Auckland (The NZ Today)
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has stepped up his attack on the Opportunity Party, warning voters seeking a change of government that backing Opportunity could ultimately help National stay in power.
Speaking to reporters, Hipkins said voters considering Opportunity needed to be clear that the party had left the door open to working with either Labour or National after the election.
“You’re basically letting someone else make the decision about who the government should be,” Hipkins said, arguing that people wanting a change of government risked “giving their vote away” by supporting a party that had not chosen a side.
His comments came after Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong said she did not believe Christopher Luxon’s repeated refusal to work with her party would necessarily survive coalition negotiations if National needed Opportunity’s support.
Luxon has consistently ruled out a deal with Opportunity, including during this week’s TVNZ leaders’ debate. National’s objections have centred largely on Opportunity’s land value tax and universal basic income policies, although neither is among the party’s five stated bottom lines for coalition talks.
Hipkins said Wong’s latest remarks were another reminder for voters to think about the government their party vote could help produce.
“If you want a change, you need to vote for change,” he said.
Opportunity, however, has deliberately positioned itself as a party willing to negotiate across the traditional left-right divide. Wong has previously said the party wants to maximise its vote and then work with whichever major bloc can meet its priorities.
Those priorities include stronger competition rules, political lobbying reform, a 10-year health plan, phasing out bottom trawling and maintaining New Zealand’s climate commitments.
The argument has become more significant because Opportunity remains close to, or above, the 5 percent threshold in several recent polls. The latest 1News Verian poll again placed the party in a potentially decisive position between the two major blocs.
Source: Chris Hipkins comments to reporters and 1News.
