents who had never heard of the cartoon character Bob the Builder were soon chanting, "Yes we can", in reply to Mr Peters' campaign mantra of, "Can we fix it".

And they soon learned they also had to wave three fingers in the air, in a new salute which has been the cornerstone of Mr Peters' election advertising.

He again plugged the three policy planks the fingers symbolise - to cut crime, immigration and the Treaty of Waitangi "industry" - but he spent most of his address attacking Labour and National.

He said National might be on its last legs and suggested leader Bill English's talk of National leading a grand coalition of the right, with NZ First, Act and United Future, was like Santa Claus looking for Rudolf.

He said Labour, with Mr Prebble and United Future leader Peter Dunne, had in the 80s sold taxpayer assets, closed hospitals and thrown hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders on to the scrapheap.

He said that was the last time Labour ruled alone.

Labour was now attacking him because it wanted to govern alone again, Mr Peters said.

"Don't, please don't, let them."

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