Labour leader Chris Hipkins has delivered a fiery campaign speech to party faithful in Auckland, calling the Coalition Government “out of ideas, out of touch, and out of time,” while promising Labour will rebuild a future based on jobs, health, and homes.
Speaking at Labour’s Auckland regional conference, Hipkins told grassroots campaigners, unionists, and MPs that the party was “on track to make history” by ousting National after a single term.
“New Zealanders were promised stability, leadership, and solutions,” Hipkins said. “What they’ve had instead is broken promises, bad choices, division, and dysfunction.”
Hipkins repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis, accusing them of pursuing ideological vanity projects while ignoring the everyday struggles of working New Zealanders.
“They say there’s ‘no alternative’ as they hand $3 billion in tax breaks to landlords. ‘No alternative’ as they pour hundreds of millions into tax cuts for tobacco companies,” he said. “But perhaps the clearest, most disturbing choice they’ve made is this: after a string of economic missteps and busted budgets, they’re now asking low-paid Kiwi women to pay for their mistakes.”
He was referring to the Government’s decision to legislate against existing pay equity claims, which Labour opposes.
“National’s decision to change the law and wipe out all 33 existing pay equity claims isn’t just bad policy. It’s a disgrace,” Hipkins said. “David Seymour even admitted it, saying the quiet part out loud. Scrapping equal pay, he said, ‘saved the Budget.’ That’s what this coalition stands for: balancing the books on the backs of the people who can least afford it.”
Hipkins outlined Labour’s core policy vision under the banner of “jobs, health, and homes” and accused the Government of abandoning those priorities in favour of cuts.
“We will create jobs, not cut them. We will invest in health, not hollow it out. We will build homes, not flog them off,” he said. “We will protect our environment and build a future where children can breathe clean air and drink safe water.”
He also promised tax reform that ensures “everyone pays their fair share—not to punish success but to ensure those who’ve done well contribute to the roads that connect them, the hospitals that care for them, and the schools that taught them.”
Hipkins cast Labour as the party of unity and fairness.
“Whether you’re Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, Asian or a new Kiwi, whether you’re young or old, gay, straight, transgender, wealthy or struggling, Labour sees you. Labour hears you. Labour is fighting for you,” he said.
He contrasted that with the Coalition’s approach to social issues.
“They govern for a few, and it shows,” he said. “New Zealanders don’t need fairy tales. They need leadership that looks forward, not backward.”
Hipkins pledged that Labour would not be afraid of the challenges ahead, including climate change, AI disruption, and the rising cost of living.
“These aren’t reasons to fear the future. They are reasons to shape it,” he said.
Reflecting on the 2023 election result, Hipkins acknowledged the need for Labour to reconnect.
“We need to keep going to where people are. Talking with them, not at them. Listening, not lecturing,” he said.
“We are the country that gave women the vote, built a world-leading welfare state, and led the world in standing up for peace and nuclear disarmament. We are a nation of fairness, decency and community.”
He ended with a rallying cry to supporters: “We haven’t got a day to lose. Let’s get to work.”
