Which made Labour look desperate. That’s what bad ideas generally do, because if the person executing the bad idea is prepared to do even this [insert bad idea], they must be really desperate.
Desperate to visually cut the Māori Party out of the equation by not inviting them to the press conference. Desperate to make the Greens sound sensible by having them standing there. Desperate to present a contrast to the coalition Government that Hipkins keeps trying to frame as something of a shambles.
In the end, it didn’t work because it was never going to. And then it backfired spectacularly.
Not only because by excluding the Māori Party and its assembled leaders ensured the media became obsessed with the fact they’d excluded the Māori Party (who they need in order to form a Government on current polling).
But also, because of Peeni Henare.
Peeni Henare’s resignation also derailed Chris Hipkins’ Waitangi unity plan, Heather du Plessis-Allan writes. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
It was during the unity press conference that the Peeni Henare news broke. It broke early, by at least a couple of hours. Clearly, the plan was that Hipkins would do his unity press conference and get a couple of hours of happy, positive coverage on the news websites before the Henare resignation was announced. Then, Hipkins – having got his press conference out of the way – would have at least a day before he’d be in front of the media again answering questions with puff answers about Henare making his own decisions etc.
Chris Hipkins’ Waitangi “unity” event excluded Te Pāti Māori entirely. Photo / Jason Dorday
Instead, the press conference turned into a shambles because Hipkins apparently couldn’t think on the spot.
He refused to confirm what was already confirmed by Henare in a video circulating online. He refused to back Henare. He refused to look like a competent political leader.
It was awkward and weird. And it blew the unity message out of the water because there’s no point trying to convince voters of unity between parties when there clearly is a lack of unity within the major party.
And reader, do not be fooled by arguments to the contrary. Clearly, there is bad blood between Henare and the Labour Party he’s quitting. If there wasn’t, Hipkins would’ve expressed confidence in his outgoing, popular MP. Plus, you have to wonder how much residual love Henare has for Labour if he’s prepared to blow up their Waitangi outing by quitting at the event, so Hipkins almost certainly faces days of questions about it.
Happily for Hipkins, the Māori Party drew attention away from the Henare debacle on the third day of questions by fighting with each other in public.
It was quite a sight to witness party president John Tamihere’s daughter Kiri challenging ousted MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s son for his speech before Kapa-Kingi (the mum) told her to back off.
Unfortunately for Hipkins, even though he’s distanced himself from that sideshow, voters understand that unless he really improves his vote share, he’ll need the party that is blowing itself up in public.
So, by the end of the week, the unity message was well and truly in tatters and Hipkins probably wished he’d never raised the subject.
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