Labour leader Chris Hipkins and NZ First leader Winston Peters are denying work is underway to build a bridge between the two parties, ahead of next yearโs election.
Peters said it was โbull dustโ to characterise talks between him and Labourโs Peeni Henare as early โcoalitionโ moves. And Hipkins also disputed suggestions that Henare was working on building a potential coalition relationship with Peters.
Stuff first reported on the talks between Henare and Peters, after Henare confirmed he had spoken to the NZ First leader about โopportunities next yearโ.
He said those talks started because of foreign affairs. Henare is Labourโs foreign affairs spokesperson and Peters is the minister. But he said those discussions had evolved.
Of course Labour and NZF are ‘talking’.
They are not ‘in talks’, yet, but they certainly are talking.
The Labour faction who want a deal with NZF over Mฤori Party are using the same arguments about not being beholden to the Greens and all Labour’s beige wonk wonk policy announced to date appeases Winston, it certainly doesn’t challenge him.
Labour are wedded to the same neoliberal 30% debt to GDP straightjacket that National are wearing and Labour are channeling Labour UK Keir Starmer over New York Mayor Mamdani.
I think the Greens should take the gloves off with Labour, the way Green MP Steve Able did on The Bradbury Group last night, ย NZF stands for everything the Greens oppose and if Labour won’t challenge Winston, the Greens should start laying into Labour.
If the Greens went hard against Labour’s incrementalism, they could shave another 3 points off Labour’s Left and that is all that is going to matter at negotiation time: how much larger Green vote is to NZF vote and how close the Greens are to half of Labour’s vote. Those two numbers will determine how much leverage ย the Greens have come negotiation time.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, soย if you value having an independent voice โ please donate here.
If Greens made themselves more electable they would only get those votes from Labour as no self respecting National Party supporter would vote Green.
Go on Trev – vote Labour to keep the Greens, NZF and TPM out – you know you want too.
The writing is on the wall for Luxon and his Coalition of Carnage
yeah cuz even the lefty favouring roy morgan poll shows labour gaining ground…. not!
chippy and chloe are yet to announce even more non sensical financially illiterate policy, just watch the epic crash and burn when that happens.
imo the govt has had a good few weeks and starting to make progress at last, hell even the economy is showing signs of life again.
my money is still on nats/act/nzf with luxon (sadly) still pm. if labour select those radical union hacks then its definately game over for them, labour need to go more centre not further left if they want any chance at forming a govt.
What a load of shyte masquerading as pearls of wisdom
Not only that Derek SS seems to like flushing his money down the loo. But then the righties have no value, just look at wasteful Willis.
No self-respecting National voter would National either, after Willis’s tour de farce – -ve 0.9% growth – not exactly laser focus was it.
No one in the National party is worthy of respect which makes their supporters either deranged or brain damaged. National politicians are corrupt.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360908213/treasury-u-turns-emissions-offsets-after-ministers-says-no-sending-money-offshore
Well well well Trevor, the party you hate are holding your corrupt National party and totally incompetent finance minister wretched Willis to account. Hate on the Greens all you like, at least they aren’t corrupt like your lot.
Of course Labour are going to talk with Winston who thinks he is still in the box seat? For the good of NZ, they should ALL be working towards a Labour/Greens/NZF group to rid us of this current disease-ridden government but, with the egos involved, it will require a lot of compromise and skill, plus much better policies. Hipkins needs to realise that most of those, who find Labour’s policies โbeigeโ, will put their vote with Greens. None of us want the current Jones/Costello CR&P that NZF would bring to a mix unless it can be hugely diluted. Hipkins & Swarbrick would be doing Winston a huge favour including him, so Winnie needs to be very, very grateful otherwise his political career is over! Lying and cheating can’t go on forever and the entire CoC-up have failed miserably to comprehend this. Reminder: number of businesses that went into liquidation 2024=2,500 โ a 10 year high and first half 2025=1,270 shut their doors!!! So who would these damaged folk vote for in 2026 and why do our media keep siding with the losers? Why indeed!
Peters plays coy so he can do a switcheroo.
….Peters said it was โbull dustโ to characterise talks between him and Labourโs Peeni Henare as early โcoalitionโ moves.
Everyone, including Hipkins and Penare, need to understand this:
Every vote NZF gets, makes another 3 years of National ACT, NZF rule more likely.
Do Labour have a conspiracy debunking bullshit interpreting psychoanalyst involved in these talks with NZF
Labour & NZF would get my vote if it was drill baby drill. Labour used to be about actual labour…blue collar work. Labour shouldn’t be Greens bitch.
May your lungs breath coal dust as your head spins with the drill and the flem you cough many buckets fill
Indonesian coal dust or New Zealand coal dust? Does it make a difference?
Well it does, because New Zealand coal dust keeps jobs here notwithstanding we don’t have ship it 7,000kms (saving burning heavy fuel since you “care” about the environment so much.)
But, but Trev, there’s no such thing as ‘self-respecting’ National Party Supporters. Please do a rethink. They are self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-serving, with the emphasis on SELF, and too damn stupid to vote for anything other than the suicidal National D/heads despite their appalling record! You just don’t see it – Winston is out of options! Greens are are climate’s last hope. I rest my case…… And Clive, I hope so!
Labour should offer a Winston 18months of premiership in return for 100 percent Labour + Green policy program. The ultimate bauble.