Winston Peters says Ministry of Foreign Affairs won’t appoint ‘tikanga lead’, hours after job advertised

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says his ministry won’t appoint someone to the role of “tikanga lead”, a job that carries a salary of up to $170,000.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) posted an advertisement on Seek on Wednesday morning for a “tikanga lead”, a role that leads the provision of tikanga (Māori customs) advice for the ministry and provides “high-quality tikanga advise [sic] to staff offshore”.

“This is a new position at the ministry and plays a critical role in Manatū Aorere’s continued uplift of Mātauranga Māori. As tikanga lead, you will lead the tikanga team in Houtina – Māori division,” the advertisement said.

“You will be responsible for providing expert leadership and guidance to continuously develop, implement and refine tikanga practice for the ministry. You will lead the development of embedding of culturally appropriate tikanga and kawa [marae protocol] across the organisation.”

According to the advertisement, the salary range for the role is between $144,934 and $170,510 in total remuneration depending on applicants’ skills and experiences.

The Herald asked Peters on Wednesday afternoon if he was comfortable with MFAT having a “tikanga lead”.

He responded initially by laughing before saying he had let MFAT know what the coalition agreement was and he expected “them to read it and honour it”.

“They know, as we speak, exactly what’s expected of them and I’ll be watching because we campaigned on equality. We campaigned against woke ideals and that’s what the coalition is about.”

Peters wouldn’t say what was wrong with the role, but said he understood what tikanga was.

After beginning to walk off from reporters, Peters turned and said: “There will not be an appointment.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the ministry won't appoint someone to the role. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Peters later said MFAT was told “the previous administration ... is over”.

“We’re going to spend all our money, hard-earned money as it is, hard-fought in terms of getting it from the Minister of Finance, for the right purpose,” he said.

Asked if he was disappointed the ministry was still creating a role like “tikanga lead” so long after he took office, Peters said: “Sometimes these sort of ideas get dug in deeper than ticks on a hound.”

“My job is to fix it,” he said.

The Herald has contacted MFAT for comment.

MFAT also has a section on its website about diversity and inclusion, despite Peters recently railing against such ideas in the public service.

“We aim to reflect the diversity of New Zealand and the countries we’re in. That’s why we’re actively working to grow the diversity of our workforce and are committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone can be their ‘true’ selves.”

A spokesman for Peters said that since taking office in 2023, “the minister has been concerned about the impact that the woke agenda of his predecessor and the Ardern/Hipkins Government had on New Zealand’s diplomacy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade”.

“Over the past 16 months, the minister has made clear to successive Secretaries of Foreign Affairs and Trade that he expects MFAT and New Zealand’s diplomats to reflect the agenda of the current New Zealand Government. This has included a determination to remove references to the previous Government’s policy priorities from the ministry’s online publications.”

While Peters held Kiwi diplomats “in the highest esteem”, the statement said he “is disappointed that there continue to be outdated references to discretionary legacy initiatives of the previous Labour Government on the MFAT website”.

“He has instructed Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bede Corry to review the ministry’s website and ensure its alignment with the coalition Government’s agenda. He looks forward to that review being conducted with a sense of urgency.”

It comes as New Zealand First attempts to introduce legislation that would remove “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) regulations from the public service. The Public Service Act includes several conditions for diversity to be considered during appointments for department roles.

In a statement last week, Peters said his party’s bill “would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector”.

“New Zealand is a country founded on meritocracy, not on some mind-numbingly stupid ideology.”

The specific changes the legislation would make include removing aspects of the Public Service Act 2020 that require the Public Service Commissioner to promote a diverse workforce.

While Peters has said his party has previously campaigned against these elements, NZ First supported the Public Service Act 2020 when it was previously in government with Labour.

The move follows actions by Donald Trump’s administration to roll back DEI policies across the US Government. One of the first executive orders the President signed was to terminate DEI anti-discrimination rules in the federal workforce.

Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.