Winston Peters' Abortion Comments Spark Election Firestorm

Bob McCoskrie, spokesman for Family First, discusses a wide-ranging interview he conducted with NZ First leader Winston Peters ahead of the election, after Chris Hipkins declined and David Seymour, Christopher Luxon and Te Pāti Māori's co-leader failed to respond to interview requests. The 50-minute conversation covered social conservatism, euthanasia, immigration and fertility rates, but it was Peters' remarks on abortion that went viral, drawing heavy media backlash.

McCoskrie explains that when presented with evidence of babies surviving abortions and being left to die, rising late-term abortions, and unsupervised use of abortion medication at home, Peters indicated he would be open to revisiting New Zealand's abortion law, consistent with past comments that he believes life begins at conception. McCoskie contrasts this with ACT's Tāmaki candidate, who told social conservatives to "keep it to themselves" (a stance David Seymour has since backed), and with National's Christopher Luxon refusing to engage on abortion or conversion therapy, arguing neither ACT nor National genuinely cater to socially conservative voters. He points listeners to Family First's "Value Your Vote" tool (www.valueyourvote.nz) to compare where parties stand on these issues.

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