Points of order

OPINION: Parliament was well and truly on holiday this week – until the Australian Covid-19 situation got so bad Cabinet had to hastily meet and decide to shut the bubble for two months.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was enjoying a staycation at home in Auckland, Deputy PM Grant Robertson had to hurry home from Tasmania, National’s Covid-19 spokesman, Chris Bishop, was in Rarotonga (he had earlier planned a Melbourne trip, ouch) – even Judith Collins had a few days off from Demanding The Debate to enjoy the South Island. Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins is still planning a break in the Cook Islands next week, but global pandemics have a way of wrecking the best-laid of plans. Usually you just have to worry about the weather!

The three-week recess will have been a welcome respite to the various Parliamentary offices filling vacancies. The last few weeks have seen National hire a replacement for chief press secretary Michael Forbes, who left in June after serving three separate National leaders. John Mitchell has now started in the role. The long-time flack has experience working for Terry Serepisos, in the Kiwi version of The Apprentice, and Blackland PR. Mitchell inherits a team consisting of veteran press sec Julia Stewart and newbie Ani O’Brien, who has a long history fighting trans activists online.

On the other side of the political spectrum (but just one floor down in Parliament House) are the Green Party, who are losing chief of staff Tory Whanau to her own consultancy soon after losing communications director Nadine Walker to Auckland mayor Phil Goff. Whanau is being replaced by Robin Campbell, a long-time staffer who is close to coleader James Shaw. The Green Party’s environmental and economic left wings aren’t at particular loggerheads right now, but the parliamentary wing being taken over by a Shaw man could see some friction re-emerge. The communications director role remains vacant, leading to the Greens staying in their absolute comfort space this week, launching a petition for a policy they’ve been calling for every month or so for years: a rental warrant of fitness.

It’s a long time until the next election for Parliament, but the next local body elections are next year, meaning various parties are already manoeuvring to get their candidates ready. The wider left have a pretty strong hold on mayoral offices outside of Wellington, but that could soon change. Christchurch mayor and former Labour minister Lianne Dalziel is stepping down at the end of this term and National-aligned councillor Phil Mauger is the favourite to replace her, after winning wide plaudits for fixing consistent flooding in Christchurch, and then being fined by the council for not doing it the exact way they wanted.

In Auckland, Paula Bennett is eyeing up a possible run and would have very strong name recognition if she does. If Phil Goff decides not to run again she would probably beat someone like Richard Hills.

In Wellington, Labour MP Paul Eagle is clearly angling to take the prize – although this will not go down well with many of the activists in the Labour Party, given Eagle didn’t exactly govern from the left when he was on council.