Winston Peters calls 78-year-old critic's complaints 'memory problems'

At a public gathering in Papakura on Saturday, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters addressed a specific criticism from a constituent during an hour-long speech. Peters read a social media post from a woman he identified as Wendy, who is 78 years old.

Wendy's post questioned what New Zealand First achieved during its three-year coalition with the National Party. She described managing on a single pension as a joke, citing higher food and energy costs, declining house prices, and reduced access to healthcare. The message ended with the capitalized question, "WHAT HAS NEW ZEALAND FIRST DONE FOR ME?"

Peters told the crowd that he concluded the woman must have obvious memory problems. He received laughter from the audience before listing several policies his party secured. These included increasing pension payments and abolishing the superannuation surtax.

"A party called New Zealand First got rid of it, abolished the whole lot, that's No.1," Peters said regarding the surtax. He also pointed to the Gold Card program, hearing-aid support, and assistance with winter power bills as evidence of his party's record.

The leader noted that his party kept the pension age at 65 and opposed means-testing the benefit. He framed his speech as a reminder for voters, saying, "If you've got memory problems, that's why I'm doing it at this meeting to make sure you've got something to vote on." Peters argued that other parties would neglect the elderly when they faced difficulties, whereas his party had consistently defended them.