Podcasts about ayesha verrall

It's Politics Thursday and Nick Mills is joined on the show this week by Labour MP Ayesha Verrall and National MP for Otaki Tim Costley. Our political panel address Minister Winston Peters' controversial comments towards a Chinese-Kiwi Green MP in Parliament yesterday. They discuss the standard of behaviour expected, and the rise of racism in the beehive. Also on the agenda is the Government's acceptance of majority of the Covid-19 Inquiry findings, paid parental leave extension and the dismissal of a fireworks ban. Plus, why are both parties so quick to dismiss the Opportunities Party? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now it's just over three months till the election. It is a really important election. New Zealand is struggling to get back on its feet economically. A lot of Kiwis are hurting, and they've been hurting for a long, long time. And they have to decide between a party that gives them stuff, “Oh look, we've got free stuff for you," or a party that is promised to fix things, “Hey, we're in charge here," but is still in the process of fixing things and hasn't fixed a great deal yet, “Oh, it takes time.” Or even whether they should give their vote to a shiny new party, “Hi, we're from TOP," utterly unproven, has some interesting takes on taxing the rich, but hey, at least it's not National or Labour, stuff National or Labour. I'll go with that nice girl in that shiny party that may well end up taking your land off you, but hey ho, there we go, at least it's not National or Labour. There is a lot to think about. There's a lot to consider, there's a lot to discuss, there are policies to pick apart, but instead we've spent a week of the 12 weeks we have left until the election fixated on stupid, crass, dumb stuff that politicians and would be politicians say. Should be a new media segment: Dumb Stuff Politicians Say. The media and the public are to blame equally. The media gets clicks on the website and eyes on social media and calls on talkback. Makes it easy, don't even have to work for them. The public can have a knee jerk reaction, “Oh, that's shocking," and an immediate opinion, “What a terrible person," without having to do the hard work of reading through policies and analysis of policies. And as expected, it didn't take Paul Henry long to be at the centre of a row when he was the guest of Radio Hauraki yesterday morning. JEREMY WELLS: Quick game of shoot, shag, marry. Chris Luxon, Chris Hipkins, and Winston Peters. Who are you shooting? Who are you shagging? Who are you marrying? PAUL HENRY: I mean, you know, you've got to shoot Hipkins, haven't you? WELLS: Okay, so Hipkins is no more. MANAIA STEWART: There's your headline. HENRY: Yeah, I'm shagging Winston. WELLS: And you're marrying Luxon. AYESHA VERRALL: That is absolutely inappropriate and these things do have to be called out because we can't just let death threats go in our political conversation. There are nutters out there who feed off these sorts of things and one day, you know, we can be in the situation which the UK is in where members of Parliament lose their lives. Oh, Ayesha Verrall, cool your jets. That was Ayesha on with my colleague Nick Mills in Wellington when she'd learned that Paul Henry had played shoot, shag, marry on Radio Hauraki. Death threats. The righteous indignation from Labour seems a bit OTT given Chris Hipkins participated in a similar game on The Project some years ago, except then as it was called kick, kiss, or marry. In 2023 Chris Hipkins said he would kick David Seymour, kiss Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to get it over and done with quickly, and marry Te Pāti Māori co leader Rawiri Waititi. Kick David Seymour! He's advocating violence! He wants people to hurt the ACT Leader! No, he doesn't. And nor does Paul Henry want to kill Chris Hipkins. They all just participated in a dumb media game and after Albanese got caught up in the shag, marry, date, and Kylie Minogue and all the trouble he got into with that, I'm sure we'll see cross party support from politicians of every hue and every party that they never play that stupid, stupid game in the media ever again. I mean, you heard one of the Hauraki hosts saying, “Oh, there's your headline," and it was. Then you've got the National Party who have got party-wide outrage after Stuart Nash's comments on Katie Nimon and saying, “Oh, she's bloody lazy," inferring she shouldn't have taken so much maternity leave or parental leave. Now, the social media post from every Nat you've never heard of decrying the comments, and deploring them, and the like could be seen as the Nats quite rightly looking after and supporting one of their own, or it could be seen as a party-wide instruction to shriek your outrage across every media outlet because we're polling badly with women and we want to show women that we love them really, it's just that the country can't afford the pay equity legislation that Labour promised the women. We've got Shane Jones and his knee pads comments and for all his purple prose, his grandiloquence, his circumlocution, his sesquipedalian tendencies, he's just as smutty as the next guy, loves a double entendre. But really, the column inches generated and the time wasted by that comment are just grist to his mill. This is what New Zealand First thrives on: agitate and offend people, then leap back decrying them all as “wokesters” and say, “Ugh, New Zealand First is here to man up, hey! You'll be able to knee pad your way around the bloody morning tearoom when New Zealand First is in power! Hey! Don't you worry about that!" I mean, it's just nonsense. Absolute nonsense. There are columns in the newspaper, there are columns online, there are radio programs where you can discuss in detail the policies of the different parties and how they'll impact on New Zealand now and in the future. But people don't read them. We can show you the figures. And that's people. That's the audience. They click on the knee pads, they click on Katie Nimon, they click on Paul Henry and the shoot, shag, marry. They do not click on Treasury's analysis of the Green Party's tax policy – well they do, but not in as nearly the same numbers. So it's on all of us, except not really us because we do talk policy more than your average radio program and you as the audience who make us the number one rating show do read, do absorb, do analyse the policies more than the average member of the public. But honestly, given that this is one of the most important elections we've got coming up, this is what's dominated the headlines for a week. We do get the government we deserve when shoot, shag, marry is the most read column for the week with 12 weeks to go for an election. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Politics Thursday and Nick Mills is joined in the studio by Labour MP Ayesha Verrall and National MP for Otaki Tim Costley to dive into the political issues from the week. Starting with the resignation of NZ First candidate Stuart Nash after incorrect claims were made about National MP Katie Nimon in a text message. Nash claimed she was the "laziest MP" and made false comments around her parliamentary leave for the birth of her son. Do our politicians think it was an offence worth resignation? Also, ACT candidate Paul Henry comments in a radio interview - was this possibly inciting violence? Then the Golden Bay Cement plant $60 million pay out, and an informative discussion about the mental health system for our youth. Are we too reliant on antidepressants, and what led our kids to need them so regularly? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Matt Heath and Tyler Adams Afternoons Full Show Podcast for the 23rd of July 2026, the Stuart Nash mess raises questions over using private communications publicly. Then another question that got the calls flowing - would anyone notice if NZ disappeared? And to finish - Ayesha Verrall is not impressed by Paul Henry's answer when playing a game of shoot, shag or marry on Hauraki Breakfast. Get the Matt Heath and Tyler Adams Afternoons Podcast every weekday afternoon on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's time for our Politics Panel and this week Nick Mills is joined by Labour MP Ayesha Verrall and National MP for Otaki Tim Costley. Starting with Minister Casey Costello's statement that she is considering a review on excise tax of tobacco. We hear what Verrall and Costley think of this stance and how do we address the growth of the illicit tobacco trade. The death of a man who spent 9 hours in the Waikato Hospital Emergency Department has bought attention to ED wait times. How are the politicians working to stop this tragedy from ever happening again? And the big reveal earlier in the week that MSD had a metric for staff of emergency housing numbers, potentially incentivising staff to deny the support. Plus, the panel discuss regulating politicians on social media. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour says families should not have to worry about money when making sure they and their babies are okay. The party is campaigning on free maternity scans - paid for by a capital gains tax, alongside three funded GP visits a year. They're both part of its Medicard policy. Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says initial briefings show this policy will benefit at least 50,000 expectant mothers. "The precise number that are now eligible and covered by that is a smaller proportion of that, because about a third already had free scans." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 16 June, 2026, Erica Stanford accuses immigration officials of misleading her over a botched $32 million technology project. Labour's health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall on how many pregnant women will benefit from free maternity scans. Former All Whites coach Ricki Herbert assesses the 2-all draw against Iran at the FIFA World Cup. And on The Huddle, Jordan Williams and Mark Sainsbury on whether we're closer to a social media ban for under-16s. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now, I can't imagine Labour's woken up feeling awesome this morning about how that reset is going. What do you think? This is a reset – you do realise that. After months of saying nothing, having no new policy and generating headlines for Ayesha Verrall singing weird songs about ducks, they started this week with a classic reset move. They got themselves a story in the Herald on Monday, claiming Nicola Willis tried to hide secret spending in the Budget. Then they followed it up really quickly with a list announcement, unveiling the policeman candidate. And then tomorrow they were supposed to have their big, substantive policy announcement – something they haven't done in months. It was meant to be this run of good news. Unfortunately for them, it's gone a little bit pear-shaped, hasn't it? The “secret money” has turned out to actually just be an accounting provision. The list announcement got derailed by Greg O'Connor taking a crack at them. Then the new guy for one of the Māori seats revealed there's some tax relief policy coming – which he wasn't supposed to say. Then Chippy got busted for using his government KiwiSaver to buy a bach, and the policeman didn't tell his bosses early enough that he was off to join the Labour Party. All of this is not a good look for Labour, because they can hardly expect to convince voters they're ready to govern if they can't even get 24 hours' worth of announcements to go to plan without being derailed by four or five different issues. But to be fair to Labour, the last 24–48 hours is really not the end of the world. A lot of this is pretty beltway stuff – at least the parts involving the policeman are. In five months' time, when the election rolls around, no one but the biggest political nerds in this country will remember any of it. Five months gives them plenty of time to fix all of this, but they really do have to get on and fix it, because this is the same problem, just repeated – the same problem as the Ayesha Verrall duck-song situation. It looks like a party unable to get its act together and just do one thing properly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opposition Leader Chris Hipkins says if Labour wins power at this year's election, it's position on public funding for the Christ Church Cathedral will not change. Speaking to Canterbury Mornings, Hipkins said the party's verdict still stands. “I just don't think it's something we can prioritise at the moment,” Hipkins also addressed leaks from a Labour Party online Q&A, which included Aysha Verrall singing, Barbara Edmonds' “duckface” comment, and Greg O'Connor's criticism of the Fourth Labour Government. They also discussed Hipkins thoughts on the incoming 2% rise in MPs' pay. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Politics Thursday this week Nick Mills is joined by National Minister Tama Potaka and Labour MP Ayesha Verrall. The panel starts with the biggest news of the week - 8700 public service jobs will be gone by 2029. They discuss what this means for our city? Has anywhere been hit as hard as Wellington? Nicola Willis says her office is experimenting with artificial intelligence, Nick asks our panel if they too are using AI and how can it reduce government work. Potaka and Verrall also dissect security and cost concerns of government workers using AI. 14 corrections staff were arrested yesterday smuggling items - including methamphetamine - to prisoners. Our politicians share their thoughts on the state of corrections, and how to assist this issue in corruption. And Winston Peters buying BNZ, is it a pipe dream? Is there validity when we talk about bringing more competition to NZ? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Politics Thursday and this week Nick is joined in the studio by National Minister Paul Goldsmith and Labour MP Ayesha Verrall. They debate the top political issues of the week, including concerns around Wellington project priorities. After the second Auckland harbour crossing is looking likely to go through, there is still no word on our second Mt Vic Tunnel - is Wellington being slighted? Then onto immigration, as the government launches more immigration policy, polling shows it is not actually a top 10 issue to Kiwis. The panel debate if Kiwis should be more concerned and what the priorities are for their parties come election time. And cutting fees free, is this a broken promise for students currently enrolled in our universities? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall spoke to John Campbell following criticism from some GPs who say they are struggling with underfunding and workforce shortages.

GP shortage could worsen as student interest declines; Dr Ayesha Verrall discusses calls for health sector changes; Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to Ingrid Hipkiss; Waitomo discusses fuel prices; Unemployment numbers higher for younger Kiwis

It's Politics Thursday and Nick is joined by Labour MP Ayesha Verrall and National MP and Cabinet Minister Mike Butterick. Emails between Winston Peters and the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon were released by NZ First through the OIA. They show that Peters talked down Luxon over his initial call to support the US strikes on Iran. There has since been some public beef between the two - Nick asks our politicians who is really in charge with the coalition, and have to gloves truly come off now? Also on the agenda is Luxon cancelling his scheduled media appearances on Breakfast, alcohol in the beehive and the Maiki Sherman event and when will we see some policy from Labour? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Politics Thursday this week Nick is joined by National's Minister for Justice, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Media and Communications and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Paul Goldsmith, and Labour MP and spokesperson for Health and Wellington Issues Ayesha Verrall. Wellington ratepayers have been slapped with a new water bill - which is drawing concern from the government. Nick ask our politicians what they think of this, and what needs to be done to help ratepayers already struggling with high rates. Do we need a watchdog group to monitor Tiaki Wai? And Wellington ranked lowest on the ASB regional economic scoreboard. What is the answer to get Wellington back? Is it in investments, entrepreneurship or the public sector? The fuel crisis continues and National has announced their relief package for low to middle income families. Should there be more support for others? Then onto the $10k table price for a dinner with the Prime Minister. The fundraiser for the National party is causing a stir - is it legitimate, fair fundraising or pay for access? Goldsmith and Verrall give their perspectives. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week for Politics Thursday Nick is joined by Labour MP and spokesperson for Health and Wellington Issues, Ayesha Verrall and National MP for Otaki, Tim Costley. Yesterday the Covid-19 response findings were released, what have our politicians learned from these findings? Verrall, who was associate health minister at the time, shares her thoughts on the inquiry findings surrounding spendings, teenage vaccination health concerns and lockdowns. Was the 30-million-dollar inquiry worth it? They also cover the union outcry over primary teacher individual pay deals, and the letter from Wellington regional mayors and community leaders opposing move on orders. Plus, Shane Reti exits the beehive - are some people too good to last in parliament? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politics Thursday is back with Labour list MP Ayesha Verrall and National MP for Otaki Tim Costley. They join Nick in the studio to tackle the political issues this week. First up — is the second Mt Victoria tunnel up in the air? Or will congestion charges mean we don't need it? We also confront some tough social issues. The new review from the Independent Children's Monitor shows more should be done when it comes to protecting our children? And with serious dog attacks happening right now, are current laws strong enough, or do they need tightening? Plus do we have too many ministers around the Cabinet table? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Politics Thursday, and today Nick is joined by Tim Costley, National MP for Otaki and Ayesha Verrall, Labour MP and spokesperson for Health and Wellington Issues. Starting with breaking news - parts of Transmission Gully are moving to 110kmph speed limits. Then onto the news of the week including the RBNZ Covid Inquiry - is it a political move or for the good of the country. Our politicians face off about the timing of the results, due six weeks before the election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Politics Thursday, Nick is joined in studio by Deputy Prime Minister and ACT leader David Seymour and Labour MP and spokesperson for Health and Wellington Issues Ayesha Verrall. They debate the political issues of the week, including the latest data that shows fees free university incentives did not increase the number of disadvantaged students studying. Seymour and Verrall discuss the tragedy of Mount Maunganui, coalition talks including Te Pati Maori's policy to abolish prisons, and the prep for the election year ahead. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"We've answered every question": Hipkins defends decision not to front Covid Inquiry Labour leader Chris Hipkins says he's already answered the Covid Inquiry Commissioner's questions, negating any need for him to appear publicly. Hipkins and former Ministers Dame Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall declined open hearings, leading the second part of the inquiry to be called off. Hipkins says lawyers raised several issues around them appearing, including setting a precedent and possible abuse. He told Mike Hosking he doesn't see the point in repeating the process. Hipkins says the Commissioners themselves have said former ministers have answered every single question put to them and they are seeking no further information. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Mills is joined in studio by National Otaki MP Tim Costley and Labour MP and spokesperson for Health and Wellington Issues Ayesha Verrall. We get into the Christmas spirit with our guests, what's their plans for their Christmas break and highlight from the year. As well as getting into the political issues from the week like the latest GDP announcement, surplus announcement, Health NZ efficiency targets, M-CERT merger plus the Avatar premiere and James Cameron's concerns about the future of the series. Is Wellington at risk of losing Weta? What will the government do to help? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Politics Thursday this week Nick Mills was joined by Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick and Labour MP and spokesperson for health Ayesha Verrall. They discussed the potential for NZ to follow Australia in banning social media for under 16s and other regulations. Verrall and Butterick then hit the other big political news of the week including Coster blaming Mark Mitchell and Chris Hipkins for getting McSkimming too late, as well as RMA changes and ACC going back on working from home orders. Also, they give their take on who will win the financial debate between Nicola Willis and Ruth Richardson. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Politics Thursday this week Nick Mills was joined by Labour MP Ayesha Verrall and National's Ōtaki MP Tim Costley. They spoke on the McSkimming case, and the IPCA report findings that show the police were covering up information. Costley and Verrall then spoke on the other political issues of the week, including their thoughts on the future of Te Pati Māori and potential coalitions and the new drug driving testing starting in Wellington. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Politics Thursday this week Nick Mills was joined by Labour MP Ayesha Verrall and National's Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick. They discussed the new unemployment figures which are up to 5.3%, the highest since 2016, talking reactions, causes and ways to recover. Verrall and Butterick then spoke on the political issues of the week, including the rumours of a bill to ban homelessness in CBDs, sick leave, water safety funding and if they would ban fireworks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was looking last night at things we could talk about, and there was plenty to talk about, all of which got superseded by Labour, Labour, Labour - having to release their capital gains tax, which is targeted to three free doctors' visits. Labour's been playing peekaboo with a capital gains tax for some time now. Oh, will we, won't we? Oh, what's it going to look like? Can't tell you. And now they kind of have. We finally get to hear the detail on what that CGT is going to look like, except #notreally. Because the release was made early because it was leaked, and so nobody got up to speak to the policy. Chris Hipkins, Barbara Edmonds, and Ayesha Verrall are doing that at 10:30am today, despite their press release having been out for the past five hours. With all news media going, what the dickens? What does it all mean? Does nobody actually talk to one another in the Labour ranks? Last week a health policy was announced and Chris Hipkins was taken by surprise. Today there's been the leak, not ideal. Anywho, from the press release, Labour will set up a Medicard for all New Zealanders, giving you three free doctors' visits per year, whether you need them or not, and will pay for it with a targeted capital gains tax. There was some detail included in the release. The tax will exclude the family home, Kiwi Saver shares, business assets, inheritances, and personal items. And the tax will only apply to gains made after July 2027. I heard Mike reading out a text saying, "Oh, I bought the batch in 56,1956. It's been in the family and now I'm going to have to pay a million dollars in tax." Well, no. The tax will only apply to gains made after July 2027. Back to the press release we go ... currently most profits from selling commercial property or residential property are tax-free. A new targeted tax would apply only to the sale of a commercial property or residential property, excluding the family home, and only on the gains made after the 1st of July 2027. There would be no tax on any gains made before that date. I don't think that was very clear this morning in the discussion. The tax would be set at 28% to align with the company tax rate. So some detail. So many more questions. I have some, and hopefully we'll be able to put them to Chris Hipkins, Ayesha Verrall, or Barbara Edmonds at some point. How much will three free visits for every New Zealand cost the taxpayer? Anybody? No. Related to that, how much does Labour anticipate collecting from a targeted capital gains tax? Anybody? Nope. Does it include dental, which is what a lot of primary healthcare researchers have been calling for, or just the GP visits? Why does everybody get three free visits? If one in six New Zealanders can't afford GP visits, why are taxpayers paying for the five in six who can? What if I don't need to visit the doctor three times a year, but my neighbour needs to visit 10 times? Surely it's better to look after people who are born with poor health or develop poor health over a lifetime, and look after them and keep them out of the hospital system. And not specifically related to the policy, but why are you having so much trouble releasing policy, Labour? Seems to be a bit tricky. You've had quite some time to develop it. Anyway, hopefully we can put these questions to them, but there has been much talk about a capital gains tax. We've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for Labour to release this. It's so targeted, so specific in terms of how the CGT will be applied, and then to tie it in with free GP visits, three per person per year, when five in six New Zealanders don't need free visits. What's the point? You might think it's amazing. If so, I'd love to hear from you. If this is an absolute game-changer for you, I'd love to know how and why. To me, it's a complete and utter head-scratcher. And I'm trying not to be biased against Chris Hipkins. But I am a bit, a little bit. But I'm open-minded to Barbara Edmonds and Ayesha Verrall, I quite like them in terms of the policy they announce. Chris Hipkins is a likeable chap, but I just think he's been a failure when it comes to delivering any kind of policy. I'm willing to keep a relatively open mind to Barbara Edmonds and Ayesha Verrall, but they're not doing much to convince me. Why give something to people they do not need? That's been a criticism of National with the tax cuts and the landlord rebates. Why give something to people they don't need? Why not target it to the people who do need it? And what's the point of bringing in a capital gains tax if it's going to be put into harness with three free GP visits to people who may or may not need them? I give this one a two out of 10. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Politics Thursday Nick Mills was joined by Labour MP Ayesha Verrall and National's MP Tama Potaka. They discussed the issues in the beehive this week, starting with the mega strike of 100,000 including teachers, nurses and senior doctors. They also chatted with Nick about Labours health policy mix-up, whether politicians should get involved in the Dame Noeline Taurua coaching debacle, the new transport announcements from National and working towards more bipartisan agreements. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An unexpected Labour policy announcement was a bit of a shock for leader Chris Hipkins today. Health spokesperson, Ayesha Verrall revealed the policy in an op-ed for New Zealand Doctor magazine. It proposes to create an independent body to estimate and allocate GP funding increases, rather than the Government. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Labour 'botched up' the rollout of this announcement. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Politics Wednesday, the Covid Inquiry is still at the top of mind for many. Chris Hipkins, Dame Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall have declined to publicly answer questions for the Royal Commission's second Covid Inquiry. Labour's Ginny Andersen and National's Mark Mitchell delved into the situation, as well as touching on Trevor Mallard's ousting from the role of Ambassador to Ireland. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A constitutional lawyer says the Royal Commission of Inquiry has the power to summons ex-ministers to front for its Covid enquiry. It's called off its second week of hearings after Chris Hipkins, Dame Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall declined to appear. It says it shouldn't diminish the inquiry - as all have privately given evidence. Lawyer Graeme Edgeler says the Commission just needs to consider if it'll miss out on key information without a summons. "If the answer to that was yes, then they should exercise it. They seem to think at the moment that they don't need need to have the summons, but it's something they have in their back pocket." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says he's already answered the Covid Inquiry Commissioner's questions, negating any need for him to appear publicly. Hipkins and former Ministers Dame Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall declined open hearings, leading the second part of the inquiry to be called off. Hipkins says lawyers raised several issues around them appearing, including setting a precedent and possible abuse. He told Mike Hosking he doesn't see the point in repeating the process. Hipkins says the Commissioners themselves have said former ministers have answered every single question put to them and they are seeking no further information. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Current and former Labour leaders and ministers deciding not to appear at the Royal Commission's Covid inquiry is being described as 'disgraceful'. Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson and Ayesha Verrall, who were all involved in Covid decisions - have declined invitations to appear. They say it would have been performative - not informative - and there's a risk livestream recordings could be manipulated and misused. National MP Chris Bishop says they should front up because New Zealanders deserve answers over the scale of Covid spending, which is still having impacts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour is calling the approval for a third medical school an unclear investment and wants costings for the project released immediately. Labour's spokesperson for health Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

There seems to be increasing reportage, based around some new research, that our dream of being smokefree is up in smoke. 2025 is the year when we were aiming to be smokefree. By smokefree, it would have been reduced to 5% left smoking. To meet that goal, the research says about 80,000 more people need to quit. They won't. As always, the fact they haven't, or won't, is somehow the Government's fault, who haven't done enough. Or worse, this particular Government, who they say have been shocking, led by New Zealand First and Casey Costello who is a devil and in the pocket of the tobacco companies – or some such gibberish those like the Labour Party spend a lot of time trying to suggest. Where it went wrong was twofold. The first was the belief, and this was classic Labour under Helen Clark, that you could force people to do something they didn't want to, and there were always going to be people who didn't want to. Where it worked, and we can be grateful, was in the public space part of it. No longer are you forced to inhale if you don't want to, or smell like a smoker, or stand in a group, or be trapped by it. But beyond that, once the hardcores were on the footpath, some were never giving up. The second thing that went wrong was vaping, a shocking miscalculation that it was a cessation tool, when what it really was a gateway for kids. A whole new generation got easy access, and the slippery slope was never going to get stopped. Governments could have nipped it in the bud but didn't. They could have made vapes script only like Australia, but didn't. The Labour Party under Ayesha Verrall, a medical professional from the party who invented smokefree, hurled their best wet bus ticket at the vaping market. So nothing happened. History will show they were out of the gates, Clark-style, with gusto. There was early progress on public spaces and a general change in attitude to the habit, followed by the predictable malaise and hardcore resistance, leaving us 25 years on with a change in society but well short of what was envisioned. Good crack, failed on the follow through. I'd give it 7 out of 10. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's Ayesha Verrall says tobacco's unique harm is why industry links to Government need tighter checks. She's put forward a Members' Bill designed to ban any linked people working on tobacco policy. Labour hopes it'll have cross-party support. Verrall says other products, like vaping, don't need such strong restrictions - but tobacco's incredibly deadly. "It kills half the people that use it - we don't have other products like that. So that's why we need this specific focus on tobacco." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's health spokesperson says the government's decision to cut jobs and freeze recruitment of health care workers is hurting frontline services and harming patients. Labour's Ayesha Verrall spoke to Alexa Cook.

A new unit set up to scrutinise Health NZ will run for four months and report directly to the Health Minister. Labour's Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 4 December 2024, Tingjun Cao has been found guilty of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao. Labour's Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall is refusing to apologise for accusing Health Commissioner Lester Levy of "cooking the books". Levy is considering defamation action. The science community is outraged after the Government decided that the Marsden Fund will no longer support research in the humanities and social sciences. Plus, the Huddle debates whether Kainga Ora should make a u-turn and consider wool carpets rather than nylon.Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Early Edition host Ryan Bridge joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Labour's Ayesha Verrall raised a few eyebrows after she accused Health Commissioner Lester Levy of 'cooking the books' in his previous DHB rules. Should we take these accusations seriously? Kāinga Ora has ruled out putting wool carpets in its houses - because it's more expensive than nylon alternatives. There's plenty of disappointment from the Government - what do we make of this? Public sector Christmas parties seem like they'll be a sad affair this time round - with some requiring staff to bring their own food or alcohol. Is this the right move? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's Ayesha Verrall has stepped up to defend her accusations against Health Commissioner Lester Levy. Levy - who was brought in to replace the agency's board after financial concerns were raised - is being grilled by MPs for the organisation's Annual Review. Verrall accused Levy of having 'a reputation of cooking the books' - citing examples of past roles. She says recent accounts have been presented in a 'non-conventional' way. "That's exactly what I'm saying - this is pretty fishy. You have this process that is being used to justify health cuts where the Auditor-General says the accounting treatment is not right." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scrutiny Week is underway with annual reviews of government entities with multi-billion dollar budgets. Also underway are political games you would never dare try in your own performance review. Exhibit A is Shane Reti facing Ayesha Verrall in the Health Committee. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Health Ministry has apologised to the Smokefree minister Casey Costello for failing to inform her that one of its officials had a conflict of interest. It comes after NZ First leader Winston Peters used Parliamentary privilege to accuse the official of attending meetings with Ms Costello and advising her on tobacco reform without telling her she was the sister-in-law of Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall, deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Ministry of Health has apologised to the Associate Health Minister Casey Costello for failing to tell her that one of her advisors on tobacco reforms was the sister-in-law of Labour's Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. Here's our political reporter Giles Dexter.

Labour has asked the Auditor-General to investigate a government decision to slash tax on heated tobacco products, claiming there are signs of "industry influence". Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall has asked Controller and Auditor General John Ryan for an urgent investigation under the Public Audit Act. Guyon Espiner spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Labour has asked the Auditor-General to investigate a government decision to slash tax on heated tobacco products, claiming there are signs of "industry influence". Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall has called for an urgent investigation under the Public Audit Act, and says there are several indications of tobacco industry influence that must be investigated to maintain trust in government. Both Health Minister Shane Reti and Associate Casey Costallo have declined to comment. Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

There are some dumb games being played at the moment in the very serious business of health. Health NZ is in the red to the tune of $1.7b - that's for the year. They are over budget by $1.7b. That's why Lester Levy got to be Commissioner and all the others were let go. Game one is the Labour Party, who have of course zero credibility when it comes to money, who are claiming the $1.7b is because Health NZ is underfunded. I have seen the budget-on-budget comparisons. They are not underfunded. Ayesha Verrall is playing with numbers in a "Ginny Andersen-have-you-see-how-many-cops-are-on-the-beat" kind of way. Dumb game number two comes from the unions, also with zero credibility around economics. They argue their equity pay claim, this was when we gave nurses a massive pay rise of $400m, should not be part of the $1.7b because they were told it was coming from "another pot". Sadly other pots aren't real. What's real is what it costs to run the health system and what it costs is more than they have, hence they are in the red to the tune of $1.7b and part of the cost is what we pay nurses. The culmination of Labour and the unions' dumb game is that, allegedly, the Government are manufacturing a crisis. The trouble with numbers, generally speaking, is they are what they are. We deal with this daily with our bank balances. If we are overdrawn we are, generally, not manufacturing a crisis or we haven't been underfunded, we are just overdrawn and we need to live within our means. The unions and the Labour Party have never really had any trouble living beyond their means and that is why, more broadly speaking economically, we have had three recessions in two years. We have not, and still don't, pay our way. If there's any good news it's that at $1.7b a year, surely there is a lot of waste in there? If Erica Stanford can find $100m on a Māori language course that was producing little if anything, Lord only knows what you can find in the $30b of health money. But the most valuable skill we can bring to such matters at the moment is realism. Economic realism. We are broke. We are overspending. And fudging numbers and playing dumb games doesn't help. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour is again calling for the Associate Health Minister to be sacked, after she released documents showing the weak evidence she relied on get a tax cut for heated tobacco products. Labour's Ayesha Verrall told our political reporter Russell Palmer it shows the Minister can't be trusted.

Labour has called the government's new health targets ripe for 'game-ification'. Health Minister Shane Reti this week said the earlier announced targets of reducing ED waiting times and improving access to cancer treatment will be made possible by expanding the number of hospital beds and expanding the capacities of private health providers. Labour Party health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

It's been revealed nearly 70 Te Whatu Ora staff have signed non-disclosure agreements since the end of November and 38 within the Ministry for the Environment. It's prompted a complaint to the Public Service Commission from Labour. Its health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the NDAs stifle internal debate and legitimate scrutiny. Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa said agreements were for staff involved in addressing recent financial pressures and dealing with Budget-sensitive information. Employment law expert Barbara Buckett spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Labour Party says the government's reasons to justify cost-cutting at Te Whatu Ora are just spin. Labour's Ayesha Verrall spoke to RNZ's Ruth Hill.

Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall is calling the move to replace Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora's board with a commissioner "political spin". Verrall spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.