Winston Peters, the leader of NZ First, has slammed David Seymour, questioning his ‘Māori-ness’ and the Act leader’s commitment to Māori causes.

In an interview with Moana Maniapoto on Te Ao with Moana, Peters said: “David Seymour discovered his Māori-ness the same way Columbus discovered America, purely by accident.”

Peters, who’s hoping to usher NZ First back into government at the upcoming general election, spent much of the interview emphasising his party’s significance and avoiding questions about other political entities, but when pressed on Seymour, he fired back.

“Please don’t tell me that you put me in the same category as him. In terms of working for Māori,” Peters said.

“All my life I have worked for Māori,” he quipped.

In reaction to the remarks, Seymour told the Herald Act stood for “ending division by race” and claimed too many people were focused on identity rather than actions.

He said Peters’ comments sounded like he was “getting into identity politics”.

Seymour’s family discovered their Ngāpuhi whakapapa [ancestry] when he was seven years old.

On Peters saying the pair weren’t in the same category, Seymour agreed.

“He’s not in the same category as me for a number of reasons, but I don’t need to go into them here.”

In the interview airing at 8pm tonight on Whakaata Māori, Peters voiced his frustrations with the mainstream media, accusing them of marginalising NZ First, and defended his controversial recent comments about Māori not being indigenous to Aotearoa.

‘Because women wrote to me’

“Give me a break. I went to the Cook Islands and the first time I went there, this very senior Cook Islander says to me from way back. ‘Welcome home’.”

“I knew exactly what he meant,” Peters said.

When pressed by Maniapoto about the lack of “big whizz bang policies” during the party’s campaigning so far, and “dog-whistling” on issues, Peters hit out again.

Addressing a question about toilets (and the trans-access issue) being a linchpin policy, Peters passionately stated,

“Because women wrote to me and said, ‘Look, I’m so concerned, my daughter’s not going to the bathroom at school, because she doesn’t think she’s safe there’,” he said.

“You’re nodding your head, like, you know, well, why don’t we leave it there? Let’s find out who knows what they’re talking about. Because when women write to me, I pay attention.” he added.

Dumping Pharmac and health authority

Peters reiterated his desire to overhaul New Zealand’s health system, particularly targeting Pharmac.

“I’m getting rid of Pharmac, and getting a model that does work, and I’ll put $1.3 billion into pharmaceuticals of first world quality.”

Maniapoto asked Peters about his desire to get rid of the Māori Health Authority.

“It’s a massive failure,” Peters argued.

Maniapoto questioned that statement, given the authority is less than a year old, and added “If you keep doing the same old thing, you get the same old result?”

“I’m not gonna stand by while somebody thinks they’re going to ram down my throat failure,” Peters said, shifting focus.

‘All my life I have worked for Māori’

Closing the conversation, Peters sought to remind viewers of what he said was his long-standing commitment to Māori.

“Have you been down to Ōpōtiki recently?” Peters asked.

“Down there is a brand new mussel factory. That is the biggest mussel farm in the world going in there.”

“That’s with the Provincial Growth Fund, which they all said was a slush fund,” he added.

From establishing Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry for Māori Development, to financing kapa haka and supporting Kōhanga reo, Peters said his record on Māori advocacy was clear.

“I want for Māori affordable, safe homes. I want them to get health treatment if they should ever need it. I want them to get on the escalators of education to go as far as they like, as I was able to do one time because I was lucky enough.” he said.

“And I want them on first-world wages. That’s what I want. This is my focus,” he said.

Winston Peters features on Te Ao with Moana 8PM tonight on Whakaata Māori (Channel 5 Freeview, 19 on Sky TV) or later on demand, via Māori Plus.