PM Chris Hipkins, Christopher Luxon and Grant Robertson react to a potential new 'flood tax' that could be used to pay for the Cyclone Gabrielle recovery. Video / NZ Herald
ANALYSIS
We have a new entrant in Chris vs. Chris this week: Rob.
Rob Campbell that is. He began the week lashing out at one Chris [Luxon], and followed this with a public shaming from the other [Hipkins] before apologising to the first Chris and being sacked by ministers reportingto the second.
The sacking was then applauded by a chorus of both Chrises, who Campbell continued to criticise: Luxon, for his Three Waters policy that ditches co-governance, which Campbell has not resiled from slamming, Hipkins for allegedly walking away from the Government’s co-governance agenda.
Hipkins has undoubtedly handled the incident well. Health Minister Ayesha Verrall got on to it quickly, requesting advice from Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes on Sunday before Cabinet on Monday.
While respecting the dispute process set out in the Crown Entities Act for disputes between a minister and their board, Hipkins was still able to get the message across that he was unhappy with Campbell, refusing to say he had confidence in him when asked.
It’s easy to slam one’s enemies, but it takes some courage to acknowledge that one of your own appointees has stuffed up to the extent they must be removed - and Hipkins gets points for that.
If Hipkins and Labour really do believe there’s merit in quietly de-emphasising co-governance, it probably doesn’t hurt to have a senior public sector board member crow about it to the country.
But it would be wrong to claim the saga as a win for Labour. The party presents itself as the deliverer of good public services - health and education in particular. Labour’s brand will be damaged by the fact that it put the precious health system into the custody of such a hothead.
Campbell has also fired parting shots at the Government, warning of waste at Te Whatu Ora and an impending restructure. That restructure will be necessary to deliver on the promise of the reforms: cutting down on bureaucratic duplication and shifting investment to the frontline
Nevertheless, it does little to quell fears that the unrelenting chaos of the health reforms will abate time soon.
Rob Campbell departed his roles this week, fired parting shots at the Government as he went,
What about the other Chris?
Which other Chris?
Oh, that one.
On the face of it, Christopher Luxon has had an exceptional week. He launched a Three Waters Policy on Saturday, which led to a senior public service boss being sacked not once, but twice.
But Luxon has been fairly invisible. Part of that is the nature of his role. Opposition leaders have to fight harder for visibility - especially during recess weeks like the one just passed, when the gravitational pull of the political news cycle drags the Opposition leader into whatever might be the story of the day.
Recess weeks are much harder, and for whatever reason Luxon decided to stay out of the limelight this week, perhaps deciding that no one could do a better job of opposing the Government than Rob Campbell.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to stay silent and let the Government grapple with its own mess. A good tactical decision and why we dub the winner of this week’s Chris vs. Chris to the invisible Chris Luxon.
