November 29, 2025 • 7 mins
Labour has shifted into campaign mode as the party meets for its annual conference in Auckland.
With less than a year until the next election, Labour party leader, Chris Hipkins opened with an emphatic message “Believe We Can Win”.
Hipkins told Francesca Rudkin that the party has been focusing on what Kiwis didn't like about their last election campaign.
'We've spent time really focusing on what didn't go well for us and what we need to change.'
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from news Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Now, Labour has shifted into campaign mode as the party
meets for its annual conference in Auckland. With less than
a year unto the next election. Labor Party leader Chris
Hopkins opened with an emphatic message believe we can win.
So how does he plan to do it? Chris Hopkins
joins me, now, good morning, thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Chris, good morning. I'll love me to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So how has Labor changed since election defeat in twenty
twenty three.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I think one of the first and really important things
was we realized in twenty twenty three that we did lose.
I've seen a lot of political parties over my time
in politics, you know, pretend that the voter's wrong and
that they did everything right, and that one day the
voters would just come round to thinking that that made
a mistake. We recognized that people didn't vote for what
we were offering in twenty twenty three, so we were
going to hef to change if we wanted to win
(00:57):
the next election. So we spent time really focusing on
what didn't go well for us and what we need
to change. We needed to be focused on a smaller
set of priorities. We've refreshed our lineup. You know, we've
got new spokespeople in most of the big roles and
we've got new ideas that we're putting before the public.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You're polling, well, but how much of that is down
to you, Chris, and how much of that is down
to people being disillusioned with the current coalition because they
are playing a little bit into your hands, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
It's both of those things, to be fair, that people
are really disappointed in this government. They promise that they
were going to fix the economy, deal with the cost
of living. They've done neither of those things, and so
people are very disappointed with them. But they're also looking
at labor and saying, well, actually, we do quite like
what you've got to offer. We're talking about three free
doctors visits for all New Zealanders. That's something that people
(01:47):
are very concerned about. They can't see the doctor when
they need to because many cases they can't afford it.
Talking about investing in our future, creating a New Zealand
where our kids want to stay rather than leave it.
The rate of two hundred a day, which is what's
happening at the moment. The issues that we're talking about
are the issues that I think are enthusing New Zealanders.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I feel like we've gone into campaign mode quite early, Chris,
I mean not, you know, a lot of the time,
policy isn't released till sometimes six weeks before the actual
you know, day that we all go and vote in things.
I feel like there's sort of some momentum going and
you can see it with various different parties.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
At the moment. Well, the current government sort of fell
apart not long after it was formed and they've been
campaigning ever since. So one of the questions I think
New Zealanders will be asking them is why would we
vote to these guys when they're basically only ever interested
in campaigning and not interested in governing the country and
delivering on the promises that they make.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, it's interesting, I don't know if I've caught it campaigning.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well, I mean if you look at St. Peter's and
David seen where they've been fighting against each other from
day one of this government rather than actually doing the
things that they say they're going to do. I mean,
why are they making promises about what they do after
the next election. Now when there's still a year of
governing to go, and they don't seem to be making
any effort to do the things that they say they
want to do. They could do them now. They're the
(03:05):
government now, they don't need to make promises for the
next election every day. They've got the opportunity to make
those changes, and they're choosing instead to get out there
on the campaign trail. It's like a year away from
the election. We're the opposition. We want to be on
the campaign trail. We're eager to win the next election.
The current government should be focused on actually running the country.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
You have spent time since the last election during major
policy review and we're getting we get we're hearing about
some of that now. Can we expect to see anything
radically different from labor in terms of policy?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
The New Zealand Future Funder is a big departure from
where we're at previously. So we're focused on changing the
way we view our current public assets, making sure that
we're reinvesting the returns in those and creating good jobs
for New Zealanders and creating growing New Zealand's asset based
for future generations. Three free doctors' visits speaks to the
issues that key with care about. We will introduce a
(03:57):
targeted capital gains tax because it speaks to a huge
issue in New Zealanders, which is that we're investing so
much money in speculative housing investment and not enough money
in the productive economy to create jobs for New Zealanders.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
You're speaking this afternoon. What can we expect in that speech?
Will there be any policy announcements from you?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
I've got a little policy announcement today, not a big one.
We said that we're going to do three big policy
announcements this year, and we've done those. There will be
more big policy announcement next year, but for now, we're
going to be recapping what it is that we're taking
to the electorate so far, you know what we've announced
so far, and just setting out a bit of a
vision for the future of the country.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Just a gentle tease there. Do you mentioned before that
you've had a bit of a reassess with your lineup
and things as well, but you've also lost a lot
of your top talent and a lot of experience after
the last election. Do you think you've got the personnel
within the party to form a government. New Zealanders can
be confident in.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
It's very natural that there's a bit of a turnover
after you lose the election. But to take finance, you know,
we have Barbara Edmonds and the finance portfolio. She's relatively new,
she was only a minister for a few months before
the last but she has an understanding of that portfolio
that I think surpasses anybody else in partment. She's got
extensive experiences, you know, in the areas around taxes, tax
(05:17):
lawyers and as someone as a government advisor. And the
feedback I'm getting from up here in Auckland, for example,
from the business community is they have huge confidence in
Barbara Edmonds and knowing that she can actually grow the
economy and run the government's finances responsibly. We've got new
spokespeople in education, new spokespeople across most of the major portfolios,
(05:40):
and that's giving labor a new sense of energy.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Someone which I think really frustrates New Zealand as an
awful lot is when we get a new we get
a new coalition, a new government, there seems to be
a lot of repealing. There's a reverting of things and
at times there are issues, whether it's DOE with education,
health and infrastructure that most New Zealanders would like to
see much more bipartisan approach. When you come back and
(06:03):
are you just going to stand there and go right, okay,
we're going to change Does change that change that? Or
will you be assessing everything individually and making calls on it.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
We've really heard the message from New Zealander is that
there's been a lot of change in that they're looking
for a bit of stability and key areas, so things
like infrastructure investment. We just want to keep the ball
rolling there. But there's no point in constantly reassessing the
country's priorities all the time. It just slows everything down.
It means nothing happens and everything costs too much. So
we've just got to keep the momentum going there. Similarly,
(06:34):
in Resource Management Act reform, the current government are probably
going to get about eighty percent towards something that we'd support.
So my message to Chris Bishop and Christopher Luxeen has
been a split the difference. You know, we will we
will get behind that. So we don't want to be
changing things just for the sake of changing them.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
How are you going to win back those Mara seats.
How important is it for Labor to do that.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
We want to win back all of the Mardi seats.
The Marti parties in no fit states to form, you know,
to play any constructive role in government. And we're going
to have a really strong lineup of new candidates and
the Mardi electrics, they're very fired up. Cousha Tongue ied
in manual. She's the one Labor MP who holds one
of those Mardi seats at the moment. She's spoke at
our conference yesterday and talked about the importance of winning
(07:19):
those seats back for Labor. We are absolutely determined to
do that.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Chris. I know it's been a busy weekend for you,
so really appreciate you talking to us this morning. Thank
you so much. That was Labor Party leader Chris Hopkins
seth
Speaker 1 (07:31):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, Listen
live to News Talks a B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from news Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Now, Labour has shifted into campaign mode as the party
meets for its annual conference in Auckland. With less than
a year unto the next election. Labor Party leader Chris
Hopkins opened with an emphatic message believe we can win.
So how does he plan to do it? Chris Hopkins
joins me, now, good morning, thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Chris, good morning. I'll love me to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So how has Labor changed since election defeat in twenty
twenty three.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I think one of the first and really important things
was we realized in twenty twenty three that we did lose.
I've seen a lot of political parties over my time
in politics, you know, pretend that the voter's wrong and
that they did everything right, and that one day the
voters would just come round to thinking that that made
a mistake. We recognized that people didn't vote for what
we were offering in twenty twenty three, so we were
going to hef to change if we wanted to win
(00:57):
the next election. So we spent time really focusing on
what didn't go well for us and what we need
to change. We needed to be focused on a smaller
set of priorities. We've refreshed our lineup. You know, we've
got new spokespeople in most of the big roles and
we've got new ideas that we're putting before the public.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You're polling, well, but how much of that is down
to you, Chris, and how much of that is down
to people being disillusioned with the current coalition because they
are playing a little bit into your hands, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
It's both of those things, to be fair, that people
are really disappointed in this government. They promise that they
were going to fix the economy, deal with the cost
of living. They've done neither of those things, and so
people are very disappointed with them. But they're also looking
at labor and saying, well, actually, we do quite like
what you've got to offer. We're talking about three free
doctors visits for all New Zealanders. That's something that people
(01:47):
are very concerned about. They can't see the doctor when
they need to because many cases they can't afford it.
Talking about investing in our future, creating a New Zealand
where our kids want to stay rather than leave it.
The rate of two hundred a day, which is what's
happening at the moment. The issues that we're talking about
are the issues that I think are enthusing New Zealanders.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I feel like we've gone into campaign mode quite early, Chris,
I mean not, you know, a lot of the time,
policy isn't released till sometimes six weeks before the actual
you know, day that we all go and vote in things.
I feel like there's sort of some momentum going and
you can see it with various different parties.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
At the moment. Well, the current government sort of fell
apart not long after it was formed and they've been
campaigning ever since. So one of the questions I think
New Zealanders will be asking them is why would we
vote to these guys when they're basically only ever interested
in campaigning and not interested in governing the country and
delivering on the promises that they make.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, it's interesting, I don't know if I've caught it campaigning.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well, I mean if you look at St. Peter's and
David seen where they've been fighting against each other from
day one of this government rather than actually doing the
things that they say they're going to do. I mean,
why are they making promises about what they do after
the next election. Now when there's still a year of
governing to go, and they don't seem to be making
any effort to do the things that they say they
want to do. They could do them now. They're the
(03:05):
government now, they don't need to make promises for the
next election every day. They've got the opportunity to make
those changes, and they're choosing instead to get out there
on the campaign trail. It's like a year away from
the election. We're the opposition. We want to be on
the campaign trail. We're eager to win the next election.
The current government should be focused on actually running the country.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
You have spent time since the last election during major
policy review and we're getting we get we're hearing about
some of that now. Can we expect to see anything
radically different from labor in terms of policy?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
The New Zealand Future Funder is a big departure from
where we're at previously. So we're focused on changing the
way we view our current public assets, making sure that
we're reinvesting the returns in those and creating good jobs
for New Zealanders and creating growing New Zealand's asset based
for future generations. Three free doctors' visits speaks to the
issues that key with care about. We will introduce a
(03:57):
targeted capital gains tax because it speaks to a huge
issue in New Zealanders, which is that we're investing so
much money in speculative housing investment and not enough money
in the productive economy to create jobs for New Zealanders.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
You're speaking this afternoon. What can we expect in that speech?
Will there be any policy announcements from you?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
I've got a little policy announcement today, not a big one.
We said that we're going to do three big policy
announcements this year, and we've done those. There will be
more big policy announcement next year, but for now, we're
going to be recapping what it is that we're taking
to the electorate so far, you know what we've announced
so far, and just setting out a bit of a
vision for the future of the country.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Just a gentle tease there. Do you mentioned before that
you've had a bit of a reassess with your lineup
and things as well, but you've also lost a lot
of your top talent and a lot of experience after
the last election. Do you think you've got the personnel
within the party to form a government. New Zealanders can
be confident in.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
It's very natural that there's a bit of a turnover
after you lose the election. But to take finance, you know,
we have Barbara Edmonds and the finance portfolio. She's relatively new,
she was only a minister for a few months before
the last but she has an understanding of that portfolio
that I think surpasses anybody else in partment. She's got
extensive experiences, you know, in the areas around taxes, tax
(05:17):
lawyers and as someone as a government advisor. And the
feedback I'm getting from up here in Auckland, for example,
from the business community is they have huge confidence in
Barbara Edmonds and knowing that she can actually grow the
economy and run the government's finances responsibly. We've got new
spokespeople in education, new spokespeople across most of the major portfolios,
(05:40):
and that's giving labor a new sense of energy.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Someone which I think really frustrates New Zealand as an
awful lot is when we get a new we get
a new coalition, a new government, there seems to be
a lot of repealing. There's a reverting of things and
at times there are issues, whether it's DOE with education,
health and infrastructure that most New Zealanders would like to
see much more bipartisan approach. When you come back and
(06:03):
are you just going to stand there and go right, okay,
we're going to change Does change that change that? Or
will you be assessing everything individually and making calls on it.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
We've really heard the message from New Zealander is that
there's been a lot of change in that they're looking
for a bit of stability and key areas, so things
like infrastructure investment. We just want to keep the ball
rolling there. But there's no point in constantly reassessing the
country's priorities all the time. It just slows everything down.
It means nothing happens and everything costs too much. So
we've just got to keep the momentum going there. Similarly,
(06:34):
in Resource Management Act reform, the current government are probably
going to get about eighty percent towards something that we'd support.
So my message to Chris Bishop and Christopher Luxeen has
been a split the difference. You know, we will we
will get behind that. So we don't want to be
changing things just for the sake of changing them.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
How are you going to win back those Mara seats.
How important is it for Labor to do that.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
We want to win back all of the Mardi seats.
The Marti parties in no fit states to form, you know,
to play any constructive role in government. And we're going
to have a really strong lineup of new candidates and
the Mardi electrics, they're very fired up. Cousha Tongue ied
in manual. She's the one Labor MP who holds one
of those Mardi seats at the moment. She's spoke at
our conference yesterday and talked about the importance of winning
(07:19):
those seats back for Labor. We are absolutely determined to
do that.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Chris. I know it's been a busy weekend for you,
so really appreciate you talking to us this morning. Thank
you so much. That was Labor Party leader Chris Hopkins
seth
Speaker 1 (07:31):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, Listen
live to News Talks a B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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