NZ deputy PM likens previous Ardern government to Nazis

Labour's "co-governance" practice was "race-based theory", Deputy PM Winston Peters said. (Ben McKay/AAP PHOTOS)

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has set off a frenzy for likening the previous government's power-sharing policies with Maori to Nazi ideology.

Mr Peters made the startling comparison on Sunday during his State of the Nation speech, a campaign event for his populist New Zealand First party.