Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has described Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as a dog that has “two tails wagging” him, as National’s relationship with its two coalition parties grows more fractious.
Speaking to Jack Tame on TVNZ’s Q+A programme this morning, Brown said his relationship with Luxon is “friendly and cordial” and that the Prime Minister is “doing his best”.
But it was in response to a question from Tame about being able to influence the Government over points of the recently signed Auckland City Deal that Brown made the reference.
“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, referring to National’s coalition partners Act and New Zealand First, said.
“And those tails don’t get on. I mean, that whole system doesn’t work,” the mayor said.
This week has exposed serious cracks in the coalition Government, made up of Luxon’s National Party, Winston Peters’ New Zealand First and David Seymour’s Act, with the Herald revealing Luxon initially wanted to show “explicit public support” for the US-led war on Iran.
Peters’ office released emails showing the Foreign Affairs Minister strongly advised him against taking that stance.
In today’s interview, Brown 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,” he 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.”
The interview then moved on to the recent India free trade deal and New Zealand First’s opposition to it.
“Look at what we learned from the China free trade deal. It started off, it got bigger and bigger, but if we didn’t have that, if China decided to be upset with us, and they’re a bit upset with what Winston’s saying – I’ve got to tell you that. And they suddenly turned off New Zealand, we’d be Zimbabwe overnight,” Brown said.
“We can’t afford not to have good relationships with India and China.”
Asked about NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones’ comments regarding a “butter chicken tsunami”, Brown focused on Jones’ leader, Peters.
“He says things about the Indian and Chinese sectors in order to get votes in Tauranga from old ladies, where in fact overseas people hear that and they don’t like hearing that,” Brown said.
When Tame later pushed Brown on his own history of culturally insensitive comments, relating to an incident in a lift where Brown suggested a “scruffy” security guard resembled “a Muslim terrorist”, the mayor abruptly hit back.
“Oh, don’t go there, mate. Not considering you are on TVNZ, hiding all the behaviour of your own people,” the mayor said – referring to the current controversy involving the state broadcaster’s political editor Maiki Sherman.
Tame also asked if Brown himself had considered running for Parliament.
“Oh God, no. I mean, I’ve had constant pressure to do that, with lots of money – ‘here, start a party’ and that stuff. I’m not interested in that. I don’t go to Wellington. I don’t want to go there anyhow,“ Brown said.
“But I think I’m interested in fixing the country, and I don’t like keep electing people just who are managing the decline of our country.”
Brown may not be interested in joining central Government, but he did offer an assessment of its handling of the ongoing fuel crisis.
“The National Party came up with the idea of $50 for a whole lot of lower-paid people to carry on doing the wrong thing, which is driving a car to work. We should have given them a $50 hop card to encourage them to not drive to work and get on to a bus.”