A new chief of staff for Hipkins, gifts exchanged as Labour and National swap offices
Labour leader Chris Hipkins is to appoint Chris Bramwell as his chief of staff — a former press gallery journalist who has been Grant Robertson’s press secretary since 2019. One person (yes you, Grant) cheekilynoted the well-regarded Bramwell was both savvy enough and bossy enough to be a good fit for Hipkins.
The other staff are enjoying the Chris Combo in the office and have already dubbed Bramwell “C2″ (short for Chris-2). It is a nod to the nickname of former Prime Minister Helen Clark’s chief of staff, Heather Simpson, who was called H2).
Chris Bramwell, incoming chief of staff to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Bramwell’s most important service to the nation was her list of Banned Words, which Labour’s press secs (and some ministers) and officials were forbidden to use. Beehive Diaries has written of it before: A roundup of appalling bureaucratese and meaningless buzz words, compiled over four years.
Bramwell used the services of Beehive Diaries to pass it on to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who gratefully received it. Willis will presumably need to add some corporate jargon to it, given Luxon’s propensity for it.
Meanwhile, coalition ministers and staff moved into their new Beehive offices on Monday, some to find souvenirs or even gifts left behind by their former Labour occupants.
Hipkins’ former chief of staff, Andrew Kirton, had left Luxon’s Cam Burrows a bottle of Glenlivet 12, with a lovely tray and some glasses. It’s a bit of a tradition for the chiefs of staff — Key’s Wayne Eagleson had done the same after the 2017 election.
Burrows reported that he had left a similar bottle for Hipkins’ new chief of staff in his old office, without knowing who that person would be at the time.
However, the gift has mysteriously disappeared despite an extensive hunt by Bramwell and Robertson for it. All she found was an abandoned neck-tie.
Ahead of Parliament opening again on Tuesday, Te Pāti Māori has voiced objection to being required to pledge allegiance to King Charles III.
But at the swearing-in of the National, NZ First and Act ministers last Monday there were no such objections. There were, however, some pronunciation issues.
The King’s hares found a loyal subject in new Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who was the first to come a cropper to the occasional mispronunciation of the word “heirs” while being sworn into office.
PM Christopher Luxon is sworn in as Prime Minister. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The pledge requires ministers to pledge their allegiance to the King, his heirs and successors.
Luxon went for the hard ‘h’ on the heirs, and so pledged allegiance to the King’s hares.
His consecutive deputies showed him how it was done — both Winston Peters and David Seymour pronouncing “heirs” correctly and with clear emphasis on the word — perhaps by way of letting it be known they had noticed the PM’s blunder.
If it is any consolation, Luxon, you’re not the only one to stumble on it. Act MP Andrew Hoggard chose to pledge his allegiance to King Charles’ ears and successors, although that could be put down to a New Zealand accent.
Eyewitnesses report that back in the day, former Labour MP Paul Swain pledged allegiance to the Queen’s heirs and graces.
Seymour or Peters? Early confusion in the succession of Deputy Prime Ministers
Speaking of successors, Act leader David Seymour tells an early tale of confusion over the split Deputy PM role which will see Winston Peters take the first 18 months and Seymour take over for the second half of the term.
His partner was talking to a friend overseas, who asked if she was still dating a politician.
The response was that the politician in question was now going to be the Deputy Prime Minister. The friend was clearly keen to see what this politician looked like, so promptly googled. They then responded with, “I support you, but are you worried about the age difference?”
The search had come up with the first person in line to be Deputy PM, Winston Peters.
Seymour is 40 and his partner 35.
Chris Bishop steals Chris Luxon’s look
As the coalition negotiations in Auckland dragged on, Chris Bishop ran out of clothes and had to borrow a shirt from his boss, Luxon. The shirt was a tad smarter than Bishop’s usual attire — so Bishop has clearly decided he’ll hang on to it.
Leader of the House Chris Bishop wearing his boss' shirt for Chris Luxon's first post-Cabinet press conference. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He hauled it out again to mark a big day for his boss, wearing it as he stood next to Luxon for his very first post-Cabinet press conference.
Bishop reports it is a “very nice shirt” and fits him well so he intends to steal Luxon’s look and some more for himself. They’ll have to message each other in the mornings to make sure they’re not too matchy-matchy.
