Paula Bennett: Another Chris Hipkins apology - time he changed his ways

PM Chris Hipkins speaks to media in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

OPINION:

Wondering what the election campaign is going to be like? If Chris Hipkins is true to form it will be him playing the person and not the ball. He is quick to apologise, but perhaps he should learn from previous mistakes and not make the error in the first place.

There are many many examples of Hipkins not hesitating to shame and embarrass people incorrectly if it is for his political benefit.

The latest is Hipkins having to apologise to the people of Hawke’s Bay and the roadworkers in particular. He repeatedly stated that the roadworkers who had a gun pulled on them had not complained to police. He indicated many times that the incident did not occur.

He has since apologised and blamed police for giving him false information, but he was quick to more or less call the road workers liars. With everything that many in Hawke’s Bay are dealing with, they should not have to defend themselves against a Prime Minister who does not have his facts right.

As if that wasn’t enough, he repeatedly stated that crime had not risen since the weather events. When the facts were that many people did not have the means to report incidents as communications were down. He can’t blame police for that comment. It is just common sense and something he should have figured out on his own.

He was quick to say that the women who crossed the border into Northland from Auckland in October 2021 had broken the law. Turned out that they had not gone to Northland illegally - they had travel permits,

There was no apology for that one, even though the women deserved one and Northland went unnecessarily into an 11-day lockdown.

He did apologise to journalist Charlotte Bellis but the harm to her reputation had already been done.

Hipkins as Covid Response Minister said that then-pregnant Bellis, who was desperate to get back to NZ, had been offered an MIQ spot and that she had twice refused consular assistance while pregnant. Neither of these was true.

Last year Hipkins apologised in the House of Parliament for bringing Bill English and his family into a debate about family members getting government contracts. He was, of course, trying to deflect from allegations swirling around Minister Nanaia Mahuta and her family.

He may have apologised to the English Family – and to be fair there are a lot of them, but he also had to apologise to all Pacific people when he made assumptions that Pacific people could not afford to spend in Queenstown, again as Covid Response Minister.

Hipkins needs to not only apologise but he needs to change his ways. As the pressure of a campaign comes on and his polling starts to drop, can he assure us now that he won’t be attacking people, but will instead debate the issues.

Paula Bennett is a former Deputy Prime Minister and National Party politician who now works at Bayleys Real Estate as national director-customer engagement.