It appears Ngaro may have been the victim of a last-minute scheduling change, which meant he was the first to address the crowd, instead of someone introducing him beforehand as was originally planned.
Instead, the MP with nine years in Parliament had to hastily inform the crowd who he was as Peters walked on stage.
Ngaro, holding his own media stand-up after Peters’ speech, shrugged off the confusion and said it simply reflected “not everyone knows who you are” – not entirely unreasonable but perhaps a reminder to politicians in upcoming campaign events to say your name before speaking.
Former National minister Alfred Ngaro will stand as a candidate for New Zealand First in this year’s election. Photo / RNZ
It mightn’t have been the best start to Ngaro’s affiliation with New Zealand First, but it could have been worse.
Days after former Labour Cabinet minister Stuart Nash stood beside Peters making his pitch to be NZ First’s latest recruit last year, he tried to define a woman in a way that risked destroying any possible political comeback.
It’s unclear whether redemption is possible for Nash within NZ First, given his comments would stick to him in a campaign and aggravate half of the voting public.
Ngaro, while no stranger to controversy, presented as a polished politician who seemed comfortable under a spotlight.
It turns out Peters had asked him about joining NZ First in 2023, but by then, Ngaro had already started the NewZeal party; today saying he wanted to stand by his commitment to supporters.
After the election, in which NewZeal received 0.56% of the vote, Ngaro said it wasn’t until last year that the conversation reignited.
Alfred Ngaro stood as leader of the NewZeal party in 2023. Photo / NZME
He kept it quiet, claiming he didn’t mention it to any of his former National Party colleagues at Mark Mitchell’s wedding last week.
Ngaro, a Christian conservative, provides a connection to a religious voting bloc; references to God and the “good book” featured in his few minutes on stage.
It also doesn’t hurt that both he and Nash have some level of public profile, helping reinforce NZ First’s growing support in the polls.
But what he and Nash offer NZ First is experience, and it’s an issue NZ First is seeking to solve.
Since the beginning of the year, all major pollsters have NZ First securing 9-11%. That’s roughly 4-6 more seats in Parliament and, if in government, potentially more places around the Cabinet table.
Aside from Peters and Shane Jones, the party’s current caucus lacks central government experience, noting first-term MP and Cabinet minister Casey Costello has been able to survive significant hurdles thus far.
It’s prompted speculation that former NZ First identities might make a return to balance some of the more fresh-faced MPs, particularly if the party is on the way up.
Whether Ngaro or Nash are in the mix for a potential ministerial position is not yet known, but they would provide value within an inexperienced caucus.
NZ First leader Winston Peters said Ngaro’s experience was valuable. Photo / Supplied
Asked how Ngaro could appeal to people, Peters first pointed to his experience as a Cabinet minister and later promised more candidate announcements to follow.
Ngaro’s candidacy was the sole surprise of Peters’ State of the Nation, which seemed more of a scene-setter than an attempt to break new ground.
The campaign policy “announcement” was more of a re-announcement of the party’s intention to break-up the energy gentailers, but bolstered by promises of long-term, fixed-price contracts for new-build generation projects and regulating a higher price for people generating energy through solar and selling it back to the grid.
The speech, which lasted almost 70 minutes, hit all the usual notes; the state of the economy (including his finger-wagging at National for promising to solve the cost-of-living crisis), Covid-19, the World Health Organisation, criticism of Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, state assets and his opposition to the Fonterra deal.
Immigration, specifically the Government’s free trade deal with India which Peters’ opposes, didn’t feature until after an hour, despite being considered one of NZ First’s core platforms.
It wasn’t Peters’ most polished performance. He accidentally said “socialist” while attempting to describe his party as socially conservative, drawing chuckles.
He then declared NZ First was “nationalist with a capital L”, prompting some more laughs.
Former Green Party co-leader Rod Donald was referred to as “Rod McDonald”. He shouldn’t be too offended, though; Peters acknowledged that despite all his flaws, Donald had “purpose and principles”.
As always, Peters’ best moments were when he spoke off the cuff instead of from the page.
Fortunately, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to do just that as he ramps up his public meetings with just months until the election.
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.