‘Duck-sized horses’ and ‘old town ponds’: Leaked Labour session reveals campaign mood

Summarised by Centrist

A leaked recording from an internal Labour Party training session has revealed senior MPs joking about National Party politicians while discussing election strategy and messaging.

The audio, reportedly circulated to multiple media outlets, captures MPs and candidates responding to a hypothetical question about whether they would rather fight “100 duck-sized horses” or “one horse-sized duck”.

Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds referenced her Chinese heritage before describing Finance Minister Nicola Willis as a “duck-faced horse”, saying Labour had begun successfully “prodding” National ministers during Question Time.

Edmonds later apologised to Willis, telling RNZ she “absolutely feel[s] terrible about it” and accepted responsibility, saying she had muddled the question and “clearly said it wrong”.

Campaign chair Kieran McAnulty said Labour was fighting “100 duck-sized horses” because “horses are full of shit”.

Education spokesperson Ginny Andersen compared National leader Christopher Luxon to a “sitting duck”, saying “we are coming for you”.

Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall responded by singing adapted lyrics to Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road, while Greg O’Connor described National MPs as “clones” that “all look the same”.

The leaked session also included discussion about Labour’s campaign strategy and lessons from its previous term in government.

O’Connor criticised the previous Labour administration for lacking a figure similar to former Helen Clark chief of staff Heather Simpson, describing the Ardern-Hipkins era chief-of-staff structure as “a little bit lacking”.

McAnulty defended Labour’s decision not to release more detailed policy before the Budget, saying the party needed confidence it could fund and deliver its promises.

Verrall argued Labour needed to stop undermining its own achievements by immediately emphasising shortcomings whenever policies were announced.

The leak comes as Labour continues preparing its strategy heading into the next election campaign.

Read more over at Stuff

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