Labour and Greens to make rare unity play at Waitangi
Tuesday, 3 February 2026
The leaders of the Labour Party and the Green Party will appear together at Waitangi today in a rare, calculated show of unity designed to signal to voters they are already stress-testing their working relationship.
The joint press conference at the Treaty Grounds comes with no policy announcement, but its purpose is pointed: To show voters the two parties can work together - and to contrast that with what Labour says is a Government struggling to manage itself.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the appearance was about demonstrating co-operation, despite ongoing differences and disagreements.
“I think New Zealanders are looking for evidence that parties can work together and can work constructively together,” Hipkins told The Post.
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He said the current Government was failing that test.
“What they’re seeing from the current Government is [Prime Minister] Christopher Luxon completely unable to contain or control [NZ First deputy leader] Shane Jones and [NZ First leader] Winston Peters, including internationally,” he said.
“I think New Zealanders want to see evidence that Labour and the Greens, in particular, could actually form a more stable alternative.”
The appearance will be the first public show of unity between Labour and the Greens since a combined press conference with Te Pāti Māori during protests against the Government’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill.
There is no formal agreement underpinning the stand-up. It has been in the works since late last year, after the idea arose during informal discussions between the two parties.
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said there were “ongoing discussions” with Labour about a possible memorandum of understanding, similar to the one used during the 2017 campaign. She said the parties were also taking a “wait and see” approach on whether there would be further joint press conferences this year.
“We know that people need to see political parties and politicians working together, and that’s what we want to offer with the Greens,” Davidson said.
“We’ve got a record of being able to work and get things done with Labour. We’ve also got a working relationship with Te Pāti Māori.”
Hipkins and Davidson both acknowledged the parties would continue to compete for votes during the election campaign and did not align on all issues. For example, Labour has proposed a capital gains tax, while the Greens - who support a wealth tax - have described the CGT as “watered down”.
“My goal is to make sure that we’re doing that in a way that shows we can still work together after the election,” Hipkins said.
Davidson said those differences were “healthy for democracy”.
Te Pāti Māori was not invited to join the appearance. Hipkins said the party was dealing with internal issues and was not currently in a position to be part of the discussions.