Podcasts about act's david seymour

Top stories for Monday 29 January 2024: ACT's David Seymour is pushing for the introduction of a flattened tax system in this year's Budget. Police ramp up their homicide investigation in the Wellington suburb of Khandallah. Thunderstorms force the evacuation of an outdoor concert in Hamilton.

Politicians of almost every stripe have descended on Rātana Pā today for the annual celebrations. ACT's David Seymour was a notable absence. Over the day, Māori leaders labelled the Government the enemy and warned the Prime Minister not to meddle with te Tiriti o Waitangi. Chris Luxon assured the crowd his Government is committed to progress for Māori. NZ First MP Shane Jones was heckled during his speech - but he says he took it in his stride. "They thought that with loud angry voices, Winston Peters and I would back down. And they met their match in Shane Jones." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If today's protests over the new government's policies on co-governance and the Treaty are anything to go by, next year's Waitangi Day celebrations could be a heated affair. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he intends to visit Waitangi on the 6th of February, as does ACT's David Seymour. Ko taku manuhiri inaianei ko Pita Tipene, Pita is the chair of the Waitangi National Trust Board and speaks to Lisa Owen. (V) [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6342370729112

Compromise at the Beehive. A split deputy prime ministership, with the role shared between New Zealand First's Winston Peters, and ACT's David Seymour. Peters takes the job for the first one and a half years, Seymour the second. Peters will also once again take on Foreign Affairs. The 20-strong Cabinet's comprised of 14 ministers from National, three from ACT, and three from New Zealand First. The Finance portfolio goes to National's Nicola Willis -- but the proposed foreign buyer tax will no longer go ahead. Gerry Brownlee will be nominated as speaker. Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says National's tax package will be funded via spending re-prioritisation. Political commentators Peter Dunne and Brigitte Morten join Nick Mills as the coalition announcement unfolds, and provide analysis on Friday Faceoff. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Incoming Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, has stood up next to his new political bedfellows - Act's David Seymour and New Zealand First's Winston Peters - and laid out details of this long-awaited agreement. But what polices are in and what are out? Newsable gets analysis of today's announcement from Stuff's political editor, Luke Malpass

Compromise at the Beehive. A split deputy prime ministership, with the role shared between New Zealand First's Winston Peters, and ACT's David Seymour. Peters takes the job for the first one and a half years, Seymour the second. Peters will also once again take on Foreign Affairs. The 20-strong Cabinet's comprised of 14 ministers from National, three from ACT, and three from New Zealand First. The Finance portfolio goes to National's Nicola Willis -- but the proposed foreign buyer tax will no longer go ahead. Gerry Brownlee will be nominated as speaker. Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says National's tax package will be funded via spending re-prioritisation. Political commentators Peter Dunne and Brigitte Morten join Nick Mills as the coalition announcement unfolds, and provide analysis on Friday Faceoff. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The position of deputy prime minister is continuing to hold up the completion of coalition talks. The contest has narrowed today, as National's Nicola Willis publicly removed herself from the race. That leaves just ACT's David Seymour and New Zealand First's Winston Peters in the running. So how much longer will it take? Here's our deputy politcal editor Craig McCulloch.

A former Deputy Prime Minister disagrees the role's largely ceremonial. Prime Minister-elect Chris Luxon has confirmed policies have been settled in Coalition talks - and negotiations have turned to ministerial roles. ACT's David Seymour made a public pitch for Deputy, but Luxon has downplayed the role's importance. Sir Don McKinnon was the deputy to Jim Bolger in his National Government, under the single-party system. He says under MMP it can be someone from a different party, but the duties are real. "You're there to do things that your leader, your Prime Minister, doesn't want to do, meet the people he doesn't want to meet, go to the places he doesn't get time to go to." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT's David Seymour says he's no longer gambling on when coalition negotiations will wrap up. Prime Minister-elect Chris Luxon today announced the three parties have reached an agreement on policy. But the leaders of ACT and New Zealand First say they're not all the way there just yet. Seymour says he's closed his account at the TAB - given last week he wrongly predicted a deal was just days away. "So I'm not betting on this anymore, but I think we're a day or two away if I had to put a bet on it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National leader Chris Luxon says coalition negotiations are in the last stages, as talks are expected to resume today. Luxon met with New Zealand First's Winston Peters in Auckland yesterday, and had a phone call with ACT's David Seymour. NZ Herald Deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan says Luxon's private sector experience may not have set him up well for coalition talks. He says politics is obviously different to business. "He has to talk to New Zealand First and Winston Peters, there's no-one else in the tent. And Winston Peters has the nuclear button- he could just walk away and trigger another election."  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The soon-to-be coalition partners are meeting for the first time today, but there's no end in sight to negotiations.   New Zealand First leader Winston Peters didn't show up for an anticipated meeting with National and ACT in Wellington yesterday.   ACT's David Seymour confirms he flew back to Auckland last night, reportedly also with National leader Christopher Luxon.  Former United Future Leader Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby that their rapid return to Auckland suggests negotiations are very much being done on Peters' terms.  He that there's a perception growing that Christopher Luxon's earlier confidence may have been misplaced.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Work to form the next government has taken a big leap forward, with ACT's David Seymour and New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters meeting at Parliament. It was the first time the two leaders have been in the same room together since the election. However, it's still not clear when an agreement will be reached - with all parties hoping to lock one in as soon as possible. Political reporter Katie Scotcher has more.

ACT's David Seymour says the final election results haven't changed his relationship with Winston Peters- but it's their job to make it work now voters have decided. National and Act now need New Zealand First to form a Government after National lost two seats in the special vote counts. Seymour says he'd reached out to New Zealand First before that, but they haven't heard back. "I think now they're clearly made part of a future governing arrangement by Friday's numbers, it's incumbent on them to show up and talk- and I'm sure they will." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political pundits wouldn't be surprised if coalition talks go on for some time yet.  New Zealand First leader Winston Peters isn't answering questions about negotiations and he and Act's David Seymour aren't talking.  National doesn't know whether deals will be done in time for incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon to attend the Apec Leaders' Summit in San Francisco on Sunday.  Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby Luxon has said, if need be, he will can that trip.  He says it could drag out for a while or be done quickly, but Luxon has been doing some work in the lead up to the specials.    LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No guarantees from National on when it will have a government in place.  New Zealand First leader Winston Peters isn't answering questions about negotiations and he and Act's David Seymour aren't talking.  National doesn't know whether deals will be done in time for incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon to attend the Apec Leaders' Summit in San Francisco on Sunday.  Deputy Leader Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby the coalition negotiations are a complex process.    LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister-elect's leaving the door open to revealing details of a coalition deal. Arrangements in 2017 weren't publicly released, because the Chief Ombudsman ruled details couldn't be requested under the OIA- because it came within Jacinda Ardern's capacity as Labour leader. ACT's David Seymour is in coalition talks with National and says he'd be happy for his promises to be made public. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Seymour is quite transparent as a politician- and he'd want to see which of ACT's proposals made it through. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Luxon has agreed coalition documents should be made public.  Special vote results get released on Friday week, showing the final make-up of MPs after the election.  Luxon wants vote-counting to be faster than that.  ACT's David Seymour says he has no problem making the coalition agreement public.  Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking that he's wanting to work with both parties and progress conversations.  He says they're very supportive of making it available, so people can understand the commitments they have made.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Luxon's staying tight lipped about coalition discussions.   Meanwhile, ACT's David Seymour says he's happy to make the coalition agreement public once it's been struck.   Arrangements in 2017 weren't made public by Jacinda Ardern, with the Chief Ombudsman ruling details couldn't be requested under the Official Information Act as it came within her capacity as Labour leader.   Former National Health Minister Jonathan Coleman told Kate Hawkesby that historically, it's always happened behind closed doors.  He says negotiations are always kept private, and even in retrospect no one really knows what went on and why things were negotiated.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the election over and coalition talks in the air, it's worth taking the time to look back at what two of the key players had to say about party policies, and each other, before the ballot boxes were emptied. Could National Party leader Christopher Luxon and Act's David Seymour be a combo that takes our nation to a place of strength, or one that just keeps Aotearoa treading water?  Hear from two of the men planning to run the country in today's edition of The Front Page. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Damien VenutoProducer: Shaun D Wilson and Paddy FoxExecutive Producer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Incoming and outgoing MPs have arrived in Wellington as National's Chris Luxon and ACT's David Seymour form the next Government. Labour MPs have already begun handing over the reins and consulting National on future decisions- but no new policies will be implemented before November 3.  Jacinda Ardern's former Chief of Staff Mike Munro says the incoming MPs will be settling into their new roles- and no substantial decisions can be made yet. "The situation in the Middle East- New Zealand's going to make decisions about evacuating people and it's really that sort of stuff rather than anything substantive related to the economy or anything." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT's David Seymour joined Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking on the Minor Leaders Breakfast for an intense thirty-minute interview, to see if they have what it takes to make a difference in New Zealand.  Their party may be minor, but their policies aren't.  Mike Hosking asked the questions New Zealander's need answered to see if the policies and the politicians can hold up under pressure.  Will the minor parties be able to make a difference when it comes to crime, education, the economy, or the climate?  Does ACT have the ability to create “real change”?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Until Monday, no-one knew the name of the reclusive Pennsylvanian millionaire regularly visiting Hawke's Bay. Sean Colgan found himself in the spotlight after it was revealed he'd been lending his private plane to ACT's David Seymour. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie's been digging into his background- and earlier investments during the Covid-19 pandemic. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the first Leaders' Debate for our Minor Parties, but these are no minnows - they will shape the next Government of New Zealand, in just 22 days.  Rebecca Wright moderates a debate between ACT's David Seymour, NZ First's Winston Peters, The Green's Marama Davidson, and Te Pāti Māori's Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another allegation of bullying in the Labour Party. MP Shanan Halbert has been accused of bullying by several former staff dating back more than a year, labelling him “manipulative”, “scheming” and “a narcissist”. Minor party leaders have had their say in the latest election debate. Act's David Seymour, the Green's Marama Davidson, NZ First's Winston Peters and Te Pati Maori's Debbie Ngawera-Packer all squared off in last night's debate on Newshub Nation. And all parties have committed to keep school lunches going. It's only funded out to the end of the year, but Labour and National have expressed interest in keeping it going. Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Sunday Panel, editor and journalist Jo McCarroll and National Party member and partner at Freebairn and Hehir lawyers Liam Hehir joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week- and more!  Between Tim van de Molen getting censured, ACT raising some eyebrows over their chosen candidates and Te Pati Maori breaking name suppression orders- it's been a messy week in the world of politics. Do we care? Does it impact how much a voter trusts a leader? ACT's David Seymour told a rural Tasman crowd that Nelson Mandela would campaign for the party. Is it a bit cheeky to be making claims like this- or his he just looking for a headline? A video surfaced of a baby getting passed around a crowd during a Flo Rida concert in Pennsylvania, and eventually winding up on stage. What do we make of this? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So the World Cup has finished it' stellar month downunder with a victory for Spain. Who, I hope, took the time to thank Palmerston North for the city's contribution towards their success.  After all one would presume that if the team was so bored with the Palmie nightlife then they'd be getting good sleep and spending plenty of time practicing and improving their game during the day. And that is the magic of this World Cup. That New Zealand was so significantly and visibly involved. We hosted half the draw in a tournament whose ratings far exceeded anything we've hosted before. Bigger than a Rugby World Cup, bigger than the America's Cup, bigger than a Commonwealth Games. 2 billion pairs of eyes watched us. Despite what negative columnists wrote about our domestic problems being visible to the world I can assure you that was not the case. We looked great. And if a fraction of those people decide to visit us in the future that's a win. The monetary benefit is still to be calculated but it's fair to say the whole thing was an unqualified success and we owe it to public servants from the council and the government who oiled the wheels in the first place. Some of the workers at Tataki Auckland Unlimited had been working for 15 years to convince FIFA that we were up to the task. They had to battle against super powers like England and Germany who were against us co-hosting. But they got there. But those are the people who are currently under threat. Wayne Brown wants his civil service to return to rubbish bins and water and no more. 200 jobs are going at Tataki Auckland Unlimited. It's the sort of short sighted populist policy that is alarming Auckland businesses who understand that nothing happens without incentives, which they told the Mayor back in May. It's why Coldplay is playing Perth and Taylor Swift is playing Sydney and Melbourne but neither are playing New Zealand. The cities and the country cut them a deal. ACT's David Seymour is waging the same fatwa against public servants which he continued this morning. Now while I have no problem with KPI targets I do have a problem with his belief that this country can survive his drastic cuts to the public workforce.   A few months ago Mr Seymour said he could cut $1 billion out of the public sector in a week. He went further reckoning he could cut $38 billion out of the annual bill. He particularly dislikes event incentives and sweetheart deals for things like films and Research and Development, calling them corporate welfare. He wants to eviscerate Stephen Joyce's innovation, MBIE.   He believes business initiatives should stand on their own feet. But he ignores the fact that without public money some of things wouldn't even be able to crawl. The sort of cost cutting Mr Seymour is suggesting would also provoke an enormous austerity and impact the whole economy. Public servants buy goods and services from the private sector. But they don't if they're unemployed. But it's a popular policy. He's exploiting an embedded dislike of public servants that has been stoked along by small government capitalists for decades now. The belief that all public servants are bad wastes of money and stuff would happen without them. Stuff would happen but not at the scale we've enjoyed lately. After all what business is prepared to throw 15 years of effort and incentive at an event that might not even happen?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour has taken the ACT Party to new heights. He became leader in 2014. Before politics he worked as an electrical engineer in Canada. He's driven a number of projects for the party's policy board with regulatory reform, charter schools and the End Of Life Choice act. ACT Leader David Seymour joined the show for Six And a Song - The Election Edition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister lost patience with ACT's David Seymour during Question Time. Seymour accused the Government of using race to divide New Zealanders, citing pregnant Maori women being given Prezzy Cards and ethnicity being included in surgical waitlists.Hipkins fired back he rejects the premise of Seymour's questions as plain racism. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Labour's under a lot of heat, especially following the backlash to their GST policy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reasonably significant political news today- ACT's David Seymour has absolutely ruled out working with Winston Peters in Government after the election.  Saying: “It's impossible to see us sitting around the Cabinet table.” And: "There's no way that you're going to solve the problems that New Zealand needs to solve when you've got someone who's had so many chances and screwed it up so many times before.”  Amen. I like Winston Peters, I like him a lot. But David Seymour's bang on here. How many more chances are we gonna give this guy?  The thought of Winston being able to choose or influence the next Government actually terrifies me. I don't care how many times and in how many ways he tells me- like he did on air on Tuesday- that he will not support a Labour Government into power. I do not believe him, as far as I'm concerned, Winston Peters cannot be trusted. In 1996, he told voters to: “put Jim Bolger in Opposition where he belongs”. After the election, he put Jim Bolger back into power. Lesson learned. Even if he was true to his word and didn't go with Labour, can you imagine the disaster a National Government would be with him in it?  This country is headed in completely the wrong direction. We need some serious change, but  Winston's not a change guy. Winston's a handbrake guy. He's spent the last 35+ years complaining about the reforms of the 1980s which saved this country's bacon. We need reforms again, to save us once again, can you imagine him allowing that to  happen?  Plus, we are broke. We are out of cash. Grant Robertson's holding meetings demanding Government agency bosses slash their budgets to plug a probably multi billion dollar fiscal hole as our economy slows and tax revenue drops. Winston's a spending guy. He's the guy who forced Labour to give him $3 billion in provincial growth fund money, which his party splashed around the provinces trying to win votes. And which the auditor general looked into and found was so sloppy officials weren't keeping proper notes   So no, I'm with David Seymour. I don't mind a bit of Winston in Parliament to spice things up, but I'd prefer if he stayed the hell away from Government. Especially now, when we do not have the time or the money for his game playing and expensive pet projects. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The opposition parties have been accused of politicising Kiri Allan's mental health crisis, but ACT's David Seymour says that's not the case. MPs across the house have been debating Kiri Allan's resignation from Cabinet and her decision to not stand in the 2023 election. Leader David Seymour says Kiri Allan has been subject to a tragic sequence of personal events- but Parliament still needs to address key issues. "Unfortunately, things don't stop because of one tragic circumstance, we represent 5 million people who are paying the bills and we've got to stand up and reflect on where this Government is going."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fieldays 2023, the Southern Hemisphere's largest agricultural event, returns to Mystery Creek tomorrow. From Wednesday to Saturday, politicians will be turning up to appeal to rural voters, with National already promising a u-turn on emission charging. The Country's Jamie Mackay predicts ACT's David Seymour will be the star of Fieldays 2023, because ACT may have given National a nudge. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So the final march for the man known around Parliament as the Little General, Michael Wood, surely he's gone by lunchtime. I mean being told to do something six times was already a lot, but to then find out it was in fact 12 times; come on. As the Nat's Nicola Willis said yesterday, she sometimes has to ask her 13 year old son to do things 5 or 6 times; but 12 times? That's next level. This is a cluster that Chris Hipkins can no longer ignore. Shifting $13,000 worth of shares is not that hard, let's be honest. And you can't argue you forgot when you got reminded about it 12 times. The PM must be so fed up with this Cabinet. I mean the state of it. Michael Wood, Stuart Nash, Meka Whaitiri, the Jan Tinetti saga, the Kiri Allan saga. Too many sagas, too many shambles and all too close to the election.   Luxon said the wheels are coming off this Government, I'd argue they're already off. It's a clown car with wheels rolling around in all directions and the wheels are just hitting them all in the face now. Hipkins needs to salvage this somehow, he needs to look strong and decisive and managerial, he already let this whole thing loll around far too long - all weekend not dealing with it, he was too slow to even ask questions. And by the time he started asking questions, more was coming out and it was getting worse and worse, the hole was getting bigger and bigger. Here's the thing. We deserve better. Voters gave these guys the biggest majority ever to run this country, and look what they've done with that. Run it into the ground. Made a mockery of their time in office, bumbled, fumbled, lied, obfuscated, and in Michael Wood's case, arrogantly assumed they'd get away with it all. The ultimate notice will be served to this government on October 14th, but in the interim, they just have to do better, they just have to stop this shambolic rule breaking misleading circus act they're currently putting on. It's funny isn't it how people and polls and pundits are so focused on the Chris v Chris show. You know, Chippy from the Hutt with the sausage rolls versus flat old Luxon who looks a bit corporate and a bit boring. Well, the reality is, look at their teams. Look at who's around them, look at what sort of government you're having run the place. Look at whose handling the baubles of office, holding the purse strings and managing the country efficiently and honestly. Are you telling me it's these guys? It's Michael Wood and it's Willie Jackson and it's Jan Tinetti and it's Ginny - ‘what Police operation?' - Andersen? I mean come on. We deserve better. I don't care how many sausage rolls Chris Hipkins eats, that's not how we should be voting. Act's David Seymour says in the interests of fairness and trust in public officials, it's untenable Wood can stay on. Concealing a public interest, as Seymour pointed out, is banana republic behaviour and something we can't accept. I mean I know the bar's already too low in this country with this Government, but we can't possibly lower it even further. The only honourable and appropriate thing to happen now, is for Michael to be sent into the Woods.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! ACT's David Seymour is under fire for commenting Jacinda Ardern would have been "too dumb" to keep up with a global conspiracy on Max Key's podcast. What do we think of David Seymour's comments, is he out of line? A clip of Chris Hipkins attempting to define what a woman is has been circulating- what is a left-leaning politician supposed to say to this question? How would you answer it? Kiri Allan has apologised for some comments that she made at fiancée Māni Dunlop's farewell from RNZ, saying they could be interpreted as her telling the state broadcaster how to manage its staff or company. Were these critical comments justified? National's Greg Fleming compared same-sex civil unions to polygamy and incest- 19 years ago. How frustrating must this controversy be for National? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here are some official stats about violence in this country. When it comes to sexual violence convictions, Ministry of Justice data shows that 46 percent of offenders are European New Zealanders and 29 percent are Maori. Numbers that were probably ringing around in Marama Davidson's head when she said after the transgender protest in Auckland on Saturday that white men are the violent ones. That's me paraphrasing. What she actually said was: “I know who causes violence in the world - it is white cis men. That is white cis men who cause violence in the world." A cis man being someone who was born a male. As opposed to someone who has identified as a man later in life. So what she was saying at the weekend was that biological men are the bad guys. Or, more specifically, white biological men. Come yesterday, though, and with the alarm bells going off in the Prime Minister's Office, the Green Party Co-Leader and the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence was clarifying things. And she claimed that what she was actually saying was that most violence towards women is dished out by men. Whether or not that should be considered enough for her to keep her job, I'll get to shortly. But while we're reeling off statistics, here's another one. Again, according to Ministry of Justice data, when it comes to family violence convictions 56 percent are Māori and 35 percent European. So that doesn't stack up with the white guys are the bad guys statement she made on Saturday. The sexual violence stats do. The family violence stats don't. Not that I think Chris Hipkins was splitting hairs over stats when he told his staff to get on the blower to the Greens and tell them Marama needed to pull her head in. Or, as the PM put it, to do something about her inappropriate behaviour. And so what she did was put out the statement clarifying things. She said when she made the comments at the weekend she was still in shock after being hit by a motorbike. Which you can understand. Anyone would. And, it was at that point, when the Counterspin conspiracy theory crew turned up with their camera and started talking to her about how the protest had panned out. Marama Davidson said to the film crew, as she was walking down the street, that as the government minister responsible for reducing violence she knows who causes violence in the world - and it's the white cis men who cause the violence. That's what she said. Yesterday, though, she said: "Violence is unacceptable in any community and as the Minister responsible for Aotearoa's first ever plan to eliminate family violence and sexual violence, I am committed to an Aotearoa where all people are safe and can live peaceful lives." And she went on to say: "Women are overwhelmingly more likely to be victims of family violence and sexual violence at the hands of men.” Now, at this point, I'm going to be generous to Marama. Because I suspect that she was speaking to Counterspin Media's audience when she said what she said on Saturday. Because Counterspin is the far-right media that the conspiracy theorists and the white supremacy guys flock to. So she was talking directly to their audience. Problem is, as soon as her comments went wider, every white guy under the sun was taking offence. And the politicians jumped on board. Which is why Act's David Seymour was on Newstalk ZB this morning saying she can't stay on as a Minister. It's also why the Prime Minister came out and said her comments weren't appropriate and why she put out the clarification yesterday. But this is where my generosity ends. Because just by making those comments on Saturday, I think it's going to be very difficult for Marama Davidson to convince people that she doesn't have an unconscious bias when it comes to ethnicity and violence. I don't necessarily think she does. But if it even looks like she does, then that will be enough for a whole lot of people to believe she does. And, for me, that makes it impossible for her to be a credible Minister responsible for doing something about all violence - not just violence committed by white men. And, for that reason, I think the Prime Minister is dreaming if he thinks she's done enough to warrant staying on as Minister.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I reckon Stuart Nash would benefit from having a bit more time to spend in the gym. I don't know how many times this week I've seen stories about him being known around Parliament as the “Minister of Muscles”. But it's the way he muscles in where he shouldn't be that's got him in hot water. It all started on Wednesday morning when he was on Newstalk ZB bragging about cracking down on gangs. And it was all going brilliantly for him. Talk about puff out the chest and bang the drum. In fact, at one point there, I thought he must have been having a few sleepovers at Mark Mitchell's place - National's police spokesperson. Because you know how when kids start hanging out with their besties and doing the sleepover thing and everything, they start talking and sounding like their best mate. And that I thought that when I heard Nash on Wednesday morning. Was it Nash or was it Mitchell? But he got a bit carried away, didn't he? He was so excited about proving he wasn't one of those soft-on-crime wowsers who'd had the Police portfolio before Chippy gave it back to him earlier this year. He was so excited and thought it was going so well, that he started banging on about a particular case where a guy down south who had lost his Class A firearms licence in 2017, was found in 2021 to have thousands of rounds of ammunition and a banned weapon. And for that he got four months home detention. Which, at the time, outraged Stuart Nash. Which is fair enough. But this is where things went pear-shaped. Because it was at this point in the conversation with Mike, where he mentioned that he'd called up the Police Commissioner and said 'surely you're going to appeal this'. And then, while he was at it, he had a go at the judges handing out the sentences saying they had to read the room better. While all that was happening, ACT's David Seymour was taking notes, kicked up a stink and, by early afternoon on Wednesday, Nash was no longer Police Minister. With the Prime Minister saying that if he hadn't resigned he would have been pushed. But he wasn't completely out in the cold and he was allowed to hold on to his Forestry, Economic Development, and Fisheries portfolios. Now, though, it's been revealed that Stuart Nash not only phoned the Police Commissioner to ask if he was going to appeal a court sentence, but he also nearly faced a contempt charge after saying on radio that he hoped a man charged with killing a police officer would get a long prison sentence. That was just after Eli Epiha had been arrested. He was accused but hadn't yet been found guilty and that, as anyone knows, is an absolute no-no. The reason being that, if you say stuff like that, the accused can claim that they have been denied their right to a fair trial. Which is why the Solicitor-General considered prosecuting him for contempt. He got off, though, with a warning about breaching the Cabinet manual. So I think, on the evidence presented, we can safely say the Minister of Muscles is a loose cannon. Yes, he might say the sort of stuff that you and I think - and I actually like politicians who say it how they see it. But I think Nash has well-and-truly cooked his goose. And I don't think there is any good reason for the Prime Minister to let him continue to be a Minister in Cabinet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health NZ chair Rob Campbell has come under fire for venting his frustrations about National's Three Waters policy on LinkedIn. National's Simeon Brown and ACT's David Seymour have voiced their disapproval at Rob Campbell's comments. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says Rob Campbell has a reputation as an 'independent character', which was known before he was appointed to the role. Fran O'Sullivan says it's unlikely Rob Campbell will resign unless asked to.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An opportunity for Chris Hipkins as PM to show real leadership -  and a divergent path to his predecessor by acting decisively and quickly on the Health NZ Chair, I reckon. I think that'd go well for him. If you've missed this story, former trade unionist Health NZ Chair Rob Campbell, criticised the National's policy announcement on Three Waters on social media, stating that he thought it was a ‘thin disguise for the dog whistle on co-governance'. He made a bunch of comments including that, "Luxon might be able to rescue his party from stupidity on climate change but rescuing this from a well he has dug himself might be harder." Firstly, this is the guy overseeing the absolute shit-show that is our health system, so how he's even got time in the first place to be ranting on social media about opposition party policies is beyond me, but secondly, he's subject to the Public Service Commission code of conduct, requiring impartiality. He is not allowed to make political statements, or politicise his role, yet that's exactly what he did.  Act's David Seymour's called for his resignation. He says: "The reality is that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Much of the Wellington bureaucracy is openly sympathetic to the left and that's a real concern."   Especially, when they're supposed to be impartial. National called it appalling, with one MP suggesting Campbell shouldn't give up his day job of wrecking the health system to make spurious criticism of National's policy. Another MP said, 'it is completely inappropriate for a senior public servant, the chair of our Health Agency, to be making these comments..' and ‘it's in breach of the clear rules on political impartiality for senior public servants.'   Seymour said he should pull his head in, but Campbell did nothing of the sort, he doubled down, saying he had nothing to apologize for, and doesn't regret the comments.  So here's where Hipkins can show some strong leadership, and reassure voters that public servants aren't so full of their own importance and arrogance that they can breach Code of Conduct rules - and not apologise for it. Hipkins would not express confidence in him when asked last night. I mean, how do you keep on a guy who not only breaches his own conduct rules, but has overseen a health system that's in dire straits and arguably getting worse. Shortages of doctors, nurses, GP's, overcrowded ED's, cancelled surgeries, a ballooning waiting list of 67,000 and counting. And not only does Campbell say they're not on top of all that yet, but he's hardly giving the impression he's laser focused on fixing it either when he's busy on social media writing monologues on Three Waters for goodness sake. This highlights everything that's wrong with ideological bureaucrats running things.. full of opinions and social media meanderings, but nothing actually gets done. We have a health system in tatters, a system we all pay for that they can't fix, a system overseen by him, and yet instead of spending his time fixing it, he's espousing his views on opposition party policy on social media. Hipkins needs to show strong leadership and stub this banana republic vibe out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT's David Seymour is calling for the Defence Force to help reclaim control of the Hawke's Bay streets. There have been reports of violence and looting in the region following Cyclone Gabrielle, and police have so far arrested 42 people. Road workers have also been threatened with guns in a recent incident and citizens are setting up road blockades. David Seymour says the NZDF needs to be sent to Hawke's Bay to assist the police in this extreme situation. "At this point, you've got a lot of remote isolated areas, it's hard for police to get up there and they need more bodies on the ground. This is a time to use that provision Parliament put in the law." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT's David Seymour is getting ready for a turbulent 2023 election. The ACT party have added an extra 9 MPs to parliament between the 2020 election and now, and  support for ACT has gone up over the course of 2022, with polling figures putting their approval rating at 10-11 percent.  Party leader David Seymour knows that the political climate for 2023 is set to be turbulent, with dropping school attendance figures, youth crime and rising inflation being significant issues. David Seymour says that the current Labour Government have only worsened these issues during thier term and voters are fed up. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has recently come under fire after calling Act's David Seymour an 'arrogant prick' in Parliament. Ardern has since apologised to David Seymour for her comments via text. This comment was made as David Seymour was asking the Prime Minister about Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta's performance and hate speech reforms. Political editor Barry Soper observed that David Seymour took the apology well and that this was part of an eventful day in Parliament. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's edition of The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR joined in on a discussion about the following topics: Jacinda Ardern has come under fire for calling ACT's David Seymour an 'arrogant prick' in Parliament. She has since apologised, but how does this reflect on her? Can David Seymour use this to his advantage? A new study has come out revealing that primary school teachers get anxious about having to teach mathematics. Why does maths inspire this level of fear in people? National's Chris Luxon dealt with a bit of backlash after his comments about South Auckland youth and gangs. He apologised for these comments today, what do we think of his statement?  New data from Consumer NZ says that house and contents insurance has gone up by 150 percent in the last decade. Does this industry need more regulations, especially since more people are opting out due to rising costs? LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Act Party Leader's calling for a halt of the RNZ-TVNZ merger. The Government's plan to merge the two organisations is inching closer, as the select committee process is finished, with a report due back in January. The new entity is expected to receive 109 million dollars a year. Act's David Seymour says the project will be slashed if a National-Act government is elected next year. He says he can't think of a worse minister to be in charge of media than Willie Jackson.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT leader David Seymour is calling for eligibility for euthanasia to be broadened -  removing the requirement that a patient has only six months to live. However the Royal College of GPs issuing a strong warning for caution.  They say there needs to be a greater focus on palliative care, and that the lack of a strategic plan and adequate funding is a cause for concern. An example, they say, is that the Ministry of Health has a dedicated team dealing with assisted suicide and euthanasia but not one focused solely on palliative care.  Joining us to discuss are Royal College of GPs medical director Dr Bryan Betty, and then ACT's David Seymour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A warning not to fall into the trap of lumping everything into the co-governance basket. Former Attorney General, and ex-National Party Treaty Negotiation Minister, Chris Finlayson, has added his voice on the issue. Act's David Seymour says a referendum on it, would be an election bottom line. Finlayson says people need to understand what co-governance is. He asks if what's being proposed in the health area is co-governance, or a health initiative to focus on particular problems. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACT party are renewing calls to reduce the mandated isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19. Previously they've called for a reduction down to 72 hours of isolation in line with Singapore's requirements but their latest push has been to match Australia's recent scrapping of the mandated isolation period altogether. For his weekly catchup with the ACT party, Casper questioned David Seymour about his stance on isolation periods as well as a recently announced Ukraine aid fundraising event that the party will be hosting in a couple of weeks' time.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has utilised her platform on the international stage during the UN general assembly to advertise the Christchurch Call, a joint initiative with French President Emmanuel Macron to help combat online extremism. The ACT Party is highly critical of this initiative, believing that it is not the best thing Ardern could have done with her time in the international spotlight. Casper spoke to ACT leader David Seymour, filling in for his deputy Brooke van Velden, about this criticism as well as one topic some believe Ardern should be pushing for more - investment in New Zealand's economy.

After more than two and a half years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has dropped almost all restrictions. Masks are now only needed in hospitals or aged care facilities, vaccine requirements for travellers have been dropped, and isolation for household contacts of the sick has been axed. National's Covid Response spokesperson Chris Bishop says the move should've been made much sooner, but he's pleased measures like isolation for positive cases and masks in high-risk settings like healthcare will remain. He says today will be a strange feeling after so many have got used to the habit of wearing masks. ACT's David Seymour wants even more rule changes including the isolation requirement being shortened to five days. He'd prefer a test-to-release regime for positive cases. Susie Ferguson asked Jacinda Ardern if we should expect case numbers to rise with the easing of restrictions.

Labour has doomed attempts to repeal Easter Trading laws before even reaching its first vote by forcing all its MPs to oppose.Labour, which has a parliamentary majority, is voting as a caucus on the issue, which other parties are treating as a "conscience" issue allowing politicians to make personal votes.The private members' bill, put forth by Act Party small business spokesman Chris Baillee, seeks to give retailers more choice over whether they operate during the religious holiday.Currently retailers have to close on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday, although a law change in 2016 allowed councils to adopt their own bylaws allowing shops to open.When venues are open there are also a range of different rules, including about when alcohol can be served and if people are eating.The bill is due to begin its first reading this evening. National Party leader Christopher Luxon told Newshub this morning he would support the bill, which has strong support from the retail sector.Baillie said his bill would also look after workers by keeping existing employee protections in respect of Easter Sunday, and extend these protections to Good Friday.But that bill has been doomed even before its first reading. While Labour had indicated it could treat the bill as a personal vote, Acting Prime Minister Grant Robertson said they were now treating it as a party issue."We will be opposing the bill," Robertson said."I think there can be a few days in our calendar that focus on spending time with families and not putting pressure on people going out to work."Act Party leader David Seymour said he was "astonished" at the move."I'm astonished labour would whip a conscience vote, especially when on alcohol and religion," Seymour said."But that's what they've done."Seymour said he knew some Labour MPs said they would support it, but didn't know if there would have been enough to pass the bill anyway.Another private members' bill, those drawn from a ballot, to have its first reading this evening is Labour MP Greg O'Connor's Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) (Overseas Travel Reporting) Amendment Bill.That bill is intended to crack down on registered sex offenders travelling overseas to abuse children.A bill needs a majority of the 120 MPs to pass. As Labour has a majority only bills it supports can pass.Parliament has had many similar debates about whether strict Easter trading rules should be relaxed. In 2016 Parliament responded to the debate by giving councils the power to create a policy to allow shops to trade on Easter Sunday.- by Michael Neilson, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new Māori Health Authority to be in place from July could radically improve life expectancy for Māori - but two political leaders want it scrapped.    National leader Christopher Luxon and ACT's David Seymour say they would get rid of it if they win next year's election. Māori public health organisation Hāpai te Hauora chief executive Selah Hart says the leaders' reaction is disappointing.   She spoke to Corin Dann.  

National has risen in the 1News Kantar poll, but the right bloc still doesn't have the numbers to govern.  National leader Chris Luxon polled 17 percent for preferred Prime Minister, up 13 while support for the party is at 32 percent - up four points.  Jacinda Ardern has dropped four percent to 35, while her party has dropped one to 40 percent.  Act's David Seymour is also down, now at six percent for preferred Prime Minister and his party is down three percent to 11.  The Greens are steady on nine percent. Former National Party advisor Brigitte Morten told Roman Travers the party has to rebuild trust so it's a good, steady start. “They need to win back that middle, but getting back some of the trust of voters who previously might have voted for them and bringing them back on side is obviously a good thing.” LISTEN ABOVE 

So, as I said last week with the other two polls, what you look for is a trend. And multiple polls showing the same thing is a trend. And the trend's not good.  Not surprisingly, with the shambolic vaccine rollout, the cluster that is MIQ, divisive policies and controversial mandates. Three waters, He Pua Pua, a never-ending lockdown for Auckland, businesses going belly up, a token insulting ultra-curated stopover in Auckland and inauthentically calling that “a visit”.  And zooming in and out by way of private jet when climate change was going to be her ‘nuclear moment'. Hard to fathom that one from the inside of the Airforce jet whizzing back and forward, that's a lot of carbon miles. I said last week this was a ‘let them eat cake' approach and the clanger here is how disingenuous that is, when this is the Government that promised to govern for everybody.  Poverty, gang problems, gun violence, inadequate leadership, lack of accountability, flip flopping, protests, these things are all becoming part of this regime's calling card. And that's a bad look. So bad that now the polls reflect it.  Hero to zero is happening at a faster rate than most popular governments, they're falling out of favour Term 2, most successful governments at least wait to do that until Term 3.  So, they're down 2 as a party to 41 percent, Jacinda Ardern's popularity has dropped 5 to 39 percent. That's her lowest preferred PM score for two years. Labour's decline has been consistent across the last five Colmar Brunton polls, each poll since the 2020 election has seen them drop. Ardern claims Labour's holding up well however, she thinks it's a strong majority to govern. And she's not wrong, it is a majority. 53 seats for Labour and 12 for the Greens would still be a comfortable majority to govern. But the downward spiral is on. Ardern chalks up the downward trend to ‘having to make tough decisions'. I notice Grant Robertson said it was our fault. "People are feeling anxious." he said, so it's not them it's us? I think we call that gaslighting. But where the Government's dipping, the opposition's not making the gains. National is only up 2 to 28 percent, but as Act's David Seymour points out, the gap between left and right is steadily closing. With Act steady on 14 and National on 28 percent, it's still not enough to govern, but the trend is working in their favour.  Judith Collins, whose approval rating by the way is at a new low, summed the Government's fortunes up well when she said it would “take a while for people to accept the Government sold them a pup.” The trend unfolding now indicates voters are waking up to that fact. 

Some security for those organising our summer festivals.  The Government will pay 90 percent of unrecoverable costs for paid, ticketed events of more than 5,000 people, if organisers have to postpone or cancel due to covid restrictions.  If it sounds familiar, ACT's David Seymour has been calling for an underwrite scheme for events with 500 people or more for a long time.  Minister for Economic and Regional Development as well as Tourism Minister, Stuart Nash, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE 

Would it surprise you to find out that the requirement for pre-departure COVID tests is only being checked on a random basis?It surprised me.As I'm sure you know, under the travel bubble, anyone coming from Australia is meant to have negative test in the 72 hours before flying.Now, you might have thought this was being checked before people get on the plane, but as we've reported earlier this week, more than 50 people have been caught without one.How so?Well, it turns out that Customs is dealing with this by what it calls "random validation."In other words, not everyone is being checked.And given that we've caught more than 50, and we're only doing random checks, would it be fair to say a lot more have probably sneaked through by the skin of their teeth?I'd say it's highly likely.You can't tell me that it's too much work to check everyone.For a start, the airlines have always been responsible for checking people have the proper travel documents, and it's in their interest to get it right, because they're stuck with taking people back if they don't.Surely, the Covid test is just another travel document.No test, no boarding card. Is it really that difficult?On top of that, the numbers actually travelling right now are a tiny fraction of what they were pre-pandemic.So surely, with the army of people available to control our supposedly vital border, this is not an overbearing amount of work.How many more shortcomings and stuff-ups do we tolerate before we call this out for what it is, incompetence.As usual, ACT's David Seymour picks it, he says our response has barely evolved in a year, and we're a sitting duck praying for luck.The Minister of Customs this morning is Meka Whaitiri.If the ninth floor of the Beehive wants to show it expects competence, there'll be a new Minister by lunchtime.

Labour MP Louisa Wall was this week gifted a speaking slot in a debate on suicide by National - after her own party denied her one.National's mental health spokesman Matt Doocey said Wall was "blocked" from speaking, which he said was "absolutely disgusting".Wall was a founding member of the cross-party mental health group who recently published a report on suicide, which was the subject of debate in the House.It comes after Wall made headlines this week after speaking out in her capacity on the International Parliamentary Alliance on China, accusing China of harvesting organs from political prisoners and calling on her own Government to do more to combat slavery.Last year she was seen to be pushed out as the Labour candidate for her long-held seat of Manurewa.Meanwhile, the latest UMR poll has Judith Collins on 10 percent in the preferred Prime Minister rankings, behind Act's David Seymour on 12.It also shows National and Act have 35 per cent of the vote, while Labour and the Greens have 55 per cent.The poll has been described as "unprecedented" for featuring Seymour above Collins.LISTEN ABOVE

You know that when even the Prime Minister's biggest cheerleader Tova O'Brien turns on her, that the wheels may be falling off this government.Is the honeymoon over?The PM is being accused of misleading New Zealanders over the new hate speech legislation being proposed by making inaccurate statements about it. The argy bargy is over how low the bar will be in terms of what qualifies as hate speech.Justice Minister Kris Faafoi acknowledged the new laws would make the bar as low as insulting someone, but the PM disagreed.She argued it had to be an insult that would incite violence.The media, and plenty of them surprisingly pointed out she was wrong, led to the question of whether she knew her own hate speech laws or not. She wasn't only wrong on that aspect of it, she was also wrong about political opinion being included.The discussion document for the public on these proposed changes includes political opinion, yet the PM said Cabinet had taken political opinion out. They hadn't.So what's going on here?National claims the government hasn't done the work on this legislation, and didn't even know what it was they were legislating.It's certainly not a great look when the PM and her Justice Minister aren't even in agreement on it.Act's David Seymour was quoted as saying that, "outlawing insulting people based on political opinion belongs in North Korea, not New Zealand."The Herald's Senior Political Correspondent Audrey Young said that 'in the four days since the government outlined changes to 'hate speech' law, it's become obvious from comments by the Prime Minister that she does not understand them.'  Young says she is 'factually wrong' and says this 'is not good enough for a law which embodies a potential collision of rights, the right to live and participate freely, and the right of freedom of expression, the detail matters hugely,' Young said.Seymour nailed it when he said on ZB yesterday that this government "have this notion of what sounds good and what's announceable and marketable. Under the hood, the workings are a mystery to them."And that's it in a nutshell I think. Just imagine this getting passed without any media having picked up on it or questioning the government on it. What sort of laws would we be getting here? It's just so ropey. "Cancel culture on steroids", is how Seymour described it.And this is the danger of a sycophantic support base who won't question, and a PM who refuses to answer hard questions because as suspected, she doesn't know the answers to them. As Seymour says, she's out of her depth.Thankfully this week, that's been exposed, and ironically, by her usual coterie of cheerleaders.

A leaked tape has revealed more details of how teachers are being told to avoid "white privilege" in schools.The tape has been leaked to Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper."The first thing to do is to take a minute to list your own privilege. This might include white privilege, which we've been talking about a lot recently," one part of the audio says. This month, Act's David Seymour questioned why the Ministry of Education is teaching primary kids about white privilege.Jacinda Ardern said those words aren't used in the resources.Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan teachers were played the tape last week."Indeed, some of the stuff they should be aware, but to be preached at like this, the vast majority of them said they felt insulted." National's education spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says it's right to have a conversation around inequalities, but it's wrong to peddle divisive stereotypes.He says we've heard the Prime Minister say this is not part of the Government agenda - but clearly it is."And it's very much something that teachers having to go to all these education sessions on, and its filtering through the classrooms as well."LISTEN ABOVE

Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard slapped down MPs trying to find out more about his apology for calling a sacked Parliamentary worker a rapist.Mallard has since said he wrongly used the term and in an out of court settlement has apologised to the man.Act's David Seymour has told the Speaker the public has a right to know how much taxpayer money was spent.Seymour said Mallard holds himself out as a Speaker who campaigns against bullying and harassment and he owes it to Parliament to give an explanation.Mallard ordered him to take his seat and refused to take further questions.He says the matter's been settled with an apology to the man and attempts to get him to elaborate about how much the defamation actions against him cost the taxpayer failed.He refused any further discussion on it saying the matter was agreed late last week and he issued his statement as soon as was practical.Listen to Neil Miller and Shane Te Pou discuss Mallard's future with Heather du Plessis-Allan above 

ACT's David Seymour has criticised Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for breaking Covid-19 social distancing rules.Hospitality businesses can't make money at Level 2 because of single server and social distancing rules. Meanwhile, the person responsible for the rules is self-serving and not social distancing. pic.twitter.com/4HUMKJNkU4— David Seymour (@dbseymour) September 18, 2020The PM was meeting with the public in Palmerston North.But during the visit, the Prime Minister broke social distancing protocols to take a selfie with fans.TVNZ Sunday Journalist Mark Crysell joins The Panel on The Weekend Collective to discuss this, along with the big issues making news this week.LISTEN ABOVE