The Herald yesterday reported speculation Nash would be one of several guest speakers at the annual conference.

Neither Nash nor the party confirmed his attendance until he was introduced this afternoon to strong applause from the 280 party delegates.

Speaking to media, Nash initially referred questions about standing for NZ First to “the great man” Peters, who said it was a matter for Nash and the party.

Nash later said he wouldn’t presume to be selected but indicated his eagerness to join.

“As Winston said, there’s a process to go through. I’m not so arrogant to think that I can just jump into New Zealand First … there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before any final decisions are made.”

Asked if he personally sought a return to politics with NZ First, Nash thought all Cabinet ministers would concede they hoped to do more while in government.

Peters said he wouldn’t get ahead of the party’s candidate selection process, but he noted Nash’s past collaboration with NZ First in Opposition and in Government.

“It happened so many times that it would be seamless for him to be a part of New Zealand First.”

Nash’s speech was anchored by his son Charlie’s lack of engagement with politics, which he expanded to apply to New Zealand more broadly.

He heaped praise on NZ First, particularly Peters and Shane Jones, who he described as “my good friends”.

He launched attacks against National, the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis.

“[People] trust Mike Hosking far more than the PM to tell them how it is.

“Nicola tells those who are doing it hard to stop whinging, that the glass is half empty; we’re not.”

He claimed the Green Party was more worried about “toilets for transgenders” and alleged Te Pāti Māori was more interested in “trading insults than turning lives around”.

Nash said in his speech he wouldn’t criticise his former party but in a stand-up with media afterwards, he aired his belief Labour had abandoned its historical values, which had led to Nash drifting from the party.

Nash, who held several ministerial portfolios with Labour and was a former Napier MP, was sacked from Cabinet in March 2023 by then-PM Chris Hipkins for publicly disagreeing with Cabinet decisions, a breach of the Cabinet Manual.

Nash said he had been more disappointed by Hipkins’ lack of support.

“The guy that I thought had my back was a good mate, actually didn’t.

“What you kind of hope, maybe naively so, is that people have your back and every now and again you don’t get things right, but you know who your mates are, and when you’re even a very experienced politician like I was, [I] didn’t expect to be stabbed in the back.

“The interesting thing is there was one person who came up publicly and supported me, certainly my stance around police, my stance around keeping surgeons in the country, it was Winston Peters.”

Nash maintained the matter wasn’t personal for him.

Labour has been approached for comment.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.