Hipkins’ leadership has not been in doubt since the election, but that is not the same thing as him having the overwhelming support of the caucus and the party. If Oscar Kightley’s unenthusiastic introduction of Hipkins to party faithful in Manukau is any indication, it is lukewarm support at best.
The high regard in which former finance minister Grant Robertson was held and his ongoing loyalty to Hipkins has been a force for stability.
Robertson, who bowed out of Parliament on Wednesday, had a knack for recognising Hipkins’ imperfections without undermining his leadership.
Hipkins no longer has that tacit protection.
Objectively, Hipkins’ skills as an Opposition politician are unmatched in the party. But he still needs to earn the support of the disgruntled members who believe Hipkins weakened the party as PM. He cannot simply expect support just because no one else is on offer at present.
Robertson ended his valedictory with the message that it was the job of politicians to give people hope. Hipkins picked up that baton and started by giving his own party hope it will undergo a big shake-up before the next election.
It is in Hipkins’ interest to be closely associated with the work of the party’s policy council, and he foreshadowed the release of a discussion document on tax policy to members.
His speech also set a long timetable for that change. He has set an expectation of a party with a plan to consult and change, but in a measured way.
To build support within the party, Hipkins has to show he is willing to change - but unless that change happens in a measured way without the internal strife that pervaded Labour’s last spell in Opposition, it won’t have a chance of building public support.
Hipkins was at the heart of that strife, although it was more about leadership than policy. But he knows managing the potential divisions in the party over tax is as important as the policy change itself.
That is why he used his speech to establish a unity of purpose and a sense of common values among Labour’s members.
Hipkins has sensibly vowed not to “bark at every passing car” as leader of the Opposition – too much barking would suggest a failure to accept the mood for change the electorate wanted.
But some of the moves by the Government were so unexpected, Hipkins would have been crazy not to highlight them.
Those issues include widespread job losses in the public service, tightening up funding for the disability community, cutting back on school lunches, and repealing anti-smoking policies passed by Labour which could have depleted Government revenue by up to $1 billion - measures taken, Hipkins argues, to fund tax breaks for landlords and unaffordable tax cuts.
Hipkins was able to turn a speech, which was essentially about the party and to the party, into one about values with a broader appeal.
