Will’s Word: The Labour Party is on the rise once again ahead of AGM

I'll be honest, my eye is eagerly over Labour this weekend, as the party gathers in Auckland for its Annual General Meeting (AGM). I'm actually excited to see what they're getting up to because, for the first time in a long time, Labour feels like it's starting to show a bit of direction.

That's not a dig by any means. Their capital gains tax policy was announced just a few weeks ago. Smart, measured and long overdue. Whether you support it or not, it showed something the party has lacked since the last election.

A willingness to put a stake in the ground and actually own a bold idea. But here's the real question Labour will need to confront at this AGM. Has the party changed enough? Because their loss at the last election was a resounding one.

Voters walked away in droves. You don't have to be Sherlock to understand that much of that came down to fatigue with their Covid-era leadership and probably a sense that Labour had run out of steam.

So perhaps that's what this weekend is really about: rebuilding confidence. Yes, among its members, but also among the broader group of voters who once backed the red team, but perhaps feel politically lost at the moment.

Then there's Chris Hipkins, the man who led Labour into that loss at the 2023 election. Of course, still leading Labour into the next campaign. Some might think that's unusual, most parties don't keep the same leader after such a decisive defeat. But I think Hipkins is the man for the job within Labour.

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If you think about it, he wasn't exactly given a long runway at the last election. He rose to be prime minister after Jacinda Ardern resigned. Then he had just months to try and convince New Zealand that he was the right person for the top job.

So what does it mean that he'll be running at the next election? It means all eyes are on the kind of campaign Hipkins intends to run. Is it going to be a continuation of bread and butter issues, that kind of messaging?

Or is he prepared to shake things up and chase a more assertive, future-focused course? There's a bit of RNZ reporting out this morning that suggests Labour is trying to move early into campaign mode, tightening strategy, sharpening its economic pitch and lining up candidates ahead of time. That's smart.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Photo/RNZ/Mark Papalii

Voters want clarity, not drift, and strategically, Labour can't afford another year of looking creative or looking like it's in soul-searching mode. I'm really liking seeing what's coming out of the red camp lately.

But the AGM is also where the rubber hits the road, isn't it? This is where the party has to show it understands why it lost, and I suppose, more importantly, what it plans to do differently. More so than just tax policy, the cost of living, but also on its identity, relevance and purpose compared to other left-wing parties.

So good luck to Labour this weekend. I'll be watching.

That's Will's Word.