Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Scandals contributed to Labour’s election defeat

Former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins admits that the series of scandals leading up to last year’s election contributed to Labour’s large defeat.

In Back on Track, a new book on the 2023 New Zealand election, being launched today, Hipkins says “A succession of ministerial scandals didn’t help the mood that was already hardening against our government, and by the time we launched our campaign slogan of “in it for you” many voters were already feeling anything but our priority” (page 95).

Integrity issues are prominent in the book with a quote, featured at the beginning of the book, by from former National leader Todd Mueller on 7 June, 2023, setting the scene for the electoral loss he saw coming for Labour: “When the story of the 2023 election is written, as it will surely be, and edited by Stephen Levine, as it most surely will be, this week will be identified as the week that the Labour Government lost the election” (page 15).

That quote was part of Parliament’s general debate when Mueller told the House that he believed Hipkins had lost control of the Government after “four Ministers—nearly a fifth of Cabinet—have had to be sacked or walked away. This is the week that the country has realised that, actually, these guys have got to go. They simply don’t have the capacity to govern in our interests.” (Hansard, 7 June, 2023).

Unfortunately for Hipkins, and his party, matters only got worse when, just a month later, former Justice Minister Kiri Allan crashed her car late one evening in Wellington’s Evans Bay and was charged with careless use of a motor vehicle and refusing to accompany a police officer. Her resignation followed two of her colleagues – Stuart Nash and Michael Woods – both who faced serious integrity issues. In the same period, colleague Jan Tinetti appeared before the Privileges Committee for misleading the House. Add to that, former high-ranking Minister Meka Whaitiri, who left Labour and joined Te Pati Māori without telling the Prime Minister and making the move while Hipkins was overseas for the King’s Coronation, certainly painted a picture of a government in disarray.

More than individual issues

As I wrote in my chapter – Political Integrity and the 2023 election – while there are always many and varied issues that contribute to the polling day outcome, the lack of integrity in the sixth Labour Government, certainly contributed to its loss.

While the Ministerial issues in the last Labour Government were spectacular and attracted high levels of public interest, wider issues were also at play in the lead-up to the general election just a year ago. Investigations into lobbying and political party funding were also a feature of 2023. There were five referrals to Parliament’s Privileges Committee – two of them Ministerial. There were a range of candidate selection scandals – across the political spectrum. There was a range of poor behaviour – from bullying to nepotism and conflicts of interest.

Impact

As I wrote, it can be easy to discount these issues by, saying ‘it’s just politics’ or ‘the public don’t care”. However, as I also state: “The reality is that political integrity issues negatively impact attitudes towards, and engagement with, public institutions and politics; the public tends to disengage when it thinks politicians are not focused on the issues that matter most to them. These issues reduce trust in politicians and the political system overall” (page 238).

The impact of political scandals on electoral outcomes should serve as a warning to the current cohort of MPs for whom scandals have become alarmingly frequent. Similar to last year, the scandals are across the political spectrum and encompass everything from failing to declare $173,000 in donations (David MacLeod) to refusing to resign from Parliament after being stood down from her party following exploitation claims against bike shops owned by her husband (Darleen Tana). The Green Party is considering whether to invoke the waka jumping legislation at a meeting this Thursday (17 October).

There’s also been poor behaviour by Ministers who have had to be rebuked for criticising the judiciary (Shane Jones) and questions around the democratic process about the speed the Government has progressed its legislative agenda. Further, there’s a cloud hanging over Associate Health Minister Casey Costello’s ties to the tobacco industry and questions about transparency. And there’s also been questions about lobbying and the outcomes of the Fast Track Bill to date.

When I wrote my chapter last year, I didn’t imagine the relentless number of political integrity issues would continue. While there haven’t yet been Ministerial resignations due to integrity issues in this current Government, there are enough individual issues and wider questions around transparency and the success of lobbying, for the public to rightfully question if those who they have elected to represent them, do actually have their interests at heart.

My chapter “Political Integrity and the 2023 election” features in Back on Track? The New Zealand General Election of 2023, edited by Stephen Levine ($50, Te Herenga Waka University Press), is. It is being launched at Unity Books at 6.00pm tonight (16 October). The book can be purchased from Unity Books.

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Jacqui Van Der Kaay is a former journalist, holds a Masters degree in Political Science from Victoria University of Wellington and has a specialist interest in political leadership, voter behaviour, immigration and how social media affects democracy.