Election 2026 Campaign Diary: Does NZ First have a women problem?
Just when you were beginning to be bored witless by the election campaign, New Zealand First’s Michael Laws stuffs up monumentally.
It is not just about his own comments wondering what an Opportunity Party candidate’s face would be like after sex. He has reinforced his party’s women problem, made Winston Peters look inadequate, created a point of future friction between coalition partners, given the moral high ground to his opponents and caused a diversion from rising unemployment figures. And to top it off, his so-called unreserved apology has the caveat “if I have offended”.
There was no sense of self-awareness of how deeply inappropriate he has been.
Laws presenting his comments as “puckish” is as inadequate as former Labour minister Michael Wood suggesting he was a “silly goose” for failing to disclose shares he held after repeated requests.
What was ironic was that the furore erupted on the same day as Derek Cheng’s in-depth interview with Laws in which Laws claims he would return to Parliament and “reoccupy the moral high ground” because he had atoned for his transgressions that preceded his resignation in 1996.
“I believe in the three As,” he told Cheng. “Accept you’ve done something wrong, apologise and atone.”
Sexualising women politicians
The offending comments by Laws in this campaign were not in comparing the Opportunity Party to a teacher. I made that analogy in this diary last week when suggesting that leader Qiulae Wong was undermining her key message of being able to work with anyone.
Laws’ comments go well beyond political commentary to sexualising its women leaders. Peters said the comments were not acceptable and he would give Laws a telling off.
This comes on top of Stuart Nash’s comments about his former opponent in Napier taking parental leave and a crude definition of a woman, Ron Mark’s comments linking the sinking of the naval vessel the HMNZS Manawanui, which was captained by a woman, to diversity in the New Zealand Defence Force, not to mention Peters’ comments directed to Chinese-born MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, which attracted a complaint from the Chinese Government, and Shane Jones likening the India free trade agreement to a butter chicken tsunami.
Strong response from leaders
Labour leader Chris Hipkins claimed: “This is what New Zealand First actually believes. Michael Laws has said the quiet part out loud. This is the culture within New Zealand First.”
Other party leaders have responded strongly, variously describing the comments as disgusting, archaic, disgraceful, creepy and misogynistic.
National leader Christopher Luxon was as swift with Laws as he was with Nash in ruling him out of a ministerial post in any Government he led.
The difference here is that Luxon may have got wind that Nash was about to resign as a candidate and so had nothing to lose.
There was no such signal about Laws and so that presents an immediate irritant if the coalition gets back in power, along with Laws at No 6 who, until now, could have expected a ministerial post.
Before the revelations about Laws’ broadcast, ironically, Peters suggested on RNZ that the campaign had been a circus and criticised other leaders for patting dogs and licking ice creams.
Opportunity leader Wong suggested he look in the mirror.
By the way, Labour has the highest number of women in its top 10 list, with seven; the Greens and Opportunity are next with six each, Act is next with four while National and New Zealand First both have three each.
They said it
“He won’t be a minister in my Government.” Christopher Luxon on Michael Laws
“It’s just gross.” Chlöe Swarbrick
“The comments are gross and stupid.” David Seymour
“It’s from another era; he should go back to Noah and the Ark.” Nicola Willis
“Women have a place in politics. We have a place in leadership. The fact that we have three finance spokespeople who are wāhine shows that women have a place here and we should be respected, as opposed to being talked down to.” Barbara Edmonds
Campaign quiz
What electorate did Michael Laws represent when he was a National MP and which electorate is he standing in now?
Looking ahead
Thursday: TVNZ’s debate at 7pm hosted by Jack Tame will feature Nicola Willis, Kieran McAnulty, Chlöe Swarbrick, David Seymour, Shane Jones, Oriini Kaipara and Qiulae Wong. Chris Hipkins will campaign in Auckland, Christopher Luxon will campaign in Taupō and Bay of Plenty.
Friday: Christopher Luxon will campaign in Waikato and Botany, Chris Hipkins will campaign in Wellington and the Hutt Valley.
Quiz answer: Hawke’s Bay and Waitaki (a previous version incorrectly said Laws had been the MP for Napier).
ICYMI
In case you missed it, and in case you’re more persuaded by policies than anything else, check out the updated Herald’s policy feature, which compares the major policies of the parties. You can do it on an issue-by-issue basis or a party-by-party basis. And Derek Cheng has taken a look at the most recent two polls.