Man who heckled Winston Peters investigated by employer
A man who heckled Winston Peters in Wellington yesterday morning is being investigated by his employer, Tonkin + Taylor.
Minister for Rail Winston Peters was speaking to reporters about new rail funding while at Wellington Railway Station, alongside Minister of Transport Chris Bishop, when he was interrupted.
The heckler, who appeared to be wearing a lanyard with work identification, could be heard saying, "a load of bollocks, Winston".
The Deputy Prime Minister was heckled as he made an announcement at the Wellington Railway Station. (Source: 1News)
In a statement, a spokesperson from engineering consultancy company Tonkin + Taylor confirmed it was "aware of an incident at a media event at Wellington Railway Station" yesterday morning.
"We have confirmed the person involved is a Tonkin + Taylor employee. We are investigating in line with our Code of Conduct and for privacy reasons we won't be commenting any further," they said.
The company said it did not "condone behaviour that falls short of our Code of Conduct".
"We sincerely apologise to the event organisers, attendees, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister Bishop, for the disruption caused."
Speaking to Newstalk ZB this morning, Peters said it was an "appalling circumstance".
He said Tonkin + Taylor had called to apologise and, as it was an employment matter, he didn't want to comment further.
Asked if he would feel bad if the man lost his job, Peters said: "No I wouldn't, frankly."
The New Zealand First leader was announcing new funding to upgrade rail reliability as part of the Government's upcoming Budget. Peters made the announcement as Rail Minister ahead of Budget 2025 on Thursday.
'We want railways to succeed for this country – rail freight backs our business, and business backs our cities and provinces," he said.
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