‘Gloomy Chris and Negative Nicola’: Minister pitches political Back to the Future 4 in House debate

Dr Megan Woods made a slightly odd pitch for a fourth Back to the Future movie, one that involved the National Party. Photo / NZME

Labour’s Dr Megan Woods made a fairly uninspiring pitch for a fourth installment in the Back to the Future film franchise in her attempt to lampoon National’s leadership during today’s debate in Parliament.

The Housing Minister’s movie preferences laid the groundwork for her to outline the “dystopic world” Woods believed National was intent on creating, while National’s Chris Bishop continue to hammer the Government in light of minister Meka Whaitiri’s defection to Te Pāti Māori and the resignation of Dr Elizabeth Kerekere from the Greens.

It came after a fairly typical Question Time compared to yesterday, which included Te Pāti Māori leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer getting kicked out of the House as they attempted to welcome Whaitiri as a member of the Māori Party.

However, another party leader - Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson - was ejected by Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe today for repeatedly interrupting Act’s Nicole McKee to express her distaste at the Act MP’s line of questioning that included McKee’s advocacy to build another prison and jail more offending Kiwis.

After making a second interruption, Davidson’s pleas to Rurawhe for leniency were not successful and upon leaving, the co-leader made a deep and seemingly dramatic bow in Rurawhe’s direction. All MPs must acknowledge the Speaker before leaving the House.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson was told to leave the House after interrupting another MP's question. Photo / Mark Mitchell

MPs launched into a general debate following Question Time with Woods kicking it off by professing her appreciation of movie trilogies, citing The Godfather, the original Star Wars and her “personal favourite”, Back to the Future.

She claimed where film franchises often went wrong was by making a fourth movie, something she linked to National’s intention in government.

“That’s what we’re seeing from the Opposition benches - Back to the Future part four - starring the protagonist, Gloomy Christopher Luxon, and his sidekick, Negative Nicola Willis,” Woods decried, a jibe thoroughly enjoyed by Police Minister Ginny Andersen.

Woods spoke of the “dystopic future” that National would introduce, which included cutting benefits, scrapping the Winter Energy Payment, cuts to health and education spending, and social housing being “gutted and flogged off”.

To reinforce her point, Woods claimed 60 per cent of National’s social media posts were “negative” - a statistic Labour Minister Nanaia Mahuta later clarified as applying to posts in April.

National’s housing spokesman Chris Bishop didn’t care to respond with any cutting film references of his own and instead criticised Woods’ “low-energy speech”.

“You can see the fire in their eyes going out as the weeks go by,” he said of Labour MPs.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon (left) housing spokesman Chris Bishop. Photo / Michael Craig

Bishop instead described what could have been sold as a comedy in how Prime Minister Chris Hipkins arrived in London for the King’s Coronation to the news one of his ministers, Whaitiri, had abruptly left Labour without telling him.

“We’re all actually a bit none the wiser [why she left] and [Whaitiri and Hipkins are] yet to have a conversation.”

He added Kerekere’s resignation and Te Pāti Māori’s actions yesterday to reiterate earlier comments made by Luxon about the potential “coalition of chaos” that could enter government after the election.

The political jibes from Bishop in particular didn’t go down well with Greens co-leader James Shaw, whose first comments acknowledged the death of a Whangārei Boys’ High School student after heavy rainfall caused flooding in Northland and Auckland.

“The idea that New Zealanders are interested in this Punch and Judy show and are more interested in the game of politics than they are in what’s happened to their flood-damaged properties or to the lives of their children or to the stress that our front-line responders are under - I’m actually appalled at the myopia and the desperation to win.”