KEY POINTS:
Winston Peters began New Zealand First's election campaign with an all-out attack on the National Party and its leader John Key.
He countered Mr Key's banishment of NZ First as a coalition partner by saying: "Mr Key, our standards are not that low".
Mr Peters said the global financial crisis had been caused by "greed, shonky business practices and merchant bankers".
Referring to Mr Key, he said: "One of them even wants to be Prime Minister of this country."
He called Mr Key a "raging hypocrite" for criticising NZ First for the donations controversy, when National received millions from secret trusts.
Mr Peters said Mr Key had a "puppet canary" - a reference to yellow-coated Act leader Rodney Hide, the most vocal critic. Mr Peters condemned the mooted National and Maori Party government.
"What a mix! Merchant bankers and Maori separatists. One lot will be trying to sell the country out from under us - while the other will be setting up a separate state."
Mr Peters, who was wearing a black and red tie, barely mentioned Labour, but he did not rule National completely out as a possible coalition partner after next month's election.
"We are not saying who we will go with, or won't go with."
On the donations controversy, where a $100,000 donation from billionaire Owen Glenn and $234,171 from the Spencer Trust went undeclared, Mr Peters said: "Well, we have made mistakes, all parties do."
He assured the 600-strong audience that "nobody has profited by one dollar and every cent ended up in the right place".
He said the media were "chardonnay drinking, pinky finger pointing latte drinkers".
Mr Peters said the global credit crunch made this a "crunch election".
NZ First's slogan would be "protect and save your New Zealand".
He said there was no excuse for New Zealand's interest rates and credit card rates to be as high as they were, calling it "voodoo economics".
Mr Peters said NZ First wanted to give government support to New Zealand-owned banks to drive down interest rates.
A spokesman explained afterwards that by making New Zealand banks more profitable, and therefore able to offer lower interest rates, they would become leaders and drive rates down.
Mr Peters said: "Can't you hear the squeals already as financial and political quislings rush to defend the right of their foreign friends to go on and screw you and the government?"
Mr Peters said NZ First wanted to drop GST back to 10%.
On the law and order front, Mr Peters said NZ First would ban gangs using legislation already prepared by MP Ron Mark.
"Real Maori men do not beat up women and children. They do not feed drugs to young people. They do not hang out in gangs that prey on the weak and defenceless."
SWANSONG?
MY WAY
"And now, the end is near, And so I face the final curtain."
- Frank Sinatra.
WINSTON'S WAY
"And now, the time is here And so I face the rising curtain."
- John Rowles to NZ First supporters yesterday.
