Chippy promises incremental weak sauce – the State of his Nation is in a coma
Yawn.
Ok.
Ok.
Ok.
Look.
I don’t want to shit on Labour.
I don’t.
We face such a cruelty under this hard right Government with their anti-Māori, anti-Treaty, anti-worker, anti-environment, anti-disabled, anti-renter, anti-beneficiary agenda promoting their donors interests over the common good that we don’t have the luxury to shit on Labour.
So.
Let’s analyse what Labour were trying to do rather than what they actually said because what they actually said was just more incremental nothings.
Labour were at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce with Simon Bridges sitting right there on stage with him so there was no way Chippy was about to blow the Trumpet for Revolution and unleash the dogs of war upon the filthy capitalists.
Chippy was there to woo capitalists who are genuinely alarmed at this Government’s race war and glee at kicking the poor.
These are educated cosmopolitans who like that their kids can sing a pepeha and who all wear Greenstone when they travel overseas. They pay extra for the electric car and like to think of themselves as liberal and don’t raise the rent as high as their Property Manager claims they can make.
They voted Jacinda proudly in 2020 and angrily didn’t in 2023.
They are Aucklanders, the well to do who run the city’s commerce, and most importantly to them Chris Hipkins is an emotional support Labrador who makes the idea of voting Labour again a lot less scary.
They want stability, they don’t want race wars.
They want their house prices to go up, they don’t want hungry kids eating shit food.
They want less gridlock, but they don’t want to see more homeless.
They are open to Chippy’s incrementalism and that’s exactly what he gave them.
No big ideas, just a promise not to tear up everything National has done.
On any other given day such capitulation would be derided, today we are so desperate to get rid of National + ACT + NZF that we will take incremental nothings.
The reshuffle was far more significant than vague promises not to upset Aucklanders property portfolios.
Labour’s new list (new portfolios in bold):
- 1. Chris Hipkins – Leader, Ministerial Services, National Security and Intelligence
- 2. Carmel Sepuloni – Auckland Issues, Women, Pacific Peoples (loses Social Development, Child Poverty Reduction)
In the spirit of good will, I’m not going to bag Carmel any longer and hope that she is able to hear the stress Aucklanders are living under and makes some meaningful contribution to public transport, public safety and our homeless problem.
- 3. Barbara Edmonds (+1) – Finance and Economy, Savings and Investment (loses Infrastructure)
I am the biggest fan of Barbara, she truly is one of the great Labour Politicians and if she is able to do something meaningful with Savings and Investment we will be genuinely lucky.
- 4. Megan Woods (-1) – Energy and Resources, Manufacturing and Industry, Associate Finance (loses Climate Change)
Think this is a blunder. Manufacturing and Industry should have gone to Kieran.
- 5. Willie Jackson – Social Development, Māori Development (loses Broadcasting and Media, Employment, Associate Housing, Associate Workplace Relations)
This is the biggest move. Willie Jackson as Social Development could herald a real change in welfare that will generate real support from beneficiaries.
- 6. Ayesha Verrall – Health, Wellington Issues (loses Public Service)
I really like Ayesha.
- 7. Kieran McAnulty – Shadow Leader of the House, Housing, Infrastructure and Public Investment (loses Local Govt and Regional Development)
He’s so close to Winston he can almost touch him.
- 8. Williow-Jean Prime – Education, Children (loses Youth, Associate Education – Māori)
Great appointment, Willow-Jean is a star.
- 9. Ginny Andersen – Jobs and Incomes, Police, Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations (loses Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Social Investment, Associate Social Development)
I want to like Ginny.
- 10. Jan Tinetti – Workplace Relations and Safety, Social Investment, Early Childhood Education, Child Poverty Reduction (loses Education, Women)
- 11. Peeni Henare – Economic Development, Māori-Crown Relations Te Arawhiti, Defence, Associate Health (loses Sport and Recreation)
Great man doing great things.
- 12. Tangi Utikere (+7) – Local Government, Transport, Small Business, Racing (loses Oceans and Fisheries, Associate Education – Pacific)
I like Tangi.
- 13. Priyanca Radhakrishnan (-1) – NZSIS, GCSB, Disability, Conservation
- 14. Jo Luxton (-1) – Agriculture, Rural Communities, Biosecurity
- 15. Duncan Webb (-1) – Deputy Shadow Leader of the House, Justice, Regulation, Natural Hazards Commission (loses Christchurch issues)
Is a star, needs to be given more.
- 16. Deborah Russell (-1) – Revenue, Climate Change, Associate Finance (loses Science, Innovation and Technology, Associate Education – Tertiary)
I want to like Deborah.
- 17. Rachel Brooking (-1) – Environment, Food Safety, Space, RMA Reform
- 18. Damien O’Connor (-1) – Trade, Land Information, Regional Development (loses Associate Foreign Affairs, Associate Transport)
Needs to be used in regional NZ more.
- 19. David Parker (-1) – Foreign Affairs, Shadow Attorney General (loses Electoral Reform)
Should be given something far larger than this.
- 20. Camilla Belich – ACC, Public Services, Emergency Management (loses Workplace Relations and Safety)
- 21. Arena Williams – Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Building and Construction, Youth (loses State-owned Enterprises)
Arena Williams is the future of the party, needs far more than this.
- 22. Phil Twyford – Immigration, Disarmament and Arms Control, Associate Foreign Affairs
I like Phil.
- 23. Greg O’Connor – Courts, Veterans
Needs to be used more.
- 24. Jenny Salesa – Ethnic Communities, Customs
- 25. Rachel Boyack – Arts, Culture and Heritage, Animal Welfare, Oceans and Fisheries (loses ACC)
- 26. Adrian Rurawhe – Whānau Ora (loses Associate Māori Development)
- 27. Helen White – Community and Voluntary Sector, Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence (loses Small Business and Manufacturing, Associate Justice)
I said I wasn’t going to be mean.
- 28. Ingrid Leary – Seniors, Mental Health
- 29. Lemauga Lydia Sosene – Internal Affairs, Statistics (loses Associate Pacific Peoples, Associate Social Development and Employment)
- 30. Reuben Davidson – Science, Technology and Innovation, Broadcasting, Media and Creative Economy (loses Statistics, Digital Economy and Communications, Associate Broadcasting and Media)
- 31. Cushla Tangaere-Manuel – Māori Economy, Sport and Recreation, Forestry (loses Tourism and Hospitality, Cyclone Recovery)
She’s such a star!
- 32. Tracey McLellan – Corrections, Christchurch Issues (loses Associate Health)
- 33. Shanan Halbert – Tertiary Education, Rainbow Issues (loses Auckland Issues)
- 34. Glen Bennett – Tourism and Hospitality (loses Economic Development, Associate Energy)
This was not the call for revolution, it was a call for not spooking the horses.
Chippy is the Emotional Support Labrador NZ needs after this hard right spiteful Government.
Who’s a good boy Chippy?
You are!
Yes you are!
Who wants a sausage roll?
YOU WANT A SAUAGE ROLL!
I’m going back to sleep.
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Greg O’Connor
Took Ohariu Belmont from Peter Dunne. Held off Nicola Willis.
40 years in the police including 20 as the police association president.
None of which it seems has ever been good enough for the Labour Party.
The guy who as Police Assoc rep. the media called after 6pm because they knew he would be half tanked by that time. I don’t know why they bothered as his solution was always the same: arm the police, give them more guns.
Or perhaps they called him because he was the Police Association Rep. How strange.
Anyway I assume you’ve never met him.
How can you even comment that his policy is weak when it has not even been released .
Isn’t it interesting how Labour can make all these bold claims re the goals they will deliver, yet haven’t formed the policy required to ensure them.
Hard to take them seriously when they don’t have the policy to back the rhetoric.
Further, the reshuffling doesn’t give much confidence either
I do not professcto know a lot about Labour but it would seem to me anyone who could threaten Hipkins as a leader is well down the pecking order and not given a lot of oxygen.
When Barbara Edmonds was on ‘guyon for 30’ an excellent programme and was asked whether she would pull down the lowering of taxes that Nats et al did she said
you know it is very difficult to take money off people…………..
Pathetic. We should have a financial transactions tax, a wealth tax, landlords need to be taxed like they were before… get on with stop mucking around.
We are not all so bloody selfish as not to think that the poorest in our society don’t need more.
It is successive gutless governments that have meant we have people living in cars!
Labour as usual want to play to the middle ground.
That’s Labour for you. Make a big song and dance about Nationals tax cut for landlords. But won’t commit to reversing them when given the chance.
God you are all a lot of moaners keep Luxon et.al then see how much better off you will be. We all know if you are Maori or Pacifica you will be dead or dying of bowel cancer 8 years earth than anyone else , now that’s Maori privilege for you
Yes, it’s underwhelming, but this is Hipkins not scaring the horses, aiming to keep Labour 30%+ in polls and thereby stay in the game. He’s playing the stability and continuity card to that particular audience – which may be sensible if it starts to dry up some of National’s funding for 2026.
Meanwhile, if the country stays in recession all of this year, or only creeps into marginally positive GDP by Q4. then there will be room in the public mind for somewhat more radical solutions – though it would be room that, admittedly, Hipkins might not use.
So, I was more interested in whether there was anything more forthright in Hipkins’ diagnosis of the causes of our economic and social problems, and whether it hinted at more radical intent. I didn’t hear a lot, though he seemed quite strong on condemning residential property landlordism as a waste of investment capital, which was good. We shall see I guess, but unlike 2023, Hipkins’ needs to keep his seemingly natural risk-aversion in proper balance.
Out of humane considerations including mental health the esteemed tax consultant Barbara Edmonds vs No Boats Nicola Willis most likely will be banned.
This is such an Auckland-centric commentary. They have their own minister, and at No. 2.
I need to draw to the attention of this blog that other parts of NZ exist.
Oh, and why isn’t David Parker, a serious intellect, way higher in the list?
Because he wants taxation reform, and Chippy don’t
Steve King correct.
I also agree with Michal above.
I will be dead before we get a wealth, CGT and ftt tax out of labour.
Labour ran away from a FTT tax when Jim Anderton suggested it under the alliance/labour coalition The banks, Finance and business community put the pressure on and it has stayed on.
Exactly, it looks like David is being kept far away from the reins if power and any meaningful policy change it tax reform.
Hipkins must be so thankful for the poor performance of Luxon. Given some real leadership in the current coalition, Hipkins would pale into insignificance.
Good on you Martyn for trying to sort out the sheep from the goats. We can’t throw out the babies with the bathwater, we can’t afford to lose the potential good we could get from Labour even just to help us limp through their own coals of fire they laid down for us.
But FGS let’s get another leader, one who has spent some time earning his living at building or plumbing etc. I am sick of these butterflies that flit overseas to learn wily ways from UK or USA and they are too similar for words. The pollies that have done this might think they are monarch butterflies, they might try to be colourful but they really are a depressing lot of greys, and not of my whanau either!