Hipkins rules out coalition with Peters

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, August 28th, 2023 - 27 comments
Categories: chris hipkins, Christopher Luxon, election 2023, labour, national, nz first, winston peters - Tags:

Yesterday was a good day for Labour.  Leader Chris Hipkins started talking about what the party stood for and what its values are.

Instead of focus group tested micro policies for the middle he went back to basics.  And in the process ruled out coalition with New Zealand First.

From Radio New Zealand:

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has ruled out New Zealand First as a possible coalition partner after this year’s election, saying Winston Peters and his party would cause “instability and chaos”.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins confirmed the decision at a media conference today.

“New Zealand First has become a party more interested in toilets than the issues that matter most to New Zealanders,” said Hipkins.

Labour could work with the Green Party and with Te Pāti Māori, Hipkins said.

New Zealand First had already ruled out working with Labour.

Hipkins said the rhetoric he was hearing from Peters this election “means I just don’t see any compatibility with my vision for an inclusive, progressive and prosperous society”.

“Winston Peters and NZ First are a force for instability and chaos and that’s the last thing New Zealand needs at the moment.”

He described a National Party, ACT and NZ First coalition as one of “cuts, chaos and confusion” that holds views he thought would alienate large sections of New Zealand society – not just economically, but people’s sense of belonging.

Peters was “seeking to make trans people the enemy in this campaign”, Hipkins said.

“Living fully in your own skin isn’t always easy for any of us at the best of times but it can be particularly hard for our rainbow communities. None of them deserve the kind of abuse that’s been directed their way, stoked up by politicians who should know better.

“I have news for all those who try to divide us and take us backwards – you will ultimately fail, because Kiwis have always regarded unity as more important than division.”

Hipkins said he would continue to defend “a women’s right to choose” and said many National MPs and candidates wanted to roll back women’s rights.

“Members of their caucus celebrated the US Supreme Court decision to roll back a women’s right to choose.”

He said he backed initiatives like the Māori Health Authority and described David Seymour’s comments about the Pacific community as “chilling”.

Seymour had said the comments were a joke, Hipkins said: “I don’t think it’s a laughing matter.”

Hipkins said he had considered which party’s values and policies aligned with his own and those of the Labour Party.

“Kiwis deserve to know who they’re voting for, what their bottom lines are and what kind of government they could get after the election.”

Christopher Luxon’s response showed how deficient his leadership skills are.  First of all he refused to comment on the possibility of a National-NZ First coalition saying it was a hypothetical given NZ First is not in Parliament or consistently polling above the five percent threshold.

About Hipkins’ speech Luxon said that he was “incredibly sad that Chris Hipkins has decided to go so personal and so negative”.

For as long as I can recall Luxon has been personal and negative and denigrated Labour over every possible real or imagined deficiency.  Remember his describing New Zealand as a negative, wet, whiny, inward looking country that’s lost the plot?

But it is good to see some passion injected into the campaign by Labour.  And for Hipkins to start clearly setting out what is at stake this election.

27 comments on “Hipkins rules out coalition with Peters ”

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  1. PsyclingLeft.Always 1
    28 August 2023 at 8:48 am

    Aye MS. We are seeing Chris Hipkins, and Labour front footing it. More of this please !

    And Mr Luxon….is floundering. I'm sure Chris can, and will run rings around him.

    Chris and Labour…Keep the pressure on NActFrst . They are already revealing, as a dangerous to NZ combination of conspiracies, authoritarianism, and divisiveness.

    More pressure will lead to more reveal.

  2. Mac1 2
    28 August 2023 at 9:15 am

    The bully becomes the victim- blame shifting, pots and kettles, sympathy-seeking behaviour.

    "Luxon, for months: Labour would lead a coalition of chaos Hipkins, today: National, ACT, & NZF would be a coalition of fear and cuts Luxon: "incredibly sad that Chris Hipkins has decided to go so personal and so negative""

    Lance-corporal Jones had it right!

    Thinking more about such school-boy behaviour, Seymour above has it too. The classic response when being called out for unkind comments, “I was only joking”.

    Next we’ll get the “He did it too” and
    “They started it” fom the bullies.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 2.1
      28 August 2023 at 12:56 pm

      Lance-corporal Jones had it right! laugh

      “They don’t like it up ’em!” The NAct track is one of hollowing out NZ and protecting privilege – hands off ‘my’ deck chair! The one-track minds of NAct pollies are dim beyond ‘prosperity’ Christian belief – completely in thrall to Mammon.

      For the love of money is the root of all of evil – 1 Timothy 6:10

      NAct pollies don’t care about the welfare of most Kiwis – witness Seymour’s jokes/twerks and Willis’ sly smirks (she’d ‘out-mother’ ACT devotee Richardson) – they'd ‘lead’ society further up the privatisation and tax haven path, laughing all the way to an Aussie-owned bank and whatever passes for Mossack Fonseca these days.

      The back story to New Zealand PM John Key's Panama Papers crisis
      [4 October 2016]
      Documents obtained by the Greens under FOI show that by December 2014 the Treasury was warning that "the perception that we might be a tax haven are [sic] damaging to New Zealand's 'clean' reputation. This can only get worse . . ."

      Nursie! Nursie! NAct’s gettin' worsey.

  3. Roy Cartland 3
    28 August 2023 at 9:16 am

    Could we have more stories and posts which counter-narrate the idiotic “death spiral” rubbish that’s infected the MSM? We all know too well how self-fulfilling these kinds of ‘prophesies’ can become. Good stuff MS and TS!

  4. Blazer 4
    28 August 2023 at 9:38 am

    When the debates come up Hipkins should be more than a match for chrome dome.

    However because Luxon is using the Key playbook, he needs to be prepared for the 'gotcha' question that the Natz will have in store.

    Clark and Cunnliffe both got caught out.

    Thought Hipkins was too sharp,but he did get possumed by the 'Chinese building housing'…question.

    • Hanswurst 4.1
      28 August 2023 at 9:59 am

      Goff and Cunliffe, I think you'll find. I don't recall Clark being blindsided by a 'gotcha'-question.

    • Roy Cartland 4.2
      28 August 2023 at 10:00 am

      And the ‘what is a woman' question.

      Don’t forget Phil Goof’s ‘show me the money’ moment – even I laughed out loud at that!

      • Adrian 4.2.1
        28 August 2023 at 4:04 pm

        The on the ball reply to that would have been "I can't because you know where it is, you and your mates have got it all ".

  5. Corey 5
    28 August 2023 at 10:13 am

    It's very hollow because history tells us that if NZ first hadn't already ruled out Labour then Labour would never rule out NZ First, no matter what NZ First ever says.

    NZ first has always said crazy offensive and bigoted crap, its never stopped Labour before, in 2017 it constantly praised and emulated Trump, Brexit and Farrage, said shit loads of racist, homophobic and islamaphobic crap and was anti abortion then too and not only was Labour unbothered it made the leader minister of foreign affairs and deputy pm.

    It's all well and good but if NZ first was open to working with Labour, there's almost no line nzf could cross that would stop Labour from working with them.

    I'm glad Phil Goff the second has started attacking the torys, maybe he's realized he has to at least look like he's trying to win the election, but it's too bad he drank the focus group Kool aid and didn't realize Labour and the left needs young people to turn out to vote and unlike boomers Gen y and Gen z actually DO vote based on policy.

    It's a damn shame Grant isn't the leader of the party, Grant's no Jacinda but he is charismatic, funny and based on the budget Hipkins vetoed, Grant would have campaigned on a vision with policies rather than "we're not as bad as national and anything national can do we can do beiger"

    • Patricia Bremner 5.1
      28 August 2023 at 1:45 pm

      Corey, do you support the Party or just not this man who is human enough to be at the hospital all night as his daughter is unwell. See Nick Rockell on the side panel. Read the comments including one from Rosemary Hipkins.

  6. Mr Nobody Nz 6
    28 August 2023 at 12:23 pm

    Apart from the fact that Winston Peter's had already ruled out working with Labour a year ago Chris Hipkins announcement comes across like a dumped boyfriend pathetically attempting to tell his mates "I dumped her first".

    The other problem Chris has is nobody believes that if it was a choice between sitting in opposition or going into coalition with NZ first to remain Prime Minister he wouldnt drop to his knees faster than than hooker with a $100 in her hand.

    • mickysavage 6.1
      28 August 2023 at 7:47 pm

      Silly comment. Labour’s choice was either three more years of National Party decline or the chance to reassert things and put up with Peters’ bullshit. I don’t blame them for making the choice they did. My only regret was they needed to really kick on this term although a one in a hundred year pandemic and two one in 500 year weather events put a big dampner on things.

    • Incognito 6.2
      28 August 2023 at 9:10 pm

      You’re a real charmer

  7. adam 7
    28 August 2023 at 12:57 pm

    Tory default = snowflake

  8. observer 8
    28 August 2023 at 1:26 pm

    This is why Hipkins did it, and it's working:

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/live-updates/28-08-2023/luxon-challenged-on-nz-first-stance-in-heated-hosking-interview

    When even Mike Hosking is getting stuck into the National party leader, then you know the target has been hit (and is squirming).

    Remember that it took Luxon a week to rule out Brian Tamaki, who has zero chance of being in Parliament. Unlike Winston.

    This will use up Luxon's oxygen until he caves and copies Hipkins (and then Chippy will be the one laughing).

    • Anne 8.1
      28 August 2023 at 8:08 pm

      From the link:

      Luxon said Hipkins’ attack of yesterday was the act of a desperate man, “wanting to create some fear-mongering, throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks, and being negative and personal.”

      Oh the projection. 😮

  9. Mika 9
    28 August 2023 at 1:46 pm

    While I like the look of a fighting Hipkins, I don't think he should be jumping deep into the gender wars, without looking carefully.

    UK Labour have belatedly reasserted commitments to women's rights and single sex women's spaces. They have seen that jetisonning women's rights is deeply unpopular.

    NZ Labour are losing lots of voters, and women's concerns are driving a lot of this.

    Hipkins has been very poorly advised if he thinks entering the gender wars against women's interests is going to help him. He definitely knows better, so this is pretty foolish. Both the wrong side of history and a vote loser.

    • observer 9.1
      28 August 2023 at 1:53 pm

      NZ Labour are losing lots of voters, and women's concerns are driving a lot of this.

      The first part is obviously true, the second part after the comma needs backing up. Any polling evidence at all? I've seen none.

      It's turning truth on its head to say women are rejecting the government that delivered abortion rights, parental leave etc, in favour of the Right who constantly vote against.

    • Anne 9.2
      28 August 2023 at 8:58 pm

      What you have said @ 9 Mika is nonsense. Labour going back many decades have done far more for women than those parties on the other side of the ledger. They have done it through a variety of state agencies and legislation which has enabled women to compete with their male counterparts in all forms of endeavour. There's still a way to go, but in comparison to many other countries we are emancipated to a very high degree.

      Hipkins "jumping deep into the gender wars, without looking carefully"? He has done nothing of the sort. Of course this government supports the right of women to have women only spaces. Labour has never said otherwise.

      Hipkins has been very poorly advised if he thinks entering the gender wars against women's interests is going to help him.

      Since he hasn't entered the "gender wars against women" your statement is null and void. All Labour have done is recognise that transgender people have the same rights as the rest of us under the law. And rightly so.

      Edit: Imo, this so-called “gender war against women” does not exist except in the minds of a minority of people who have somewhat lost their compass.

  10. Chris 10
    28 August 2023 at 2:53 pm

    Now luxon's got the confidence the polls have given him he's relaxing a bit and his minders have given him the green light to try to come across as human with the odd comment like "I agree with the government on that one". It might even be working.

    The only place Hipkins can get the better of luxon now is the TV debates.

  11. Fisiani 11
    28 August 2023 at 5:48 pm

    Labour voters are embarrassed to vote for more failure fool me once but never again

  12. Mike the Lefty 12
    28 August 2023 at 5:50 pm

    I was driving my car this morning and tuned into Morning Report. After 8 am I heard an interview with Winston Peters asking him about his party's position on coalition partners, co-governance and conspiracy theory candidates.

    Peters customarily spent the whole 12 minutes evading the questions, refusing to give a straight answer, insisting that the questions were stupid and questioning the interviewer's integrity.

    Compare that with the immediately following interview of Te Pati Maori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer in which she rationally and honestly answered similar questions in a far superior manner than her antagonistic interviewee predecessor.

    Winston looks increasingly like an angry old man who can't understand that the world he lives in has changed since he last time he really looked.