Nick Mills: Politicians deserve to have their private lives kept private

EDITORIAL: Last week on the show we talked about something that doesn’t get said enough in politics—that some people are just too nice for it.  We mentioned Shane Reti. A genuinely decent man. And I’m going to say the same thing again today about Chris Hipkins.  I’ve met him several times. Always the same—polite, grounded, asks how you are and actually cares, actually listens. Not a show, not an act. Just a decent bloke trying to do his best.   And that’s why what we’re seeing right now doesn’t sit well with me at all.  Because here’s the reality: this is a marriage breakup. It’s messy, it’s emotional, and it’s personal. There are allegations being thrown around—none of them criminal, none of them proven—and yet all of sudden it’s front-page news, it’s talkback fodder, it’s social media feeding frenzy.  And I just think—where does it stop?  Honestly, where do we draw the line?  Chris Hipkins has come out, denied the claims, said they’re untrue, and made it very clear he’s not going to fight this out in public. And I respect that. I actually really respect that.  Because the moment you start litigating your personal life in the media, nobody wins. Nobody.  But what really got me yesterday—what genuinely hit me—was watching him get emotional when reporters asked about his children. That’s the line for me.  When children are involved, that’s where it stops being politics. That’s where it stops being “public interest.” That’s where it becomes something that should be left alone.  We all know breakups are hard. Anyone who’s been through one knows how ugly they can get, how complicated they can get, how emotional they can get.  Now imagine going through that with cameras in your face, microphones shoved at you, headlines being written about your private life. And think about the kids. Is that what we want politics to be?  Because if it is—if the standard now is that every aspect of your personal life can be dragged into the public arena, judged, disrespected, and weaponised—then I’ll tell you right now, most good people won’t go near politics.  And let’s be honest for a second—if every one of us had our private lives exposed - and I have - every argument, every mistake, every rough patch… how many of us come out of that looking perfect?  Not many. If any. Probably none.  So for me, this isn’t about left or right. It’s not about Labour or National.  It’s about basic decency.  Yes—hold politicians to account for their public decisions. Absolutely. That's where we hold them to account. But their private lives? Their families? Their kids?  That’s not ours.  That's theirs, and only theirs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.