28/05/2026
“While most ministers were told to tighten their belts in a bread and margarine Budget, Winston Peters walked away with the butter. Budget 2026 made one thing crystal clear: when it came to coalition negotiations and funding priorities, Peters didn’t just survive the cuts he secured the lion’s share for his ministries. As Barry Soper put it on Newstalk ZB, ‘Winston got the butter while everyone else got the margarine.’ In a Budget defined by restraint, austerity, and hard choices, Peters once again proved he remains the coalition’s master negotiator, extracting political gold while others were left scraping the bottom of the fiscal pantry.”