Winston Peters- demographic crisis!
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Media Release 7 August 2026
Right to Life commends The Right Hon. Winston Peters, for warning our nation that our birth rate has fallen to 1.53, dangerously below the replacement level of 2.1 and that our population was on a precipice. He said that this constituted an “eleventh hour crisis.” To address this crisis, the Minister is proposing as an election policy a bonus of $5,000 being paid for each child for the first three years, with a maximum of three children per family. The Minister is budgeting this initiative at $400,million per year.
Right to Life believes that his response raises several very important questions.
New Zealand has had a demographic crisis since 1980, when the birth rate was below replacement level at 2.03. Our birth rate since then has been consistently below replacement level. When in Parliament, why has Winston Peters remained silent on the demographic crisis during the last 45 years?
Right to Life believes that prior to his recent statement, there has been no public statement from Winston Peters to express his concern at the “demographic Winter” enveloping New Zealand.
The community should be aware that in 2014 Winston Peters was a guest speaker at the Family First Conference. He stated he “believed that abortion should be safe, legal and rare” and that the unborn child from conception was a human being endowed by its Creator with an inalienable right to life.
Right to Life asks: why he is silent when the killing of the unborn is not rare, but is currently prolific? Why too has he not promoted legislation to recognise the status of the unborn child as a human being endowed with a right to life?
Right to Life believes that since the founding of NZ First in 1980, Winston Peters has sought to create the fictitious idea and facade that NZ First is strongly pro-life, when in fact, it is not.
Right to Life asks how can the Minister really be concerned about the low birth rate, when he was a Minister in the coalition government led by Jacinda Ardern from 2017 to 2020, and the Luxon Coalition government, which has since 2023 presided over the government funded abortion industry that has killed more than 100,000 defenceless and innocent unborn New Zealand children.
How can we have a replacement level birth rate when 1 in 5 children are killed before birth effectively for any reason?
Right to Life supports increased government funding of families with children, however questions the Minister’s proposal of a baby bonus fortuitously proposed just prior to a general election. The Minister should be aware that similar baby bonus programmes have been tried in Australia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and a number of other countries and have failed to raise the birth rate. What evidence does the Minister have to show that his baby bonus will lift our birth rate and not fail as it has in other countries?
Right to Life has been deeply concerned since 2011 about New Zealand’s demographic crisis, caused by our birth rate being below replacement level. We have been lobbying the government to repeal the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, and to conduct a national campaign to promote open adoption. Right to Life asks: why does the Minister not support these objectives?
Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life New Zealand Inc.
