Labour channels cheerleading film in potential slogan

OPINION: Labour MPs spent last weekend with their super fans, talking shop and searching for barista-made coffee at the Labour Party annual conference in Manukau.

Party conferences offer politicians the chance to draw attention to policies in front of adoring crowds. For Labour, that was its childcare announcement.

Mainly, however, conferences are a get-together for all the people who dress up in political merch and hand out flyers come election time. And so the Labour leaders gave potential election slogans a test run over the weekend.

Leader Jacinda Ardern went with, ‘‘Bring it on!’’ Perhaps a nod to the 2000s classic cheerleading film series. It earnt a standing ovation on stage, and more applause minutes later from supporters gathered behind reporters at a press standup.

Ardern said they hadn’t decided what their slogan would be, before thanking the ‘‘live audience’’ watching the standup.

Deputy Prime Minister

Grant Robertson coined, ‘‘We’ve got this’’. If that makes the cut, ‘‘remember it was me who made it’’, he said. Deputy leader Kelvin Davis had a more earnest catchphrase – ‘‘Do what is right’’.

Back in Wellington, it was a bad start to the week for Health Minister

Andrew Little. He got a telling-off from Speaker Adrian Rurawhe for ‘‘an unparliamentary remark’’ in a written response to National health spokesperson Shane Reti.

As punishment, Reti got to ask Little an extra five supplementary questions in question time. What sparked the telling-off? Little had responded to a question about how he was monitoring the flu season by saying, ‘‘I have no comment on the Member’s conspiracy theories’’.

Reti told Stuff he was sick of Little’s ‘‘repeated abuse of written parliamentary questions’’. On the topic of Little answering questions, the minister was asked about Labour hopeful Georgie

Dansey, who is contesting the Hamilton West by-election, and the assertion that her appearance at a Waikato University protest the day after she was selected was a ‘‘communications mix-up’’. Spotted by Stuff last week, Dansey was among the protesters demanding more action on pay issues.

Extracting a short answer from politicians is usually a difficult task, but on this Little was incredibly short in his answers, giving a simple ‘‘yes’’ when asked if he stood by that it was a mix-up.

The cheerleading continued for Ardern later in the week.

She and National leader Christopher Luxon showed off their sporting prowess as the Black Ferns head into tonight’s highly anticipated Rugby World Cup final, the latest to pick up the ball and Pass It On.

Luxon donned his Black Ferns strip and went for a dynamic throw outside Parliament, while Ardern used a Zespri kiwifruit toy, a replica of the mascot featured in Japanese television advertisements and well known as the swaying kiwifruit during last year’s trade mission to Japan.

Luckily, Ardern had a spare after one lost an eye after an incident with a staffer.

During a dinner with some Black Ferns athletes, including Stacey Fluhler, Portia Woodman and Ayesha Leti-I’iga, in Auckland, Ardern received a cheeky question from rugby star Ruby Tui.

Tui posted on social media asking Ardern: ‘‘Aunty Cindy, I’m just wondering, when you’re done with being Prime Minister, can you give me Ardern [a turn]?’’

Ardern laughed and nodded.