Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Chris Hipkins is getting credit for his handling of the cyclone and I think that’s fair enough. Newly into the role of PM and he’s had to hit the ground running —literally— with a crisis. To be fair though, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster an elected leader does get a free kick. All you have to do is be present and visible, have a ton of empathy and own the communication around the media updates. Labour did this during Covid, and now they’re doing it again.  But —and here’s the rub— that halo effect can fade as failings in the response from public and private entities start to surface. The longer there’s no power or access, the worse the looting and the gangs get, then the worse this whole thing gets for the government.  People have an enormous amount of scope, patience and understanding in the direct aftermath – but the longer it goes on, the more that patience fades. Add to that, contributory negligence like bureaucrats squabbling over whose responsible – Council arguing with Waka Kotahi, local gove