John MacDonald: Boris fronted-up to a Covid Inquiry - why aren't our lot?

I can recall a conversation I had about a month ago with Labour leader and former Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins about Part 2 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into his government’s pandemic response.  

And he was saying that he was waiting to be invited to appear, and wouldn’t be asking for an invite, and wouldn’t be gate-crashing. That was around the time that he was also saying the Inquiry was a platform for conspiracy theorists. 

And I said at the time that, if Chris Hipkins was eventually invited and he declined, then he could forget about being Prime Minister again. 

Since then, it turns out he has been asked to front-up to the inquiry in person - and he has declined.  Dame Jacinda Ardern, former finance minister Grant Robertson and former health minister Ayesha Verrall have also been asked to appear. And they've all declined as well.  

All of them, on the basis of advice from lawyers who are being paid by the taxpayer, that appearing at the Inquiry could attract abuse towards family members and that images and recordings from the Inquiry hearings could be “tampered with and misused”.  

All of that’s probably true. But, even then, this is nonsense.  

Maybe Hipkins, Dame Jacinda, Robertson, and Verrall need to be reminded that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson fronted up in person to the Covid Inquiry in Britain.  

He didn’t hide behind written responses. Which, as we know, are always full of weasel words that go unchallenged. It wasn’t a holiday for Boris, but he fronted.  

And because Chris Hipkins, especially, isn’t fronting, he is political toast.   

Imagine if he had said to the others, “Okay, you guys aren’t going, but I’m still the leader of the Opposition, so I am going to front”. If he’d taken that approach, he would’ve had a few days where it might have been uncomfortable for him, but it would be over and done with.  

Because if you have a very low opinion of the way Labour handled the pandemic, your low opinion isn’t going to get any worse if Hipkins is grilled in-person at the Inquiry, is it?  

In fact, you might even admire him for fronting up. You might even give him credit for it. 

But he's not. And in doing so, he's written-off whatever he chance he had of leading Labour to victory next year. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
You might recall a conversation I had about a month
ago with Labor leader and former COVID minister Chris Hipkins
about part two of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into
his government's COVID response, and he was saying that he
was waiting to be invited to appear and wouldn't be
asking for an invite and wouldn't be gate crashing, which

(00:34):
was around the same time he was saying the inquiry
was a platform for conspiracy theorists. Now, if you can't
recall that conversation, here's a little bit of what Chrishipkins
said about waiting to be invited to front up in person.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
They haven't made decisions about who they want to appear
in their public hearings, and I don't want to add
to the pressure that they're getting.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
From the govern Oh come on, come on, come on,
and shouldn't be called come on, you're putting your hand
up or not.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
I've said that we're cooperating as much as we can
with the inquiry, but I think me saying oh yes,
pick me or say no don't pick me. Don't pick me,
I think would be the wrong thing to do. The
government are clearly trying to put as much pressure as
they on them as they can to have public hearings
involving the former ministers as the COVID inquiry themselves. As said,
that's not a decision that they've taken yet, and I'm

(01:22):
not going to tell them one way or the other
what decision they should take.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
And when he told me that, I said at the time,
this is back on the ninth of July. I said
that if Chris Hopkins was invited and declined, then he
could forget about being Prime Minister again. And that's what's happened.
Because he can bang on as much as he likes
about being fully cooperative and providing written responses and all

(01:48):
of that, but that is not the same as fronting
up in person. And I think he really called his
goose when he was on with Mike a couple of
hours ago. But there he was in the ninth of
July saying he was waiting to be asked, not asking
to be invited. And since then he was asked to
front in person and he said no. Dame Desindra Dern

(02:11):
was asked to front up in person and she said no.
Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson former Health Minister Asheverel also
both asked to appear and they said no as well,
all of them on the basis of advice from legal
firm Denton's Kensington Swan, who Chris hip consid this morning

(02:35):
are being paid by the taxpayer. Here's what Chris hap
concerned about that advice when he was on with Mike
this morning.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, one of the things that Dentons did raise with us,
they raised several issues. One was that you know, no
ministers had previously done this and that it would create
a precedent if we did so. The second thing they
raised was concerned about the fact that people who had
already appeared publicly before the Royal Commission had been the
subject of significant abuse, and that is concerned that the

(03:05):
Commission themselves, the Royal Commission themselves have acknowledged in the
decision that they took yesterday.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
And the decision was to call off the call off
next week's hearings because of these labor politicians who led
the COVID response being no shows. The other concern Hipkins
dame to send to Grant Robinson and Aos Cheverel have
is that recordings of the hearings, if they had turned up,

(03:31):
could have been quote tampered with and misused end of quote.
All of that, All of that is probably true, but
even then this is nothing short of bs. Maybe Chris
Hopkins to send around doing Grant Robinson and Aias Cheverel,
maybe they need to be reminded that former British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson he even fronted up in person to

(03:53):
the COVID inquiry in Britain. He didn't hide behind written
responses which as we know, as you know, always full
of weezer words that go unchallenged. And it wasn't pretty
for Boris. Wasn't a holiday for Boris. But he fronted.
And because Chris Hipkins isn't fronting, like I said on

(04:13):
July the ninth, if it happened, and it has happened,
because Chris Hipkins isn't fronting, he is political toast. Because
imagine if he said to the others, Okay, you guys
aren't going, but look, I'm still a leader of the opposition,
so I am going to front. If he'd taken that approach,
he would have had a few days where it might

(04:33):
have been uncomfortable for him, but it would have been
over and done with. And if you have a very
low opinion of the way labor handled the pandemic, your
low opinion isn't going to get any worse, is it?
If Hipkins was grilled publicly, But you might nevertheless still
admire him for fronting up. You might even give him

(04:53):
credit for that, because I think we all agree that
Boris Johnson he cocked up Britain's response, but like I say,
at least he fronted up, or more to the point,
at least he owned it. It was a cock up,
but he owned it, which is the complete opposite of
what the former labor government is doing.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
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