Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a post-Cabinet press conference in the Beehive Theatrette earlier this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell
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Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters makes his debut at the weekly Prime Minister's post-Cabinet press conference today as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern remains Auckland-bound waiting for the birth of her child.
While Ardern will not hand over the title of Acting Prime Minister to Peters until she heads to hospital to give birth, Peters chaired Cabinet today having taken over Ardern's Parliament-based duties ahead of that time.
He is expected to field a range of questions from the nurses' decision to reject the pay offer by DHBs, teachers meeting for pay talks and threats of industrial action by staff at MBIE and Inland Revenue.
He is also likely to be asked about Health Minister David Clark's voice messages to former acting district health board chairman Rabin Rabindran over media reports about Middlemore Hospital.
He is also likely to be asked more about his own MP Shane Jones' recent comments criticising Fonterra and saying board chairman John Wilson should step down.
Former Prime Minister Sir John Key helpfully provided some advance advice to Peters on dealing with the extra media appearances involved in being a Prime Minister: keep a cool head.
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