PM offered me the job, says Peters

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters denies he is taking the "baubles of office" by accepting ministerial posts outside the Labour-led Government's Cabinet.

Mr Peters will be the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Racing and Associate Minister for Senior Citizens.

"I was asked by the Prime Minister to take a job. I was asked to name a job. There were only three where I could have remained out of Cabinet in my view with any merit," he said in announcing the party would support Labour on confidence and supply.

One job was Attorney-General, but Mr Peters said he could not do that because of pending court cases he was involved in.

His comment that he was asked to name a ministerial role was at odds with Prime Minister Helen Clark, who said he asked for one.

Asked about his pre-election comments that he was not seeking "the baubles of office at any price", Mr Peters said he had been a minister in the past and had never taken the perks of office then.

"I have been asked to do a job for my country, to follow the will of Parliament as a minister of foreign affairs, and that I seek to do." He had also been asked by the racing industry to be its minister.

NZ First's decision to support a Labour-led Government on confidence and supply is a u-turn on the position Mr Peters outlined on September 7, that the party would stay out of coalition and abstain on confidence and supply except where a group of parties were ganging up against the Government.

Mr Peters said that in the interests of stability and at the request of Labour, NZ First had agreed to change its position because no other position could sustain a government for the next three years. But he said that in many respects NZ First would stay out of a coalition and judge issues on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Peters said the ministerial posts did not mean he was part of the new Government's executive. NZ First would only be required to heed collective responsibility when it was related to his portfolios. Voters who supported the party would only think he had misled them if the media tried to "misrepresent the situation".

"They have been hanging out in recent days thinking we are going to have a hung Parliament here unless somebody does something. Well, we have, in the interests of stability."

The Herald yesterday revealed party president and MP Doug Woolerton had resigned his post as president in opposition to Mr Peters getting foreign affairs. But Mr Peters said Mr Woolerton was not happy with the change from abstention to supporting confidence and supply.

Policy gains included a "Seniors Card" that included raising the rate of superannuation from 65 per cent to 66 per cent of the net average ordinary weekly wage from April 1 next year, at a cost of $80 million. Funding for care of the elderly would also be addressed in the next Budget.

Police numbers would be increased by 1000 staff over the next three Budgets to achieve ratios comparable with Australia's by 2010.

Business tax would be reviewed, and he was confident that by 2008 substantial progress would have been made in lowering such taxes.

As foreign minister Mr Peters has a heavy schedule. He will be expected to attend Apec in South Korea next month, to be followed a week later by the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta. There is also an Asean summit in December.

Next week the Pacific Islands Forum meets in Papua New Guinea, but it is not known if he will go.

Former diplomat Terence O'Brien said appointing Mr Peters as foreign minister outside Cabinet sent a "very bad signal" to the rest of the world. Excluding the post from Cabinet would have a disastrous effect on international relations.

"This is not because of who he is, but it's a signal that New Zealand doesn't think foreign affairs has enough status to warrant a seat around the Cabinet table."

New Zealand's external relations was "a full-time job, which should command the highest attention from Cabinet".

The baubles of office

As a minister, Winston Peters is entitled to:

* A base salary outside Cabinet of $171,600.

* A chauffeured limousine available 24 hours a day.

* A self-drive car.

* A home in Wellington.

* As an MP he can already claim taxpayer-funded superannuation, free phones, travel and taxis.

- additional reporting NZPA