Category : News
Author: Mark Quinlivan

Winston Peters thinks the move to trespass him from Parliament is "unlawful, unreasonable and it cannot stand".

The former Deputy Prime Minister was slapped with a trespass notice from the Beehive for two years after an order from House Speaker Trevor Mallard. It came after Peters attended the 23-day anti-mandate protests on Parliament's grounds earlier this year. 

"I thought it was a hoax or a joke and I couldn't believe it," he told Newshub Live at 8pm on Tuesday. "I wanted to make sure I hadn't been set up, so to speak."

Peters' trespass revelations came after former National MP Matt King, who also attended the protest, revealed on Monday he too had received a notice. 

New Zealand First leader Peters, who lost his Parliament seat in election 2020, toured the protest site in late February.

"To see this blunderbuss of an act by the Speaker is something that no New Zealanders should put up with and I certainly do not intend to," Peters said of the trespass notice.

"[The Speaker] himself is not above the law… it demonstrates that he doesn't understand what his role is. He is the servant of Parliament and Parliament lays down the rules here.

"I'm calling upon the present parliamentarians to have a good hard look at what's going on," Peters told Newshub host Rebecca Wright.

He insisted Kiwis wouldn't tolerate such "dictatorial, absolutist behaviour".


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Peters was asked if he believed other parliamentarians supported him on the matter.

"If they've got no idea what they're there for, I won't have their support," he said. "I'm certain that their advisors are saying, 'For goodness sake, wake up, this is a very bad situation'."

Peters said he was seeking legal advice.

"I'm hardly past 24 hours since I received this outrage, so to speak and worked that it actually is… serious.

"Having made enquiries and taken legal advice, I've come to the conclusion that it's unlawful, it's unreasonable and it cannot stand."

Mallard ignored Newshub's requests for comment on Tuesday.

Earlier, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was "entirely… a matter for the Speaker" when asked about former MPs being trespassed from Parliament.

"Ultimately, the management of the grounds on behalf of all members of Parliament and all political parties is a matter for the Speaker." 

Article: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/05/winston-peters-says-dictatorial-behaviour-behind-speaker-trevor-mallard-s-blunderbuss-of-an-act-to-trespass-him-from-parliament.html
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