Finlayson Tells National to Declare War on NZ First as Coalition Strains Show

One of the most senior figures of the last National-led government has publicly told his old party to walk away from NZ First, calling Winston Peters’ party “an excrescence” and urging Christopher Luxon to “declare war” on his coalition partner with six months to go before the 2026 general election.

Former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson, who served in Cabinet through all three terms of the Key and English governments and held the GCSB and NZSIS portfolios, made the comments on RNZ’s Morning Report on Friday. He said National should “extricate themselves from this grisly coalition and declare war” on NZ First, and questioned whether the current government would even survive a full term.

“I have no time for NZ First,” Finlayson told RNZ, describing the party as “an excrescence” on the political landscape. “Every time any political party deals with them, you get that sort of nonsense. I think they’re the enemy.”

The intervention is unusual because Finlayson is no fringe critic. He held the Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations portfolio for nine years, was Attorney-General from 2008 to 2017, and is widely respected across the political spectrum for his work on Treaty settlements and his stewardship of the intelligence agencies. His decision to break ranks publicly with a sitting National-led government carries weight that backbench grumbling does not.

The trigger for the broadside is the so-called “Iran emails” episode that has consumed Wellington this week. Peters’ office released internal correspondence under the Official Information Act showing that Luxon had wanted New Zealand to publicly back United States military strikes against Iran, only to be overruled by his Foreign Minister. The release blindsided the Beehive and breached the coalition’s “no surprises” convention.

Finlayson said the documents should never have left the building. “These are the sorts of exchanges that you would not expect to be released under the OIA because there’s a carve-out for this kind of sensitive material,” he said. “And also as to the process, well, it was appalling where you’ve got multiple ministers involved in the creation of emails and documents.”

Peters has accepted personal blame for the release, telling reporters earlier in the week, “In the end, I made the mistake. We carry the can in our office, we don’t blame others.” But he also described Luxon’s subsequent confidence vote of his own caucus as “unprecedented” with “consequences” — language that several gallery commentators have read as a warning.

Finance Minister and National deputy leader Nicola Willis said the affair confirmed long-standing concerns about working with Peters. “The problem with Winston Peters is you never know what you’re going to get,” she said, adding that Peters had been “very, very confused” over how the email release had been handled.

National’s campaign chair Simeon Brown was more measured, insisting the coalition was “in a good space” but adding that “Mr Peters should not be putting politics ahead of the national interest.” Former campaign chair Chris Bishop went further in defending the arrangement, telling reporters the coalition was “a very stable thing — everyone said it would fall apart within a year and here we are six months out from the election.”

The Iran emails are not the only flashpoint. The coalition is currently splintering on at least four other policy questions. ACT has blocked Cabinet consideration of a Modern Slavery Bill that has been on the books for more than a year. National has opposed an Overseas Money Transfer Bill backed by both NZ First and ACT. ACT broke ranks to support Green MP Kahurangi Carter’s overdose-amnesty bill at first reading. And NZ First’s Shane Jones has been openly hostile to the proposed India free-trade agreement, warning of what he called a “butter chicken tsunami” if Indian dairy and food exports were granted easier access to New Zealand markets.

Former Labour Foreign Minister Phil Goff said the email release was “no mistake” and “shows [Luxon’s] weakness in relation to his coalition partner.” Former Prime Minister Helen Clark was more circumspect, telling RNZ that “sometimes it can be stuff up rather than conspiracy.”

Finlayson himself questioned how much of the soap opera was actually registering with voters. “Are people interested in this sort of low-level stupidity?” he asked. “They’re more interested in cost of living.”

That observation is the strategic problem facing National. With inflation still above the Reserve Bank’s target band, fuel prices elevated by the Middle East supply crisis, and a Budget due later this month, the government needs every minute of airtime it can get to talk about economic management rather than coalition management. Each “sideshow,” to borrow Finlayson’s word, is a day not spent talking about wages, mortgages, or grocery bills.

The Finlayson intervention also opens an awkward strategic question that Luxon will now be asked at every press conference. Will National rule out a post-election coalition with NZ First? If the Prime Minister refuses to do so, he confirms the Goff reading that he is the junior partner in his own government. If he does rule it out, he risks collapsing the current arrangement before the campaign even begins.

Peters, for his part, has described the coalition as being as stable as a “three-legged stool.” Finlayson’s question, in effect, is whether National should simply kick the leg away.

What do you think — should National rule out working with NZ First after the election, or is the current coalition worth defending? Have your say in the comments below.