New Zealand PM issues warning over ‘coalition of chaos’
Auckland | New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has warned of a “coalition of chaos” running the country if his Labour Party is turfed from government, as his centre-right opponent is likely to need the help of two minor parties to take power.
National Party leader and former airline executive Christopher Luxon remained in prime position to become New Zealand’s next prime minister, despite polls suggesting a late surge from Mr Hipkins’ Labour Party ahead of Saturday’s election.
National Party leader Chris Luxon, right, meets locals in Morrinsville, New Zealand. Getty
Both leaders descended on Auckland on Friday ahead of a mandated midnight blackout on campaigning, with Mr Hipkins urging undecided voters to give his Labour government an unlikely third term after the January resignation of Jacinda Ardern.
Despite Mr Hipkins holding out hope of a miracle election win, numerous polls released across the week have shown the Nationals have the most viable pathway to victory. But the party will likely need to rely on the right-wing New Zealand First and the libertarian ACT Party.
Mr Luxon used his final press conference of the campaign to hammer home the fundamentals of his cost-of-living focused pitch to voters, and vowed to get the indebted country “back on track”.
“There is a mood for change,” he said.
Mr Luxon said while he hoped to form government in a two-party coalition with ACT, he acknowledged he may need to work with NZ First and its unpredictable leader Winston Peters, who is on the precipice of entering parliament for a third time.
Democracy sausage: New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on the campaign trail. AP
“I’ll make anything work … I think I’ve got the experience to be able to pull together a coalition that’s going to be very focused on the New Zealand people,” he said.
“I think all Kiwis can recognise that over the last six years the country has gone backwards.”
Mr Hipkins, who took the top job in January after Ms Ardern’s snap resignation, has seized on the potential uncertainty surrounding any National-ACT-NZ First coalition and spent the final week of the campaign warning of its implications.
“I think the National Party is falling apart, the coalition of chaos making clear that they can’t work with each other and opposition let alone in government,” Mr Hipkins said.
“We don’t want that chaos.”
Mr Hipkins said close to two million people were expected to have waited until Saturday to vote, and hoped a final week surge in momentum would drive undecided voters towards Labour.
Several polls published on Thursday suggested the National’s primary party vote sat between 34.5 per cent and 37 per cent, while Labour trailed at about 28 per cent.
ACT was sitting at about 9 per cent, and New Zealand First at between 6 per cent and 7 per cent, suggesting the Nationals will need to rely on Mr Peters’ support.
The Greens, which would support Labour in a coalition, recorded about 14 per cent, along with Te Pati Maori – The Maori Party – which is expected to receive 2 per cent of the vote. By those numbers, Labour did not have a viable path to victory on Friday evening without a substantial, and unexpected swing.
While Mr Luxon campaigned on bread and butter politics of addressing a cost-of-living crisis, his two potential coalition partners garnered support by railing against co-governance measures implemented by the Ardern government, which have provided Maori better representation in certain government services.
With echoes of the Australian No campaign, Mr Peters has argued co-governance had created a two-tiered, elitist system that divided people by race.
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