At the rate it’s going, this by-election could cost Labour the real election.

Peeni Henare’s popping out policies toxic to the general electorate but popular with the 10,000 odd voters he’ll need to win Tamaki Makarau. 

First it was bringing back the gang patches, which left middle New Zealand scratching their heads.

We’ve been there, done that with the gangs. We’re over it. We want them sorted out. 

When people started getting bullet holes through the front window on a Saturday night, kids cowering in the hallway, we all decided enough was enough.

Labour lost the war on crime and with it, the mandate to govern.

You might think it’s an issue they’d steer clear of, but not Peeni - Labour’s electoral kryptonite. 

Last night he was back at it. I was watching the Tamaki Makarau by-election debate with Oriini and Peeni, which was a good watch. Good debate. 

Peeni was asked about cost of living. He said when Labour was last in power, they were in talks with iwi to build a third supermarket chain across the country to compete with the current duopoly. Last night he said they'd support it again if elected. 

So, the question is, what does support mean? Does that mean taxpayer funding? 

In 2023, they were talking about dolling out loans, maybe even grants, or taxpayer support to secure land for a third entrant. 

Now, there's nothing wrong with an iwi-led supermarket chain. There's nothing wrong with a third chain - hell, we'd all like to see that. 

But do we want it to be taxpayer supported? If private capital can't make it work at these prices, what chance would the state have? 

The problem with this stuff is it feeds the perception the only response Labour has to anything is more money. Kiwi build, anyone? 

There's a philosophical question in all of this which Hipkins is yet to answer because of his no policy rule. 

In the meantime, Peeni's certainly keeping us guessing and getting tongues wagging.