Winston Peters Has Lost The Plot | The Jackal


24 Apr 2025

Winston Peters Has Lost The Plot

The political petrified piece of wood, aka Winston Peters, who refuses to retire gracefully, has had an eventful couple of weeks peddling transphobia, pushing bigoted policies, undertaking his unrelenting war on wokeness and slinging vile accusations like calling Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick a “groomer”.

At 80, the hypocritical NZ First leader’s latest antics don't just raise issues with the old dogs morality, they raise serious questions about his grip on reality. Is this the calculated cynicism of a populist relic, or has the man completely lost the plot? Either way, his behaviour is a toxic stain on our political landscape.

Let’s start with the unrepentant transphobia. Peters’ recent NZ First member’s bill, aiming to legally define “woman” and “man” as the only two sexes that should be recognised, isn’t just a dog whistle...it’s a god damn foghorn. He claims it’s about “focusing on the facts of biology,” but let’s be real: it’s a deliberate attack on trans rights, dressed up as some sort of common sense mantra that is wearing extremely thin.

This isn’t about clarity; it’s about erasing identities to appease a shrinking, fear-mongering base of hateful bigots. His homophobic rhetoric echoes the worst of global culture wars just to get attention, fanning flames of division while ignoring the real issues, like the cost of living crisis, homelessness or unmitigated climate change disasters, serious problems that threaten people's very existence and deserve our full and undivided attention. Swarbrick often raises these topics Peters wishes to ignore, which is perhaps why he feels so threatened by her.

Then there’s NZ First's, and other right wing reprobates, attacks on Benjamin Doyle, implying predatory behavior by the embattled Green MP, which set the stage for vile online conspiracies. Swarbrick, defending Doyle, became collateral damage in this hateful narrative, with Peters’ actions amplifying tropes that paint rainbow communities as threats to children.

This isn’t just reckless, it’s a highly dangerous lie, as evidenced by the numerous death threats Doyle has faced. When Destiny Church's goons attacked Drag Story Time last month, it was fueled by the same rhetoric and hatred Peters is now stoking. Is this the legacy he wants to be remembered for? To get people who don't fit the mold beaten up, or perhaps even killed?


Peters’ sanity is further called into question by his obsession with media control. His recent RNZ interview was a showcase of unhinged bullying, where he attacked host Corin Dann and said he was going to slash RNZ’s funding. This isn’t a new thing for Peters, who has a history of threatening mainstream media when they don’t toe his line. In 2017, he openly mused about “reining in” journalists; now, he’s openly questioning RNZ’s public funding, a move Labour’s Chris Hipkins rightly called “censorship.” 

 

There's even legislation that explicitly bars ministers from meddling in funding of this sort, yet Peters threatens with apparent impunity, knowing his veiled threats have a chilling effect on free speech. And where is stand in Prime Minister David Seymour in all this? All he can say is that it's not really up to Peters, but the government will look at RNZ's funding allocation sometime in the future. Not exactly backing the mainstream medias right to report the truth there, Seymour.

Winston Peters is an outdated politician fighting off irrelevance through fear and division. His archaic policies reveal a staggering lack of self-awareness and awareness of what century he's living in, so much so that he now appears to be entirely senile. His attacks on Swarbrick, Doyle, and well-respected reporters within the MSM, because they don’t kowtow to his every whim, isn’t leadership; it’s a clear sign of a cornered dinosaur throwing tantrums. The only person who thinks it’s not a good time for Winston Peters to retire is Winston bloody Peters.

Published by the Jackal