Chris Hipkins: Winston Peters Is “Completely Untenable” as Foreign Minister
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Winston Peters is now “completely untenable” as New Zealand’s Foreign Minister and accuses New Zealand First of embracing “xenophobia” and “race baiting” ahead of the 2026 election.
In this week’s 1-on-1 in 10, Martyn Bradbury challenges the Leader of the Opposition on Winston Peters’ escalating rhetoric, New Zealand’s relationship with China, NZ First’s proposal affecting permanent residents’ voting rights, its proposed baby bonus, ACT’s plans to expand physical restraint powers in schools — and what Labour would actually do about New Zealand’s brutal cost-of-living crisis.
Hipkins argues Christopher Luxon has failed to show the leadership previous Prime Ministers displayed when dealing with Winston Peters, and warns that election-year culture-war politics are being used to divide New Zealanders.
The interview also tackles the economic reality facing hundreds of thousands of Kiwis struggling with poverty, food insecurity and unemployment — and Hipkins explains why cost of living would become Labour’s number-one priority in government.
In this interview:
• Chris Hipkins on Winston Peters as Foreign Minister
• NZ First, China and New Zealand foreign policy
• Hipkins on xenophobia and race-baiting
• Permanent residents and voting rights
• NZ First’s proposed baby bonus
• ACT’s classroom restraint policy
• David Seymour and education
• Poverty and youth unemployment
• Labour’s cost-of-living promises
• Election 2026 and the battle to change the Government
Most of us are reading the room correctly – Hipkins is Left, but right here – Winston is completely “untenable as Foreign Minister”. We have all watched him of late and can see how gnarly, unkind and desperate he has become. Winston, why can’t you accept that being PM is not going to be your forte so just try to be the best person you can by helping to give ALL New Zealanders the fairest chances in life – is that too difficult to do? I truly don’t get why you are so anti-Maori? Our upcoming election is NOT the place to play out your biases and hatred. To get out of this current mess, we all need to work together, for the good of NZ and its people, not keep putting up impermeable walls to keep us apart. We all need to be voting for what is ‘best for NZ’ not the opposite! Luxon would rather the whole miserable CoC crash and burn if he can’t get his way? What a narrow, dumb-assed attitude that is and so unbecoming for a PM! It’s way too late now for Luxon to try to fulfil his broken promises – he’s truly missed the boat!
Hipkins should be more worried about the obvious facts that the planet is boiling, burning and melting . Not this side show .
” Hipkins argues Christopher Luxon has failed to show the leadership previous Prime Ministers displayed when dealing with Winston Peters, and warns that election-year culture-war politics are being used to divide New Zealanders ”
Sure. But what an opportunity for the plutocracy’s less scary party of Hipkins , Sepeloni , Edmonds and Mc Naulty ! to not scare their business and financial control and maintain their own entitlements and perks including their personal wealth and property assets.
Winston provides the diversions that are covered to death by the corporate media that allows the neoliberal corporate alternative the Hipkins led NZLP to say how appalled they are while many of our people are impoverished , and even as they work hard its nowhere near enough to survive and are in no way protected by the system the political parties in the current parliament protects and endorses.
Good insight! 🙂 “Culture war” politics refers to political conflict driven by fundamental disagreements over social values, moral standards, cultural identity, and tradition, rather than economic or material interests (like taxes, infrastructure, or trade).
Instead of arguing over how to allocate budget dollars, culture war politics centers on how society ought to live and whose values get to be the default. ”
Big red herring distraction from addressing the really serious issues.