𝔹𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕡 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕟 '𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝟛 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤' 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℙ𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤

𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤 𝔹𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕡 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕎𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤’ 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒, 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 “𝕎𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕎𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟” 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕟 “𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤”.

T

he Deputy Prime Minister has caused waves in the early days of the new government, suggesting the media was taking bribes through the Public Interest Journalism Fund. He also said TVNZ and RNZ may come under their policy that government departments must use English as their primary language. 

Yesterday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the Prime Minister needs to “stamp down quickly” on his number two.

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When asked about Peters’ comments on Breakfast this morning, Bishop said it was unsurprising as “Winston is Winston”. 

“I think it’s gonna be an interesting three years, but the key point is we’ve got a coalition government ready to go,” he said.

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“We’ve got three different parties. The first time in MMP history, we’ve got three parties inside Cabinet, and they’ve got different, distinct personalities.”

Joining Bishop on Breakfast was Labour MP Kieran McAnulty, who called the Minister of Housing’s comments a “weak response”. 

“The fact of the matter is that the Deputy Prime Minister is telling you guys in the studio that you’re corrupt.

“And he’s telling the whole country that you’re corrupt, and I don’t think that's good enough.” 

He said Peters is likely “rubbing his hands together” because “he’s got the longest leash he's ever had in 40 years in Parliament”. 

Responding to McAnulty’s claims, Bishop said Peters was saying “what a lot of people think actually”. 

He didn’t believe the media was taking bribes from the government but understood how members of the public could perceive it that way. 

“A lot of people think that the Public Journalism Fund led to perceptions around the media."

McAnulty quickly fired back, saying: “Part of being a politician is actually showing some leadership, and if you know something’s a lie, and you know someone shouldn’t have said it, then come out and say ‘this isn’t true and it shouldn’t have been said’.”

He said National is “tip-toeing around Winston” because he's “already had the measure of them in negotiations, and he’s licking his lips”.

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New government 'virtue signalling' with te reo policy

The focus of the debate then shifted to the government’s plan to shift government departments to “English first”. 

Bishop said the approach was to make departments more accessible to all people and “identify their government departments”. 

McAnulty shot back, saying the government isn’t prioritising the big issues like the cost of living.

“I haven’t seen a document that’s come from a government department that I haven’t been able to read. 

“Because, of course, they communicate in English.

“Even if you take Waka Kotahi, for example, immediately after that, it says New Zealand transport agency — everyone has been able to navigate this.” 

He accused the government of “virtue signalling”. 

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