Wendy: Caller reveals she was on the scene after Winston Peters was heckled at railway station

There's been shock and surprise among Wellingtonians after Winston Peters was heckled after delivering his rail funding announcement. 

Environmental and engineering firm Tonkin + Taylor says it's looking into a report a man wearing a staff lanyard swore at the minister.

Caller Wendy was on the scene - and she joined the Afternoons team to discuss.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
Wendy, you were there. You were at the at the
station for the actual exchange. I understand, yes, I was, yes, wow.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
And I must say it was I was there from
the beginning and everything was going very peaceful. The reporters
were there, obviously asking the correct questions when Si Peters
was asking, you know, answering them, and then the sky
just came out of nowhere and just muscled himself in
to where the reporters were and then just instantly started

(00:45):
attacking them, like nothing to do with you know, the budget,
with the rail or anything like that. And the thing
I felt really disappointed was there's lots of school kids
like standing around because you know, they're like all these cameras,
there's Winston Peters, you know, I there's some parliament people.
So the kids, school kids were you know, gathering around,
and yeah, the sky was just so rude and you know,

(01:06):
it's lockedious and just didn't stop. Yeah, and I just
thought that was like, you know, we're in a public
place and you know, the abuse this guy was giving
Munstone was just so uncalled for, Like he wasn't there,
He wasn't there listening to it all from the beginning.
He just basically came off the train.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
So do you think he do you think he just arrived, Wendy,
I was sort of speculating on this before. Did he
come down to see Winston or was he just cruising
past and got annoyed?

Speaker 1 (01:32):
No?

Speaker 3 (01:32):
I believe he came off the train right and he
saw he saw him, and then he just just basically
pushed his way into where the media and stuff were
and he just started having to go a.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
M So he got so he got so triggered, He
got so triggered that he couldn't help himself even though
he is landed on he just got needed to need
to yell some ageous abuse at at a man.

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Yeah, it must have been a bit of a red
a red miss situation, Whendy by the sound of it,
that he just completely lost his mind. Maybe he never
had it in the first place.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yeah, Well I don't know, And it was just like
it just came from nowhere and Okay, Winston, you know,
gave back, you know exactly what the guy was giving them.
But yeah, the guy knew that this was not going
anywhere and didn't stop, but just carried on and made a.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Total Did you think do you think Winston won? Do
you think Winston won the exchange?

Speaker 3 (02:26):
And it was just like, you know, the abuse and stuff.
It's like I just thought, you know, like couse the
kids with you, and I just thought, you know, it's
a public play. And I get that.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
It's interesting because, Wendy, because we've got this text here
that says, I'm a member of the Free Speech Union.
I disagree with them on this is shoe. It's abuse,
nothing less. If say a policeman or a nurse and
uniform dished out this mindus abuse, what would we think
do deserves to be fired? So do you think that,
in terms of a free speech issue, Wendy, that people
should be allowed to yell things out? You take umbrage

(03:00):
with the words he was using and the abuse he
was giving. So if he if he had turned up,
Wendy and just sort of yelled some political points he
disagreed with in a reasoned manner, you wouldn't have had
a problem.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
No, I probably wouldn't have, because yeah, that was you know,
like that was something that was on topic. And yeah,
and you know, that could have been something you know,
he thought about, but it was just the way that
he just came all of a sudden, he just appeared
and then just abused, abused Winston totally things that weren't
even like, you know, I were talking about a bloody

(03:34):
budget for rail for God's sake. So yeah, it was
just like really and everybody basically was just the mouth
dropped and we're looking at.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Was it awkward? Did you did you?

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Did you?

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Did you feel good?

Speaker 3 (03:47):
I did feel yeah, I did feel awkward. And I
was standing quite close to the guy too, and I
was just looking at him going oh my god, like yeah, yeah,
and I just felt like saying to him, you know,
you should be ashamed of yourself. You know, everybody thinks
you're idiot. And Winston was laughing and you know, so
you know, saying yeah.

Speaker 4 (04:06):
So I thought nothing. I thought the bollocks line back
to him was pretty good from Winston. Wendy, when I
think the guy said to him, you're talking a load
of bollocks and head and said, will you look like bollocks?

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah? Exactly yes, And.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
What do you think about that? So, Wendy, what do
you think about people saying that Winston Peters is you know,
he's a member of Parliament, you know, deputy prime minister.
Should he behave with more decorum than he behaved?

Speaker 3 (04:33):
Oh yes, yeah, yeah, probably. Yeah, but I just think
it was just so unprovoked. It was just you know,
it was it was concentrating on reading the budget and
the reporters were the asking questions about the rail and stuff,
and the Sky just came out of no k So yeah,
I think it. I think it's sort of you know,
and yeah, he was talking to Winston and no one

(04:55):
else was saying, excuse me, you need to leave. So
Winston was the only one that actually was addressing him.
No one there wasn't any security or any thinks that
you're saying to the sky, you know, like you actually
need to leave. So yeah, I suppose if Winston didn't
reply to him, you know, I don't know if anyone
else Twitter.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
So yeah, yeah, well thank you so much, thank you,
thank you so much, need for your for your eyewitness support.
I appreciate it. Very detailed. That was excellent, so good
to have someone on the spot.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Yeah, the guy was a complete knob and yeah, yeah,
I just I just felt because the school kids with you, and.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
It's just that's fair enough because the language, language, the
language towards the end was fullorn and I think Winston
even said as much.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
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