Politics Blog

Zuru co-founder Nick Mowbray has hit out at Labour leader Chris Hipkins over comments he made earlier today, calling attempts to get right-leaning voters to intentionally split their votes an “absolute rort”.

Harry Mowbray, Nick’s father, has created a website dedicated to encouraging voters to give ACT and NZ First their party vote - and National their electorate vote. 

Hipkins, though, described the concept as "very flawed” and an attempt to “rort the electoral system”. 

Nick Mowbray hit back on Thursday afternoon, posting on X that “these are the rules under MMP”.

“Te Pāti Māori has encouraged voters to split their votes backing its electorate candidates while giving their party vote to your party. Centre-right voters are equally entitled to split their votes within those same rules,” he said. 

Mowbray said Hipkins can “debate the system” but “cannot reasonably apply one standard to the left and another to the right”.

He also hit out at the last Labour Government, saying what they “did in the last term was unforgivable". 

“New Zealand needs talented people in Parliament with common sense practical ideas and the ability to deliver a more prosperous future. 

“I welcome a contest of ideas. What frustrates me is how often Labour offers policies that look designed to win votes rather than build lasting prosperity alongside proposals from its potential coalition partners that I believe would take us backwards very quickly,” he said. 

Mowbray called on Hipkins to give voters a “compelling vision, credible policies and people who can execute them”.