Chris Hipkins says he won't discuss family matters publicly - verging on tears at a press conference this afternoon. 

On Sunday, his ex-wife Jade Paul posted allegations on social media, none relating to unlawful conduct.

The Labour leader denies them and says he hasn't spoken to Paul, who is overseas.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says it's clear Paul felt like she needed to speak out as Hipkins makes more campaign promises ahead of the election.

LISTEN ABOVE

Chris Hipkins says he won't discuss family matters publicly - verging on tears at a press conference this afternoon.&nbsp;
On Sunday, his ex-wife Jade Paul posted allegations on social media, none relating to unlawful conduct.
The Labour leader denies them and says he hasn't spoken to Paul, who is overseas.
Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says it's clear Paul felt like she needed to speak out as Hipkins makes more campaign promises ahead of the election.
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on Chris Hipkins defending allegations made by ex-wife

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/dfda29e2-643c-4849-823c-b41000520acc/transcript

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and former Green MP Gareth Hughes joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

Chris Hipkins' ex-wife posted a series of allegations about the former Prime Minister on Facebook, and Hipkins denied the allegations in a media conference earlier today. Is this even our business? 

New Stats NZ figures show food prices rose 4.5 percent, with steak, mince and chocolate shooting up over 20 percent. How will this impact the Government ahead of the election? And what does this mean for inflation?

Do we need to start working from home before the fuel reserves run low? 

LISTEN ABOVE

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and former Green MP Gareth Hughes joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!&nbsp;
Chris Hipkins' ex-wife posted a series of allegations about the former Prime Minister on Facebook, and Hipkins denied the allegations in a media conference earlier today. Is this even our business?&nbsp;
New Stats NZ figures show food prices rose 4.5 percent, with steak, mince and chocolate shooting up over 20 percent. How will this impact the Government ahead of the election? And what does this mean for inflation?
Do we need to start working from home before the fuel reserves run low?&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

The Huddle: What does the food price data mean for inflation?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9e7af56e-a45b-44e4-b2c0-b410006fa206/transcript

We need to talk about inflation, because inflation is making me pretty sure now that the National Party needs to rethink its plan for this election.

We’ve just had the food inflation data out today. No surprise - food has gone up in price again in the year to February, up 4.5 percent.

The biggest increase in a single item was mince. It went up 23.2 percent. That is the highest recorded jump in mince in two decades.

Mince is a reasonably big deal in this data, I reckon, because mince - and sausages, obviously - is one of those bits of meat we go to when we’re feeling the pinch, right? If you can’t afford the sirloin steak, you go for the mince instead.

So if the so-called cheaper option is becoming that much more expensive, well, that tells you how hard it’s going to be for families to make ends meet.

And it’s, of course, not just the mince. Everything - everything - has gone up in price. There are a few items that have come back down but for the most part, the things you really need - not the snacks, the essentials - have gone up.

And this is going to get worse.

What’s been happening in and around the country for the past 17 days will, without a shadow of a doubt, push food prices up even further.

It’ll start with vegetables because they were already in the ground. Then it’ll move on to things that take longer to produce - wheat-based products, things like bread that take time to grow. Meat will go up. Everything will go up.

Because of the lack of access to urea, fertiliser prices are rising, so on-farm costs go up. Then there’s the fuel cost of getting produce from the farm to - I don’t know - let’s say the bakery, and from the bakery to the supermarket.

And that increased cost is going to land on us.

There’s a lag effect here. What’s going on now will hit us every single month for months to come. They’re talking about six months - but if they’re saying six months, you can assume it’ll be longer than that.

Now, the Nats’ whole strategy for this election was that they’d be fine because the economy would improve, we’d all feel richer, we’d thank them for making the cost-of-living issue go away, their polling would go up and they’d come through at the election on November 7.

That is not going to happen.

The cost-of-living crisis will not be over in November. It will keep hitting us through the things we can’t avoid - petrol for many, but food for everyone.

So the Nats need a new plan - one that requires them to actually do something, rather than just waiting for voters to feel richer. Because we’re not going to.

LISTEN ABOVE

We need to talk about inflation, because inflation is making me pretty sure now that the National Party needs to rethink its plan for this election.
We’ve just had the food inflation data out today. No surprise - food has gone up in price again in the year to February, up 4.5 percent.
The biggest increase in a single item was mince. It went up 23.2 percent. That is the highest recorded jump in mince in two decades.
Mince is a reasonably big deal in this data, I reckon, because mince - and sausages, obviously - is one of those bits of meat we go to when we’re feeling the pinch, right? If you can’t afford the sirloin steak, you go for the mince instead.
So if the so-called cheaper option is becoming that much more expensive, well, that tells you how hard it’s going to be for families to make ends meet.
And it’s, of course, not just the mince. Everything - everything - has gone up in price. There are a few items that have come back down but for the most part, the things you really need - not the snacks, the essentials - have gone up.
And this is going to get worse.
What’s been happening in and around the country for the past 17 days will, without a shadow of a doubt, push food prices up even further.
It’ll start with vegetables because they were already in the ground. Then it’ll move on to things that take longer to produce - wheat-based products, things like bread that take time to grow. Meat will go up. Everything will go up.
Because of the lack of access to urea, fertiliser prices are rising, so on-farm costs go up. Then there’s the fuel cost of getting produce from the farm to - I don’t know - let’s say the bakery, and from the bakery to the supermarket.
And that increased cost is going to land on us.
There’s a lag effect here. What’s going on now will hit us every single month for months to come. They’re talking about six months - but if they’re saying six months, you can assume it’ll be longer than that.
Now, the Nats’ whole strategy for this election was that they’d be fine because the economy would improve, we’d all feel richer, we’d thank them for making the cost-of-living issue go away, their polling would go up and they’d come through at the election on November 7.
That is not going to happen.
The cost-of-living crisis will not be over in November. It will keep hitting us through the things we can’t avoid - petrol for many, but food for everyone.
So the Nats need a new plan - one that requires them to actually do something, rather than just waiting for voters to feel richer. Because we’re not going to.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The National Party needs to rethink its plan for this election

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ba83d217-3098-4bff-8d8c-b410006b8287/transcript

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 17 March.

Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 17 March. 
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Full Show Podcast: 17 March 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c435cdac-87df-4a23-8c38-b4100066325e/transcript

Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on Chris Hipkins defending allegations made by ex-wife

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