Gambling and social media may have been strange bedfellows for a Labour Government concerned with political correctness, but under Hipkins, it's practical politics all the way.
And it just may help come October 14 — election day.
Yesterday Hipkins announced a new fundraising drive to assist with the medium and long-term costs of the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle.
A key component, notably, is a special Lotto draw to raise money from the public, scheduled for March 18, an event Facebook will help promote.
Some could argue it's a way to make a politically unpalatable cyclone tax — a key attack line for the National opposition last week — a voluntary, fun one.
Who knew tax could be fun? Perhaps when a jackpot's involved, it is. Someone tell the IRD.
But gambling also has a darker side and could rile some for its association with the harms of problem gambling — it certainly riled the Greens, but I'll get to that.
Just last year, the Government expanded funding to address problem gambling, with a strategy document stating it was "a significant social and economic issue".
This is also the same government — albeit under a new leader — that lead the Christchurch Call, aimed at eliminating terrorist and extremist content online, after the Christchurch mosque terrorist livestreamed his crimes on — yes — Facebook.
But New Zealand has just faced likely the worst weather-related natural disaster this century. If he was faced with the fork in the road over political correctness or political practicality, Hipkins took the latter.
His laconic approach to reporters' questions around his comfort with both lottery and social media would have been a balm for those tired of a less direct approach.
He basically said, 'yep, I get it, but on balance, I'm not worried'.
The money raised will go to communities impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle. (Source: 1News)
He said: "No gambling is great, but compared to some of the other forms of gambling where there are clearly bigger issues, I'm comfortable with a Lotto draw."
Much of so-called middle New Zealand, the very voters Hipkins is gunning for, likely feels the same way. He just won points with them. He'll be hoping those points convert to votes.
While he could be at risk of losing the harder left, those perhaps more concerned with so-called political correctness, that space was swiftly taken up by the Greens on Monday afternoon.
The Greens came out (non-violently) swinging: tax the banks, they said.
While Hipkins' Labour is collaborating with banks on the Cyclone Appeal, the Green Party said "instead of creating an appeal fund and one-off Lotto draw, the Labour Government could tax the billions of dollars banks have made in unearned, excess profits and use the money to support people".
"Has the Government heard of tax? It's simple: tax the banks; don't work with them to set up an appeal fund," Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said.
"Lotteries and gambling disproportionately also harm lower income communities."
Green Party, meet the Green Party. The Greens seemed to have rediscovered their colours in the (arguable) left wing vacuum left by Labour in its quest for the centre.
That's Green Party practical politics — that is exactly the kind of gumption its base has been crying out for.
All of this could make for a very interesting recipe come election time — while Labour slips to the centre and tries to claw back the soft centre-right into the fold, the Greens, like the Little Mermaid having suddenly found their voice, could mop up any votes left behind.
All of that could lay a foundation for a third term Labour Government.
However, that, of course, is up to the electorate and who they want to get into bed with.
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