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Hipkins and Luxon hit the road: A taste of campaign 2023
A pōwhiri, a pie, and a grilling from primary school kids: Today was the day Chris Hipkins – the boy from the Hutt who grew up to be prime minister – went home for a visit.
With Rātana, Waitangi, Cyclone Gabrielle and other extreme weather dominating much of the political year so far, it was clear he and his political opponent – National’s leader Christopher Luxon, also on the road – were taking the opportunity to test-run their election campaigning.
Hipkins took a tour of the long river valley north of Wellington, which includes Lower Hutt – where he grew up – and Upper Hutt where he lives and acts as the local MP for Remutaka.
Joined by new police minister and Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen, the trip began with a pōwhiri welcoming them to Orongomai marae with waiata and ceremony.
Upper Hutt’s mayor Wayne Guppy took the chance to claim full ownership of the new PM.
“I know you grew up in Lower Hutt, and went to school in Lower Hutt … but actually Upper Hutt’s home. And I always say to people – when Chris came, the prime minister come to live in Upper Hutt, we put the finishing touches on you. We added the class,” Guppy said.
“You are a Hutt Valley boy, but really an Upper Hutt man.”
In his own speech, Hipkins mused on the meaning of Waitangi Day, saying he had made it a tradition to visit Orongomai each year but his new role had disrupted that.
“It actually started 15 years ago, before I became the local member of Parliament, with Paul Swain – then the local member of Parliament – I’d just been selected as the local candidate and so Paul said to me ‘you’d better come along to this’.
His experience of Waitangi Day had always been positive, he said, but he was frustrated that same experience was not always reflected.
“A day where we can come together, have a really good conversation, have the odd disagreement as well but actually genuinely celebrate the bold visionary thinking that stood behind the signing of the Treaty all those years ago.”
He also offered gratitude for the work marae across the country had done to support families through the Covid-19 pandemic and the cyclone, and for the work of those at Orongomai on prisoner rehabilitation, but was soon on his way, heading to his old primary school.
Luxon meanwhile was already visiting a school – Prebbleton, on the outskirts of Christchurch – with a meet and greet with the kids before speaking to media.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon visits Prebbleton School. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
His comments covered Andersen’s appointment (it’s the fourth police minister we’ve had in a year, the real issue was actually rising levels of crime”); lobbying (“I personally would like us to think about actually do we need more regulation around lobbyists”); climate change (“the single biggest thing we can do is accelerate our embracing of renewable electricity”); and teacher strikes (“parents want the issue resolved with teachers strike, teachers need to be valued, and National wants to see wages improve”).
By midday, Luxon was on the road again. Hipkins by then was just being welcomed back to his old primary school – Waterloo School – with more singing and a speech in rounds by the children.
They said the school’s values had not changed: Always show respect, take responsibility for your actions, and try hard at everything.
The latter appeared to have stuck with the self-described “boy from the Hutt”, who in a speech to the children highlighted perseverance as the most important thing he learned there.
Pupils at Waterloo School perform for Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ / Jane Patterson
“If you have the right attitude you can achieve almost anything that you might set out to achieve. Sometimes you won’t succeed at the first go round, you might make a mistake … but if you keep trying you can normally achieve what it is that you set out to achieve.”
He continued to reminisce, with anecdotes about swimming in the now-demolished pool on school grounds, planting a tree for school’s the 50th jubilee, and seeing the buildings be rebuilt after a fire in his first year.
“It is so awesome to be back again,” he said. “Maybe one day in the future one of you might be able to come back here as prime minister and you’ll be standing here where I am today.”
Hipkins also answered questions from the media – but it was the questions from the kids he seemed to struggle with.
Photo: RNZ / Jane Patterson
Some were straightforward: Favourite colour (“well I have to say red, because all of the media are watching”); favourite food (“same as it is now, I’ve always loved pasta”); favourite subject (“studying in 1988 about the Olympics”), favourite sport (“probably cricket” – cue big cheers from the kids) favourite part of the job (“getting to do things like this”), and least favourite part (“I don’t get to see my own family anywhere near enough”).
But others prompted some soul-searching.
“I was asked whether I was naughty … I’ll confess now because Mrs Morgan’s over there, and she’d probably tell you all if I didn’t, but I do remember back in those days, we used to get sent to the principal’s office … I’d been sent there twice, he funny thing is I can remember the experience of being sent to the principal’s office, but I can’t actually remember what it was for.
“The biggest obstacle I ever overcame in my life? That’s, that’s actually a really tough question … there was definitely parts of my schooling that I found really hard, and I had to keep trying at – I’ve never been very good at maths which we’re now establishing on a daily basis.”
He finished by directing a tricky question about what he intended to do about climate change back to the children, saying “the number one thing that we need to do to combat the challenge of climate change is make sure we’re reducing our emissions”.
Having completed their respective school visits, Hipkins and Luxon both turned their attention to the meaty issues of the day: Luxon heading to “What’s the Beef” Field Day on Banks Peninsula, Hipkins to Real Meat Pies in Waiwhetu.
It was a busy itinerary for both leaders, offering a taste of what’s to come on the campaign trail for this year’s election. If the polls are to be believed, the parties’ results could be as similar as their duelling schedules prove to be.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at Real Meat Pies. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
SOURCE RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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