Kate Hawkesby: Trust and confidence is starting to wane, it’s ripe time for good bold decisive leadership

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Feb 20, 2023 · 2m

Chris Hipkins is getting credit for his handling of the cyclone and I think that’s fair enough.

Newly into the role of PM and he’s had to hit the ground running —literally— with a crisis.

To be fair though, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster an elected leader does get a free kick. All you have to do is be present and visible, have a ton of empathy and own the communication around the media updates. Labour did this during Covid, and now they’re doing it again.

But —and here’s the rub— that halo effect can fade as failings in the response from public and private entities start to surface…