This may be the best we get out of Helen Clark for a while - a public acknowledgment that she’d really prefer not to be in a coalition with New Zealand First if she can help it. Personally I think she could help it by having the courage to make it clear that a vote for New Zealand First is a vote for a National-led government.
It’s true that a Labour-NZF government would be better than a National-NZF government. But based on the experience of 1996 and everything that’s happened since, the chances of Labour being able to negotiate any kind of deal with Winston Peters are very slim. New Zealand First is clearly lined up with National, and I don’t think it does Labour any favours to pretend otherwise. It makes them look weak, indecisive, and willing to compromise their integrity to deal with racists. I think they’ll pick up more votes if people know there’s a choice that doesn’t involve having Peters back in the government.