Chris Hipkins hits out at ‘heartless and cruel’ public sector job cuts

Labour’s Chris Hipkins has accused National of creating its own financial crisis - while hitting out over a wave of “heartless and cruel” public sector job cuts.

Fronting a crowd at AUT’s Manukau South Campus this afternoon, the former Prime Minister used his first major speech as Opposition leader to attack the Government’s new policy shifts, while pushing his own party values.

Hipkins particularly took aim at National’s accounting and an alleged multi-billion dollar hole (Finance Minister Nicola Willis denies the shortfall), telling the audience the Government now couldn’t deliver on its fiscal pledges.

“Let me be absolutely clear. The financial crisis the current Government claim to have inherited is one they have created for themselves.”

Hipkins said National’s plan to slash spending on public services to fund its promised tax cuts would leave Kiwis worse off, describing public sector redundancies as a “ruthless attack”.

“It is so easy to brand public servants as faceless bureaucrats, but they are people,” he said.

“They are people with families, mortgages and they work tirelessly. National is rewarding that hard work with redundancy and an uncertain future.”

Hipkins told the audience the Government’s lower spending goal “simply means they take from the many to give to the few - and life will only get worse for most people”.

On tax, he argued the current system was “inequitable” and “unsustainable”.

“We have one of the least diversified tax systems in the world, meaning public investment into things like health, education, welfare, housing and infrastructure is more reliant on income tax than most other countries we compare ourselves to,” Hipkins said.

“In other words, those who earn their living through their salary and wages are contributing a greater share than those who earn income through wealth.

“Under this Government, those with multiple investment properties are getting huge tax breaks, while those on salary and wages pay tax on every dollar they earn.”

Labour would shortly be releasing a series of discussion documents on key issues, including tax, Hipkins said.

“When the 2026 general election rolls around, we will be more prepared for government than any opposition in our country’s history.”

Today’s address follows a tumultuous week in politics, in which Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was again forced to field questions about coalition partner Winston Peters, after the NZ First leader compared elements of race issues in New Zealand to Nazi Germany.

At the same time, Hipkins himself was on Thursday forced to acknowledge his party’s Auckland light rail and KiwiBuild policies were “undeliverable” when proposed ahead of the 2017 election.

Asked about the public sector cuts last week, Nicola Willis told reporters her “heart went out” to anybody who lost their jobs in any circumstances, but the public service had grown significantly in previous years.

She did not yet know the final number of likely job cuts across the public sector, but expected to know that in time for the May Budget.

“No Government can live beyond its means indefinitely. And our priority as a Government is ensuring that new spending is prioritised towards front line services and towards income relief for hard-working New Zealanders,” she said.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has meanwhile assured that May’s Budget won’t include any surprise taxes.

“We are determined to deliver low and middle-income New Zealanders tax relief as we talked about during the campaign.”