Chris Hipkins and one of his most senior MPs are telling different stories about Labour’s relationship with Te Pati Māori, senior National MP Chris Bishop says.
“Just two days after Hipkins tried to convince New Zealanders of distance between the two parties, Willie Jackson and several senior Labour MPs took the stage with Te Pati Māori at a Waitangi Day event to say Labour will work with Te Pati Māori.
“Jackson also told The Hui in September that the two parties have 90 per cent alignment. So why does he have a different story to his leader? And if they’re so separate, how did they reach 90 per cent alignment?
“Chris Hipkins was asked a number of times last week to rule out the Greens’ $90 billion of extra taxes and wouldn’t. At the same time, he’s refusing to rule out working with Te Pati Māori and its policies of increasing personal income tax and company tax, introducing a wealth tax, a land tax and a bach tax, and abolishing prisons.
“Which of those policies sit in the 90 per cent of things Labour agrees with them on?
“Te Pati Māori is no longer the party of Sir Pita Sharples and Dame Tariana Turia. Its views are increasingly extreme and New Zealanders deserve to know whether Chris Hipkins or Willie Jackson speaks for the Labour Party when it comes to working with Te Pati Māori.”