New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at criticism of his party's fiscal policy, attacking the expertise of an economist who questioned it on Breakfast this morning.
Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen said the party hadn't presented a fiscal plan.
"It's pretty hard to stack up the fiscal numbers when there isn't that sort of level of detail" in the NZ First manifesto, Olsen said.
Later on Breakfast, Peters said Olsen wasn't neutral and didn't understand some of the figures.
"He's not gonna get away with that because I've got a far more respected economist than him behind me," he said.
"If he'd made a phone call to me and he'd have asked me, I'd have told him.
"He's on here as some sort of expert when he's not."
Asked about his popularity within Parliament, Peters said: "Parliament is not the master here."
"We're going into an election – and guess what? All those people out there who are voters, they're the kingmakers, they're the masters.
"This has been the most unusual, unreal campaign I've ever seen," he added.
"Night after night, ice creams and sausage rolls and photo opportunities, but no-one's campaigning like New Zealand First."
He said Labour hasn't ruled him out, but rather he'd ruled them out.
And Peters claimed David Seymour's comments about the NZ First leader were for political reasons.
"When it comes to Seymour, have you seen Seymour's televised thank you for Winston Peters helping him out on some occasions?
"Or have you seen the letter that he wrote me, thanking me for the work when he asked me to help him?" Peters asked.
"When people make those comments for political reasons, it's so obvious."
Peters was pressed on how he'd form a government with Christopher Luxon and Seymour, given their criticisms of him.
He said that question was "baseless" and showed political preference.
"Ask them because it wasn't me who said it in the first place," Peters said.
'There isn't a fiscal plan here' - economist on NZ First
nfometrics principal economist Brad Olsen said "we don't know what their fiscal outlook will be". (Source: Breakfast)
Earlier Olsen told Breakfast: "We don't know what their fiscal outlook will be".
Asked if New Zealand First's fiscal plan stacked up, Olsen was critical.
"There isn't a fiscal plan here," he said. "It's pretty hard to stack up the fiscal numbers when there isn't that sort of level of detail.
"Last week, you did have New Zealand First announce their policy manifesto, that was a 47-page document that was released.
"It had some details in it, including the likes of the same policy repeated on I think pages five and 11. One was costed at $1 billion, one was costed at $480 million a year, so a lot of questions I think."
He said it posed a "difficulty" given the party's projected position as kingmaker after the election.
"On the numbers that we can calculate, it looks like there's around sort of $19.2 billion that is expected to be spent by New Zealand First over the next term of government," Olsen added.
"That's funding that hasn't really got any details around where it's going to come from."
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