Hipkins brushing up his messages – and memory

First published SEP 19, 2023
Updated 2 hours ago

Election 2023

The Prime Minister tries to out-humble National’s Christopher Luxon ahead of tonight’s big leaders’ debate, telling media he’ll swot up on his numbers through Tuesday as he does not have a photographic memory

Chris Hipkins completed his one public campaign engagement this morning and then walked three blocks through Auckland city to a venue to start memorising facts and figures he thinks he’ll need for tonight’s first leaders’ debate.

His mind might already have been whirring, anticipating questions and interjections and straining for numbers because as he walked he did not obviously interact with any Aucklanders walking the other way, and, oddly, few of them reacted to him. (He did call out to two of the media, waiting at a bus-stop, about taking public transport.)

At one set of lights, he and his small group of diplomatic protection squad police officers and a staffer had to wait for the crossing signal among two university graduands and their friends and family, the graduating pair resplendent in gowns on their big capping day. The Labour leader, former education minister and student politician stared straight ahead without troubling them with a ‘congratulations’ or ‘enjoy your day’ or ‘good on ya’.

Moments earlier he’d ended his visit to the new and brightly refurbished B201 green building at the University of Auckland with a minute-long social media campaign speech direct to a party videographer.

His memory for these messages seemed faultless, with a one-take delivery ending: “Going back now, turning our minds back to the failed policies of the past. That’s not how New Zealand’s going to get ahead. It’s a pretty clear choice. For a more positive future for our country, to continue the positive momentum that we’ve been building up, give your party vote to Labour.”

When it was noted he’d been almost word perfect for that ad, he quipped: “I’m getting better. I’m doing them almost every day.”

At a media stand-up beforehand, Hipkins tried to out-humble National’s Christopher Luxon, who has repeatedly praised Hipkins’ debating prowess in Parliament, within New Zealand and jokingly even by world standards.

“I’m looking forward to the debate. I’m hoping people will focus on the substance rather than the sport of it. I acknowledge that everybody these days seems to treat politics like a sport. Actually there’s a lot of substance that I think is important. 

“So I know there’s a big undecided vote out there tonight and there’ll be tuning in tonight to help them decide how to vote and I’m looking forward to being able, through the debate to speak to those people.”

To a suggestion Hipkins himself excels over Luxon in the ‘sports’ elements of politics, the Prime Minister demurred.

“Christopher Luxon’s being doing lots of practice. We’re both new at this. We’re both going into these leadership debates for the first time. And I hope people will focus more on what we’ll say, rather than the sport of it.

“The substance is what people should vote on.”

Asked if that meant he’d not use any barbs or take the mickey out of Luxon, Hipkins opaquely replied: “It’s a debate.”

“I’ll say what I think and I’ll genuinely try to reflect who I am as a person and my values. I don’t need to be told my values by a focus group. I know what they are and I intend to stay true to those throughout the campaign.”

On his own prep plans for the debate, Hipkins said he would spend the rest of the day “reading back over some notes”.

“Look, one weakness and I’ll confess it now, I don’t have a photographic memory when it comes to facts and figures. I’ve been caught out on this before. I will spend a bit of time trying to refresh my memory on those things.

“But again, I hope we will focus on the substance, rather than the kind-of ‘gotcha’ moments which these debates can sometimes come down to.”

He didn’t view the debate as the potential moment Labour seized back momentum in the campaign or polls. “There’s a long way to go until voting starts in two weeks. I absolutely acknowledge that the polls haven’t necessarily reflected where we want to be. But I also acknowledge there’s a huge undecided vote out there. There’s a lot of New Zealanders who genuinely haven’t made up their minds.”

Hipkins said: “Democracy relies on people making informed decisions when they vote and a leadership debate is an opportunity for them to be more informed about what we’re proposing, what the National Party is proposing and what the issues are that are at stake so I do hope people will tune in.”

Potential issues for tonight’s debate might be seen in the current questions of the day from the media to Hipkins.

These focused on law and order, following the Albany bus station murder and armed robberies in Auckland, National’s new webpage calling out what it calls misinformation by Labour candidates (the latest, from Roskill MP Michael Wood, being a claim National would end the winter energy payment – something Hipkins said he’s asked Wood to take down), funding for Labour’s new solar heating policy and reducing the prison population.

Asked if Labour would have a policy to reduce prison inmate numbers if re-elected, as it had in this term, Hipkins said his party did not have that target at this election. Labour was keen to act on the causes of crime and reduce offending in the first place.

In his speech at the building opening, Hipkins had mentioned the word “legacy” in relation to the funding coming from the Covid-19 recovery fund. Asked if he was already describing his own legacy, should he not be Prime Minister after October 14, he was emphatic. “Absolutely not.”