Labour conference: Chris Hipkins says ‘yes’ to Dunedin Hospital and ‘no’ to Aukus

• Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins has said Labour will not allow New Zealand to be a part of Aukus.
• He made the announcement at Labour’s annual conference in Christchurch.
• He also announced Labour would build the new Dunedin Hospital to the level that had been promised before the coalition Government scaled back the promise.

If elected, Labour will build the new Dunedin Hospital to the level that was promised at the 2023 election before the coalition Government said it would downsize the build, blaming cost.

Party leader Chris Hipkins made the promise at Labour’s conference in Christchurch, where he also pledged to keep New Zealand out of Aukus, the submarine and technology pact between the US, UK, and Australia, and announced MP Kieran McAnulty as the party’s 2026 campaign chairman.

He also promised a publicly owned inter-island ferry connection, including some form of rail transport – a dig at the coalition Government, which has not decided how it will replace the ageing Interislander ferries a year on from scrapping Labour’s iRex replacement plan, citing costs which had risen to $3 billion.

Hipkins confirmed if the coalition began work on a smaller Dunedin Hospital build this term, he would seek to scale this up to the level promised during the 2023 election, should his party win in 2026.

Some details in relation to the Aukus problem were also addressed. Labour members passed a proposal saying a Labour Government would not join Aukus and, were another Government to join, a future Labour Government would withdraw. Hipkins, bound by party confidentiality, would not speak in detail about this, but confirmed to media that “under Labour, New Zealand will not be part of Aukus”.

Hipkins told members in his speech the party would “make the tax system fairer for working Kiwis”.

The party passed a proposal to take forward work on a capital gains tax (CGT) and a wealth tax and stop work on other forms of taxation. That proposal had overwhelming support from the floor. There were several attempts to amend that proposal, which had originally been put up by the party’s policy council.

Labour Party members at the party’s annual conference in Christchurch. Photo / George Heard

One amendment tried to prioritise the CGT, the other tried to prioritise the wealth tax, and another would have asked the policy council to bring their recommendation to next year’s conference. All amendments failed.

Another controversial proposal, which would have banned so-called “captain’s calls”, failed on a voice vote, suggesting it had very little support. The proposal would have bound the leader’s and caucus’ hands to the policy council. The policy council and leadership disputed the necessity of the remit, arguing captain’s calls were already effectively banned.

Early in the day, Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni told members the coalition Government needs a “nana, tinā or kuia” to keep its three leaders together.

Sepuloni adhered to the time-honoured tradition in speeches made by deputy leaders of winding up the coalition Government, saying the fact she’d recently become a grandparent had given her the idea the coalition itself needed a grandparent in the room.

A kuia, Sepuloni said, would have stopped Prime Minister Christopher Luxon from giving David Seymour a chance to introduce the Treaty Principles Bill to Parliament or allowing NZ First to take the reins of the Government’s Smokefree strategy.

“David wants all the toys,” Sepuloni said.

“This nanny has a few pearls of wisdom for that Government. Just stop. Give up. We’ll take the tough stuff off your hands,” she said.

Labour members appeared to enjoy the notion, laughing at the gags and interjecting “shame” at mentions of some of the coalition’s more controversial policies.

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.