National's Mark Mitchell has accused Chris Hipkins of targeting him with a "cheap political shot", calling a tweet from the Police Minister that suggested National had a "problem with women" a "personal attack".
But the Labour MP isn't backing down, saying Mitchell needs to explain why he believes talking about diversity in the police workforce "undermines confidence" in officers.
Hipkins tweeted on Wednesday morning that Mitchell had "attacked" him during a segment on NewstalkZB "for talking about increased diversity in the police and the fact that a quarter of our frontline police are now women".
"He claimed it's undermining confidence. Wow!! National really do seem to have a problem with women at the moment!" the minister wrote.
Mitchell had expressed disappointment that Hipkins on Tuesday in the House took "patsy questions talking about diversity" in the police force.
"I don't think that's going to engender a lot of confidence in the police… talking about diversity in the House, mate, with patsy questions is not a good start," Mitchell said on NewstalkZB.
Other Labour MPs, including Poto Williams who Hipkins replaced as Police Minister earlier this month, followed Hipkins in piling on with their own tweets. Meanwhile, Greens MP Golriz Ghahraman said "woman hate seems to be a theme for Nat world view and that's terrifying".
It comes just days after National leader Christopher Luxon found himself answering questions over his party's policy on abortion after one of his MPs appeared to celebrate on social media the overturning of the Roe v Wade decision in the United States.
Mitchell, speaking to reporters later on Wednesday, described Hipkins' tweet as a "cheap political shot".
"He knew that he was mischaracterising that conversation. He knew that that wasn't true. But that is the narrative that they're trying to get up," he said.
"I'm going to continue to hold him to account. I took on the Opposition police spokesperson role because I am passionate about this and I do want to see our country be a safer place. I'm going to continue to hold him to account. That's my job. He may not like it."
The National MP said it "certainly looks like a personal attack on me", but he wouldn't "sink down to that level".
Asked if he had gone too far, Hipkins said Kiwis can listen to the interview themselves and "form their own judgements".
"Ultimately, Mark Mitchell claiming that by talking about the greater diversity in the police workforce that we were undermining confidence, I think is something for him to explain," he said.
"I am not sure why the National Party have a problem talking about the greater diversity in the police workforce. Surely the fact that we have one in four of our police workforce are now women is something we should celebrate as a country and continue to make progress on.
"Why the National Party think talking about that undermines confidence in the police really is something they should be explaining."
Mitchell explained on Wednesday afternoon that he was reminding Hipkins that when Williams was taken out of the police role, "the Prime Minister came out and said that the Labour Party had lost the narrative and they had lost focus on the police portfolio."
"He took over at a time when our frontline police officers are out there dealing with a violent crime wave... He made a statement as the incoming minister that he was going to be focused on giving police the tools they need.
"So his second week in, if he is coming to the house, in my view, he should be focused on those things and giving them the tools that they need to actually deal with following rising levels of violence in this country."
He said police have done an "outstanding job around diversity and they continue to remain focused on that, which is great, but that is not the thing that the Police Minister should be focused on at the moment, it's actually trying to make New Zealand a safer place".
When the Prime Minister shuffled Williams out of the Police Minister role, Jacinda Ardern said it was critical for the Government's "focus and time" to be on supporting officers, including by "implementing additional measures to deal with the current escalation in gang tensions and violence".
When she put Williams into the role following the 2020 election, there were concerns around the police's culture so the Christchurch Labour MP was the "right fit" for the portfolio.
"The focus has changed, and with it, we've changed the ministerial line-up."
