Chris Hipkins (left) and Christopher Luxon. Illustration / Rod Emmerson
Chris Hipkins (left) and Christopher Luxon. Illustration / Rod Emmerson
After three wins in a row for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in the weekly showdown between the two Chrises, this was the week National Party leader Christopher Luxon was supposed to actually get on to the field to play.
He was supposed to deliver his state of the nation –and some policy – last Sunday. That had to be postponed after the warnings about Cyclone Gabrielle arriving on the same day.
Parliament was also supposed to start with Hipkins delivering the Prime Minister’s statement – eagerly anticipated since it would have included the things Hipkins had decided were not on the chopping block as part of his policies bonfire. It was to have included an announcement on Hipkins’ steps to address truancy – something National has been tackling the government on.
It would also have given us the first head-to-head between the two Chrises in Question Time.
But that too was cancelled after Hipkins went to Auckland last weekend to await the cyclone after the floods of the week before – and could not return to Wellington – and as the scale of the damage became clear.
Dealing with Cyclone Gabrielle has since kept Hipkins busy with the response and disaster management all week, including daily press conferences and visits to the areas affected.
He has done the job a good Prime Minister should be doing: making sure he is abreast of all developments, going to see the damage himself and starting work on what will be needed to help the hardest-hit regions recover.
Luxon has also done the best thing a leader of the Opposition could do which is shutting his mouth when invited to criticise the Government’s response in the heat of a disaster, and only opening it to be constructive.
He had watched his predecessors come a cropper for criticism of the government – especially when a Prime Minister is generally deemed to be handling things well - at a sensitive stage of Covid-19.
Former Labour leaders had also struggled when they were in Opposition during the Christchurch quakes.
So instead of doing the opposing part of his job, he opted for the proposing - rather than criticise he has spoken about areas he hopes to work with the other Chris on - such as climate adaptation and addressing the problem of forestry slash.
He has not had a bad week – he has just not really been able to have a week at all against a Prime Minister contending with a major natural disaster.
They said:
Chris Luxon on the issue of forestry slash: “I can’t think of another sector or business which is allowed to deal with its waste the way it does, where costs get socialised out to the community.”
Chris Hipkins after a 6.3 earthquake hit the Wellington region following the Auckland flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle: “‘I was looking out the window for a plague of locusts.”
The winner: match rained off
The referees determined this week’s Chris v Chris fixture be cancelled due to Cyclone Gabrielle causing a uneven playing field, making it too unfair to judge.
Hopes are high for a resumption of play next week, when Parliament is expected to get back into action- and Luxon might also be able to deliver his state of the nation soon.
