Chris Hipkins has defended an outgoing Labour MP who bemoaned the loss of the perks that came with the role.
Newshub asked several Labour MPs who lost their electoral seat in the election for their thoughts on transitioning out of politics.
The response of former Labour list MP based in North Canterbury Dan Rosewarne caught the ire of the AM hosts on Tuesday saying his comments were "embarrassing".
When asked for his reaction to the election defeat, Rosewarne seemed more focused on the loss of the perks rather than the actual job.
"The biggest thing for me was, you know, going into the Koru Lounge and then the red lights of doom go off because your Koru Club has been cancelled. All about moving from champagne to lemonade," Rosewarne said on Monday.
Hipkins appeared on AM on Tuesday for the first time since Labour's election defeat and was asked for his view on Rosewarne's comments.
"I don't think they reflect who Dan is as a person and I think what he was probably trying to do is signal that it is a transition to go from being a member of parliament to being a member of the public. It can be a pretty significant change," he said.
Hipkins admitted it was probably the wrong analogy he used but put it down to the emotion of what Labour MPs are going through.
"He probably chose the wrong analogy and I suspect he probably regrets that now already but I think given the emotion that people go through when they go from being an MP to being out of Parliament quite abruptly, I think he can be forgiven for making a bit of a mistake there," Hipkins said.
When asked if he has talked to Rosewarne following his comments, Hipkins said he hasn't.
"I think we just need to give people who have lost their seats a little bit of space," he said. "It's a pretty brutal experience to go through and I don't expect people to be perfect in that process."
It comes after the remarks from Rosewarne left the AM hosts shocked with co-host Ryan Bridge questioning if the comments were "real" and "who is that guy, I've never seen him before in my life".
"Oh my lord that is embarrassing, sorry," Bridge said.
Bridge added Labour MPs shouldn't be moaning about losing their perks "especially when you consider the state the country is in right now, perhaps that's why people voted them out".
It wasn't just Rosewarne's comments that caught the attention of the AM hosts.
Former Education Minister Jan Tinetti also made some remarks that didn't go down well.
"You might think I'm looking relaxed now because I felt a weight has been lifted off me at the same time," Tinetti, who failed to win Tauranga but might make it back into Parliament on the list ranking, said on Monday.
AM newsreader Nicky Styris said it sounded like the job was a "burden" for Tinetti.
While AM co-host Laura Tupou questioned if the job was that important to her.
"I don't know, it's such an important job... don't you want that job because you want to make a change? She's a former principal," she questioned.
