New Zealand First leader Winston Peters addresses the party's annual convention in Hamilton. Photo: Russell Palmer / RNZ
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened the party's 31st annual convention in antagonistic style, calling out opponents and the media alike.
One of his MPs has, however, spoken about plans for more funding for media, saying Google will be making a large investment soon.
The AGM will see the party vote on which of at least 42 policy proposals to bring to the next election.
Australia Northern Territory senator Jacinta Price has been invited as a guest to give a speech in the afternoon.
The meeting opened on Saturday morning, with second-ranked MP Shane Jones kicking off proceedings with a karakia and national anthem, welcoming Price by saying NZ First was the party "that is not swept aside by faddishness or what may be in vogue, but rather goes back to the gritty influences that define us as a nation".
Up next, Peters said it was a special event, given critics thought the party would not last five minutes.
"The youngest here is 16 years of age, and congratulations for that, and the oldest is 93 years of age and congratulations for that in an ageistic world, where so many people who can't run the university tuck shop want to tell you how to run the country."
He hailed former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad, who was 93 when he left office, and Warren Buffett.
"So don't feel bad about it, my best advice to you, though, if you're in that bracket: don't act your age."
He then said no other party had been under as much unfair scrutiny and criticism as New Zealand First, taking aim at former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, who in May threatened to sue him after Peters in an RNZ interview criticised Carr's comments about the AUKUS security pact. Carr then sent him a letter warning he planned to begin legal action.
"When I talked about a man named Beijing Bob, and they all hallucinated for two weeks saying he's going to sue you and I thought no, he won't be suing us because evidence and proof is a defence.
"I'm still waiting, but the media have not rung him back to say, 'What's happened, Bob?' "
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RNZ has repeatedly sought confirmation from Carr and his legal team of whether they had filed legal action.
"Can't wait to stick it in, so to speak, because one thing about New Zealand First which makes us unique: we are impervious to being bought off. No other party can make that claim," Peters said.
"We have fought more battles than all the other parties put together, we have won more court cases in the interests of New Zealanders than all the others put together."
MP Jenny Marcroft, who is Parliamentary Under-Secretary for media and communications, said what Peters wanted was fair and balanced reporting.
"You need to not only chase the story but follow it up - no more silence from the media," she said, referring to court cases brought by the Serious Fraud Office.
She highlighted trust in media had declined, but said what was more alarming were the people avoiding engaging with the media.
New Zealand First understood the important role of the fourth estate, she said, indicating she had several pieces of work aimed at levelling the playing field in the industry.
"I have met with Google and yes they are contributing a large financial piece of money going directly into our media at the moment, but I can't talk too much about that at this stage because those discussions are ongoing."
She was also looking into ensuring cell towers had batteries that would keep them running for at least 24 hours in an emergency, and work on regional media resilience during an emergency.
The convention and AGM would conclude after a speech from Winston Peters on Sunday.
