LINDSAY MITCHELL: Hipkins underperforming and underwhelming

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins does a regular slot with host Nick Mills on the Wellington NewstalkZB morning show.

On Wednesday, much of the half hour was consumed by the host trying to extract from Hipkins what Labour would be doing about the fuel 'crisis' if in government. This was fastidiously avoided with various excuses, one being that, as opposition, they weren't privy to the kind of information the government has. Yet later in the show, when pressed on how long he thought the Iran conflict would go on, Hipkins said, "The official advice we got yesterday, when we met with the government and thankfully they did give us the opportunity to get a bit of a briefing, was even if the conflict ended quickly there will be months of disruption to fuel supplies so as a result, we are going to experience higher fuel prices for longer." So that excuse didn't wash. Luxon's crystal ball is no clearer than Hipkin's.

When the host continued to push Hipkins, narrowing the question down to: "Would Labour have done more?" Hipkins replied, "Certainly". But he still couldn't say what - just insisted repeatedly that he will not make promises that he can't keep. The situation is changing too rapidly. He'll reveal more as we get nearer to the election. The flannel went on and on like a cracked record.

Apparently the cost of fuel isn't the only thing stopping kids from getting to school. "The governments made an absolute dog's breakfast of rural school buses. The school lunches programme we put in place was working, going well. Now it's not. Kids don't like it." Seriously? If the children don't like the 'free' food perhaps their parents should spend some of the average $130 weekly they receive for each child on something better. Using an aversion to the free lunches as an excuse for non-attendance is pathetic.

But that's not all the government has failed at; the economy hasn't grown, the cost of living has worsened and unemployment is up. Unsurprisingly, no acknowledgement of Labour's contribution to current circumstances.

So how would Hipkins grow the economy? Build more state houses, he said, and get on with billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects. It's all about Jobs, Homes ... and Health. Free doctor visits funded by the targeted Capital Gains Tax (despite GP availability being a bigger problem than cost for many New Zealanders) and the NZ Future Fund to make better use of government assets (which just allows Labour to use SOE profits for their priorities).

Despite Nick Mills telling Hipkins at the outset that he (like many in the audience) was trying to make a voting decision this year, Hipkins offered nothing new or remotely interesting. Perhaps that's why he decided to go into attack mode, which resulted in some quite extraordinary claims. When the host suggested a Labour coalition formed with the Greens and the Maori Party might not be very stable, Hipkins replied:

"Not much could be less stable than this government! If you look at the coalition of chaos that we've been enduring for the last two and a half years, where you have a Deputy Prime Minister, a former Deputy Prime Minister and a Prime Minister who all regularly contradict each other and seem to be fighting their battles with each other in public, it's been one of the most unstable governments NZ has ever seen."

For mine, a lot of criticisms can be leveled at the coalition but instability isn't one of them.

Then, warming to the task, on the matter of Brooke van Velden resigning at the next election and how does that affect ACT?

"Well, beyond David Seymour, there isn't really an ACT Party. It's basically a whole bunch of people who do whatever David Seymour tells them to do. I mean, it's almost a cult."

That's just childish and churlish. But that's the calibre of the man who wants to resume the Prime Ministership come November.

Heaven help us if he does.

Full interview here