Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters took the reins of Cabinet last week while Jacinda Ardern attended the UN General Assembly in New York. This week, the Kingmaker certainly didn’t disappoint.
Cabinet Minutes Condensed
Winston Peters started off the press conference by confirming that the “Waka-Jumping” Bill, is expected to pass through the House of Representatives in all its readings. This bill would supposedly allow people to have more confidence in the electoral system. The same is expected of the Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament Remuneration) Amendment Bill, which would freeze MP’s pay for a year. The government recognised that most New Zealanders’ pay growths have been out of proportion with MPs since changes were made by the Remuneration Authority in 2015. The bill was introduced to allow for the government to focus on lifting the wages for ordinary Kiwis.
Media Questions
They really don’t exaggerate it in the media, Winnie likes to keep his dealings with the media short and sweet. I didn’t have time to slip my question about the Treaty settlement process into the mix, but other reporters asked questions about the meth houses and Iranian terrorist attacks.
Peters addressed multiple questions about needle-ridden strawberries being stocked on Countdown shelves in Auckland. He stated that media coverage could encourage further fruit-tampering.
“In terms of exporting into this country, we will be screening every strawberry punnet.” Screenings will be conducted through a proposed metal detector that authorities will use to pick up any metal that is found within the punnets.
Multiple questions were thrown about the Victoria University name change, with Winston Peters refusing to comment because he did not want to “compromise” Education Minister Chris Hipkins.