Our New Zealand regular contributor, Amy Brooke, usually talks sense, and her article in this week’s magazine, about identity and co-governance politics in New Zealand, raises some very valid questions about the obsessions of the Left on both sides of the ditch.

Brooke does, however, say this in relation to the push to rebrand New Zealand’s institutions and road signs in Te Reo Maori, now (unlike English, strangely enough) one of Godzone’s official languages:

At any rate, only one political party, New Zealand First, is focusing on reclaiming our language to reclaim this country.

What she is saying is that New Zealanders who care about the future of their country should give their support to New Zealand First. But that really means giving the balance of power, after the country’s 14 October election, to its charismatic and populist leader, Winston Peters.

Brooke is wrong. Nothing could be worse for the country than a return of Peters to the parliamentary stage. His notion of what is New Zealand’s best interest is Peters’s best interests.

Years ago, when Peters was a mere National Party shadow minister, he came to Australia on an Australian government-funded ‘fact-finding’ trip. The Department of Foreign Affairs singled him out as a coming man in New Zealand, and wanted to cultivate him, opening as many official doors to him as they could.

As part of his itinerary, Peters was slated to meet the secretary of the Department of Employment, Education and Training, to whom I then was executive officer. We knew of his coming man reputation, and were expecting to meet a dynamic, engaged figure who was eager to learn all he could to take back home.

The Winston Peters who reluctantly showed up, embarrassed Foreign Affairs minder in tow, was anything but. Totally unprepared, totally uninterested, bored to the point of rudeness, and looking forward to having shopping time. The coming man revealed himself to be entirely hollow, relying on his undoubted charisma, rather than hard graft, to skate through political life.

It’s now a matter of record that Peters deserted National, established New Zealand First in his populist image, and has exploited New Zealand’s Mixed Member Proportional electoral system to wield influence way beyond any one person’s right in a parliamentary democracy.

As for his personal mode of operating, sources tell me it hasn’t really changed since I lost an hour of my life when meeting with him thirty-plus years ago.

If New Zealand First cracks the 5 per cent minimum threshold for seats in the October election, as polls suggest is likely, and the National and Act parties don’t have a clear majority, Peters will be back in his element, making and breaking governments on his whim. He’s done it twice before: he will do it again.

It’s clear that the Maorification of New Zealand institutions and governance has gone too far. But giving Peters the single-handed power to decide who governs New Zealand, and how they govern, is wrong.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon is performing strongly in the polls, however lacklustre some think he is. These polls show he will need to rely on the more ideologically-sound and consistent Act Party to attain government, and that is good for New Zealand: Act and its leader David Seymour are willing and able to stiffen the anti-identity politics backbone of a new centre-right New Zealand government.

Winston Peters is not the Messiah of the Land of the Long White Cloud: he is just a naughty boy, as he has been throughout his long and undeniably colourful career. I’m sorry Amy Brooke, but the best thing for a New Zealand needing good, stable, centre-right leadership is keeping Peters well away from government, and especially deciding who forms government.

Luxon should make it absolutely clear that, if Peters makes a return on October 14, he will not deal or negotiate with him. That will, at least, help sharpen voters’ choices in getting rid of a tired and identity politics obsessed Ardern-Hipkins Labour-Greens alliance.

New Zealand politics will be the better for Winston Peters and his opportunistic populism finally being put out to pasture. It’s high time for sensible New Zealanders to do something about it.