Articles by Barry Soper
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Opinion
Barry Soper: My politician of the year
Wednesday, 18 December 2024, 6:02pmTHREE KEY FACTS Christopher Luxon became 42nd Prime Minister in November 2023. He was elected to Parliament in October 2020. Luxon...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: The hīkoi was Māori Party's crowning glory
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 8:31amThe Māori Party will be well pleased with the hīkoi this week. There was the long-planned haka in Parliament’s debating...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: The hīkoi organisers already lost the argument
Wednesday, 13 November 2024, 9:19pmAny Māori grievance you could ever think of will be embraced by the hīkoi, which is winding its way from the far north and...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: There's no accounting for America's political taste
Thursday, 7 November 2024, 8:48pmThere's no accounting for public taste - and that would surely have to apply to the American public with the election of...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Harris is reading from a familiar political playbook
Wednesday, 30 October 2024, 8:54pmAs political promises go, they should be familiar to all of us- lifting children out of poverty, removing red tape and building...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Inconsistency the hallmark of Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau’s leadership
Wednesday, 23 October 2024, 9:05pmAn earlier version of this opinion piece inferred Tory Whanau relied on the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system to win...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Luxon shouldn't be vilified for his wealth
Wednesday, 2 October 2024, 9:26pmThe late Michael Cullen let the veil slip when he glared across Parliament's debating chamber in December 2007 and labelled...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: The fractious relationship between media and politicians
Wednesday, 25 September 2024, 8:51pmThe relationship between the media and politicians has always been a fractious one which is exacerbated by the quality of...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: There was no debate - Harris won
Wednesday, 11 September 2024, 8:31pmHow on earth anyone can go out and vote for a man like Donald Trump is beyond me. His stupidity in another setting would...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Luxon needs to become more relatable
Wednesday, 4 September 2024, 8:45pmIt's not much shy of a year ago that Chris Luxon signed the warrant to become New Zealand's 42nd Prime Minister. Having been...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Will the Treaty bill be as offensive as everyone's making it out to be?
Wednesday, 21 August 2024, 8:00pmIf you go into politics you live in a goldfish bowl. Everything you do and say comes under scrutiny, as the Green Party knows...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: This week's announcement is a relief for the scientific community
Wednesday, 14 August 2024, 9:06pmTwenty years ago, the naysayers were telling us the world was about to mutate, we'd see all sorts of weird things appearing...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: The Māori Party's on a mission to stir up discontent
Wednesday, 7 August 2024, 9:14pmThe world as we know it is coming to an end, the "big one" is coming, but what that is the Māori Party's co leader Debbie...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Ethnicity no longer factor in waiting list a fair outcome for all
Thursday, 1 August 2024, 8:53pmIt’s not often in this business that you can sit back with some satisfaction and feel justified a year later that a story...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Bring on Darleen Tana's replacement
Wednesday, 10 July 2024, 8:39pmDarleen Tana was an ideal candidate for The Greens, she was an environmental scientist with a degree in chemical technology,...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: What's the point of the David Seymour Snapchat story?
Wednesday, 3 July 2024, 9:01pmIt's not often that you would feel the need to jump to the defence of a politician, they're usually more than capable of...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Are we seeing the first cracks in the new Government?
Wednesday, 26 June 2024, 9:34pmSo are we, as has been widely reported, seeing the first major cracks in the National-led coalition Government? Of course...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: 'Loose lipped apprentice PM' - Fallout from Luxon's 'C-listers' clanger
Wednesday, 19 June 2024, 8:43pmThe Prime Minister’s trade mission to Japan’s been pretty successful but who would have noticed? Most of the business signed...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Farmers have been feeling the pinch for too long
Wednesday, 12 June 2024, 9:26pmThe Agricultural Fieldays in Hamilton was expected to be a pretty low key affair when it came to selling stuff to farmers. Like...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: David Seymour got too big for his boots this week
Thursday, 14 September 2023, 4:25pmThe past week has been dominated by opinion polls, and they've certainly been on the minds of the leaders as they travel...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: As the week has progressed, so have the porkies from Labour
Friday, 8 September 2023, 5:58pmThey've been out on the hustings for a week now and there are a couple of things that have stuck in my craw. As the week's...
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Opinion
Barry Soper: Can Labour turn its polling slide around?
Thursday, 7 September 2023, 5:39pmThis has been touted as one of the most important elections in recent history, and it's hard to argue against that. We...
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Politics
'We're going to fire a rocket': Former National MP to enter election with Christian-focused party
Thursday, 10 August 2023, 4:07pmA former National Party cabinet minister will tomorrow enter the election fray with a Christian party. Alfred Ngaro was a...
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Politics
ACT's Simon Court shot in a drug deal gone wrong as a teenager
Tuesday, 8 August 2023, 5:44pmA senior Act MP has admitted being shot as a youth after a drug deal involving his mate, but one that he denies being involved...
