Beehive Diaries: Chris Hipkins trades Coronation wardrobe notes with Justin Trudeau and Anthony Albanese, Chris of the Week, and the ministers who share an artwork
Don’t be fooled by the rocks that he’s got, he’s still Chippy from the Hutt
A grand royal occasion has presented some problems for PM Chris Hipkins who even Jacinda Ardern has mocked for being fashion-challenged and who describes himself as being tight when it comes to money.
Male guestsgoing to King Charles’ Coronation were given the option of a morning suit (waistcoats and tails) or a lounge suit (normal old business suit). Hipkins reported he was going the lounge suit way – but there was clearly some trepidation that he would end up sticking out like a sore thumb as the only one in a lounge suit while everyone around him was in morning suits.
Discreet inquiries were made of Commonwealth cuzzies – Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese and Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau – as to what they were wearing and both reported it would be a business suit.
He did splash out on a new suit and new shoes for the occasion - although “splash” might be overstating it.
High-end New Zealand designers hoping he would keep up Jacinda Ardern’s habit of showcasing them on international outings will be disappointed.
In keeping with the fiscal restraint he promised in Budget month, his suit is an off-the-rack number from Barkers – which is at least a New Zealand company and doesn’t do harm to Hipkins’ bread and butter image.
Hipkins has also joked that his date for the Coronation is Christopher Luxon, who is yet to tell us where his suit is from. That brings us to....
Chris v Chris
It was a fairly low-key week for Christopher Luxon as the focus went on Chris Hipkins’ visit to Australia and delivering his promise of a “no-frills” and no new taxes Budget – although Luxon did continue with National’s policy rollout including a promise of more funding for community organisations dealing with mental health.
Luxon’s dodging of questions around whether he thought the wealthy were taxed fairly lost him the week; he resorted to endless recitations of his line that Labour was spending too much money and National’s tax cuts would solve all problems.
Hipkins is the Chris of the Week for the success of his trip to Australia over the weekend (albeit mainly due to the work of Ardern) and for moving to mop up any immediate confusion on Labour’s plans following the Inland Revenue report on much tax those wealthy people paid - it delivered us a meatier pre-Budget speech than we are used to.
The art-child of Grant Robertson and Megan Woods
On a visit to Woods’ office in the Beehive this week, Beehive Diaries spotted one of Karl Maughan’s garden paintings on the wall. It was hard not to spot it – it was massive.
Woods told us that it was jointly owned by herself and Grant Robertson, who bought it in 2020 in one of Labour’s famous fundraising art auctions. However, it was so big neither of them had space for it at home, so it was kept at the Beehive where Robertson and Woods had neighbouring offices until earlier this year.
Megan Woods and Grant Robertson own an artwork together. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The artwork was some consolation for Woods when she had to move from the seventh floor of the Beehive to the sixth floor after Hipkins’ reshuffle put Carmel Sepuloni in as deputy.
“I kept the Maughan though,” she says, adding that Robertson was allowed to pay visits under their informal shared custody arrangement.
Maughan is one of several well-known artists to have donated art to the party to auction off for its coffers, including Dick Frizzell, the late Bill Hammond, John Reynolds and Stanley Palmer. The party’s donations records show Maughan donated two pieces in 2020, valued at about $20,000 each. The party only declares the buyers of the artworks as donors if the amount they pay at auction is higher than the market value. Woods would not say how much they paid – but it was not more than $35,000.
Bish’s baking fail
National MP Chris Bishop had a go at baking Anzac biscuits this week and the results made it apparent that his flash custom-made Baking With Bish apron does not get much wear. He tweeted the before photo showing little circles of dough nicely lined up on a baking tray.
It prompted the expected responses from the gentle citizens of Twitter, including whether the before and after shots were a metaphor for a political party’s promises to get things done from Opposition – and the results once they got into government.
Bishop reported his Anzac snap was nonetheless delicious - and crunchy.
