In a significant procedural footnote to New Zealand’s first full Judicial Conduct Panel inquiry, Winston Peters has formally disavowed a specific statement attributed to him in a letter sent by then-Attorney-General Judith Collins to Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann.
The revelation is contained in the Judicial Conduct Panel’s report released on 10 April 2026 into the conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken, which we have reported previously on several occasions, as befits hearings of rowdy judicial goings-on in salubrious surroundings.
The disavowed statement
In a letter dated 12 December 2024, Judith Collins informed the Chief Justice that Peters had told her Judge Aitken referred to him by name, calling him “Winston”, while accusing him of lying during the 22 November 2024 Northern Club incident.
Special Counsel to the Panel, Tim Stephens KC, contacted Peters shortly before the January 2025 hearing. Peters denied making the statement (or said he could not recall doing so) and thereby disavowed the version recorded in the Attorney-General’s letter.
The Panel recorded that Collins subsequently spoke to Peters, who explained he “could not remember” providing the information. The Panel described the conflicting recollections between the Attorney-General and Peters as “very unsatisfactory” but treated the disputed detail as untested hearsay that had “no bearing on the Panel’s conclusions.”
Judge Aitken’s counsel, David Jones KC, raised the issue as possible evidence of “political mischief,” noting the Attorney-General’s direct involvement and the fact that the claim persisted for more than a year before being disavowed. NZ First’s chief of staff pushed back against any suggestion of political interference. The Panel ultimately found no evidence that political considerations had “infected” the process.
Panel’s substantive findings
The Panel determined that Judge Aitken’s brief interjection at the neighbouring New Zealand First fundraiser amounted to a serious breach of comity, the constitutional convention of mutual respect between the judiciary and the other branches of government, but fell short of the high threshold of “misbehaviour” required to justify removal from office.
The Panel’s full report can be seen here.
The Panel accepted as fact that Judge Aitken did not recognise Peters or realise she was interrupting a political event. She remains an acting District Court Judge until her warrant expires in February 2027.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith released the Panel’s findings on behalf of the government, confirming no further action would be taken.
The case remains the first (and to date only) matter to proceed to a full Judicial Conduct Panel under the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004, providing rare public insight into the high constitutional threshold for removal of a serving judge.
