New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is pinning his hopes of re-election today on what he describes as “a subtle change” in his campaign tactics.
Mr Hipkins did not reveal what the change in tactics had involved when he fronted media conference in Wellington this morning (main picture) and acknowledged that opinions polls pointed to a defeat for his NZ Labour Party government.
“All I will say is that when I assumed the prime ministership I said I’d be my own man,” he said. “But I’ve since had a bit of a rethink about that.”
Mr Hipkins would not comment on his dealings with Winston Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First Party who will likely be the “kingmaker” in the case of a close election result.
Instead he formed his right hand into the shape of a telephone handset, held it up to his ear and mouthed the words “Call me, Winnie” then winked and pursed his lips.
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Right-wing columnist for The Australian, Gerard Henderson, has called for the abolition of the Australian Electoral Commission based on its stance on the validity of ticks and crosses that may appear on the voice to parliament referendum ballot papers today.
“I am now completely sceptical of anything the AEC says and does,” Henderson (below) wrote in his latest column for the national broadshit.
“I once held the AEC in high regard but it’s lost my respect for two reasons. The first being its decision on ticks and crosses which electoral and constitutional experts such as Peter Dutton, Peta Credlin, and Andrew Bolt, plus many others, confirm will favour the ‘yes’ case.
“The second reason is that just recently it occurred to me that the acronym AEC sounds remarkably like the ABC. For that reason alone it has to go,” he said.
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Organisers of the team urging a “yes” vote in today’s referendum on a First Nations voice to parliament have denied trying to fool “no” voters.
A new social media campaign aimed at people likely to be opposed to the voice is advising them to “send a message” to the “yes” side.
“Make your own voice heard,” the messages say. “Use your ballot on Saturday to ask a simple question about the proposed voice: ‘Why entrench separatism?’
“To make sure your message fits in the box on the ballot paper just abbreviate it to YES.”
When asked if the social media messaging was designed to confuse and mislead “no” voters a spokesperson for the “yes” campaign said: “Yes and no.”
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