Chris Hipkins says Labour MP was right to apologise after calling Nicola Willis a ‘duck-faced horse’
Monday, 25 May 2026
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says it was “absolutely” right for Barbara Edmonds to apologise for her comments made at a leaked party event.
The meeting, which was taped and leaked to media, was a question and answer session as part of the Labour Party’s list ranking process.
In it, a party member asked 'would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?'
It caused MPs to offer a range of answers which included Barbara Edmonds where she said “every week I have to stand up in the house and ask a duck-faced horse, did I get that right [laughs], questions every single week”.
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Edmonds has apologised for the comments which Hipkins said to media on Monday afternoon was not prompted by him.
“I didn’t need to speak to her about it, she'd already apologised before that happened, and I think she made a mistake, and she's apologised, and that was absolutely the right thing to do.”
Hipkins said the event was a good reminder that all sessions are rarely public-facing.
“MPs and candidates need to be aware that the information could be shared more widely.”