Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is trading blows with Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour over a comment Brown made comparing the nature of coalition Government arrangements to a dog with “two tails wagging” it.
Appearing on TVNZ’s Q+A programme on Sunday, Brown told host Jack Tame that his relationship with Luxon is “friendly and cordial” and that the Prime Minister is “doing his best”.
But he made the canine reference when Tame questioned whether Brown was able to influence the Government over points of the recently signed Auckland City Deal.
“I don’t think he has quite the control of his side of it that I’ve got of mine. I mean, there’s two tails wagging that dog,” Brown said, referring to National’s coalition partners Act and New Zealand First.
“And those tails don’t get on. I mean, that whole system doesn’t work.”
Brown’s comments were replayed to Seymour when he appeared on Breakfast yesterday, with the Act leader asked whether they gave a “fair representation” of the coalition.
“No. And I have to say, as an Aucklander facing a 7.9% rates increase, it’s a little tiring every week Wayne Brown has got another sound-off about his opinion about something,” Seymour replied.
“I’d like him to do his job and get our rates under control.
“And also, just to make this point – if he has this visceral need for more attention or an outlet for his creativity, then maybe he could go on Celebrity Treasure Island or something like that.”
Clarifying his point, Seymour said it would “be more helpful” if Brown went on the reality series than “blow his mouth off about some latest thing”.
Brown seemingly responded to Seymour’s comments on social media this morning, sharing a photo of the Act leader from his time on Dancing With the Stars and accompanied by a caption questioning his business background.
“I’m a businessman people go to to make deals. Seymour’s the one who had to go ballroom dancing to get noticed,” Brown wrote.
Speaking to media after announcing a new Act health policy at the NIB/NZ Initiative Health Summit in central Auckland, Seymour said he was aware of Brown’s most recent comments but appeared reluctant to give the criticisms anymore traction.
“All I would say is that as an Aucklander, as someone who has to pay rates and faces a 7.9% rates increase, we’d just like him to do his job and manage the rates,” he said.
“That’s all.”
The tit-for-tat comes as political parties – including those in the coalition Government, made up of Luxon’s National Party, Winston Peters’ NZ First Party and Seymour’s Act Party – look to distinguish their propositions to voters in the lead-up to the November 7 election.
Recent cracks apparent in the coalition, such as the Herald revealing Luxon initially wanted to show “explicit public support” for the US-led war on Iran against Peters’ advice, have only accentuated their differences.
Asked whether the disagreement between National and NZ First was unhelpful to the coalition, Seymour told Breakfast he viewed it “as unhelpful for the whole country, because right now most people are saying, ‘How do I get to the end of the week with diesel in the tank?’”
“Last week, we actually did get diesel in the tank ... I’d rather be talking about that than, you know, who sent whose emails,” he added.
Brown’s criticism also stems from dissatisfaction with the Government and its relationship to Auckland Council, with the mayor telling Q+A the landmark Auckland City Deal was “underwhelming” despite signing it off with Luxon weeks ago.
He suggested a coalition between National and Labour would be more beneficial than coalitions with minor parties.
“It’s the only way we’re going to reverse the long-term decline of our nation. We just elect governments of Labour or National who are managing the decline. I’m sick of the decline,” Brown said.
Tame asked what was wrong with the “smaller parties”?
“Well, most of the answers to everything is in the middle anyhow,” Brown said.
“The small parties have to be radical to be noticed.
“Someone said the other day, you can’t tell the difference [between] ... Labour and National in the dark. They’re probably right.”
Brown then compared New Zealand’s political landscape to the aluminium window industry.
“If this was a business sector, say it was like something like the aluminium window industry or something like that, and those two parties had 30% of the market and four had 10% – the shareholders of those two would drive that business together in the middle ... just to minimise the influence of the small ones.
“And the only problem would be who’s in charge. Well, in this case here it’d be Chris [Luxon] in charge and Chris [Hipkins] second, and 18 months later Chris [Hipkins] will be in charge and right Chris [Luxon] will be second.”
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