The Latest from Opinion https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/ NZME The latest analysis and opinion from Newstalk ZB 2024-03-28T10:43:36.478Z en Winston Peters: The state of New Zealand's media https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/zb-plus-guest-opinions/winston-peters-the-state-of-new-zealands-media/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/zb-plus-guest-opinions/winston-peters-the-state-of-new-zealands-media/ The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".  He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy.  New Zealand First has always held the view that the "fourth estate" is essential to any successful functioning democracy.    But it’s not just the existence of the fourth estate that is essential.  It is the matter of a fourth estate that is impartial, politically neutral, fair and objective.  These are the qualities and attributes that the public expect of an effective media in any free society – but they are lacking in much of the media landscape today.  The revelation that Newshub is set to close is obviously devastating not only for those who will lose their jobs, but it is also seriously concerning for the robustness of our media scene.  However sad this situation is, it has not come as a surprise to many.  The reasons for Newshub’s closure are obviously many and varied, including increased online and streaming options, but the media has been on this downward trajectory for a long time.  One of those reasons is the increased lack of trust in New Zealand’s media, which has seen much of the public actively avoid engaging with them.  But this dire situation they have found themselves in has not arrived overnight.  My concerns with the state of our media are long held and well documented.  Five years ago, I warned that "Our fourth estate is collapsing" … that the industry was in "dire straits" with advertising revenue falling, local newspapers being closed and reporter numbers falling … our reporters are underpaid and overloaded with the current state creating a focus on "breaking news, not thinking news".  In 2002, I warned that the media were on a precarious footing where they have moved away from expected principles of a fourth estate - "it is as though the views, opinions and musings of those who have never run for public office are somehow able to divine the public’s mood.  There is a risk of the mainstream media becoming a sort of informal club, a coterie, a fraternity whose members find that their political agendas coincide." The impartiality of media should be the foundation of reporting, but in the main, it has morphed over the past few years to rely on opinion, narrative, agendas and click bait.  This is one more significant reason why the majority of mainstream media are no longer trusted by the majority of New Zealanders.  Over the past four years the sign-up of media outlets to receive $55 million of public funding through the Public Interest Journalism Fund has cemented that mistrust from the public for obvious reasons – most of which, it seems, is lost on the very media outlets that received those funds.    It is a plain fact that for media organisations to be eligible for funding they had to sign up to certain criteria and conditions – including forcing certain narratives of the Labour government at the time.  Jacinda Ardern said when addressing the issue of alternative or dissenting views about Covid-19 – "We had to act so we made it a priority to establish a Public Interest Journalism Fund to help our media continue to produce stories that keep New Zealanders informed" i.e. funding media to promote a government narrative – the "single source of truth".  One of those conditions is based on a purely political view that is not supported by many New Zealanders or many political parties.  It states that the media organisation must “actively promote the principles of partnership, participation and active protection under Te Tiriti o Waitangi acknowledging Māori as a Te Tiriti partner”. And have a “commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to Māori as a Te Tiriti partner”.   If they didn’t sign up to this condition, they wouldn’t get the money.  How can a politically neutral and independent media organisation give... 2024-02-29T16:00:34.000Z Jason Walls: Surprised the leaders’ debate was a snoozefest? You haven’t been paying attention https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-surprised-the-leaders-debate-was-a-snoozefest-you-haven-t-been-paying-attention/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-surprised-the-leaders-debate-was-a-snoozefest-you-haven-t-been-paying-attention/ The first televised leader’s debate of the 2023 election campaign proved that blue paint dries slightly faster than red paint.   Political editors and commentators broadly agreed that Chris Luxon was the winner, in what was probably the most lacklustre debate in more than a decade.   There was no instantly iconic “show me the money,” or “this stardust won't settle” line from either of the Chrises – and certainly no “my husband is from Samoan, so Talofa”.   Instead, viewers got a barrage of reheated lines both leaders had already trotted out time and time again on the campaign trail.   But anyone who was surprised that the debate was a fizzer has clearly not been paying attention to the campaign so far.   The first three weeks have been remarkably low energy, compared to previous campaign periods.   In fairness, the bar is quite high. In 2020, Covid-19 once again reared its ugly head – derailing the campaign before it had really begun and forcing a new election date.   In 2017, Jacinda Ardern bust onto the scene and transformed what was going to be a landslide victory for National into a nail-biter. This year, we have two men called Chris who both bought houses before their 25th birthdays: It’s not exactly a made-for-Hollywood tale of David vs Goliath.   Behind the scenes of the political machines, focus groups results are showing the policies and promises are just not registering like they have in previous campaigns. That much is clear on the road with both political leaders. Jacinda Ardern’s mall walkabouts drew a crowd of hundreds. Chris Hipkins’ was only able to fill out half a hall full of supporters at a union rally last weekend.   People just don’t care as much this time around, and who could blame them. When it’s going to cost $3.50 a liter to fill up your car by Christmas and you're looking to refix your mortgage at 8 percent, a polite squabble over which parts of Wellington’s boated public service will be cut will not move the dial for many.   And it’s unlikely to get much more exciting from here.   Both Labour and National have fired their major policy shots – GST off fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables and tax cuts respectively.   The latter was barely even mentioned in Tuesday’s debate. But both leaders did provide somewhat of a snapshot of how the remaining three and a bit week of the campaign will play out, during the first debate.   Hipkins – with his back against the wall after last night's 1 percentage point slide to 27 percent – will stay in attack mode. His daily press stand-ups are less about why voters should re-elect Labour, and more about why they shouldn’t elect National.   Speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s debate, Hipkins said it had been 20 days since National released its tax cut plans, but refused to release its costings.   The day before, he opened with the same line... the day before, the same line again.   The tactic is reasonably straight forward: Muddy the waters. With an apathetic public, Hipkins is desperately trying to seed the idea that “National want tax cuts, but their math is a bit dodgy”. Luxon, meanwhile, has a different plan: Endure.   He’s spent weeks batting away questions about his party’s tax plan, continuing to refuse to publicly release the costings.   Despite the seemingly endless coverage about his lack of transparency, National’s vote remains well ahead of Labour's. Luxon’s riding out the criticism until people get bored – hoping that at the end of the day, their one takeaway from the wider tax cut debate is: “I'll have more money to pay for out-of-control food and petrol prices with National”. Last night’s poll shows National’s plan seems to be working. It’s extremely hard to see Labour pulling itself out of this polling hole. It’s understood that many Labour MPs have already seen the writing on the wall, and are preparing for the bitter transition back to Opposition.   Meanwhile- while voters white-knuckled it through Chris vs Chris on Tuesday – tonight’s Wins... 2023-09-21T05:21:44.687Z Barry Soper: David Seymour got too big for his boots this week https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-david-seymour-got-too-big-for-his-boots-this-week/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-david-seymour-got-too-big-for-his-boots-this-week/ The past week has been dominated by opinion polls, and they've certainly been on the minds of the leaders as they travel throughout the country. Act will be mindful of the fact that it's toppled from a high of 18 per cent in one poll to the TVNZ poll the other night, at just 10 per cent. What's led to this drop in the opinion of the Act leader, David Seymour, in particular? In my view, he's become a little too cocky, a bit too big for his boots. What he's saying now is, and has indicated pretty strongly, that if there is a coalition between National and Act, what may happen is that he will give them support on confidence, but not on supply. That would mean basically an ungovernable government. It's ridiculous, really. David Seymour has backed away a bit and saying he wants a full coalition with the National Party. But just consider it if there was no support on supply it would mean that National would have to go cap in hand to Act on every piece of legislation. Now it's different when they're sitting around the Cabinet table because there's collective Cabinet responsibility. That means that any decision that's signed off has the full support of Cabinet. But in the absence of Act, that'll certainly complicate matters. I don't think it'll come to that. I think David Seymour has made that pretty clear in subsequent statements he's made. But I think he overplayed his hand and that's why people are looking a bit askance at him and maybe looking towards New Zealand First and Winston Peters. The polls now are tracking at around 5 percent and for Winston Peters, a month out from the election, a 5 per cent rating is pretty good because it means on election day he'll probably be quite a bit above the 5 per cent threshold. The bitching between David Seymour and Winston Peters, though, continues with Seymour saying that he wouldn't sit around a Cabinet table with Peters. 2023-09-14T05:07:49.000Z Barry Soper: As the week has progressed, so have the porkies from Labour https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-as-the-week-has-progressed-so-have-the-porkies-from-labour/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-as-the-week-has-progressed-so-have-the-porkies-from-labour/ They'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 progressed so have the porkies, coming from the self-proclaimed most kind, transparent Government we have ever experienced. Labour cares about wellbeing and it's become apparent that applies only to themselves in their desperation to retain the baubles of office. It seems they're willing to say anything that will keep the centre-right wolves from their door, like Willie Jackson screaming in a debate about that National's planning to get rid of the minimum wage, which was clearly wrong and dismissed by his political betters, and most of them are, as Willie being Willie.       And then we had Andrew Little, the leader who handed the reigns over to Jacinda Ardern, telling anyone who was silly enough to listen, that National and Act were going to sack all the teachers and close the schools - preposterous. If that wasn't bad enough, we had Labour's Shanan Halbert telling his Facebook followers that National planned to reduce sick days to five a year which was again was simply untrue. Is there any wonder then why Labour's now languishing in the psychological opinion poll vortex? And the media have reason to be reflecting on the high dungeon expressed in some quarters about the email correspondence between National's health spokesman Shane Reti and the Vice-Chancellor of Waikato University Neil Quigley over a third medical school. We were told Quigley went to considerable lengths to help National develop their policy to establish the school. He even made the observation to Reti that the new school, scheduled to take its first students in 2027, could be a present for National to begin its second term in Government. Now that was seen by some quarters in the media as some sort of clandestine, sinister cuddle-up between professors and power.     What it was in fact was the chief executive of an academic institution, rightly lobbying a politician to extend the university's offering. And why not? National had been in talks with Waikato University a year before Ardern limped to power only to see the idea canned by her government the year after she had settled into the Prime Minister's chair. With the idea being resurrected, why wouldn't the University boss embrace it?   There were suggestions our universities should be politically impartial which defies any sort of logic. All of them have political studies professors who are always expressing their views, without fear nor favour, and no one has a problem with that. 2023-09-08T05:58:27.000Z Barry Soper: Can Labour turn its polling slide around? https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-can-labour-turn-its-polling-slide-around/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-can-labour-turn-its-polling-slide-around/ This has been touted as one of the most important elections in recent history, and it's hard to argue against that.   We have Labour – who have had two terms in office, which isn’t a long time in politics. The last government that was voted out after six years was ironically David Lange’s Labour government.   This iteration is going to find it very difficult to survive, given the opinion polls.   They're now down in the 20s and that's a psychological kick in the arse, if you'd like to say, for the Labour Party.   Nevertheless, I think both parties are confident that they're going to win, even though the last opinion poll put National 10 percent ahead of the Labour lot. So it's going to be a fascinating campaign.   Let's hope they can keep it clean and let's hope that we don't have more of those Vision New Zealand nutters out on the campaign trail.  They're annoying, but they get the publicity and that's the problem.   They know if they turn up to annoy a politician, either at a stand up, press conference or certainly, as we saw last weekend, at the Labour Party launch, then they'll get the publicity almost as much as the two major parties.   So, the next four weeks are going to be extraordinarily interesting, and I'll be along for the ride. I hope you will be too.  For more of Barry Soper's Election 2023 analysis, follow Behind the List with Barry Soper on I-Heart Radio.      2023-09-07T05:39:54.000Z Barry Soper: The Ardern/Hipkins Government left a lawless, impoverished, struggling country longing for relief https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-ardern-hipkins-government-left-a-lawless-impoverished-struggling-country-longing-for-relief/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-ardern-hipkins-government-left-a-lawless-impoverished-struggling-country-longing-for-relief/ Jacinda Ardern was perplexed after quitting the Prime Minister's job in January- she was asked to write a book, which will probably be worth more to her than her five years as leader. She was perplexed as she was unsure of what to write about, after all this woman was on record not long before being anointed to become Prime Minister as saying she would never want to do the job. Pity she never made good on her musings. Someone suggested to her she should write it about leadership and she liked the idea, and that's what we're going to get in the bookstores sometime in the future. It should be compulsory reading for all aspiring MPs, essentially so they can avoid the sort of leadership she'll be writing about. Her five years at the top were a disaster, showing how ill-equipped she was for the job. Okay, there was her outpouring over the ghastly Mosque massacre in Christchurch, even if wearing the hijab was frowned upon by some who felt it degraded women. She said the right words, but then anyone who was leading the country at the time would have expressed similar sentiments. What Ardern has done though is to leave her colleagues this year to clean up the mess she created. The sous chef in her kitchen Cabinet, Chris Hipkins, has done his best to distance himself from her acquiescence to factions, particularly to Maori. Her Cabinet appointments and her arm's length approach to them (think Michael Wood telling her he'd sold his Auckland Airport shares) has left Hipkins to clean up the mess as the true face of her Cabinet appointments are becoming clear. Hipkins did learn something from her though, to capitulate until the inevitable happens with him running out of options and the public running out of patience. Four Ministers have now surrendered their warrants this year after, with the exception of one, being given chance after chance to redeem themselves. The exception is Meka Whaitiri, although Ardern did stand her down for a while after she got pushy-shovey with one of her staff members. In the end, Whaitiri had enough and threw her support behind the Maori Party, to add to the chaos. The on-again off-again leave given by Hipkins in recent weeks to Justice Minister Kiri Allan is another example of the Ardern treatment of transgressors.     This Government has become as messy as the last two term Government, ironically also lead by a populist leader David Lange. He exited in the same way as Ardern, although his reasons were a little more salacious. There are more than twenty new Labour MPs who came in at the last election who will now be filling out job applications. The Ardern/Hipkins Government have failed on so many fronts, despite their unbridled power, the strongest majority since the first Labour Government of Mickey Joseph Savage 1935. At least Savage left a legacy of state housing and free medical care, as did the Lange Government, the economic foundation stone which set the country on the difficult recovery path after the Muldoon misery. This Government has left a lawless, impoverished, struggling country longing for relief. 2023-07-24T06:46:07.000Z Barry Soper: Michael Wood's behaviour went from unacceptable to plain dishonest https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-michael-woods-behaviour-went-from-unacceptable-to-plain-dishonest/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-michael-woods-behaviour-went-from-unacceptable-to-plain-dishonest/ Sacked Labour Cabinet Minister Michael Wood is either so stinking rich that he doesn't know which trust he's stashed his cash in, or he's just plain dishonest. The latter's much more likely when it came to his embarrassing performance over his Auckland Airport shares.    On no fewer than a dozen times, he was asked by the powerful Cabinet office whether he had dispensed with his shareholding. "I'm on to it," he said on each occasion, even when he was asked by the now Grande Dame Jacinda Ardern whether he had got rid of them, because as Transport Minister they would have been a conflict of interest. Why Chris Hipkins didn't sack him then is beyond belief, especially when he said his actions were unacceptable. It seemed then that unacceptable behaviour was acceptable when it comes to sitting at the Cabinet table in this Government. His behaviour went from unacceptable to just plain dishonest. Hipkins says he asked Wood at the time of the airport debacle whether he had anything else to declare. No was the answer, which beggars belief. An inquiry into his stash was to find otherwise and again it beggars belief that Wood could have thought his shareholding in Chorus and Spark would have gone unnoticed. As Immigration Minister he put telecommunications technicians on the green list after representations from Chorus for him to do so. And he's got shares in the National Bank of Australia, parent company of the Bank of New Zealand but shareholder Wood remained silent at the Cabinet table when they were discussing an inquiry into banking, which was announced this week. Given he's now resigned from Cabinet, in the real world sacked, which Hipkins couldn't get his mouth around, Wood will be regretting ever selling his airport shares, which he did in order to save his bacon, or so he naively thought. Well, he's now out of the fry pan and into the fire, burnt to a cinder. Any chance of him making it back into Cabinet in the future is remote, unless of course, they win the upcoming election. A 'conscientious and hard-working minister' he's been described as by his executioner Hipkins, and goodness only knows the talent pool in the Labour caucus is obviously no deeper than a puddle. At 62 MPs, it has the biggest caucus in recent history and yet all of his portfolios have gone to overloaded, senior ministers, meaning none of them will get the attention they deserve. And that says everything about this parlous Government. 2023-06-21T04:44:22.000Z Barry Soper: The Government intended to roll out equity adjustor scores before media scrutiny https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-government-intended-to-roll-out-equity-adjustor-scores-before-media-scrutiny/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-government-intended-to-roll-out-equity-adjustor-scores-before-media-scrutiny/ It seems the Government's put on ice plans for a nationwide roll out of the equity adjustor scores being given to Auckland patients on waiting lists for surgery because of the publicity given to them by The Herald and Newstalk ZB. Since the story broke on Monday, the Prime Minister's spoken to his Health Minister Ayesha Verrall about the lists having one of its weightings devoted to ethnicity, putting Maori and Pacific patients at the top. Chris Hipkins said he doesn't want to replace what he says is one form of discrimination in the clogged-up hospital system with another. The Government's intention was clearly to rollout the adjustor scores nationwide, with Verrall saying so in a written Parliamentary question from National's health spokesman Shane Reti. She said: "I am advised that a wait list prioritisation tool has been developed and is currently being implemented across the Northern Region before a national roll out." In fact, the scores aren't being used in Northland and are at this stage confined to two hospitals, Auckland and Middlemore. It seems Hipkins was left in the dark about it though. On the Mike Hosking Newstalk ZB breakfast show yesterday he said: "My understanding is there's two DHBs, I think it was Auckland and Northland, certainly from the conversation I've had with the Minister of Health there's no intention to roll this out nationally." To reporters at Parliament who told him of Verrall's reply to Reti's question, Hipkins said he hasn't seen that and they'd have to ask Verrall about it. In Parliament, Reti did just that by asking her who was correct, the Prime Minister saying there would be no roll out or her replying to his written question saying that it was her intention. Verrall said she's been asked by Hipkins to find out whether the scoring system's being used in the way it was intended and there'll be no roll out until she's satisfied that it is. Hipkins, a former Health Minister, told reporters at Parliament: "There is evidence that Maori and Pacific patients, rural people, people from low-income families have been waiting longer in that two year plus waitlist category and that isn't acceptable and the health system should do something about that." However, he said he didn't want to see one form of discrimination replaced by another form of discrimination. But on the equity adjustor score waiting list leaked to Newstalk ZB, no-one has been waiting for more than two years - the longest wait is for a Middle Eastern patient who's been waiting 644 days for surgery, but won't be seen anytime soon because he has a low score. The two Maori on it, both with the highest score by far, therefore likely to be operated on first, have been waiting 441 and 518 days, a shorter wait than a number of others with lower scores. One of the Maori patients has been waiting for exactly the same time as an Indian, but with a score of 1116 compared to the Indian's 744 will go under the knife much sooner. Former Auckland District Health Board member for eight years, Doug Armstrong, said giving priority on waiting lists was discussed as far back as 2020 and then on and off until it was disbanded last August. Armstrong doesn't like the equity adjustor scores giving priority on ethnic grounds. He would expect clinicians to make their decisions based on need and nothing else.  He said there could be the odd exception, like if an elderly pakeha man was due for the same surgery as a young Maori expected to provide for his four children, then the latter would get priority and vice versa. He said circumstance should be a priority and not race. Armstrong said the ethnic rule doesn't send the right message and has no place in this country. 2023-06-20T05:45:44.000Z Barry Soper: Michael Wood's airport shares raise questions about other decisions he's made https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-michael-woods-airport-shares-raise-questions-about-other-decisions-hes-made/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-michael-woods-airport-shares-raise-questions-about-other-decisions-hes-made/ On the face of it $13,000 worth of shares wouldn't be seen by many as a windfall, certainly nothing to lose your job over. That's the value in Auckland Airport shares owned by the man known as the Little General around Parliament, mainly because he's always so cock sure of himself. But and it's a big BUT, Michael Wood is the Transport Minister, or was up until a couple of days ago, and the Prime Minister says he will be again once he sells down his shares to avoid any conflict of interest. Wood was asked by the all powerful Cabinet office a dozen times over the past two years or so to get rid of the shares. The requests came from November 19, 2020 with the latest one coming on March 27, 2023. On each occasion he said he was about to divest himself of the shares. Most of us would simply be able to do this by picking up the phone. That seems beyond Wood's capability, and if he didn't he doesn't seem to remember it. An embarrassed Chris Hipkins says it's unacceptable for the minister to hold on to the shares for so long and after so many requests to rid himself of them. But it seems unacceptability is acceptable in this Government's books. It also seems, at least at the moment for the Minister in his transport role, to turn down a case by a North Shore airport to get a more formal status. Of course it would work in competition to the super city's airport and for a share holding minister to turn down an application by competitors is what is really unacceptable. Now it would be too far fetched to suggest that Wood, holding such a small share ownership in the airport would make the decision to preserve the value of his shares. But it's the perception that doesn't pass the sniff test and given he had so many opportunities to shed the shares makes it worse. It raises questions about all the other decisions he's made and then gone back on at great cost to the taxpayer, and the $50 million wasted on the Baby Boomers Bile Bridge to Birkinhead is the most obvious. There should be no coming back for Wood, he's transgressed in one of the worse ways a minister can. It's incredible to think that he follows a line of ministers who've crossed the line since Hipkins took over from Jacinda Ardern. Stuart Nash is still under investigation, there's Jan Tinetti who faces the privileges committee on Thursday for either being dumb, or obstinate or arrogant by not correcting a statement she made to Parliament when she had plenty of opportunity to do so. And there's Kiri Allan who's faced a number of transgressions. All but Nash appear to have been forgiven, simply it seems, because they've shown some sort of contrition. Ministers in other Governments over the years have been given the boot for less. But it seems Hipkins, the sous chef in Ardern's kitchen Cabinet, is as weak as her when it comes to Cabinet discipline. It's even worse when there should be a raft of MPs to call on to step up, given Labour has the biggest caucus in memory. The fact that there isn't speaks volumes about the unbridled power of this Government. 2023-06-07T03:11:45.000Z Barry Soper: No-one wants to see a repeat of the dawn raids 50 years on https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-no-one-wants-to-see-a-repeat-of-the-dawn-raids-50-years-on/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-no-one-wants-to-see-a-repeat-of-the-dawn-raids-50-years-on/ If someone overstays their visa then the authorities have a right to talk to the offenders to at least establish why.  Every country in the world does it but it's the way it's done that's the issue. No-one in this country wants to see a repeat of what went on in this country 50 years ago, cops bashing down doors and dragging the offenders away from their screaming children. It was a dark chapter in this country's history and it's one the Ardern Government profusely apologised to the Pacific community for, with Ardern pictured sorrowfully embracing the descendants of those who were invaded and denouncing it. Ardern's father Ross, as a young police officer, was ordered to take part in the Government ordered crackdown and she said at the time of the apology that he was uncomfortable with the raids and felt it wasn't part of a cop's job. Well, despite the "sorrow, remorse and regret" Ardern expressed at the mea culpa ceremony, incredibly they're at it again. Community Law South Auckland lawyer Soane Foliaki revealed to Tagata Pasifika that police showed up at 5am at the home of one of his clients, scaring his children and taking him into custody. The cops were banging on the back and front doors, the parents were upstairs with their youngest child while the other four children were left cowering downstairs. The distressed children's father was taken away. And this raid wasn't a one off.  Immigration New Zealand has confirmed about 18 or 19 raids have occurred between July last year and April this year, occurring "outside of hours" which doesn't take.an immigration consultant to figure out what that means. It seems the highly embarrassed Government's been blindsided on this one, at least that's what they're claiming, and the fact the raids have continued, despite assurances given at the apology.     If Immigration didn't consult the Government then bureaucratic heads should roll. The sounds of dogs barking, people beating on doors and crying children played at the emotional apology ceremony should still be ringing in the Government's ears with Ardern saying at the time the Pacific community continue to "suffer and carry the scars.". There are surely more humanitarian ways of dealing with people who overstay their visas, like nabbing them after they leave their property for work. The mighty Minister who seems to be in charge of everything that goes wrong, Michael Wood, is now considering an amnesty for the 14,000 overstayers in this country. Ardern essentially said the same thing almost two years ago! 2023-05-02T06:41:43.000Z Jason Walls: ‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word for this Government https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-sorry-seems-to-be-the-hardest-word-for-this-government/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-sorry-seems-to-be-the-hardest-word-for-this-government/ If ever there was a time for an apology from this Government, it would be for the bureaucratic blunder that forced Northland into lockdown last year.  Documents, obtained under the official information act, reveal clear evidence of a departmental screw-up that forced Northlanders to stay at home for 11-days in October last year.  At that time, then-Covid Minister Chris Hipkins told the country that two women had provided fake information to obtain travel documents to get into the region.   But, as it turns out, there was no fraud – just a mistake.   In an October 5th email, a Government official said they had had another look at the woman in question’s application and concluded: “it should have been declined (approved in error) - I will reopen the case and revoke it”.  The email signed off: “Sorry, my mistake”.  That official was the first, and last, representative from Government to utter that five-letter word in regards to this saga.  Three days after that email, Hipkins claimed the women had traveled from Auckland to Northland by providing “false information in order to get the document to travel across the border”.  It’s not clear what happened behind the scenes and why this information wasn’t passed on to Hipkins.  But after the comments were made, there was understandable outrage at the women.   The entire country had been sold a tale of a Thelma and Louise-esque escapade which resulted in close to 200,000 people being locked in their homes for 11 days.   And since then, the entire country was under the impression Northland was locked down because of fraud.    When responding to the official’s email about the error, Hipkins said it was a “clerical error” made by an official at the Ministry of Social Development, at the time.    So why is most of the country only learning about this now? According to Hipkins: “It was a matter of record that a clerical error was admitted at the time”.     He told a reporter – who had asked if the women he accused of falsifying documents deserved an apology – that he “didn’t want to get into the ins and outs” of what happened.   “All of this was a matter of public record at the time,” Hipkins said.  But the only reference to the lockdown being caused by a “clerical error” appears to be midway through an interview Hipkins did with RNZ on October 13 – five days into the 11-day lockdown.  “There was a degree of error in the approval in the first place, and that was corrected, but obviously it was corrected after they had already travelled across the border,” he said in the interview.   That’s not a clear admission and it’s hardly the same platform he used to make the initial accusations.   New Zealanders were on tenterhooks for much of 2021 – at any moment news could break that any given city was going into lockdown.   It’s fair to say Hipkins had the whole country’s attention that night – as it braced for the inevitable bad news.  Mentioning a “degree of error” in one media interview is a world away from using the Beehive podium to tell hundreds of thousands of people that Northland was locked down because travel documents were obtained via fraud.  One of the women at the centre of the bureaucratic blunder says Hipkins needs to say sorry.  “They owe the country an apology and an explanation as to why this whole ordeal was not transparent, and full of misinformation that not only affected us and our families - but the people of this country as well.”  It’s hard to disagree.  2022-09-07T06:18:00.000Z Opinion: Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma blows whistle on Parliament bullying, takes aim at officials, party whips https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/opinion-labour-mp-dr-gaurav-sharma-blows-whistle-on-parliament-bullying-takes-aim-at-officials-party-whips/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/opinion-labour-mp-dr-gaurav-sharma-blows-whistle-on-parliament-bullying-takes-aim-at-officials-party-whips/ OPINION Much has been said this week about bullying and the abysmal culture of our political parties who, in my opinion, continue to betray the trust of our voters. Over the last few years and under the outgoing Speaker Trevor Mallard there have been a lot of press releases to indicate that the broader work culture in the halls of Parliament is being changed for the better. While this does sound like the right thing to do, it is - in my experience - a PR exercise to placate some of the backlash from the public in recent years. If there was any serious intent or effort to make a genuine change in Parliamentary culture, the current Speaker and the powers to be would have included Member-to-Member bullying in its terms of reference, if not initially then at least in response to the Francis Report which flagged this as a serious issue after interviewing MPs who spend upwards of 30-35 hours on the Parliamentary precinct over the three or more days we are based in Parliament on sitting weeks. What makes this worse is the unusual legal relationship where the MPs are not employed directly by the party or Parliamentary Service, but by their own constituents who would be appalled if they saw even half of what their elected representatives have to bear in terms of harassment from inside the Parliament without anyone specific taking legal or moral responsibility for addressing these concerns. For those who need an example, Louisa Wall talked in her valedictory speech about how she was bullied by a senior Labour Party MP early in her career and despite being one of our most outspoken MPs she found out that she had no agency in the halls of Parliament when it came to her own wellbeing. If any of my more recent colleagues could speak freely, I am sure the list of similar stories with no support for MPs being bullied and no consequences for MPs bullying their colleagues would easily fill a book or two. Labour MP Gaurav Sharma. Photo / Supplied Crucial to addressing the bullying issue in Parliament is the role of the Parliamentary Service - which is supposed to be an independent and neutral organisation to provide support to MPs. Their own mandate states that "due to the nature of the organisation, Parliamentary Service staff must uphold the highest standards of integrity and trust. We take pride in the fact that we assist members of Parliament to carry out their roles. As well as displaying high levels of integrity, the Service looks for people with political acumen, exceptional customer service skills and an ability to work collaboratively". In my opinion, if only this was true. The above Member-to-Member and Party-to-Member bullying rampant in Parliament is - I believe - promoted and facilitated by this very organisation by working behind the scenes with the Whips Office, the Offices of the Leaders of various Parties, along with the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister's Office. The Parliamentary Service's lack of accountability to both the MP and their constituents and the meddling of political parties in a triangular relationship where they end up being the fourth wheel is cause for much concern, in my view. With the way the current Parliamentary Service is run, you can go weeks and months before getting a reply to urgent issues and when they do have an answer it is seldom in writing and often from behind the desk of the party whips who - in my opinion, and based on what I have seen in my time in Parliament - use the Parliamentary Service to bully and harass their MPs "to keep them in line". The Parliamentary Service, established in 1985, is headed by a chief executive in a supposedly non-political role, accountable to the Speaker for the running of the Service. In order for our democracy to be strong, it is important that the Parliamentary Service is led by people not interested in their own long-term careers but by public servants interested in upholding one of the most crucial offices in the country.... 2022-08-11T04:06:30.000Z Politics professor counters Willie Jackson's 'one person, one vote' argument https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/politics-professor-counters-willie-jacksons-one-person-one-vote-argument/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/politics-professor-counters-willie-jacksons-one-person-one-vote-argument/ OPINION: Willie Jackson argues that 'one person one vote' is just one value within democratic principles, not the only one. But everyone having a vote or votes of equal weight to elect those who represent them is not just one value, it is a foundational principle. As such, it is recognised in the Bill of Rights Act 1990. Of course, in local government, where there is only one vote, we talk of one vote/one value. Under MMP we can talk of two votes of equal value. It is the same principle. Examples from other countries simply illustrate that the principles of democracy are rarely applied as fully as they could or should be. Analysed in depth, democracy is a matter of degree. Countries can be more democratic, or less, or not at all. Of course, no one votes for the British House of Lords; it has quite limited powers, and many people would like to see it abolished. The US electoral college and Senate are elected by one person-one vote within each American state. But because there is such variation in populations between states and US elections are held under the first-past-the post system, the outcome at the federal level is often undemocratic. Because the results of US federal elections have become increasingly perverse of late, American democracy has entered the 'flawed' category in many people's estimates, including that of the influential weekly magazine The Economist. It is hard to believe that Willie Jackson was indifferent to the election of Donald Trump as US President on a minority of the popular vote, and would really want to argue that the US is no less of a democracy as a result. The rights of non-residential property owners to vote in local elections in New Zealand are a tricky topic. Only one vote per property is allowed. Within any local government area, all votes remain of equal value. But if a person owns multiple properties across local Councils, they can cast more than one vote, but for different Councils. The same practice is possible if a person holds citizenship of more than one country, and can often have rights to vote in each. Few people object to this. A non-residential vote in local government is justified on the grounds that local government is funded on rates, a property tax, and so the principle here is 'no taxation without representation'. Voting in general elections used to be based on property qualifications, until the principle of voting equality for everyone became established. One can observe that non-residential voting rights are a throwback to that pre-democratic period, and go on to argue for their abolition of non-residential voting on those grounds. Willie Jackson acknowledges that Aotearoa has changed from a majoritarian democracy to 'a more moderate, consensual and participatory democracy'. On most estimates of the quality of democracy, our country rates high. 'Co-governance' has become part of that process. Co-governance is also something that is neither either/or: we can have more or less of it. Some aspects of co-governance conflict with votes being of equal value, with implications for the quality of our democracy. We do not know how far the government intends to take us in that direction, nor the specifics of their thinking. What we have seen so far smacks of ad hoc and reactive constitutional tinkering, rather the application of consistent principles. Perhaps after Willie Jackson presents his paper to Cabinet responding to He Puapua, we will find out more. Jack Vowles, Professor of Comparative PoliticsVictoria University of Wellington 2022-08-10T03:11:35.000Z Sir Ian Taylor: Government's 'we know best' approach strikes again https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/sir-ian-taylor-governments-we-know-best-approach-strikes-again/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/sir-ian-taylor-governments-we-know-best-approach-strikes-again/ OPINION:  Sorry!  It's such a small word, but it appears that the Government has banned it from all the spin-doctoring that has now become the standard response to the ever-increasing array of information that is finally emerging from behind the locked doors of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) via the Official Information Act.  The latest examples include the emails they desperately tried to block that showed that, back in November last year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) advised the Government that it was time to start winding down managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).  This was a revelation to me and the team at the Cross Sector Border Group because, at the exact same time that the MOH was advising the Government that MIQ was well and truly past its use by date, we had presented the results of our privately funded 151 Off the Bench trial that showed how, by using a number of Kiwi technologies that up until then had been ignored by the Government, we could start bringing our stranded Kiwis home by Christmas.  As part of the trial, we had commissioned an independent report from Ernst & Young.  Their finding was that:  - The trial we conducted exceeded all of the health and safety protocols that had been set by Government, and;- The process we had trialled was immediately repeatable and scalable. The DPMC were aware of this report, but they never put the Cross Sector Border Group together with the MOH to start working out how we could help them start the process of bringing people home safely as they wound down the requirement for MIQ.  Quite clearly there was work that needed to be done to bring the process into play, but we had designed a system built on science and technology and deployed it in the real world — not the simulated world that the Government used to scare us with facts like 40,000 people dying if we didn't keep everyone locked away.  It is telling that this Government, one that had built its spin on a "be kind" message at every available opportunity, could not find it in its conscience to say sorry to the thousands of Kiwi citizens and essential worker immigrant families who had become victims of a lottery system described by our High Court as inhumane — and unnecessary.  Sorry!  Such a small word with such an important message. We made a mistake; we won't do it again.  Which leads me to the spin around the announcement that they are about to trial a "new test" called Lucira.  A Lucira Check It Covid test, a trial of which was announced by the Government on Sunday. Photo / Alex Burton  The spin includes a huge amount of self-praise and back slapping, thanking all and sundry for the great work they have done in pulling the trial together.  Here are some facts to help put this in context.  On June 10, 2020, this email was sent to the Government's Covid Response Team.  Good morning, As a Silicon-Valley-based American who has had a home in Wanaka for 20 years (and plenty of Kiwi friends), I'm keen to try to help New Zealand. My company (www.lucirahealth.com) is bringing a handheld, fully disposable molecular test for Covid to market a little later this year. I wondered if this might be interesting to use in New Zealand, particularly as a way to screen arriving passengers at AKL. The test uses a simple nasal swab, and takes 30-minutes to run. It provides a hospital-quality result.The Instructions for use are attached for your reference. It's a very easy test to run. Best regards. This was the reply that was received, on the same day. It appears the one thing that the Government isn't slow at, is turning down offers of help. Kia ora, I thank you for offer of assistance to the New Zealand Covid-19 response. We are currently examining a large number of testing methods and protocols to determine their reliability and appropriateness. We are not seeking further tests or testing methods at this time. However, we have retained your information. If your offer meets a need in the coming we... 2022-05-03T06:19:16.000Z Jason Walls: Mallard’s revenge – Is banning Winston from Parliament a step too far? https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-mallard-s-revenge-is-banning-winston-from-parliament-a-step-too-far/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-mallard-s-revenge-is-banning-winston-from-parliament-a-step-too-far/ Speaker of the House bans former Deputy Prime Minister from Parliament is one hell of a headline. But that looks to be the current state of play in the Capital. After attending the anti-mandate protests for the better part of an afternoon two months ago, Winston Peters has been issued a trespass notice from Parliament. That means he can’t come onto the grounds, or inside the hallowed halls, for at least two years. If he does, he faces a fine or even jail time. It’s a significant move from Parliament’s security team – and by extension the man in charge, Trevor Mallard.   Mallard won’t respond to Newstalk ZB’s request for comment – but told Newsroom Parliamentary Security made the call independently.   Be that as it may, Mallard’s in charge of the Parliamentary precinct and Peters puts the blame squarely in the Speaker’s lap. “This dictatorial behaviour by Mallard, supported by Labour, should be reserved for third world banana republics,” Peters said. He’s now seeking legal advice. Former National MP Matt King – who’s been disowned by Chris Luxon – has also been issued a trespassing notice. And there’s presumably a laundry list of people who took part in the protests who’ve also made the list. Whether any media are on that list remains to be seen. The issue with King is he’s seeking election in 2023. His independent party never stood a real chance of being elected; the 5 percent threshold on getting into Parliament is simply too high for new parties to stand a chance. But Winston Peters is another story. As the old political adage goes: Never count Winston out. He defied the odds in 2011 and brought his New Zealand First party back into the halls of power after languishing in the political cold for three years. New Zealand First winning 5 percent at the 2023 election was never a prospect that was out of the question. A more pressing issue is the Tauranga by-election. Peters hasn’t revealed if he will run in the seat vacated by Simon Bridges – before today it was more likely than not he would have a crack. Would he have won? Probably not. Tauranga is National country – even the Prime Minister’s not bothering to pretend Labour has a shot. Even with Winston’s extensive history in the electorate, winning the by-election was also a tough ask. But now that’s beside the point. It appears Mallard has essentially taken the option of voting for Peters away from the people of Tauranga. You can’t be much of an MP if you can’t come to Parliament. Winston has every right to be calling his lawyers and will be gunning for Mallard. Game on. 2022-05-03T02:05:06.000Z Barry Soper: PM needs to learn how to deal with talent and trouble https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-pm-needs-to-learn-how-to-deal-with-talent-and-trouble/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-pm-needs-to-learn-how-to-deal-with-talent-and-trouble/ Jacinda Ardern's unknowingly become an expert at doing the dance of the unveiled - the seven have long since been shed even though she clearly believes she hasn't missed a step and they're still in place covering her embarrassment.  So, did she directly tell Louisa Wall, one of her most talented MPs, that she wouldn't have a place at her Cabinet table?    Wall makes no bones about it:  "The Prime Minister told me I would never be in her Cabinet.   It wasn't just that she didn't want me in her Cabinet, she was obviously very clear she didn't want me in her caucus."  Getting a direct answer from Ardern though and the music starts playing and the dance begins.  "The fact that she was in our caucus, she had a strong list position, she now has a role where I think she'll be using her strengths, which speaks to the fact that as a caucus, and as a Labour party, we've seen her strengths, we've acknowledged her strengths," the PM opined  Ardern says she didn't want to get into dissecting the statement Wall made because it detracts from all the good work she has done.    Wall now goes into a role, Ardern tells us, where she'll be able to serve New Zealand incredibly well.  Now to dissect that waffle is pretty easy.  Wall had a strong list position alright, not because Labour loved her, quite the opposite.   It had brokered a deal with her over her sacking from the Manurewa seat before the last election; back off, stop complaining, drop the legal challenge and accept it.   In return you'll get to stay on in Parliament until we find a job for you, she was told  The role found for her was created for her through Foreign Affairs, Pacific Gender Equality Ambassador, which will see Wall, by the job description, develop partnerships and programmes 'that support the full and effective participation by women and LGBTQI+, and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life in the Pacific."  Now in this country, few of us would take issue with those objectives, but in the morally ultra conservative Pacific?     And what does it say for our often-espoused diplomatic banter that this country never involves itself in the domestic affairs of other countries?  Still, Labour's got rid of an irritant, but was clearly not expecting that thankless irritant to leave a festering sore.    Wall's laid bare that they're not all on the same team and the captain's not in total control of the good ship lollipop as she would have us believe.  The door's clearly not open to all in the captain's cabin, testified by one Cabinet Minister who sought me out at a social function recently to enlighten me about disharmony in the ranks.  Perhaps Jacinda Ardern should have learnt at the knee of Helen Clark when she was a junior apparatchik in her office of the way to deal with those who get up your nose.  When Clark was derided as being Miss three percent, a delegation comprising the late Michael Cullen, Phil Goff and Annette King went to her office and told her she should step aside.  She of course refused and instead promoted them to her front bench, never to hear a murmur from them again.  Now that's how you deal with talent and potential trouble. 2022-04-11T19:15:31.000Z Barry Soper: Why there was no point sticking around for Ashley Bloomfield https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-why-there-was-no-point-sticking-around-for-ashley-bloomfield/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-why-there-was-no-point-sticking-around-for-ashley-bloomfield/ Sounding like the politician he's become, the country's best-known public servant Ashley Bloomfield announced he was standing aside to spend more time with the family. But like all announcements of that sort there's much more to it than that. The Prime Minister who at times privately had a fractious relationship with the Covid custodian laid it on with a trowel, saying she had come to know the Director-General probably better than any other public servant, describing him as a true servant of the public. Jacinda Ardern talked of his sense of humour, which he'd need to have, even if she was on occasion the butt of his jokes, more times than she probably realises. His resignation would have come as no surprise to her though, she'd been privately confiding since late last year that he'd be unlikely to serve out his contract which ends midway through next year. And her observation also wouldn't have come as a surprise to any one of those she talked behind cupped hands to. Bloomfield was being done out of a job, if he'd stuck around, he would have ended this year as a diminished general with few to direct - the guts of his job was disappearing.     The Beehive was seeing to that with its drive to do away with the 20 District Health Boards and replace them with Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority. Their new bosses don't have a patch on his academic or practical background experience but they appeal to Ardern and that's important as she reshapes the public service. The new head honchos in health are both middle-aged women, conveniently coming from demographics with the worst health outcomes, up until now. New Zealand-born Samoan Margie Apa, currently about to be made redundant at the Counties Manukau DHB, will take over the big role at Health NZ. And Riana Manuel, a former nurse who worked her way up through Māori healthcare ranks takes over the other body. They'll be living in what will be a Wellington powerhouse apparently, planning to become flatmates in the capital. So essentially Bloomfield, a man who was privately described by those in the know as a control freak, could see the rug was being pulled from beneath him with the remnants he'd be left with resembling little more than a policy shop. He'd even lose control of the Covid calamity which gave him a public profile that no other public servant has ever managed to achieve. For him, there was no point sticking around. At least he'll be better known and more qualified on the job market than the other 19 Health Board CEOs who will also soon be looking for work. 2022-04-06T07:21:43.000Z Barry Soper: The PM's announcement that wasn't - she's playing a cracked record https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-pms-announcement-that-wasnt-shes-playing-a-cracked-record/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-pms-announcement-that-wasnt-shes-playing-a-cracked-record/ Jacinda Ardern gave every indication during her round of media interviews yesterday, with the exception of Newstalkzb unfortunately, that we could expect some movement in the red light that's been frozen for the past several months now. The PM waxed about how the peak had been reached in Auckland and Wellington and that the hospital system, that they've had four years to fix, wasn't overwhelmed. It was with a sense of guarded relief that restauranteurs thought people could begin moving around in them rather than being stuck to their seats and that event planners could start planning with crowd sizes increasing from the impossible 200 indoors. You can imagine how disappointed they were then as they tuned in to hear from the Pulpit of Truth that seemed to have reverted back to the Delta days with Ashley Bloomfield standing at Ardern's side putting a dampener on things. The country had done what it was told, in fact it had been doing that for the past two years, 95 percent of people are vaccinated with promises of nirvana from the pulpit for doing so, and they'd kept their distance and washed their hands and worn their masks to slow the spread of Omicron, and they'd achieved it. The wheels were surely going to start moving again with the lights surely about to change to orange - let's get the show on the road..     Instead, the sermon from the pulpit sounded like they were reading from the same script they had preached so many times before. We're not out of the woods yet, we don't want to spoil the gains we've made, it's better to be safe than sorry, our record speaks for itself - of course it does, it's a cracked one. What we got was what Act David Seymour so eloquently observed. An announcement that the announcement wasn't being announced and that another announcement might come later. In fact, another announcement's been scheduled for April 13, a couple of days before Good Friday, when the lollipop man will yet again consider flicking the switch to orange. If their past record is anything to go by, it's unlikely incorporate the long weekend. The irony is that from today vaccine passes are no longer required which means the unvaccinated can now have relative freedom of movement, they are no longer second-class citizens. Most of them have probably had the dreaded lurgy anyway, is Ardern's thinking. But it's as though this Labour Government's wrapped in a red flag. Their politicians don't have to come to Wellington, daily they beam in from their living rooms wherever they are, posing patsy questions to their ministers on the big screen erected in the debating chamber. It means they are kept away from the pesky media who usually gather to ask them questions on their way into their caucus meetings - they haven't been here for many weeks now. And the other downside to that is staff aren't required to come to work either and neither are public servants, they're allowed to work from home, away from their taxpayer funded high-rise offices, meaning business in the Wellington CBD are doing a starve. If it all made sense, we would understand, but it simply doesn't as we wearily limp toward the next full, frank and meaningless announcement. 2022-04-04T19:35:44.000Z Jason Walls: Labour’s worried about Opposition donation spike for good reason https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-labour-s-worried-about-opposition-donation-spike-for-good-reason/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-labour-s-worried-about-opposition-donation-spike-for-good-reason/ The Labour Party appears to be worried.   Since coming to power in 2017, Jacinda Ardern and her team haven’t had too much to be worried about when it comes to their opposition.  Ardern’s given various different iterations of “we’re concentrating on the issues that matter to New Zealanders” when asked about Labour’s recent slumping poll numbers.   But it took one of the party’s top backroom players to finally actually drop the ‘W’ word last week.  Not about the polls per se – but on party donations.   Labour's general secretary Rob Salmond said it was “worrying” to see a nearly $2 million influx of donations to National.   “$1.8 million is a huge amount for the Opposition to receive in only a few months.”  He was speaking candidly to the Herald, after news of the massive donation haul came to light.   The money was from a who’s who of UHNWI (ultra-high-net-worth individuals).  New Zealand’s richest man, Graeme Hart, gave $250 grand. As did business high-flyers Murray Bolton and Nick Mowbray.  Former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett led the donation drive and says she plans to keep hustling for more.   Salmond says the scale of the donations shows a “return to normal” as National once again became “competitive”.  And it’s true.   In 2020, National only declared $285,000 worth of donations over $30,000 and that was in an election year. To put that in perspective that number was more than $400,000 in 2011 and $833,000 in 2014 and both years National was in Government.   The fact Bennett was able to raise so much for National while in Opposition outside an election year is a clear indication the party’s once again become competitive.   And it’s not just the Nats bringing in the cash.  With great fanfare, the Act Party announced it had raised $1 million from its high-profile donors.  Graeme Hart was again in the mix, giving away another $100,000. Murray Chandler, one of New Zealand’s richest men also donated $100,000 as did Xero Founder Rod Drury.   Both National and Act have been touting the new money as major wins for their parties.   But Labour’s been fighting back.  In an email to supporters after news of National’s $1.8 million haul,   Rob Salmond was straight on the offensive – drawing a straight line from National’s tax cut policy and the motives of their wealthy donors.  “National's focus on the wealthy is paying off in donations for their war chest, with some of New Zealand's richest people giving them huge amounts.”  Similar comments were made in the House by Labour MPs last week.   And, as National continues to raise more cash and outline further details about its tax cut plans, the comments will no doubt continue.   But for now, one thing is clear: Money talks and it’s saying National’s finally ready to fight back.  2022-04-04T19:26:49.000Z Barry Soper: Labour is abusing its absolute power https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-labour-is-abusing-its-absolute-power/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-labour-is-abusing-its-absolute-power/ What's happening to democracy in this country, let alone the promised transparency of this Government?  Labour is abusing its absolute power and it seems those opposing it are powerless to do anything about it because the majority rules.  A couple of weeks ago, National wanted the Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to appear before the Justice Select Committee to answer questions about the three-week occupation of Parliament's grounds by protesters.  The Labour majority of MPs on the committee blocked their request arguing the Independent Police Conduct Authority was the "appropriate place for the review of police operational activities."  The IPCA this week complained they are overloaded with work. Not surprising considering close to two thousand complaints have been lodged against the police by the protesters.  And by any logical reasoning that's not the body that should be inquiring into the protest anyway.      The request by parliamentary security to the police to remove the first tents erected is unlikely to be covered by the IPCA and neither is the actions of Speaker Trevor Mallard who many believe exacerbated the situation by turning sprinklers on the occupiers and blaring the worst music be could find at them.  And in a democracy, why should MPs be denied the right to question a public official without any good reason?  Certainly, the Minister wasn't providing any when I spoke to her on her way into the debating chamber.  These things, she said, are taken on a case-by-case basis and she's decided to decline Mitchell's request.  Williams says police have been extraordinarily busy over the past few weeks.  So, have they told her they are too busy to see Mitchell? Well, no, but as their Minister she just knows how busy they've been.  And besides, she justified banning Mitchell, claiming Stuart Nash, when he was Labour's police spokesperson, was "declined on number occasions" by National from meeting with the Commissioner.  That simply isn't the case, say those in the know. He may have been declined once from visiting the Kaikoura police station during the earthquake there, which is perfectly understandable but he was never stopped from seeing the commissioner.    It seems Labour's become the gatekeeper for the consensus commissioner, personally appointed by Jacinda Ardern against all odds.  And if featherbedding Andrew Coster isn't bad enough, get a load of what they are doing when it comes to questions being asked about its $1.9 billion spend on mental health, which has come under fire from the Government's own Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission.  The majority of Labour MPs on the health select committee have blocked National's attempt to ask questions about the commission's first damning report.  National's mental health spokesperson Matt Doocey says it's bizarre. Not long ago they legislated to set up the commission and now they're blocking MPs to ask questions of it.  Labour MPs apparently didn't think there were any questions to be asked given the commission's report had been made public.  That's not for them to decide, Doocey argues, given that National, Act and the Greens all wanted to quiz the experts.  And of course, he's right.    This goes beyond simply controlling the message. Like they say, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. 2022-03-30T18:22:45.000Z Jason Walls: Why Tauranga's by-election will help set the scene for next year's election https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-why-taurangas-by-election-will-help-set-the-scene-for-next-years-election/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-why-taurangas-by-election-will-help-set-the-scene-for-next-years-election/ Here’s a piece of political insight that a child could give you: National will win the upcoming Tauranga by-election.    It’s probably not even going to be close, so you’d be out of luck if you were expecting a nail-biter.   But the recent departure of former Minister and National leader Simon Bridges – freeing up the seat – serves another, important purpose: Setting the scene for the 2023 election.      It will be the first time New Zealand gets to see Chris Luxon properly out on the hustings as National’s leader.   And on the hustings he will no doubt be.    Voters tend to use by-elections as a way of punishing incumbent Governments and – couple that with the fact Tauranga’s traditionally been a strong National seat – National could win the seat without Luxon even setting foot in the electorate.    But with a by-election comes the one thing Opposition leaders cannot ignore – the limelight.    Political reporters will be parachuted in to watch Luxon and National’s (not yet named) candidate embark on a choreographed ‘walkabout’ on Tauranga’s main strip.    There will be public meetings. There will be debates. Covid has done away with the baby-kissing but there will be lots and lots of news cameras in the city nonetheless.    Although National winning the seat will change exactly nothing, except about $1 million less in Treasury’s coffers, Luxon will be giving it his all.    Why? Momentum.   After a string of good poll results for National, Luxon will want to be capitalising as much as possible and keeping an anti-Government sentiment in people’s minds.   Expect to hear the phrase: “This by-election is a referendum on this Government” a lot.    And you might not just be hearing it from team National.    Outside the date of the by-election – which the Prime Minister’s yet to reveal – the biggest question mark is over Winston Peters.    The New Zealand First leader’s no stranger to Tauranga.   He won the seat three times in a row between 1984 and 1990 as a National MP.   Then, in the 1993 by-election, he won it as an independent candidate before winning it back again later that year in the general election after he formed New Zealand First.   He went on to hold the seat until 2005, when he was defeated by National’s Bob Clarkson.   And National’s held it ever since.     Speculation is rife Peters will stand in Tauranga again.    Asked about the prospect on morning radio last week, Peters hung up mid-interview only fueling speculation about an announcement.   This isn’t his first rodeo – if he’s standing, he will announce it his way with incredible fanfare and maximum media coverage.    It’s unlikely he will win the seat – but not out of the question.    But his level of support will help lay the foundation for the general election next year.    If he fails to make much of an impact in the electorate he held for 21years, it’s not a good sign for New Zealand First’s wider prospects in 2023.  But a good result – even if he doesn’t win – might see the party re-invigorated.   Either way, the prospect of Peters will turn the Tauranga by-election from a run-of-the-mill, low-stakes horse race into a slogfest with New Zealand’s most notorious politician in one corner, and everyone else in the other.    Bring it on.   2022-03-28T18:35:07.000Z Barry Soper: Why can't this Government make a decision and announce it at once? https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-why-cant-this-government-make-a-decision-and-announce-it-at-once/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-why-cant-this-government-make-a-decision-and-announce-it-at-once/ OPINION:  What is it about this Government that sees it make decisions, which to me seem not to be based on sound information, that can't be quickly announced – and even when they are announced, they won't be implemented immediately?  It keeps the country in suspense, creates uncertainty for those who actually have to make sound economic decisions based on the Beehive's latest pronouncements and leaves us all in a state of bewilderment and confusion.  Why on earth a government can't do its job and actually govern, make a decision and announce it – and then stand by it – is beyond most of us.  Is it about power or just plain incompetence?  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tells us they want to make sure their decisions "don't have any knock-on effects or consequences", which doesn't to me say a hell of a lot for the decisions they have made.  But there's more.  Ardern told us "no one will be fundamentally worse off as a result of the Government delaying until Wednesday before the decisions are announced".  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Robert Kitchin  Why? Well because many of the decisions, if any, won't take immediate effect so no one will be worse off in allowing the Beehive to take an additional 48 hours to make sure they get it right!  So yet again there will be an upcoming announcement of an announcement on Wednesday, from the announcement of the announcement made after Cabinet today.  And there's every indication that the announcement, whichever one is actually being made to take effect in short order, won't take us out of the red traffic light we've been stuck at for months now.  The wiring might be changed, which could hopefully see crowd sizes for example being increased from 100, for those who are vaccinated, and from 25 for those who haven't taken the jab.  In fact, vaccination status should no longer be a factor if you consider the decision that was actually made last week but not announced – unvaccinated Kiwi travellers being allowed into the country without the need to isolate.  We were all taken by surprise to find out it came into effect at midnight last Friday.  It wasn't announced because it's patently ridiculous. It will affect just a handful of travellers, with all the big airlines flying into the country, including our own Air New Zealand, still refusing to carry unvaccinated travellers.  It seems the only flights that allow the un-jabbed to get on board are those from South America – and there's only one of those a week.  But if we're talking silly, the Prime Minister's admission that delaying tourists from coming here until May 2 from destinations other than Australia will prevent up to a thousand Omicron cases a week defies logic when you consider how many cases are being recorded every day.  It's time for a real decision to release us all from this madness.  2022-03-22T02:11:10.000Z Jason Walls: Cost of living to dethrone Covid as the most important issue to Kiwis https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-cost-of-living-to-dethrone-covid-as-the-most-important-issue-to-kiwis/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-cost-of-living-to-dethrone-covid-as-the-most-important-issue-to-kiwis/ For more than two years, Covid-19 has dominated the political landscape in New Zealand.   From case numbers to hospitalisation figures. From mandates to vaccines the level of attention the virus has received has been unprecedented – and for good reason.   It’s part of everyone’s lives.   Although it’s still very much around, the mantle of the most important issue in the country is poised to be passed to another issue: Cost of living.    According to Curia data – commissioned by the Taxpayers’ Union - in October 32 percent of those polled said Covid was the most important voting issue.   At that time, the cost of living was at just 1 percent.    But fast-forward to the numbers from March and Covid has dropped to 7.5 percent. It’s now on par with cost of living as the number one issue on voters’ minds.   The economy beats both issues at 16 percent but Covid-19’s political domination has been significantly diminished.    And it’s clear to see why: Inflation is burning a hole in everyone’s pockets.   Supermarket trips are costing more. Rents are going up and the cost of pretty much everything is higher now than it was a year ago.    Not to mention the price of petrol.   To the Government’s credit, it did move on this issue and provide some relief at the pump.     But people are still hurting and it looks like things may get worse before they get better – inflation is tipped to increase yet again this quarter.   It’s no wonder then that the cost of living is neck-and-neck with Covid as the major issue on people’s minds.   It’s also no wonder the Opposition has adopted the high cost of living as its primary means of attack against the Government.    For the second week in a row, the issue has dominated Question Time in the House.    National’s Chris Luxon and Nicola Willis – as well as Act’s David Seymour and his MPs– have been hammering the point day after day.   The Government’s defence has been that these are “unprecedented times” – which is true.    With the ongoing pandemic putting major pressure on supply chains and the Russian invasion sending oil prices soaring, it’s fair to deflect some of the blame.    Be that as it may – people tend to look for someone to blame when prices start to rise and National will continue to harness that unrest and insist it’s the Government at fault for price rises.    Parliament is in recess this week, but Luxon and his MPs will continue to bang the cost-of-living drum as loud as they can.    Expect to see the cost of living continue to edge higher in people’s estimation as the most important issue facing New Zealand right now.    2022-03-21T18:52:34.000Z Jason Walls: Ardern finally drops C-bomb in cost-of-living debate https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-ardern-finally-drops-c-bomb-in-cost-of-living-debate/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-ardern-finally-drops-c-bomb-in-cost-of-living-debate/ Yesterday, the Prime Minister finally dropped the C-bomb.    The word she and her Ministers have worked so hard not to say for a week, despite that word dominating the news agenda during that time.    Jacinda Ardern finally conceded there was a cost of living “crisis” in New Zealand.    Or rather, she said there was a “crisis” for some and she would also describe it as “an emergency” or “a shock”.    For the entire week prior, she – and her Ministers – repeatedly refused to make that admission despite soaring petrol prices and spiking levels of inflation.   Not only would she not admit there was a cost of living crisis last week – she basically wouldn’t even utter the word.   Ardern “absolutely acknowledged” that some families were doing it tough.   And her Deputy Grant Robertson similarly acknowledged some families were facing “significant financial pressure”.   Eventually, on Thursday night in an interview with RNZ, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni finally conceded: “I think for many families it is a crisis”.   Meanwhile, the Opposition was taking every opportunity they could to hammer Ardern and her Ministers on this issue.    National, Act and the Māori Party collectively asked 23 questions referencing the “cost of living crisis” in the House last week.    And on Thursday night, it was clear why the Opposition had put so much effort into this line of attack.    The 1News/ Kantar poll revealed National was ahead of Labour for the first time in close to two years.    National had jumped 7 percentage points, while Labour had dropped three.    Labour’s internal polling will be similar.   There is no doubt the cost of living debate factored into these numbers – anyone who follows politics closely knows that issues which directly impact voters’ back pockets tend to move the dial the most.    Kantar’s pollsters were in the field from Saturday March 5 until Tuesday March 8, meaning Ardern refusing to “characterise” the cost of living crisis as a cost of living crisis would be fresh in voters’ minds.    Fast-forward to Monday and Ardern had not only finally somewhat admitted there was a crisis, but had convinced Cabinet to slash fuel excise taxes and road user charges slashed by 25c and half public the costs of public transport.    Quite a dramatic turnaround in just a week.    What made Ardern’s unwillingness to make the admission so much harder to watch was if the shoe was on the other foot – and Ardern was the leader of the Opposition – she would have been the loudest critic of a Prime Minister refusing to call a spade a spade and admit there is a cost of living crisis at the moment.   In February 2019 speech in the House, Ardern took a swipe at National’s housing record: “I am proud of the leadership this Government is showing on housing, when that last Government wouldn't even call it what it was, and it was a crisis.”   That sounds awfully familiar.     By refusing to make the admission earlier, Ardern gave the Opposition a week of free hits and made her Government look out of touch.   She got there in the end – but the jury’s out as to whether it will be enough to stem the bleeding in the polls.    But it’s a shame it took a bad poll to convince Ardern to make the concession.  2022-03-14T19:38:31.000Z Jason Walls: The anatomy of an occupation – how did we get here? https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-the-anatomy-of-an-occupation-how-did-we-get-here/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-the-anatomy-of-an-occupation-how-did-we-get-here/ It started small.    Fewer than 100 people arrived on Parliament’s grounds on a sunny Tuesday morning two weeks ago; armed with a few flags and placards with various messages.    Some were anti-mandate. Others were anti-media. Many were anti-Government.    It caught many in Parliament by surprise. There had been talk of a convoy arriving in Wellington but aside from a few postings on social media, it was a relatively unknown entity.      Parliament Security, however, were aware and before the first wave arrived; they had put up temporary fencing to keep protesters away from Parliament’s steps and entryways.   Before long, Police had arrived. They had a presence outside but many were stationed inside the bowels of Parliament.    By the end of day one, a few people started pitching tents on the lawn – but just a few.    But more arrived the next day. Day two was when the public really started to take notice of what was going on.    Protesters had begun parking on main roads. There were lines of cars, trucks and camper vans lined up along the bottom end of Lambton Quay.   The windows of their vehicles were plastered with anti-Government messages and ‘MAGA’ (Make Ardern Go Away) signs.    Outside Parliament, more Police. A greater number inside as the size of the gathering on the lawn swelled.    At this stage, the signs and much of the rhetoric was very aggressive. Someone had scrawled ‘hang ‘em high’ on the forecourt with chalk. There were numerous references to the Nuremberg Trials and a myriad of other threats to MPs and reporters.    Some thinly veiled. Some horrifyingly direct.    Day two was when the first push came.    Rumours had been circulating that some of the protestors planned to rush the Police blockade and make their way into Parliament at 3pm that day.   At roughly twenty past three, the rumour became reality.    One protester made his way to the front of the crowd, took the microphone and announced that the time had come.    ‘They can’t arrest all of us,’ he was heard saying.    They then tried to push through. It started slowly; from a distance, it looked like a small scuffle until more Police made their way to the frontline.    They linked up in a long line and held fast as the protesters pushed, and pushed.    One broke through but was quickly apprehended by Police. Then another, and another.    One of those was the man inciting the push – he spat venom at onlooking media as he was taken inside by Police.    The push died down and things settled long enough for Police to deliver a trespass notice.    The man who received the order scrunched it up and threw it in a cop’s face.    Three were arrested that day.   Overnight, more people came. More tents were set up and the grounds started to resemble a campsite.    Day three – Thursday, February 10th – will no doubt be look back on as the day everything changed.    Up until then, Police were in control of the situation. In fact, Police almost outnumbered the protesters as the sun rose behind a thick shield of grey Wellington cloud that morning.    After repelling protesters, it was the Police’s turn to advance.    Skirmishes started early, with Police moving in on the Northern end of Parliament’s grounds.   The protesters began to push back and when they did, arrests were made.    As people were being marched inside, protesters could be heard chanting “hold the line” and “freedom” as they continued clashing with Police.    The back and forth continued for much of the day. At one point, as Police pushed from the North, another small squad of roughly 10-15 officers rushed to the Sothern end of the encampment and started snatching tents.    As they did, many of the protesters at the Northern end rushed back to block the smaller Police team – weakening their position against the main blockade of Police.    Watching from the Speaker’s balcony overhead, it looked to be a tactical move designed to divide and conquer. It was a masterful piece of Police-work and lo... 2022-02-21T19:14:03.000Z Barry Soper: The longer this goes on, the harder dialogue will become https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-longer-this-goes-on-the-harder-dialogue-will-become/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-longer-this-goes-on-the-harder-dialogue-will-become/ Normally politicians are scrambling over each other to get out on the front steps of Parliament to address protesters.  It's a political skill to be able to handle vocal critics, which the anti-mandate camp dwellers out on the front lawn of Parliament and beyond most certainly are.  But across the political spectrum they've decided those who have been singing and dancing out the front are a bunch of low lifes, white supremacists, Māori separatists and everything else in between. It seems they've come to that conclusion by looking at them and reading their placards from the safety of their offices because they most haven't been outside to find out.  Parliament's Speaker Trevor Mallard even justified turning the sprinklers on them because he saw them defecating and urinating on the lawn.  There have been reports of kids wallowing in mud and portaloos stinking to high heaven. There have been claims from the Prime Minister they've abused passers-by who aren't wearing masks and of kids being prevented from going to schools in the area.  She's even suggested they're funded from overseas, citing the Trump flags, whatever they are.  There was a glimmer of hope late yesterday though when word went around that Mallard had put on his big boy pants, talking to the politicians and encouraging them to engage with the protest leaders. But that was quickly quashed by parliament's landlord, which is what Mallard is, with him saying there'll be no dialogue while vehicles are blocking streets, the camp is dismantled and while they stop intimidating Wellingtonians.  Mallard seems to have forgotten the much more violent protest he was once involved in, back during the Springbok tour of 1981, where they camped on Parliament's front lawn for the more than the 40 days the rugby players were in the country.  I've been down on the forecourt every day with a mask on and only once have I been told to go and do something unpleasant to myself. The rest of the time they have been willing to engage and until the politicians do the same, chances are they'll be there for some time to come.  The camp's become a well-fed, ordered, hippie village of sorts including one protester, Tracey Jane, a medic from Tauranga who brought around 150kgs of avocados with her. She was asked to drop them just up the road from Parliament at what she describes as a massive garage warehouse full of food being prepared by volunteers. Jane says there are another two in the city.  Down in tent city there's everything from a medics' tent to a barber, a child care tent to a laundry where bags of clothes are picked up in the morning and delivered back at night. If you need a towel or a sleeping bag, they're available, all free of charge.  They're flying in from all over the country, staying in nearby accommodation.  It was unruly last week, this week there's an air of permanency and the only thing that'll disrupt that is dialogue.  The trouble is the politicians have painted them as illegal, dangerous radicals which, having talked to many of them which the politicians haven't, isn't the case for the vast majority of them.  The longer this goes on though, the harder dialogue is going to become.  2022-02-17T05:33:04.000Z Barry Soper: Govt's refusal to engage with Parliament protest is unwise if not unkind https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-govts-refusal-to-engage-with-parliament-protest-is-unwise-if-not-unkind/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-govts-refusal-to-engage-with-parliament-protest-is-unwise-if-not-unkind/ From the beginning the Prime Minister has preached kindness, it's her mantra, urging us all to respect each other. It's a plea she repeated again to a significantly reduced press gallery audience because it seems one of us had contracted Omicron.  The seats usually occupied by the familiar and favoured masked faces to Jacinda Ardern were empty, which for the first time in yonks gave me a free run, even getting the first question and some follow-ups.  Hitting my stride, she was asked about kindness and how kind it was for her close buddy and Parliament's Speaker Trevor Mallard to turn on the sprinklers on the parliamentary lawn being occupied by families including children.  There's one thing Ardern's adept at doing - and that's avoiding a question by moving on to someone who deigns to put their hand up to give her a steer.  But, of course, she wasn't about to come close to criticising Mallard anyway, simply saying he's in charge of Parliament's health, safety and security, just as the police are in charge of keeping law and order.  She misses the point, of course, because both Mallard and the police appear to be on opposite sides with the police saying the tactics adopted by the Speaker, hiring speakers to blare out bad music and dousing the protesters during a Wellington water shortage wasn't something they would have done. Although the water shortage was rectified just as the sprinklers went on, they were being rained on from below and above, turning the pristine front lawn into a quagmire.  And if you talk to the protesters, the only thing Mallard, who it seems enjoys provoking them, has done, is to strengthen their resolve to stay there. That's no doubt why the police are frustrated and talk to those on the front line, there's no doubt about that.  Watching the carry-on from the safety of the Beehive, the Prime Minister clearly believes she's on firm ground painting the protesters as a bunch of anti-vax nutters. Don't know who she's had down on the mushy ground talking to them but if they were worth their salt, they would have told her a significant group of protesters are anti-mandate, like the teacher of 30 years from the Bay of Plenty who's lost his job along with his wife.  With more than 94 percent of our population double jabbed, and all the promises Ardern made when we hit 90, of course people are frustrated. Those at parliament are also frustrated that no-one will talk to them.  Talking to them, if you are a member of the press gallery, is inadvisable in Mallard's book. He'd prefer them on his first-floor balcony looking down at what he clearly sees as the rabble. It simply creates a them and us narrative out on the lawn.  A lack of compliance with Mallard's advice earns a rebuke, not from him personally, but relayed through gallery officers, also with a threat there could be consequences. The day a Speaker dictates to the media how a story can be told would be a dark day for democracy.  It fits with the current Beehive rhetoric though, a government by remote control, refusing to engage with those on the ground who don't fit their mould and that's most certainly unwise if not unkind.  2022-02-14T21:37:45.000Z Jason Walls: Is the anti-mandate movement Winston’s final frontier? https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-is-the-anti-mandate-movement-winston-s-final-frontier/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-is-the-anti-mandate-movement-winston-s-final-frontier/ Amid the waves of condemnation and scorn at the anti-mandate protesters from New Zealand politicians, came one familiar voice of support.  It’s a voice most New Zealanders have become somewhat accustomed to over the last few decades – that of Winston Raymond Peters.  He’s not in Parliament; voters booted he and his New Zealand First party out of office at the last election.  But his considerable years of experience means he’s still a newsworthy figure when it comes to the political landscape.  For close to a year after departing his 7th floor Beehive office, Peters was relatively quiet.  He resurfaced at his party’s annual conference last year, taking a few pot-shots at the Government over issues he first started raising on the 2020 election campaign.  But, with the exception of his complaints to the Auditor General over Covid testing procurement, Winston’s never really found his way back into the news cycle.  That is until last week.  Like many others across the country, Peters was paying close attention to the anti-mandate protesters gathering outside of Parliament.  It took a few days for the protest to gather steam but by Thursday afternoon, it was clear the make-shift campsite on Parliament’s once pristine lawn was here to stay.  It’s no coincidence that Peters’ first protest-focused press release was issued later that evening.   “These protests were avoidable,” the headline read.    He aligned himself with those outside Parliament, saying they were not violent anti-vaxers – “they are pro-freedom. They are ordinary fed-up kiwis like me and you”.  And the kicker: “There are many countries around the world that are starting to say that mandates are no longer justified – the reality is they are right”.  I sent a query to the generic New Zealand First media email address, asking if he was planning on joining the protesters and what his message would be to those gathered.  Less than a minute later, he called me directly.    “I would not be giving my message now… I was going to give it next week. They [the protesters] are going to have to wait.”  Since then, Peters has leaned into the issue heavily.  “It’s long since time to remove these unnecessarily damaging mandates and give kiwis back their right to work,” he said in a statement, echoing the calls of many of the protesters.  Peters is triple-jabbed and says he has full faith in the vaccine.  But aligning himself with the anti-mandate contingency isn’t altogether a surprising move for the former Deputy PM.  They currently have no leader. No voice to rally behind. No one speaks for them.  Peters could easily fill that position. He would have no problem railing against the Government.  There would be no love lost in a war of words between Winston and Speaker Trevor Mallard.  So what would Winston get out of becoming the face of the anti-mandate movement?  A new voter base.  He needs 5 percent of the total 2023 vote to squeeze his way back into Parliament.  That might be a tough sell, considering 94 percent of eligible New Zealanders are now double vaccinated.  But that won’t stop Winston. The anti-mandate movement may be his last ticket back into Parliament.  We might see him on Parliament’s grounds yet.  2022-02-14T19:04:59.000Z Barry Soper: This Government has become like a can of CRC https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-this-government-has-become-like-a-can-of-crc/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-this-government-has-become-like-a-can-of-crc/ We all wait with bated breath for the Prime Minister's speech tomorrow where she will be announcing the where-to-from-here for the lowering the drawbridge to this country.  Don't hold your breath though, as you may clog up the threatened hospital system. There will be an abundance of caution but hopefully it'll give tourist operators and businesses in general some ability to plan for the future, whenever that may be.  The fact that Jacinda Ardern's making the speech would indicate that she'll have something positive to offer to get her government out of the sump-hole it's found itself in.  This Government has become like a can of CRC, oiling every irritating squeak which has become a deafening cacophony in recent weeks.  The pregnant Kiwi journalist in Afghanistan Charlotte Bellis has won a place in the MIQ after kicking up a stink about how she was treated by officialdom who she said were preventing her from coming home to deliver her baby. So that's nice for her. But what will happen to the thirty-odd other pregnant mums, represented by Bellis' lawyer, who are desperately wanting to come home themselves for similar reasons is anybody's guess?  All cases are different, and there are tens of thousands of them wanting to desperately come home for a myriad of reasons, Grant Robertson standing in for the isolated Prime Minister, unconvincingly told us. Conspicuous by his absence at the Post Cabinet press conference was Ashley Bloomfield.  It was a pity really as he could have answered questions on another issue that required nothing short of a grease and oil change for the Beehive – that of Rapid Antigen Tests – which until recently have been banned by Bloomfield.  Low and behold they are now about to flood into the country with the Government proudly crowing that had secured an additional 36 million tests growing to 120 million tests which have been ordered through until June.  Truth is the Government was severely embarrassed about the recent publicity given to the Health Ministry snaffling orders placed by business which was clearly more prudent than officials had been. They're important for business if they want to keep their doors open which will hopefully now be well supplied to test their workers.  For the rest of us, Robertson was unable to tell us when we could buy them over the counter as other country's citizens are able to do.  The lion's share of those announced yesterday were secured, thanks to Dunedin businessman Sir Ian Taylor who has been a reluctant irritant to the Beehive by holding them to account on a number of fronts.  If you listen to Taylor the company supplying 20 million of the rapid antigen tests, or RATS, apparently offered the Government two months ago a million tests every 10 days with up to 30 million delivered in six weeks. They would have been here by now at a cost or between 50 to 60 percent less than what the new deal cost the taxpayer.  Well, they didn't like them then but they most certainly do now and the oil's silenced the squeak – for the time being.  2022-02-01T06:30:16.000Z Barry Soper: The virus will be the Government's undoing https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-virus-will-be-the-governments-undoing/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-virus-will-be-the-governments-undoing/ Over the past two years we've heard it ad nauseam. We're a team of five million and we are constantly reminded to be kind to each other and yes, it's come from the self-appointed team leader Jacinda Ardern.  Many of us retired from the team shortly after it was created and it now grates to still be described as members of it.    It should come as no surprise to Ardern then why her popularity's on the wane – last week's One News Kantar poll gave her a miserable personal rating of 35, one percent lower than where John Key was when he decided to call it quits.  Labour's rightly worried with the elevation of Chris Luxon to National's leadership – he's unlikely to hoover up votes like Ardern did at the last election, thanks to Covid, but he's determined to suck them up with a broader brush rather than simply relying on a virus as she has done.  He knows the Government has now lost that argument; they are finally resigned to living with it even though the phase we are currently in is still incredibly a stamp-it-out strategy.  But it's the virus that will be the Government's undoing even though it's still doing its best to scare our citizens into submission by trotting out modellers' predictions, telling us we'll all go to hell in a Covid cart unless we're careful. As one of the most vaccinated countries in the world the dire predictions are unlikely to materialise, but a scared population is a compliant one.  The Beehive knows it's losing its sting and that was evident over the weekend, and since, over the case involving Charlotte Bellis, the pregnant kiwi journalist working for El Jazeera out of Afghanistan. It seems the Taliban's more sympathetic to giving her sanctuary to have her baby there rather than the Government in this country.  There were legitimate issues raised that made her find her passage back to New Zealand wasn't as simple as she thought it should have been, not the least that she wasn't prepared to travel within 14 days of lodging her emergency allocation application for an MIQ slot.  Put that to one side though and think about the callous, cruel policy that prevents Kiwis from claiming their birth right, to come back to their country, to come home, when they want to.      MIQ was justified two years ago when we were entering the unknown. But it's not justified now when the mutated Omicron, is likened to little more than a bad cold at worse.    Bellis deserves credit for raising the plight of thousands of New Zealanders who should now be allowed to come home and it seems the Government's starting to listen.  As the pressure built on the Bellis case, Covid Minister Chris Hipkins put out a statement urging her to reapply, adding there will be changes at the border and they will be announcing them soon.  Why the delay?    It's unlikely to help the distraught man who phoned Newstalk ZB from New York saying he wanted to get home to see his elderly mother who's dying in hospital while his father is left to fend on his own.  How many times have you heard stories like that?    2022-02-01T00:25:43.000Z Aaron Dahmen: Inside New Zealand’s ‘cooked’ rental market https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/aaron-dahmen-inside-new-zealand-s-cooked-rental-market/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/aaron-dahmen-inside-new-zealand-s-cooked-rental-market/ OPINION:  I got a new job over summer.  Full-time hours, and I didn't even need to apply.  To be honest, it was great work experience. I've never been faster at scrolling social media, writing up a quick message, and sending it to potential contacts.  I say experience, because, well, yes, it was unpaid.  In fact, I was technically my own employer, and the job description? Flat hunting in Wellington, New Zealand's capital city.  At the best of times, looking for a room can be tedious, frustrating, and mind-numbing.  At the worst, it’s an infuriating palaver of enquiries, so many flying out the door that you forget you’re actually looking for a potential home. Any place, no matter how derelict, will do.  Within a month, about 70 messages had been fired off from my phone, and of those, just 13 resulted in viewings. They included locations well out of the CBD, dark bottom floor apartments, and bathrooms steeped in black mould.  I was introduced to one flat with ‘it’s not great, the landlord does the bare minimum for healthy home standards… but this is absolutely worth it for the location and price.’  I couldn’t believe I was even considering the place until I realised I was in competition with 20-odd others for the patch of carpet.  This is the state of our market. It’s not just red hot, it's cooked.  Traditionally, viewings are an opportunity to meet the current tenants, see if you're a good fit, and check out whether you can imagine living there.  Nowadays, they're more like bad spinoffs from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?  Over the last few weeks, I've sat down in the living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens of strangers, as they threw questions at me, assuming a role-reversal of sorts with my daytime employment. Was I tidy? What did I do in my spare time? Would I keep to myself? Do I prefer parties or social drinks? What's my stance on alcohol and drugs? Have I met Jacinda?  Of course, I get it. You want to live with someone you get along with, and to know that, you might need to ask a few personal questions. In fact, I don't envy the position of the flatmate who gets designated with waving everyone through, smiling through clenched teeth, and then picking their winner of the personality contest lottery.  The problem is, there are so many people looking, and so few places that come even close to a suitable living situation.  After first starting the hunt in December, I finally found somewhere a week out from the end of my tenancy. Until then, I was scrambling to put plans in place in case I had to store things and find other accommodation... or, as I half-joked, crash on the couch in our Press Gallery office.  I also reflected on how the whole saga must be for others. I don't have a raft of commitments out of work, I don't have kids to pick up from school, nor do I need to provide for a family. I was, for example, able to do five viewings in one night, back-to-back-to-back. Many don't have that privilege.  I guess, as it always does with this housing crisis, the whole mess really comes down to that one word: privilege.  From the very top, where those in privilege control the market, to renters, who are forced to scrap for a safe space to call home.   According to Trade Me’s December rental price index, tenants are having to fork out an average of $2000 extra each year.  That means, unless you’re able, and willing, to pay a premium, you’re locked out.  And not locked out in the way that you might be unable to buy a house, or put down a mortgage.   You’re quite literally locked out from having a roof over your head.  There are no easy answers, but it's hard to swallow that finding somewhere to live, which is a basic human right, has become an almost impossible task.  Every day, scores of New Zealanders are desperately trying to find refuge in places that don’t put their health, or their family's health, at risk.  This cannot be our future reality. We need to be aspirational for this country, and it starts with doing more.  M... 2022-01-31T21:03:36.000Z Tennis: Why Novak Djokovic could be left to rue Australian Open saga https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/tennis-why-novak-djokovic-could-be-left-to-rue-australian-open-saga/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/tennis-why-novak-djokovic-could-be-left-to-rue-australian-open-saga/ OPINION:  Novak Djokovic's (attempted) trip to Australia was an unmitigated disaster.  Being denied entry at the airport, put into hotel detention, enduring two legal battles then eventually being deported was all bad enough – but the truth is the damage to Djokovic extends far beyond what happened this past fortnight.  The Serbian's legacy and what he values most in the sport – his standing among the tennis elite – was already on thin ice and any claim he had to the oft-discussed Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) status has now been flushed away for good.  Whether you think the unvaccinated Djokovic tried exploiting a loophole to secure his 21st grand slam title – a feat that would have seen him to surge to the top of men's tennis ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who both own 20 majors – or was unfairly treated as a political pawn, there's no denying the damage his visa saga has caused will scuff his reputation one way or another.  The youngest member of the "Big Three" has regularly spoken publicly about his desire to win the most grand slams and be the world's No. 1 ranked player for longer than anyone. Djokovic achieved the latter in March, when he set the record for most weeks at No. 1 (311), passing Federer (310), and he will be hoping to leapfrog his two greatest rivals into the outright lead of men's major winners soon.  "I value all the records and achievements greatly. Being historically No. 1 ranked player in the world is probably the paramount achievement of our sport," Djokovic said in November.  Nadal said last year his rival is "obsessed" with the concept of winning the most slams.  "He's more focused on just these things and it means a lot to him all of this stuff," Nadal said. "Like he's always saying and talking about these records and well done for him, but it's not my approach to my tennis career."  But try as he might, in the eyes of so many sports fans, Djokovic will never be on par with Federer and Nadal – two of the most loved players tennis has ever seen – no matter how many trophies he lifts or how long he spends at No. 1.  Dogged early in his career by accusations of faking injury or over-exaggerating physical ailments in hot weather, Djokovic has tried to redefine himself to sceptical fans. Winning non-stop helped, but it won't be enough.  A poll of news.com.au readers asking "Will Djokovic be the GOAT of men's tennis if he wins the most grand slams" has attracted more than 280,000 votes at the time of writing. A whopping 40 per cent of people (112,000) said: "No, he will never be in the same league as Federer and Nadal." Thirty-four per cent of respondents (95,200) agreed with the statement: "No, his personal views will ruin his reputation and legacy."  Only 11 per cent of voters said Djokovic would be considered the GOAT if he wins the most majors because "on-court results are the only thing that matter" while just 15 per cent said he would be the greatest of all time, "but people won't like to admit it".  Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open nine times. Photo: Icon Sportswire/Photosport  Make no mistake, that will hurt the Serbian superstar. After being accused of concocting a mysterious injury he refused to divulge at last year's Australian Open, Djokovic opened up on the pain of being, in his eyes, treated differently to his peers.  "I cannot say that it doesn't sometimes get to me - of course that an injustice or an unfair portrayal by the media affects me. I am a human being, I have emotions and naturally I don't enjoy it," he said at the time.  "I have the power only to control that which I am doing, not that which others are writing about me, how they judge or criticise me. After all, that is up to them and has nothing to do with me, I can't influence it."  Federer and Nadal have been able to influence that perception of them, not just through results but the way they conduct themselves and connect with fans. For Djokovic, that ship has sailed.  The nine-time Australian Ope... 2022-01-20T02:57:33.000Z Sir Ian Taylor: How can we start fixing the MIQ mess? https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/sir-ian-taylor-how-can-we-start-fixing-the-miq-mess/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/sir-ian-taylor-how-can-we-start-fixing-the-miq-mess/ NZ HERALD OPINION:  This week's announcement that the latest MIQ room release has been postponed indefinitely because of the "unprecedented number of Omicron cases", and that future room releases would be scheduled as officials navigate a "range of uncertainties and manage significant capacity pressures", will come as cold comfort to those who have been arguing for months that the current MIQ system is simply not fit for purpose. We have to find a better way to reduce, or remove entirely, these "significant capacity pressures", the argument went, and establish a viable, repeatable, sustainable alternative. We simply can't keep closing our borders every time something changes.  So, what is that better way?  Let's start with the "unprecedented number of Omicron cases" that have caused the latest "change in plans".  All of those cases have had to come across our border. To get here, just like Delta before it, Omicron had to hitch a ride with a traveller on a plane or a boat.  One of the reasons it has managed to make that journey to the extent it has, is because we had a testing regime that only required a traveller to test negative 72 hours before boarding a flight. That has subsequently been reduced to 48 hours, but that is still two days to catch the most infectious variant of Covid we have seen to date.  In the "151 Off the Bench" self-isolation programme that I undertook last year with the support of the Business Cross-Sector Border Group, we trialled an alternative to MIQ, which we called Self-Managed Isolation. Focused initially on business travel, this was a system that we believed could be expanded quickly to start bringing our fellow stranded Kiwis home as well; a system that could remain in place no matter what Covid threw at us.  We identified the first weak link in the existing system as being the 72-hour, pre-flight, testing protocol. The timeline for catching the virus was simply too long, and the current number of Omicron cases in MIQ is testament to that. Those people either boarded the flight to New Zealand with Omicron, caught it off someone who boarded with it, or caught it in transit through an airport on the way. Instead of trying to detect Covid after it reaches our border, we need to use every tool available to detect it before it leaves for our shores.  For the 151 Trial, I took my PCR test at LA Airport, before boarding, where I could choose to get my result one hour, three hours or five hours after taking the test. I chose five hours.  Which raises the question: how many of the 300, highly infectious, Omicron cases currently in MIQ would have been picked up in a five-hour window, rather than the current 48 hours?  Perhaps that's a model Professor Shaun Hendy and his team might test for us. How different might our situation be now if the Ministry of Health had taken up an offer made in July last year to trial an FDA-approved, PCR equivalent test that has subsequently been approved for official use by countries such as Canada, Israel, Taiwan, the US and Singapore?  The test in question delivers a result in 30 minutes. It costs less than the current approved nasopharyngeal PCR test and independent testing has found that it has "the same diagnostic accuracy as a PCR test," making it perfect for pre-flight testing, which is what Air Canada uses it for. How many Covid cases might have been detected had we implemented a system that delivered results a matter of hours before boarding, instead of days?  We can't change the decision made a year and a half ago by the MOH to decline the offer to trial this test, but we can learn from it. Over the Christmas break, the company that made the original offer has confirmed that it still stands. The owner of the company has been coming to New Zealand for 20 years and his connection to this part of the world has meant that New Zealand remains a priority and he is prepared to do whatever is needed to accelerate the trial that he originally offered.  This week's reac... 2022-01-20T01:38:12.000Z Jason Walls: We need an Omicron plan now – not in ‘the coming weeks’ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-we-need-an-omicron-plan-now-not-in-the-coming-weeks/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-we-need-an-omicron-plan-now-not-in-the-coming-weeks/ The Prime Minister could not have put it more plainly: Omicron’s arrival in the community is a matter of “when, not if”.  It’s something experts have been saying for weeks, as New Zealand’s managed isolation facilities fill with returning Kiwis infected with the new Covid variant.    So prevalent is the virus in quarantine facilities, that the Government last night announced – via Twitter – it was suspending the MIQ lottery.  “There has been a 10-fold increase in positive Covid-19 cases at the border compared to December,” head of MIQ Chris Bunny said last night, in a statement.  The decision as to when the lottery will re-open will be made “in the coming weeks”.  The announcement blindsided many.  It’s somewhat of a miracle that the highly transmittable variant has remained within the confines of MIQ.    But whether it be days, or weeks, it will enter the community where it's expected to spread like wildfire.    Even with New Zealand’s highly vaccinated population, Omicron’s infection rate is predicted to be unlike anything we’ve seen so far. You only need to look at New South Wales for a grim preview of what to expect.    What we need is a plan. What we’ve got so far is anything but.  When asked on Monday when a plan would be unveiled, Jacinda Ardern told reporters: “In the coming weeks”.  MIQ officials should be commended for keeping Omicron at bay for so long. But even the most optimistic in Ardern’s Cabinet can’t seriously expect the virus to remain caged for “weeks”.  It's critical Kiwis know the plan before the first community case is discovered.    Ardern and her Covid Minister, Chris Hipkins, have both said a new community outbreak would be dealt with under the traffic light system and further lockdowns have been ruled out.    But beyond that – and some vague comments about wider mask usage – how the Government plans to combat the virus’ inevitable spread remains a question mark.  This is despite Omicron making global headlines months ago, and first arriving in MIQ in mid-December.    “In the coming weeks” is simply not good enough – we need a plan now, not when the next outbreak has already started.    This afternoon, Ardern’s Cabinet will meet for the first time this year.    It will decide if Northland – the only region in New Zealand still at red – is ready to join the rest of the country at the orange setting.    They’re also likely to discuss the looming Omicron threat.  Ardern won’t announce the Northland decision until Thursday – midway through Labour’s annual caucus retreat.  Whether or not she will at least lay the foundation for her Government’s Omicron plan remains to be seen.    But she needs to do something and she needs to do it soon.      2022-01-18T23:21:12.000Z Tim Beveridge: Infrastructure itself does not make patients better, people do https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/tim-beveridge-infrastructure-itself-does-not-make-patients-better-people-do/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/tim-beveridge-infrastructure-itself-does-not-make-patients-better-people-do/ One of the big questions that has been hanging over the government's Covid response has been our ICU capacity – our ability to look after our people when they really need it.  So, on the face of it, it was good news to hear yesterday’s announcement by Andrew Little of over half a billion dollars to be pumped into upgrading hospitals across the country.  At present, New Zealand has (for a little bit of context) 4 beds per 100,000 people compared with 9 in Australia, 16 in France and an impressive 34 in Germany. It’s worth also noting that our ICU capacity in NZ has, incredibly, gone backwards since May last year.  So, it's one thing to spend the money, but it’s a completely different thing to actually deliver the results the money is aimed at delivering.  And that's where, frankly I'm taking a wait-and-see approach to see if this makes any meaningful difference to the capacity that we require.  As usual there's not a lot of detail given at this stage.  The challenge, clearly, is to turn it that money and the promises into something that is genuinely meaningful.  It’s worth noting that infrastructure itself does not make patients better.  People do. Staff do.  There are two ways to get good staff.  One is to train them. That takes years.  The second is to import them.  The Government has taken a small step towards addressing this with returning kiwi nurses, if they have a job, having priority access to 300 extra spots in MIQ.  However, that doesn't address the question of nurses trying to return who haven’t first secured a job.   It also doesn't address the immigration issues around attracting qualified staff to New Zealand whether or not they be New Zealand citizens.  It’s a fact that if it's too hard, they’re something going to go elsewhere.  I have gone on a bit in the past about the invisibility of our Immigration Minister, Kris Faafoi, when it comes to addressing these problems. And still, we are in a situation where Immigration New Zealand does not prioritise visas for critical care nurses.   There's apparently a review due to happen sometime next year.  This is the problem for the government. It's always later. It's always somewhere the down the line. Sort of “we’ll do the review” – “we'll talk first.”  Now we have a new Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus moving at a frightening pace overseas and is as close to New Zealand as just over our international border surging away in New South Wales.  It should be immediately apparent to anyone with a bit of common sense that the staff we need in ICU are required right now. Even if it takes Kris Faafoi sitting at his desk, signing off individual applications one after the other for qualified staff. That's what we need to happen.  So, the announcement of money is great.  But it doesn’t impress me nearly as much as having a plan and some detail on getting the people that are going to deliver a meaningful change to the capacity that we so desperately need to address this virus.  Remember this government is one that is great on the promises, great on spending money, but not so great on delivery.  So, with the government about to grind to a halt over the summer recess while the virus keeps doing what it does – for the time being – for me it's still fingers crossed and wait and see.  2021-12-16T04:46:22.000Z Jason Walls: My top five political predictions for 2022 https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-my-top-five-political-predictions-for-2022/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-my-top-five-political-predictions-for-2022/ At the beginning of the year, in a packed conference room at a local sports stadium in Nelson, Jacinda Ardern declared 2021 the ‘year of the vaccine’.   She was speaking at Labour’s annual caucus retreat, addressing her MPs while the cameras were rolling and pens were poised.     It’s become a bit of a tradition for the Prime Minister to give the upcoming year a title – no doubt she will do the same again in a little over a month, as her MPs gather to kick-off the year.    But before Ardern looks into her well-resourced and publicly funded crystal ball, I thought I would give it a go.    Here are my top five predictions on what to expect in 2022.    1. The polls are going to get a whole lot tighter  The days of complete Labour poll domination are over. The party reaped the benefits of the ‘rally around the flag’ mentality – whereby people throw their support behind the Government in times of national tragedy – last election.    But Ardern’s party was never going to hold at 50 percent. It’s since come off and there is further room for it to fall. Colmar Brunton has Labour at 41 and National at 28.    Under Chris Luxon’s leadership, National’s numbers will get better. Some of that support will come from people who migrated to Labour at the last election. Some will come from Act, which sits in a similar political space to National and have benefited strongly from National’s recent poll slump.    The battle between National and Labour will become closer – but the more important battle between the left and right for Government will become a nail-biter.    2. Omicron won’t be as devastating to New Zealand as Delta  News of the emergence of a new Covid variant gave rise to a collective groan across the country. The thought of going back to a world of “short and sharp” lockdowns to stop its spread was a daunting one.   But there are some key differences between Delta and Omicron and to the situation New Zealand now finds itself, compared to where we were when Delta first arrived.    The key being vaccination levels. New Zealand is now close to having 90 percent of the eligible population double dosed. To steal a phrase from Ardern: This gives us strong armour to protect against the virus.    This, however, won’t be enough. Studies are already warning that a booster will be needed to more effectively fight Omicron.   Pfizer’s CEO has even gone as far as saying a fourth jab could be needed.    Either way, New Zealand is in a good position to role those out as quickly as possible – assuming the Government’s already in the process of securing the extra doses.    3. Hostility towards media and MPs will continue to heat up   Covid mandates and a greater distrust of the Government and media have seen public tensions flare in the latter half of this year.    It’s now common to see protesters wherever the Prime Minister is. And wherever the Prime Minister is, media are usually not far behind.    Recently, things have started to turn nasty. As the freedoms between the vaccinated and unvaccinated become more stark (as we move down the traffic light settings), the growing unease will likely increase.   Nothing has turned violent yet – although it got close outside of Parliament a few weeks ago.    Let’s hope that was the worst of it but I fear it won’t be.    4. The Three Waters and Fair Pay Agreements debates will get even more ugly   Both these meaty pieces of legislation have hit headlines for all the wrong in the past week. Three Waters for being delayed until next year and Fair Pay for being blown up by BusinessNZ.    They’re both highly contentious with fierce opposition both inside and outside the House. National will see this as an opportunity to bolster its support and fight against them hard.    But the Government’s digging in its heels on both issues. It’s going to be one hell of a fight.    5. 2022 will be the year of Climate Change Action’ in New Zealand  Tomorrow, Finance Minister Grant Robertson will unveil his Budget Polic... 2021-12-13T07:27:25.000Z Barry Soper: Chris Luxon should not have tried to take Jacinda Ardern at her own Covid game https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-chris-luxon-should-not-have-tried-to-take-jacinda-ardern-at-her-own-covid-game/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-chris-luxon-should-not-have-tried-to-take-jacinda-ardern-at-her-own-covid-game/ The thing is, Jacinda Ardern can never be taken on at her own game. For her, there's only one game in town and she plays it to near perfection, even if we don't always agree with the route she's taking to get to the end of it. Covid for Ardern and her band of weary warriors is their ticket to ride. The noise from the Covid cacophony is deafening and that's the way this Government likes it. Trying to get cut through with anything else is a bit like chipping away at granite with a toothpick. Ask Judith Collins how it felt at the last election and since then. Jacinda Ardern has until now been the undisputed Covid Queen, although now that she's finally had to accept it's here to stay, the crown is beginning to slip and the country will start looking at some of the other issues facing the country. And that's exactly what National's new leader Chris Luxon should have done when he had his first face-off against Ardern in the debating chamber. He should have thrown a few curlers about the Crown Accounts and GDP to debt and questions over the independence of the Reserve Bank.   Facing the prospect of grilling her, he was cocky enough, although with some humility saying he really wanted to master it and get good at it over time. Asked whether he had enough mongrel to foot it in what's known the bear-pit full of grizzlies, he was confident: "Don't you worry mate, we've got enough mongrel, it'll be good," he declared. His first couple of questions to Ardern seemed to rattle her a bit, but she recovered quickly because they were after all about her Mastermind topic, Covid. Essentially, she was given her platform to perform and Luxon was left floundering, at one point seeming to lose his place, having a brain freeze, and apologising as he tried to regain his composure. For this corporate high flyer it would have been mortifying, his blood would have run cold, and the images of the fluff on television will come back to haunt him. It may have only been a moment in time but it's a moment he won't be allowed to forget. By contrast, Act's David Seymour cut in with the acquiescence of the Speaker with a concise, articulate jibe at Ardern which would have added to Luxon's discomfort. But like he said, he'll learn and get good at it. One mistake does not an election loss make. This man who has in his life only been used to success will bounce back and promises to be a formidable opponent of Ardern, providing more care is taken with the topic. 2021-12-07T05:27:15.000Z Jason Walls: How much will high-flying Luxon clip Act’s wings on his path to power? https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-how-much-will-high-flying-luxon-clip-act-s-wings-on-his-path-to-power/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-how-much-will-high-flying-luxon-clip-act-s-wings-on-his-path-to-power/ Politics is a team sport, there’s no doubt about it.   That was one of Chris Luxon’s main messages when unveiling his fresh, new look caucus yesterday.   He was also clear that as National’s leader, his job is to put together the team to take on the Government.   Broadly speaking, Luxon’s top 20 looks good on paper. It’s a good mix of former Ministers, heavy-hitters from Bridges’ and Collins teams, and a fair amount of diversity.   But Luxon’s top 20 won’t be the 20 joining him around the Cabinet table if he wins the treasury benches in 2023.   To be crowned Prime Minister, he needs Act – and Act will be looking for a few weighty portfolios to serve under Prime Minister Chris Luxon.   David Seymour will be a shoo-in for a top spot, as will his Deputy Brooke Van Velden.  But as for what portfolios they get – and how many of their colleagues get to join them around a Luxon Cabinet table – depends very much on the next few months.   At the moment, Act is strong – extremely strong. In fact, never before in the history of the party has it had as much influence as it has now.   Its 16 percent in the most recent Newshub/Reid Research poll means it will be able to bring 20 MPs into Parliament, should it win that much support on Election Day.   Combine that with National’s level of support and the right-bloc is creeping closer and closer to the left.   Both Luxon and Seymour know this – the relationship between the parties has seldom been as important as it is now.   There’s little doubt that National is about to experience a bump in the polls – as parties tend to do when they change their leader.  But Luxon’s honeymoon looks like it won’t be a short-lived as Collins and Muller’s before him.   He’s clearly well media trained and has come across exceptionally well since winning the leadership.   The way he’s been able to deflect the predictable questions about his religion and his wealth has been impressive.   His unprompted line about refusing to apologise for his success comes straight from John Key’s tried and tested playbook.  Some of that support will come from Labour – but much will come from Act.  Seymour’s camp is prepared for a drop – it’s widely known that a significant chunk of Act’s newfound support has come from disenfranchised National voters.   But when Seymour drops from the lofty heights he and his party is at now, Luxon will have to decide the next step.   Does he leave Act to its own devices on a relatively healthy level of support – or does he actively campaign to win the support National’s lost back.  In the final weeks of Collins’ leadership, she started attacking Act as its support rose.   She called him out for flip-flopping on his position on vaccine mandates.  Before this, she had been relatively silent on Act and its rise.  It’s unclear what path Luxon will take when it comes to Act. When asked about it yesterday, he said he’s focusing on National for the here and now.   But before long he’s going to have to take a look at his path to power and decide how big of a part Act will play.   2021-12-06T08:01:52.000Z Jason Walls: Coveted Finance portfolio key bargaining chip in National’s leadership negotiations https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-coveted-finance-portfolio-key-bargaining-chip-in-national-s-leadership-negotiations/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-coveted-finance-portfolio-key-bargaining-chip-in-national-s-leadership-negotiations/ It’s game on for the Nats, yet again.   At some point today, MPs will crown a new leader – their fourth or fifth (depending on if Bridges gets the nod again) in just four years.  There was only ever really two names in the running: Bridges and Luxon.   Both will have been hitting the phones over the weekend, looking to shore up support.   As have their supporters – with a team of 33 MPs, it’s a race to 17.  But it’s unlikely to actually get to a caucus vote as MPs will want this settled before their 3pm caucus meeting.  The mess of a faction vs faction vote will make National’s situation worse.   Voters tend to punish parties for infighting – just look at National’s polling numbers over the last year and Labour’s between 2011-2017.  At some point today, it’s going to become clear to one of the challenges that they don’t, in fact, have the numbers.  The key question will be whether they’ve realised the battle has been lost before their rival becomes sure that they’ve won.   If they do, they can bargain and push for the consolation prize of this leadership race: The Finance portfolio.   The current position is split up into two and is held by Andrew Bayly and Michael Woodhouse.  Neither are likely to keep that position under the new regime. The split has not worked well and neither MP has made much impact despite it being a time of unprecedented Government borrowing and spending.   Bridges or Luxon in that role would be a major step-up and appointing your leadership rival in National’s crown-jewel portfolio would be a great show of unity.   A true two birds, one stone scenario.  That will be one of the first decisions the new leader will make and will likely be one of the easiest.   But the new leader has some tough decisions around the board, for example. Will they apply pressure on current president Peter Goodfellow to leave? Bridges certainly implied that was something he was tossing up.  And National’s relationship with Act needs to be carefully managed too.   The party’s achieved levels of support its leader David Seymour likely never thought possible. At 16 per cent in the polls, they could bring in 20 MPs at the next election, doubling their current number.   But much of that support has come from disenfranchised National voters, upset with the state of the party.  Does the new leader play nice with Act, to foster a strong would-be coalition? Or do they go on the offensive to win back support?  But perhaps the new leader’s biggest challenge is a familiar foe: Covid-19.  It’s the issue that ended Bridges' tenure the first time around and was a major contender in Collins’ demise – it certainly didn’t help Todd Muller either.   How either Bridges or Luxon responds to the new Omicron variant will be pivotal – how they respond to the Government’s handling of the virus will be crucial.     The 2023 election could very well depend on it.  2021-11-29T07:49:52.000Z Barry Soper: "Asking questions is called democracy and accountability" https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-asking-questions-is-called-democracy-and-accountability/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-asking-questions-is-called-democracy-and-accountability/ Press conferences with politicians generally have always been torrid affairs.  Prime Ministers generally don't like them very much, they get questions out of left field and at times struggle to answer them.  Going way back to Rob Muldoon when I persisted asking him questions about an old Cabinet colleague mate of his Keith Allen and what became known as the Ministry of Silly Walks, he was none too happy.  We all knew Allan actually fell over in his apartment garden and snagged his shirt on a rose bush but claimed to have been beaten up on the short walk home from the Beehive and Bellamys. It turned out Allen, a thoroughly nice man, was hypoglycaemic, he was a diabetic and shouldn't have been drinking at Bellamys.  Knowing this, the question line was important, the possibility of a Cabinet Minister being assaulted, was a pretty serious claim. Muldoon would have none of it, threatening to raise my accreditation to work in the gallery with the then Speaker if I asked another question.  Of course, another question was immediately proffered, he refused to answer, and the Speaker was called on to reprimand me. He was an old, former gentleman farmer, Sir Richard Harrison and politely asked me to apologise to the Prime Minister, which of course didn't happen, essentially because the snap election was called in 1984 shortly afterwards by Muldoon and an apology wouldn't have happened anyway.  Press conferences are about asking questions, testing the politician.  The last widely popular Labour Prime Minister David Lange was so uncomfortable with them that at one stage he cancelled them altogether. As Press Gallery Chair at the time, it was my job to try and get them reinstated. In a meeting in his office on the 9th floor of the Beehive, Lange said he was sick of them.  "If I pick my nose, they'd show it on the six o'clock news," he opined. I suggested that was pretty easy to resolve, don't. He reinstated his press conferences.  Television is a Prime Minister's Holy Grail, their appearance on it means everything to them, hence our current leader's constant throw to the audience, on many occasions before she even looks up from her carefully scripted notes: Jessica, Tova.  Jacinda Ardern's press conferences are on a whole new level, she's had more practice at them than any other leader in recent history.  But for her, it's all about control, to cut off a line of questioning before something difficult takes hold.   If it runs the risk of taking hold, she'll over talk the questioner through the power of the podium microphone and move on.  With the flick of a hand, she'll switch to another questioner. She's trained the media to raise their hands which allows her to rattle off the order in which the questions are to be asked.  If you're working to a deadline, which in radio is constant, it's of no consequence to Ardern, television takes precedence.  Admittedly the question she flicked away on her latest outing was probably one she wasn't too keen on taking - was she going to do more than a token visit to Auckland this Thursday?  The current crop has all been media trained like no other occupants in the Beehive. The same modus operandi has been adopted by Ardern's fellow preachers from the pulpit - Grant Robertson and Chris Hipkins.  It's called media control but asking questions is called democracy and accountability.    2021-11-22T05:32:50.000Z Jason Walls: Collins and Ardern will both be worried about their slipping personal popularity https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-collins-and-ardern-will-both-be-worried-about-their-slipping-personal-popularity/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-collins-and-ardern-will-both-be-worried-about-their-slipping-personal-popularity/ First, some perspective: New Zealand’s left-bloc is still well ahead of the right.  The gaps between the two camps – Labour and Greens vs National and Act – is 8 per cent, or 11 seats according to last night’s 1News/ Colmar Brunton poll.   If the election was held tomorrow, Jacinda Ardern would be Prime Minister for a third term.   But there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge before the 2023 election.   Ardern will be breathing a sigh of relief at her party’s polling numbers – although down two points Labour is still at 41 per cent.  It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Prime Minister; it could have been much worse than a two-point hit.   A Taxpayers’ Union Curia poll out last week, for example, put Labour at 39 per cent.   But there will be one area of concern for Ardern in last night’s numbers – her personal popularity.   Again, some perspective: At 39 per cent in the preferred Prime Minister’s ratings, Ardern’s still lightyears ahead of the competition.   Her 39 per cent is more than David Seymour, Judith Collins, Chris Luxon and Chlöe Swarbrick’s rating combined – in fact, it’s almost double.   But Ardern’s still down 5 points on the last Colmar Brunton poll.  In New Zealand, preferred Prime Minister should be nothing more than an interesting bit of information.   We don’t have a presidential system like the US – here, we vote for the party, not the person.   But in Ardern’s case – as it was John Key before her – the two are inextricably linked.  Jacinda Ardern is the Labour Party. She’s on all their advertising, web content and across all her MPs social media.   She makes all the important announcements at the 1 pm and 4 pm press conferences, which have become a mainstay in the way some people access their political news.   A drop in Ardern’s personal popularity could be a sign of things to come for the party.  But whatever woes Ardern has in her personal popularity, they go double, triple or even quadruple for Judith Collins.   Although up 2 per cent, the National Party is still failing to meaningfully capitalize on the Government’s dropping support.  It’s been languishing in the mid-20s for what seems like endless months.   And Collins has got other problems: Her leadership.   She’s at 5 per cent on the preferred PM ranking – Chris Luxon is at 4 per cent.   But it appears the former Air NZ boss isn’t the one Collins should be worried about, for now.   A week ago today, I asked Simon Bridges if Collins would be the leader by Christmas.   His response: “My position is I support Judith Collins, at this time, as leader of the National Party.”  Asked about his threat to her leadership last night, Collins fired back: “He's not the leader and won't be”.  We’re in for a hell of an end to the year. 2021-11-15T07:41:22.000Z Jason Walls: Attacks on the media are escalating and look like they'll only get worse https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-attacks-on-the-media-are-escalating-and-look-like-theyll-only-get-worse/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-attacks-on-the-media-are-escalating-and-look-like-theyll-only-get-worse/ There are three certainties in life for journalists: Death, taxes and a fair amount of criticism.    The latter comes with the territory and for the past few years, I’ve become accustomed to a certain level of feedback from people unhappy with my coverage, or questions.   It’s not unusual for me to receive unsolicited messages on Facebook or Instagram from these people – sometimes pretty ugly stuff.   I know other reporters get them too.  But recently, there’s been a stark and worrying change in the level of animosity directed at journalists.   Yesterday morning, for example, my partner woke me up to tell me someone’s been commenting on her photos with deeply personalised criticisms directed at me.   To get to me, they came at her.  For others in the news media, it’s been worse.     Over the weekend, a 1News cameraman was attacked by anti-vaxxers while filming a vaccination event in Greymouth.   A Newshub reporter was heckled by a member of the public as she was setting up for a story.   Unfortunately, all signs point to these sorts of incidents not just continuing, but getting worse.   New Zealand’s now at the ugly end of the vaccination rollout. Almost everyone who wants to be vaccinated has been.  Among the remaining 10 or so per cent yet to get the jab, is the incredibly vocal anti-vaccination community.   They seem to be united by two things: Their distrust of the Government and their hate of the mainstream media.   The former was on full display last week after a far-right conspiracy theorist faked media credentials to get into a press conference to heckle the Prime Minister.   Jacinda Ardern said she was only taking questions from “accredited news media” and moved the press conference to another location – which she was right to do.   The incident was clipped-up and put online, where it went viral on the fringe far-right, anti-vax websites and forums.   Even podcaster Joe Rogan – who admittedly is not either fringe or far-right – had a crack at Ardern.   But much of the sentiment in the countless comments sections on various “news” sites were directed at New Zealand’s media, accusing reporters and editors of being complicit in some sort of mass cover-up.   Some of the comments are violent and quite unsettling.   The day after Ardern’s press conference was hijacked, another set of protestors blocked the entrance to a vaccination clinic she was meant to visit in Whanganui.  Once it was clear the Prime Minister wasn’t showing up, the mob turned on reporters.   According to journalists on the scene, it was confronting.  Police had to physically step between the two parties, as protestors loudly yelled about how journalists’ salaries were paid by the Government.  It was an ugly saga – but I fear it was only the opening gambit in what’s likely to be a tense couple of months.   Later today, a “mass Hikoi” is expected at Parliament. If this is anything like what was seen in Whanganui, it could be a problem for media covering the event.   Meanwhile, on Wednesday Ardern will be visiting Auckland for the first time since the delta outbreak began 13 weeks ago.   If protestors turn up to any events, things could go south very quickly.   And while the Prime Minister has a security detail, reporters have nothing.   I’ve never felt afraid to do my job – but the thought of covering these types of events gives me chills.    2021-11-08T07:14:42.000Z Leo Molloy: The date Auckland must reopen - otherwise save the ICU beds for Auckland hospitality https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/leo-molloy-the-date-auckland-must-reopen-otherwise-save-the-icu-beds-for-auckland-hospitality/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/leo-molloy-the-date-auckland-must-reopen-otherwise-save-the-icu-beds-for-auckland-hospitality/ OPINION:  The debate rages on. Every day the media swamps us with stats about Covid: who's infected, how they got infected, and to which hospital they've been admitted.  Meantime, the real victims of this lockdown, the "collateral damage" as the Pentagon is inclined to describe it, is Auckland hospitality and small businesses such as the beauty and hairdressing sectors. They're about to draw their last breath unless, metaphorically speaking, the authorities urgently get a drip in their arm and get them on the resuscitator.  Hospitality in Auckland's CBD has historically used the Melbourne Cup to kickstart Christmas/summer trading, and the cash flow injection from that one event sets the sector up for the season ahead.  This year, Auckland hospo was a late withdrawal from the Cup, scratched before the event was run, retired lame, broken down, all but euthanised, all because the Government kept them locked up in their box.  However, we have hope, according to all the stats and data available from credible sources like the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA). The current vaccination rates mean we're going to hit the three relevant Auckland DHB 90 per cent vaccination targets sometime between November 28 and December 3.  On that basis, the CBD and hospo sector absolutely must recommence trading on Wednesday, December 1.  If the sector is not then reignited, many will never get to reopen.  Suppliers are still owed money from pre-lockdown and have no appetite for extending more credit or changing terms to an industry clearly on its deathbed.  The industry needs cash from customers just as a patient in critical care needs a blood transfusion.  Hospitality makes the heart of any city beat. Imagine an Auckland without K Road, Ponsonby, Britomart or the Viaduct. It doesn't bear thinking about - the city would have no soul (pun intended).  The local authorities, the council, the police, and most importantly the Government, must agree to collaborate to make it possible for this city to reopen on December 1, regardless of whether we're on 89.2 per cent vaccinated, or 90.1 per cent.  We've suffered enough in Auckland. Too much collateral damage has been inflicted already. The suicides, domestic violence, kids going hungry, mortgagee sales threatened, rent unpaid, creditors knocking on doors, surgeries and procedures delayed ... it has to end. It's eating this city and the hospo sector up, like the insidious creep of a metastasizing tumour.  We're going to learn to live with Covid, we have to, just as the remainder of the world has. Covid must no longer dictate the way we live our lives.  We have the ability, the capacity, and the will. We don't need a nanny-state dictatorial Government wiping our snotty nose for us and confining us to barracks any longer. What we need is leadership, strong leaders who're bold, those who're prepared to take charge and, by example, empower this city to be its awesome self again.  I'm calling on all small businesses in this city, from the barber to the tattoo shop, the pub to the bowling club, hairdressers to beauty care: let's make a date, let's hold hands and draw strength from each other. Let's put a circle around Wednesday, December 1 in the calendar, and let's make Auckland fun again.  This is not about civil disobedience, this is about the healthy and the vaccinated saying "enough is enough", we're drawing a line in the sand, we want our lives back regardless of whether the unsympathetic Government has the traffic light on orange, green, or anything in between.  Nor are we being held to ransom by the non-compliant hardcore unvaccinated any longer.  To the corporates out there, you can help too.  Do us a favour, book a Christmas function today because hospo needs you now, like never before (not at HQ, we're fine thanks, but we'd love you to support the hospo "little battlers"). That wee Vietnamese noodle shop down the road, go make his day and tell him if he opens December 1 you'll bring your s... 2021-11-06T03:29:42.000Z Jason Walls: Government’s sidelining of gold-standard Health Select Committee beggars belief https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-government-s-sidelining-of-gold-standard-health-select-committee-beggars-belief/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-government-s-sidelining-of-gold-standard-health-select-committee-beggars-belief/ It’s not often the formation of a select committee to consider changes to legislation catches much attention – and for good reason.   Most of the time, it just doesn’t really matter to most people.   But the Government’s stunning decision to sideline Parliament’s most experienced committee of MPs, when considering a mammoth set of health reforms, should be turning heads.   The vastly experienced and highly competent Health Select Committee has been brushed aside in favour of an unknown new group of MPs, tasked with setting up the Health NZ and the Māori Health authorities.   It’s a beefy piece of work, which will help guide the facilitation of the biggest changes to New Zealand’s health system in decades.   Green MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere put it well in the House when debating the issue.   “I guess I’m wondering why you would take the biggest health bill that may come in any of our lifetimes away from the group that’s set up to deal with it,” she said.  “For me it comes down to the mana – the mana of the Health Select Committee.”  Indeed.   That committee is likely one of, if not the, most medically qualified groups established in Parliamentary history.   It’s a group of MPs well respected across both sides of the political aisle and is held up as somewhat of a gold standard in Parliament.  Its chair, Dr Liz Craig, was a medical doctor for years before becoming an MP. As was Dr Neru Leavasa and Dr Gaurav Sharma.  Dr Tracy McLellan has a PhD in Psychology; Dr Kerekere has hers in takatāpui (LGBTIQ) identity.   Sarah Pallett was a midwifery lecturer before becoming an MP; Penny Simmonds was on Southland’s DHB and Simon Watts is a registered paramedic and former Deputy CFO of the Waitematā DHB.  Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is a director of Tui Ora Health, Homecare Medical Ltd and, as kaiarataki of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, she helped develop free health care services.  Even the MPs who didn’t have health background before being elected have the right experience – Chris Bishop holds the Government to account over Covid daily; Brooke van Velden basically wrote the End of Life Choice bill.  Try as you might – you’re unlikely to find a more qualified group of individuals to sit on the Health Committee and help drive these significant reforms.  It’s this group that’s been side-lined.  The new committee will be chaired by Labour MP Deborah Russell – a good MP and former chair of the all-powerful Finance and Expenditure Committee – and her deputy Tamati Coffey.  Neither have much, if any, medical experience.   The identity of the rest of the committee, at this stage, is a mystery.  When putting the motion forward in the House, Andrew Little said part of the reason for creating the new committee was to ensure it had a high number of Māori members.   But select committee rules already allow for MPs to be swapped in and out – meaning members, such as former DHB board member Harete Hipango – would easily be able to sub in.   It’s also worth noting that the formidable Māori health advocates Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Elizabeth Kerekere are already on the Health Committee.   Sacrificing a clear level of competency, skill and experience for an unknown is a worrying prospect.   But Dr Kerekere said it best in the House. “It is a big deal this bill – it is a huge, huge thing for all of our people. We want the best people in [the committee] and I think the Health Select Committee is the best place to start.” 2021-11-01T08:03:01.000Z Barry Soper: An extra week in lockdown shows how little Jacinda Ardern understands about businesses https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-an-extra-week-in-lockdown-shows-how-little-jacinda-ardern-understands-about-businesses/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-an-extra-week-in-lockdown-shows-how-little-jacinda-ardern-understands-about-businesses/ Talk to any business in Auckland and they'd open their door in a flash, that's if they can afford to and of course for many of them, they can't. For the Prime Minister to say those doors will stay closed until Wednesday next week "which will give businesses time to prepare" just goes to show how little she understands about business. They've had almost three months of locked doors to prepare, and from the many I've spoken to on the other side of their misted doors, they're itching to let the fresh air in. Drive south of Mercer, although you are not allowed to without an exemption, and the shopkeepers will have dusted off the counters from tomorrow as they move to the second road on the Government's map. Aucklanders will for the next week have to continue having their picnics with no more than one other household to allow the decision last week to let senior kids go back to school to spud in, which is what Jacinda Ardern now seems to be saying. What difference that's going to make is difficult to fathom. Does it mean that if it sees case numbers rising in the meantime because of schools opening then the stop sign will be reapplied?   Furrowing her brow and cupping her chin to show how deeply she cares, Ardern says there's not a moment in a day that she's not thinking about how they can ease the pressure in Auckland and how they can improve the situation as quickly as possible. It's easy, let the retail sector get back to business now. Look across the ditch and see what's going on there and consider what's going on in Auckland where 81 per cent of citizens are now double-jabbed and where just three people are in intensive care.     Fifteen hundred Aussies flew home to Sydney and Melbourne yesterday from around the world without having to isolate and where vaccinations don't come close to Auckland’s. They had been doubled jabbed and had tested negative before their flights and arrived with their vaccination certificates something we're not going to be able to get until the end of the month at the earliest. Yeah well, they have their ways of doing things and we have our's and our's is called control. "We've always carved our own path and had our own plan," Ardern says. We're waiting! 2021-11-01T06:04:55.000Z Barry Soper: The Prime Minister ought to front up to Aucklanders https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-prime-minister-ought-to-front-up-to-aucklanders/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-prime-minister-ought-to-front-up-to-aucklanders/ It's not the Prime Minister's fault that she hasn't visited her Mt Albert constituency, or indeed the wider locked-up mega city of Auckland, nothing ever is.  It's the fault of the Inspector General of Parliament Trevor Mallard, who clearly needs to feel powerful - he requires any MP, or for that matter anyone working in the place, to have a double negative Covid test if they're coming from Auckland to self-isolate for five days.  Other essential workers returning to the capital don't have to go through that sort of rigmarole but Jacinda Ardern says as an essential worker it's her job "to run the country" and not spend time at home twiddling her thumbs, unlikely of course, with a toddler in tow.  But surely if she can give speeches to APEC and the East Asia Summit, as she did last night, then she could do the odd zoom into the Beehive down the road to give them the hand of gentle guidance.  Her good buddy Mallard is probably doing her a favour though, by keeping her away from Auckland.  Why would the beaming, good news Ardern want to see first-hand the doom and gloom that has been inflicted on the city which is at wits end?  The new traffic lights on the road to nowhere are stuck on red until at least the end of next month, while the nigh-on impossible task of getting 90 percent of the city's residents double jabbed is undertaken.  The longer it goes on, the more Aucklanders feel that Ardern has a duty to front up in person rather than pontificating at them from the Pulpit of Truth several times a week.  And the fury will grow when she announces that she's off to Europe in a couple of weeks time, taking her tribe of apparatchiks with her with the media traipsing along to witness the spectacle.  You know what that means, special privileged slots at the desperately sought-after MIQ facilities that tens of thousands of kiwis are lining up for on their return - no lobby waiting rooms or raffle tickets for them.  And of course, it totally negates her argument that she can't go to Auckland because she would have to do five days at home in Wellington on her return.  She was asked about the trip to Europe by Act's David Seymour in Parliament but totally avoided the question.  At her sermon from the pulpit a little later, she was asked about it again and said she 'has nothing to confirm today." The same political weasel words were used more than a month ago when I inquired about it.  But Ardern did add our Free Trade Talks with Europe have reached a critical juncture which clearly need a nudge with her formidable negotiating skills.  Perhaps this transparent Government is waiting for news of her European trip to be tweeted first by a diplomat, just as Trade Minister Damien O'Connor's was a few days before he left for London recently.  2021-10-26T05:29:55.000Z Jason Walls: It’s high time for answers on the pair who plunged Northland into lockdown https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-it-s-high-time-for-answers-on-the-pair-who-plunged-northland-into-lockdown/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-it-s-high-time-for-answers-on-the-pair-who-plunged-northland-into-lockdown/ Just a reminder: We still know next to nothing about the pair of women who plunged Northland into lockdown.    It’s been more than three weeks since that Friday night press conference, where reporters had to tease out as much information on the situation as we could from Chris Hipkins.    Although the region moved back to level 2 early last week, the 10-day lockdown undoubtedly did damage to Northland.    That’s not to say it was the wrong move. If Covid was spreading in the community, nipping it in the bud was undoubtedly the right call.    Thankfully, restrictions were lifted after no Covid was found – although the new community cases in the region in recent days remain a concern.   In the meantime, attention needs to turn to the selfish, irresponsible and reckless pair who caused this mess.   It’s time for answers – that’s the least the Government can give the people of Northland.   A short recap: The two women were somehow able to obtain a travel exemption by providing false information to the Government.    By the time that information had been found to be false – it was too late; they were already roaming around Northland with Covid-19.    The first woman was only discovered after producing a “weak positive” test – it then took the Police to bring her in.    Her counterpart – who was also Covid-positive – remained at large for days and days; the public clueless as to where she was hiding.    In the meantime, the first woman went to ground; refusing to tell Police or officials anything.    Then… radio silence until the second woman was somehow found. Officials were in contact with her, somehow, but claim she too wouldn’t say anything.    And that’s where we are today; still none the wiser as to a number of major questions, including:   Who are they? How did they get the travel exemptions? Why were they travelling to Northland? What were they doing while they were there? Who were they with? Why wouldn’t they comply? Will they be charged?    I’ve tried to get answers to all of these questions but have hit brick wall after brick wall.    What I do know is the first one to be caught has finished her stay at MIQ – I was not told which facility.    The second one can’t be far off either.    What happens next is anything but certain. Police tell me they’re “continuing enquiries into this matter”.   “We will be looking to speak with and interview her in the coming days.”   That’s good news but it’s imperative the public get answers.     Northlanders deserve to know how their region was breached, and for what reason.    And they deserve to know who the pair are, or at the very least be given an explanation as to why their identities aren’t being revealed.   The runaway couple who fled Auckland’s lockdown to Wānaka had their faces on the front page of the Herald and splashed across the six o’clock news.   The Queenstown/ Wānaka region didn’t change alert levels, Northland did.    The Northland pair will likely be charged – anything short of that will be an outrage.   But it's high time the Government stepped up and provided some information about the incident – Northlanders are owed that much.  2021-10-26T00:51:06.000Z Jason Walls: The vaxathon was a triumph – but it was missing one important thing https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-the-vaxathon-was-a-triumph-but-it-was-missing-one-important-thing/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-the-vaxathon-was-a-triumph-but-it-was-missing-one-important-thing/ The vaxathon at the center of the Government’s ‘Super Saturday’ bonanza was a triumph. There were more than a few cynical eyebrows raised when the Prime Minister revealed her plans for the eight-hour, telethon-style event. It would be a “blast from the past” with “a bit of nostalgia,” Jacinda Ardern said. And nostalgia there was. The likes of Jason Gunn and Suzy Cato made appearances, as did Lorde and a rather low-energy Taika Waititi. The production was a little rough around the edges, but most of the time that just added to the charm.     And it did what it set out to do – get vaccines in arms. The final count was a whisker over 130,000 – 39,000 first doses and 90,000 second. It was a record-breaking day for Māori vaccinations as well. The Government – and PWC who helped facilitate and run the event – should be proud of what they achieved. It was so successful that even the cynics who had trepidations about the event were saying it should have been done sooner. But there was something the vaxathon did lack – the presence of Opposition MPs. The event organisers were able to get US-based former pro-wrestler Chavo Guerrero to deliver a “get vaccinated” message to the people of New Zealand, but not a single National or Act MP made an appearance. This is despite Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick and Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi both showing up for live crosses. It is understood that both Act and National made MPs available for the vaxathon, but were not given the opportunity to meaningfully participate. This came as a shock to both camps, especially given comments made by Ardern when announcing Super Saturday earlier this month. “Our political parties have different views on aspects of the Covid-19 response, but we are all united in one thing: vaccination. “So Super Saturday will be an opportunity for all of us to put aside our political differences—just for 24 hours—and work together for a cause that we all support.” Her comments couldn’t have been clearer, which is why the backrooms of both parties were confused as to why they had not been contacted about participating in the event. Their confusion turned to frustration when they ran into brick wall after brick wall, trying to get the likes of David Seymour and Shane Reti into the run sheet. Even Judith Collins – who was quarantining in Wellington after spending a few days in Auckland ahead of attending Parliament this week – didn’t get to pass on so much as a video message. Having politicians from across all political parties involved in promoting a single, strong “get vaccinated” message could have only helped the event. As much as the Government’s tried, there are still more than a few vaccine-hesitant people across the country who won’t listen to the Government. They might have listened to a Seymour, a Reti or a Collins. With so much riding on getting New Zealand’s vaccination rate as high as possible, the lack of Opposition MPs was a disappointing snub. But hey, at least we got to see Ashley Bloomfield dance. 2021-10-18T07:23:48.000Z Barry Soper: The Pulpit of Truth is fast becoming the Pulpit of Strewth https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-pulpit-of-truth-is-fast-becoming-the-pulpit-of-strewth/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/barry-soper-the-pulpit-of-truth-is-fast-becoming-the-pulpit-of-strewth/ If you ever have any doubt that this Government has a credibility problem, you only had to tune into the latest sermon from the Pulpit of Truth to confirm it. This is a government, don't forget, that Jacinda Ardern promised would be the most transparent administration that we have ever experienced. It'd be a pure as the driven snow. Bollocks. Two women have been holding Northland hostage for the past week.   They crossed the border illegally to get there and travelled widely in the far north. While there one of them returned a weak positive test for Covid and a second test on her return to Auckland confirmed she had the virus. The other one went to ground, disappeared from sight and was finally found earlier this week hiding out in West Auckland. She was taken into custody, tested positive, and is now in quarantine. Neither woman has co-operated with authorities as to where they'd been or what they'd been up to. From the pulpit, there's been nothing but obfuscation. Covid Minister Chris Hipkins was asked whether the people in Northland were owed an explanation as to what they have been up to. The answer was irritatingly obscure with Hipkins saying yes, they "absolutely deserve" an explanation and the two people who can provide it should share that with the authorities so they can share it where there's a public health rationale for doing so. Both Hipkins and his fellow pastor Ashley Blancmange told us there's a wariness of people coming forward over their dealings with these two women. The Minister was asked whether the reluctance is because criminal activity was involved but he wouldn't speculate. He then dug himself deeper into a dark, deep hole saying it was possible that the activities that people were engaged in Northland mean that those same people there had gone to ground. The shovelling continued. "Ah they're concerned about potentially exposing some other things, some other aspects of their lives and we won't be sharing them publicly unless there's a very good reason to do so," Hipkins stammered. Keeping the locked down people of Northland, a bit better informed would seem to be a pretty good reason for sharing some information about these two recalcitrants. They're happy enough to talk about truck drivers who end up in a spot of bother. So, the obvious was put to Hipkins; why doesn't he just come out and say they're sex workers? That's not the information he has, he protested, adding there's a lot of speculation but that's not the information. So, what were they doing in the north that has made people so wary about coming forward? Well, that's the information they have but aren't prepared to share which simply fuels the speculation. In this case, knowledge makes them look powerless. And the Pulpit of Truth is fast becoming the Pulpit of Strewth. 2021-10-13T02:55:19.000Z Jason Walls: Northlanders deserve more information about the pair who sent their region into lockdown https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-northlanders-deserve-more-information-about-the-pair-who-sent-their-region-into-lockdown/ https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/jason-walls-northlanders-deserve-more-information-about-the-pair-who-sent-their-region-into-lockdown/ Into the chaos, stepped Winston Peters.   The former Deputy Prime Minister caused more than a stir this weekend when he made a number of unsubstantiated claims on live TV.   Those claims – which relate to the uncooperative, Covid-positive Northland case – were refuted by the Government, and the gang leader they were about.   On Monday morning, Peters seemingly walked back those statements in a tweet.  But the damage was done and the rumour mill – which was already running hot – went into overdrive.   It should not have been Winston leading the coverage of the uncooperative Northland case; it should have been the Government.   But ministers were nowhere to be seen over the weekend to provide much-needed clarity about a situation affecting tens of thousands of Northlanders.   It all started on Friday night. At a few minutes before 6pm, gallery reporters were told there was a press conference in half an hour; Northland’s alert level was about to change.   Over the course of that media briefing, a number of things were learned – including that two women had travelled to Northland with forged travel documents and one was Covid positive.   The woman with Covid was not cooperating with officials. The other was still at large, somewhere in the region.   There were a number of questions Covid Minister Chris Hipkins did not know the answer to – including, extraordinarily, their names.   When the press conference finished, Hipkins promised more information in the coming days.   Despite this, the Government provided precious little detail on the situation over the weekend.   What information it did provide, came in the form of a line or two in Ministry of Health press releases.   “A second person, who is thought to have travelled with this case, has not yet been able to be contacted,” we were told on Saturday.  “A second person who is thought to have travelled with this case has been contacted but not yet located,” we were told on Sunday.   Media – and the people of Northland – were left guessing as to what “contacted but not yet located” actually meant.   There was also no information about how the woman obtained the fake travel exemption and how, and when, the Government discovered the counterfeit.  The list of questions that deserved an answer continued to grow – while Government ministers were nowhere to be seen.     There were no scheduled press conferences over the weekend – but there was not a scheduled press conference Friday night either.   At any point, Wellington-based Chris Hipkins could have stepped up to the podium and provided more information.   But that never happened.   The Prime Minister did do a short interview with some reporters in Gisborne, but still no detail.    So into the void stepped Winston Peters, who filled the vacuum with his theories – touted as fact – about the Northland case.   Given his prominence, the information took hold and took hours for Hipkins office to dismiss.  Meanwhile, the uncooperative woman who fraudulently travelled to Northland remains uncooperative.  Her very literal partner in crime remains at large.   And Northlanders continue to wait for clarity.  2021-10-11T05:49:37.000Z