Labour’s Chris Hipkins rejects LNG plan, rules out tolling current Auckland harbour crossing in State of the Nation address

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has kicked off the 2026 election year with twin pledges, vowing not to toll the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge to fund a second harbour crossing, and promising to scrap the Government’s proposed liquefied natural gas import terminal if Labour takes office before contracts are signed.

In his State of the Nation address in Auckland, Hipkins framed the election as a “choice between two futures”, casting Labour’s platform as a cost of living to-do list focused on; “Jobs. Health. Homes.” and a New Zealand-made economic strategy.

"We need change, and Labour knows how," he said.

"A future made in New Zealand. Not made for us, made by us."

Criticism came in fast, NZ First leader Winston Peters posting on X, calling him Chris “softy” Hipkins and accusing him of delivering "one of the most boring State of the Nation speeches in recorded history".

"No new policy. No new plan. No new announcements - apart from announcing they will announce policy later - maybe he’s just waiting for the Greens and TPM to fill in the gaps," he said. 

While National deputy Nicola Willis said the speech "read like a lump of jelly, filled with platitudes and sentiment, but no concrete plans". 

"Chat GPT could have written that speech," Willis said, "He actually needs to have constructive ideas for the future."

The Government earlier this month announced it would build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal as soon as 2027 to remove the risk associated with dry years. LNG is natural gas that has been cooled and liquified so it can be transported easily.

Hipkins said the “answer isn't to lock New Zealand into volatile global energy markets, it's to invest in cheap, clean power right here at home in New Zealand”.

“We don't support it. We won't support it. And if we're in government before a deal is done, we won't go through with it.”

Hipkins said Labour would not try to do everything in its first term, instead it would focus “on what matters most - and we will deliver”.

“We won't add new charges onto people - like increasing every household's power bill to pay for a gas import terminal, or tolling the Auckland Harbour Bridge to pay for a new crossing.

“Labour supports a second harbour crossing. But we won't penalise people for using the one that already exists."

The Infrastructure Commission has put a proposal of a $9 toll on the table for the current and future Auckland harbour crossings, saying its proposal reflects the maximum sustainable toll to help fund the multi-billion-dollar project.

Analysis from the Commission suggested it could bring in $7 billion to $9 billion, as unlike road upgrades, it was unlikely to be funded through normal revenues.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop last week stressed the Government had not made a decision on the second crossing.

“I get people want certainty. But also when you're spending like 15 billion bucks of government money on a new bridge or tunnel - not saying one or the other. People would want us to take a proper process around it, I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis on RNZ called the toll proposal a “completely hypothetical scenario in the Infrastructure Commission's plan”.

Hipkins used his speech to have a go at the Government, saying voters could; “choose a government that backs New Zealand businesses to compete and succeed, or one whose entire plan is to wait and hope foreign investors solve our problems”.