Election 2023: Labour leader Chris Hipkins quizzed in Newstalk ZB Leaders Breakfast

Labour leader Chris Hipkins was in the hot seat this morning, facing two hours of questions in Newstalk ZB’s Leaders Breakfast.

Lead by host Mike Hosking, Hipkins spoke on several areas during the extended interview, which included questions from listeners.

The Herald livestreamed the interview, you can watch it above.

National leader Christopher Luxon had the same interview with Hosking last week.

It comes as Hipkins says he would not break his word and work with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters in order to break a possible post-election stalemate, even if that meant sending voters back to the polls.

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National yesterday told the Herald there was a chance a second election could be required if it couldn’t reach a deal with Peters.

Christopher Luxon is warning the NZ public a second election could be on the cards. Photo / Mark Mitchell

If the Labour leader were in such a scenario, he says a second election would be National’s fault.

Hipkins was asked about the prospect of working with NZ First after National said there was “a very real and growing possibility” of post-election talks between National, Act and NZ First falling short of forming a government.

With only five days to go, a series of polls show National would likely need both Act and NZ First to form a government, despite National leader Christopher Luxon’s plea to voters to deliver a clear two-party hand to him. There is also the possibility of a Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori bloc forming a parliamentary majority with the help of NZ First.

Luxon said two weeks ago that he would pick up the phone to Peters as a last resort if it meant avoiding another Labour-led government, but on Sunday, National’s campaign chair Chris Bishop said a second election would be needed if “it is just impossible to do a deal between National, Act and NZ First”.

Peters dismissed the prospect of a second election as a “lie”, and described National’s latest campaign ads - which suggested eight weeks of coalition talks after no clear election winner - as “dirt”.

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.