Tensions cresting in the aftermath of the recent electoral defeat, seasoned Labour MP Damien O’Connor punctuated today’s political discourse with an expletive-laden directive aimed at a Newshub political editor Jenna Lynch. The heated exchange took place in the corridors of power, just outside the meeting room where Labour leader Chris Hipkins was deliberating about the party’s fate with his caucus.
Lynch, undeterred, had inquired whether Hipkins remained as party leader, only to be met with O’Connor’s candidly curt reply, “I am just going to the toilet.” His response, punctuated by a dismissive wave, left no room for further queries.
Upon his return, Lynch asked if O’Connor, the former minister of agriculture, wished to revise his earlier reply. The seasoned MP retorted, “What are you doing here?”
Addressing the incident post-meeting, Hipkins acknowledged, “Look, I think emotions have been running a little high today. It’s been a difficult day.”
In an update, it was confirmed that a spokesman for O’Connor announced the MP had extended an apology to Lynch for his outburst.
The backdrop to O’Connor’s ill-tempered exchange is the recently concluded election where he suffered a defeat at the hands of National’s Maureen Pugh for the West Coast-Tasman seat. Preliminary results show that Pugh held a 915-vote advantage over O’Connor.
Historically, the Labour Party, having its roots on the West Coast, has always held this seat as a strategic stronghold. Ever since the current electorate took shape in 1996, O’Connor, tasked with ministerial portfolios encompassing agriculture, biosecurity, land information, trade and export growth, and transportation, had perennially held onto the seat till his loss in 2008.
Pugh, prior to her resignation in 2013 and subsequent run as the National’s candidate in the 2014 general election, held the distinction of being the first woman to hold a mayoral office on the West Coast, a position she retained for nine years. Interestingly, Pugh also made news earlier this year after her statements on climate change. Initially hesitant in acknowledging the extent of human influence on climate change, she eventually conformed to the scientific consensus, attributing human actions to extreme weather occurrences like Cyclone Gabrielle.
The conclusion of this political saga saw Pugh clinch the West Coast-Tasman seat, a development that has been met with curiosity considering her past interactions with former National leader Simon Bridges, who had once dismissively referred to her as “useless” during a private conversation captured in a leaked recording.
