Winston remains in charge

NZ First have confirmed that Winston Peters is going to remain Leader for now, but not necessarily until the 2011 election.

This is not unexpected, but what is a pleasant surpise is some backbone from Peter Brown:

Deputy leader Peter Brown said several supporters had told him they thought Mr Peters should resign, but he believed the party would suffer if he did.

He believed NZ First could successfully return to Parliament in 2011, but it would take some major changes.

The party’s funding and Mr Peters’ actions would both need to be more transparent.

“I personally think he’s a great guy and he’s got a lot of talent, but we can’t even give the perception that we are a one-man band.

“In reality we weren’t, but he would go off on a tangent and we wouldn’t know a thing about it, ie the Spencer Trust, and that’s not acceptable.”

Well done Peter Brown. No it is not acceptable for the money intended for the party to be deposited into private trusts run by the Leader’s staff and brother, without the Board even knowing the existence of such trust.

Apart from the difficulty of being out of Parliament, NZ First do have significant challenges. Winston will be 66 at the next election and Deputy Leader Peter Brown will be 72.