Labour leader Chris Hipkins has condemned comments made by Labour MP Barbara Edmonds about Finance Minister Nicola Willis during a party conference exercise, describing them as “pretty regrettable”.
The comments were made during a question-and-answer session at a Labour Party candidate list conference over the weekend, where attendees were asked: “Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?”
In leaked audio sent to media, Edmonds replied, "Every week I have to stand up in the House and ask a duck-faced horse – did I get that right? – questions every single week".
"It was a crazy question, and people didn't take it seriously. As a result it's pretty regrettable," Hipkins said.
“I’ve said to all of our MPs and candidates, it’s a very good reminder that every event is a public event.
“There are things that people would rather see us focused on at the moment."
The MP for Mana and Labour's finance spokesperson later apologised for her comments, telling RNZ yesterday she "felt terrible about it".
"I do apologise for any offence that it caused," she said.
"Especially to the Minister of Finance. That was not my intention, and I apologise for it."
Hipkins said Edmonds had done the right thing by apologising.
“Barbara Edmonds has apologised for what she’s said, and that was the right thing to do,” he said.
“What she said wasn’t right and there isn’t really an excuse for that.
“It was a spontaneous thing, and I think admitting that you’ve made a mistake is important.”
Willis later accepted the apology in a tongue-in-cheek response, saying the remarks were “water off a duck’s back, really”.
However, she also used the incident to criticise Labour’s approach to voter engagement.
“The duck-horse antics came from a session in which MPs and candidates were being coached on a formula for avoiding answering voters’ questions,” Willis said.
“I think Kiwis are too smart to be fooled by that kind of horse play.”
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