Labour leader Chris Hipkins has ruled out working with New Zealand First after the election but would be happy to form a coalition with the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
“A vote for Winston Peters, and New Zealand First, is a vote for a National-led government,” he said.
The announcement comes after a leaked Labour poll showed NZ First holding the balance of power with 6% of the party vote. Other polls have put the party at roughly 5%.
Hipkins said on Sunday that Labour’s former coalition partner had become a party more interested in toilets than issues that matter.
“Winston Peters and New Zealand First are a force for instability and chaos, and that’s the last thing the country needs right now”.
A coalition between National, Act, and NZ First would be a “coalition of cuts, chaos and confusion” that would alienate large sections of society.
Hipkins dropped the “relentless positivity” of his predecessor and attacked the opposition parties for not supporting women’s rights, being divisive on race, and targeting trans people.
Political leaders should be focused on the economy, the cost of living, good jobs, good housing, reducing poverty, and addressing climate change.
“Labour’s focus in this election won’t be on imported culture wars, but fighting an economic war against inflation and inequality,” he said.
“So, on that basis I’m ruling out working with New Zealand First and Winston Peters after the election”.
The Green Party has been a part of Labour’s government since 2017, first as a coalition partner and then in a cooperation agreement, and the two parties would work together again.
Te Pāti Māori was part of the 2008–2014 National Government, but it has undergone serious reform since being booted out of Parliament in the 2017 election.
Hipkins said he’d be able to work with the party just like John Key did, although Labour would vigorously contest the Māori electorate seats.
There wasn’t any comment on whether Te Pāti Māori would get a Cabinet seat, but a wealth tax was off the table and wouldn’t be entertained in coalition negotiations.
The Labour leader said he hadn’t even considered possible coalitions with The Opportunities Party, as there wasn’t any suggestion they would be in Parliament.
Speaking at a public event on Sunday, Winston Peters said he had already ruled out working with Labour because of their “racist separatist policies”.
Hipkins said Winston Peters was trying to “stoke fear and division in order to cobble together 5% of the party vote” from “the anti-vaxxers and anti-trans” groups.
Political optics
The intended effect of this announcement was likely to disarm the “coalition of chaos” attack line, that National has used against Labour, and to pressure Luxon to rule out NZ First.
So, what happens if New Zealand First held the balance of power on election night?
“That would be Christopher Luxon’s problem,” Hipkins said.
National has avoided ruling out forming a coalition with New Zealand First, but the Act Party has said it would not sit around the cabinet table with Winston Peters.
This means a three-way coalition would have to have one party sitting on the cross-benches and the other in Cabinet with National.
Christopher Luxon, leader of the National Party, will now come under pressure to make a decision about whether he could work with New Zealand First.
It is plausible that NZ First could hold the balance of power on election night, having already been ruled out by both possible coalitions.
Hung Parliaments are rare in multi-party systems but are still possible.
In that scenario, the party leaders would have to reckon with the political fallout of sending voters back to the polls for a fresh election — or breaking a campaign promise.
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