Chris Hipkins: Labour Party leader on Winston Peters ruling out working with Labour

Labour's leader thinks talk of potential coalitions is premature.

New Zealand First leader and veteran politician Winston Peters has ruled out working with Labour post next election if Chris Hipkins is still in charge.

Peters has described a potential trio of Labour, the Greens, and Te Pati Māori as a 'woke circus'.

Chris Hipkins says Labour will set out bottom lines before the election.

He's taken the chance to take a swipe at the Coalition.

"We're not just going to allow the smaller parties to call all the shots in the way that Christopher Luxon and the National Party currently are doing."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Together due to see Ellen nine two nine two is
the text number standard text fees apply. Hit me with it.
Now onto something altogether different, which is politics. Of course,
Winston Peters he has today ruled out working with Labour
leader Chris Hipkins in any future coalition. He's not ruled
out working with Labor, just ruled out working with Chippy. Now,
what that means is it dries up the most credible
paths of victory for Labor. It means that they would

(00:21):
most likely need to form a coalition with the Greens
and the Maori Party in order to form a government
after the next election. Now Chris Hipkins is the opposition leader.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
High Chippy. Gooday, Heather, how are you?

Speaker 1 (00:33):
I'm very well, thank you, how are you? Because this
means you're not going to be prime minister.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
I think it means that Winston Peters are saying that
a vote for him as a vote for Christopher lux
and David Seymore and Winston Peter's to continue to run
their coalition of chaos. I think of New Zealander's want
to government, where Winston Peters and David Seamore aren't holding
the country to rents them on a daily basis. They
need to give their vote to labor.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah, but I mean this is a problem for you now,
isn't it chippy? Because the alternatives for you the the
only option you are left with. You're left with two
options that I can see. Number one, majority labor government
that's not going to happen for ages because of what
you guys did last time. Or number two, you guys
plus the Greens and the Maldi Party and there's no
way center voters are going to go for that. So
your options are dried up, haven't they.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Look there's still plenty of water to flow under the
bridge yet, But my goal is to get out there
and grow labors.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
What is that here? But come and be realistic. What's
that water going to change? The water can flow under
the bridge, what changes?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Oh, look, lots can change. But my goal is to
grow vote during that time. You know, I don't think
it's too I think, frankly, I think it's too it's
premature to be talking about potential coalitions yet, you know,
I think we've got to get out there in each
campaign for our you know, for our own share of
the vote. And then you know, MMP does require parties
to work together. But I think unlike this government. You know,

(01:48):
we will have some bottom lines and we'll set those
out before the election. And you know we're not just
going to allow the smaller parties to call all the
shots in the way that Christopher Luxin and the National
Party currently are doing.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
You have got a giant target on your back in
the party now, haven't you.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
No, not at all.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
You're the problem. Chippy, You're the problem, he said. It's
not a Labor problem, it's a Chippy problem. So if
I was if I was a right thinking person in
the Labor Party right now and saw you as being
the problem, you're literally the thing that stops them from
becoming a government. You know, perhaps with Winston Peters, i'd
roll you.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
I think most people in the Labor Party look at
Winston Peters and think we'd rather not have to work
with them anyway. I mean, his views are quite incompatible
with ours. It's not the same, not that incompatible ten
years ago.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Come on, what are you telling me that your views
are more aligned with the Maori Party.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
I'm frankly, I'm not interested in some of the stuff
that Winston Peters keeps being on.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Are you interested in some of the stuff the Maori
Party is doing.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
At the moment no, because I think both of them
are trying to provoke a culture or that I have
no interest in getting in.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
And so who are you going to How are you
going to become government chippy? You can't do it on
your own?

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Well, you know, look, as I said, plenty of water
to flow under the bridge before the next election, Mike got.
My goal is to grow Labors vote as large as
I can, because you become the bigger Labour's share of
the vote, the less influenced, the smaller parties get. That's
the simple maths of MMP.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
What do you think do you think some sort of
floating down this river and through under the bridge is
some sort of magical party that you can now coalist with?
Is the Unicorn party is going to arrive?

Speaker 2 (03:16):
I think New Zealanders deserve to have the opportunity to
have a say on this rather than us predetermining it
all for them, and they do that in the form
of a general election. What we will do before the
election is set out which parties we think we can
find common ground within, which parties we don't think we
can find common ground with. And that will also include
setting out what is and isn't on the table because

(03:36):
you're not going to that. We simply wouldn't.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Wantry. Are You're going to go to the public and say,
do you know what, I can't work with Winston, but jeez,
I can work with that. Debbie and Rawery. Are you
going to do that?

Speaker 2 (03:47):
No, I've said before the election, we will set out
exactly who we can and can't work with. But we've
do that closer to the election.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
You need to stop listening to Willie Jackson, like you
know that he does not represent normal people.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
A will do the it based on where we think
we can work with other parties, where we can find
common ground. I like Winston Peters. It won't be based
on ptvendettas. It will be based on points of principle.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Thank you for your time. Chippy, as always, Chris Hopkins,
Labor Party leader Heather tell him is dreamer. He's dreaming.
You can I just tell you quickly, just very quickly,
my reference to Willie I reckon Willie because what's going
on is Chippy comes out and he says, I'm going
to do blah blah blah, and then he goes into
that caucus meeting and then Willy makes some changes. Might
remember he was all like, I'm going to say I'm

(04:31):
not going to fill a buster on the Marty Parties, hucker.
Then he went into the caucus room. Then he came
out and he was like, hmm, I think I'm going
to fill a buster now. I reckon, I reckon. Willy's
got way too much sway in there. And Willie, because
he's tight with j T, he doesn't realize that the
Marty Party are a bit He thinks that it's okay anyway, whatever,
we'll talk about this later on. Got plenty plenty more
thoughts on this, and actually on that subject, Stu Nash

(04:53):
reckons that they're going to have to roll Chippy. Actually,
we'll get onto that later.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
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