Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced Ginny Andersen will be Minister of Police. Video / Mark Mitchell
Chris Hipkins’ decision-making under pressure likely faced its toughest test today as he stood before the pie warmer at Real Meat Pies in Lower Hutt.
The anticipation had been building within the press pack, all aware that in a few hours, the Prime Minister’s pie preferences would be revealed.
With more than 20 options to consider - including unique combinations such as pork and puha, Mexican bean and lamb fry and bacon - Hipkins’ choice would provide a telling window into his soul.
He’d had time to mull it over with a visit to his old school and the local marae before his lunch stop and upon approaching the counter, the leader of the country didn’t hesitate.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins displayed excellent technique not to spill the contents of his steak and cheese pie down his front. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A tried and true staple. Could there be a more “bread and butter” pie for a “boy from the Hutt” than steak and cheese?
His freshly minted Police Minister Ginny Andersen, also a Hutt local, clearly got the message and followed Hipkins’ example - albeit with a slight variation, choosing a steak and kidney pie.
However, in the hubbub of the PM’s visit, which shop owner Jun Jie Zhang described as the best day of his life, the Heraldrevealed Andersen’s card declined - but not before the new Police Minister had already walked out of the store.
Andersen, informed of the accidental theft by the Herald, quickly sought to rectify the mistake, but considering she was seen chatting to a police officer directly after leaving the shop, Andersen may count herself lucky she didn’t face more immediate repercussions.
One could argue Hipkins is really at fault - he did not have the wherewithal to shout his new Police Minister to lunch.
Nevertheless, clutching the paper bag containing his steak and cheese and a can of his favourite Coke No Sugar, Hipkins attempted in vain to reach his car so he could enjoy his pie in peace.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and new Police Minister Ginny Andersen. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He was inevitably stopped by eager reporters and photographers, not willing to release the Prime Minister until he’d given them what they all came for - a bite on camera.
Hipkins quickly accepted his fate, breaking a well-known rule of former PM Helen Clark to never eat in front of the cameras. Hipkins’ predecessor Jacinda Ardern was similarly watchful, rarely getting herself into situations where she could look the fool.
The moment did present serious risk for Hipkins. Beneath his black suit, he wore a white shirt that was all too vulnerable to a brown stain that so many have suffered after blowing out the back end of a pie in their haste.
But Hipkins was no stranger to a pie, revealing Real Meat Pies had been his local as a child on Saturdays. It showed in his technique, carefully shimmying the pie up out of the paper bag and taking a considered bite.
While he expressed his satisfaction, the Herald did seek to confirm he had actually taken a large enough bite to access the steak within. Hipkins confirmed he had done so.
Unsurprisingly, Hipkins’ tour of the Hutt offered an insight into what he was actually like as a boy from the Hutt, attending Waterloo School in Lower Hutt.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, post-bite, clearly happy with his choice. Photo / Mark Mitchell
After a welcome and a short speech, Hipkins faced a rapid-fire question-and-answer session from the pupils gathered in the school hall.
Hipkins had no trouble dispatching the first few questions, which included a request for his favourite colour - it was red. Favourite food? Pasta. Favourite sport? Cricket.
However, Hipkins sent the children into hysterics when he dropped the bombshell that he’d been summoned to the principal’s office during his time as a student - twice.
Perhaps wisely, Hipkins said he couldn’t remember what he’d done to deserve a telling-off. Credit to the kids though, they pushed the Prime Minister through several follow-up questions that rivalled the skill of any journalist.
The generic theme of the questions took a turn when a small girl in a multi-coloured jersey said simply: “What are you going to do about climate change?” - clearly her way of making Hipkins aware she had noted his recent axing of climate change policies.
Hipkins’ immediate response was to ask the audience: “Who can tell me the most important thing we need to do to combat climate change?”
“Not litter” and “reduce plastic use” were good guesses, but “reduce emissions” triumphed.
“So that’s the key thing that the Government’s working on at the moment,” Hipkins said, perhaps speaking in the context of climate change and not the cost of living crisis his Government was now focusing on.
A Q+A with children is hardly a context in which the Prime Minister reveals much about his inner feelings but when asked for his least favourite part of the job, he was honest enough to get a measure of the man.
“I don’t get to see my own family anywhere near enough,” he said, looking down at faces that probably - at that moment - looked very similar to his own two children.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins fields questions from pupils at Waterloo School in Lower Hutt. Photo / Mark Mitchell
