Hipkins takes the least bad path in a no-win situation

2026-03-17 - 16:04

Comment: Chris Hipkins has taken the least bad path available to him in his tight-lipped response to as yet unsubstantiated claims about neglect of his ex-wife, levelled by her in a since-deleted Facebook post on Sunday. In a media stand-up on Tuesday afternoon, he said he would not get into a back-and-forth conversation in public about the allegations. Instead, these were “ultimately personal matters” and it was not in anyone’s best interests – least of all the pair’s two children – to debate them in public, he said. It was potentially unsatisfying for those Labour partisans who may have wanted Hipkins to hit back at the claims he says are unequivocally false, but in truth he is charting the best path out of a no-win situation. For context, Jade Paul, Hipkins’ ex-wife, criticised his alleged lack of support, when she miscarried a pregnancy, then when she struggled to support their two children after their split. She’s had to leave three jobs because of conflicts arising from their relationship, she wrote in the Sunday evening Facebook post. A glancing comment about an affair and an intern ended