Podcast appearances and mentions of David Seymour

The Minister for medicines has revealed he is pushing for hundreds of millions of dollars of more funding for drugs in the next year's budget. Associate Health Minister, who is responsible for Pharmac, David Seymour believes medicines should be viewed as an investment and there needs to be a different approach assessing the cost benefits of drugs. It comes as a new report shows the medicine gap between Australia and New Zealand is getting wider and deeper. David Seymour spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Act Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister has his say on Ecan, Paris and Palestine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Mackay talks to Phil Duncan, David Seymour, Shane McManaway, Blair McLean, and Jim Hopkins.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour believes a refresh of Pharmac's operations is benefiting New Zealanders. Its latest funding proposal includes five new medicines for breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, eye conditions, and lung cancer. The Associate Health Minister says a board and leadership change has worked well, and the next step is ensuring strong budget bids. Seymour told Mike Hosking that instead of Pharmac working within a set allocation, it will now go to the Finance Minister each year for funding. When it comes to recognising Palestine, David Seymour appears to be backing a more cautious approach to the thorny question. Foreign Minister Winston Peters is set to announce our decision at the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday. Doing so would mean our country joins the likes of Australia, the UK, and France. Seymour told Hosking he has his own opinion on the matter but will support any Government position. He suggests some countries are jumping up and down for political theatre, but New Zealand will consider all the facts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 25th of September, a Swedish economist delves into the credentials of our incoming Reserve Bank Governor. Pharmac is funding new medicines who should help our patients and hospitals – David Seymour discusses. Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox is in studio to reflect on the year and talk about the upcoming Chasing the Fox event. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the show… Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis ranking 15th and 13th among business leaders, a shockingly low position.   ACT Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour shares his thoughts on government spending and regulatory reforms. Website: https://www.rova.nz/home/podcasts/duncan-garner---editor-in-chief Instagram: @DuncanGarnerpodcast  TikTok: @DuncanGarnerpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrations for a big and bodacious Oriini Kaipara byelection victory were shortlived for Te Pāti Māori thanks to Tākuta Ferris's decision to double down on a social media post aghast at a multicultural group of Labour supporters for Peeni Henare on the campaign trail. That was compounded by party president John Tamihere entering the breach, and a mysterious reollaction of the role of party whip. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire talk through the fallout and ask what it means for TPM and their relationship with Labour. Plus: a bigger-than-expected contraction in the economy has seen GDP shrink by 0.9%: is the government running out of time for the weather to change? In other defeat from the jaws of victory news, New Zealand First's new champion Stuart Nash enjoyed about 10 minutes of acclaim before putting his foot in it. And as Winston Peters gives David Seymour yet another dressing down, what explains the government's refusal to simply announce its position on a Palestinian state? Oh, and we issue a formal apology for propagating disinformation in last week's audiocast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Hamilton man has been told by the council to move his shed because it's too close to the boundary fence, or be stung with a fine $20,000 a day for everyday the shed is non-compliant. David Seymour has come to his defence, as the Government goes through the process of changing laws about where you can put your shed, so by the end of the year, under the new rules his shed will be compliant. Brian Morgan, whose shed is at the centre of the controversy, spoke to Lisa Owen.

We tell the Deputy PM and Act Party leader that we need to draft urgent legislation, and rush it through the House. No, not to get out of Paris or to recognise Palestine. But rather, to ban the box kick. This is a national crisis!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Mackay talks to David Seymour, David Clark, Todd Charteris, and Dr Jacqueline Rowarth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Saturday, roughly 20,000 marched in the pro-Palestine rally, the ‘March for Humanity,' with protesters walking from Aotea Square to Victoria Park in Auckland's CBD.  For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Simon about the rally and what protestors are calling on the government for, regarding their response to Israel's war on Gaza, as the death toll in Gaza reaches over 64,000, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. As well as this, Regulations Minister and ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has not ruled out changes to the labelling of alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco products. However, firstly, they discussed the ‘March for Humanity' rally.

A view that factors schools can't control are the reason school attendance is static. About 600 schools are struggling to reach the 2030 goal of having 80 percent of students attending more than 90 percent of the time. That's almost one in four schools. Principals' Federation President Leanne Otene told Ryan Bridge this data includes both unjustified and justified absences - as well as transience. She says this can be kids needing to move around for social housing, or those in families impacted by high unemployment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour says changes to warning labels for tobacco, nicotine and alcohol products are on the table - despite pleas from public health groups. Guyon Espiner spoke to Ingris Hipkiss.

North Otago farmer and award-winning environmentalist talks about “the fascinating arms race” between David Seymour and Winston Peters to claim who thought of getting out of the Paris Agreement first. We also discuss things getting dry down on the farm and why Ingrid Smith is a great face for New Zealand farming.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, announced the party's position statement on climate, saying that if the Paris Agreement isn't reformed, the country should leave the agreement. The Paris Agreement, signed by New Zealand by the then National-led government in 2016, aims to keep the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an overall aim of keeping the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Currently, Aotearoa is one of 195 UN parties to adopt this framework. If the country were to leave the Paris Agreement, the country would join the likes of the US, who signed an executive order to withdraw this year, and Iran, Libya, and Yemen, who have never formally joined the agreement. For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about the Paris Agreement, and our future with this framework.

There's a stoush brewing over the future of Auckland's plan for housing intensification. Auckland Council is meeting later this month to decide on its new draft plan for the city which could reshape the city and create up to two million homes. Chris Bishop has said he wants to see the Resource Management Amendment Bill changed so buildings up to 15 storeys high can be built around City Rail Link stations. But ACT leader David Seymour has said parts of the plan are not necessary, and spoke to Lisa Owen.

Today on the podcast...   Chris Hopkins is failing to tell the truth over the lifting of the foreign house buying ban. Hip suggests foreigners will flood our shores buying all these houses.They won't. Just 0.2% of all sales last year were houses over 5 million. Just, just over a hundred. Stu Nash says his old labor colleagues are deluded and out of touch if they want to block rich foreigners coming into the country with their capital. David Seymour, uh, will join me on the podcast Get in touch with Duncan - duncan@rova.nz and join us on the socials. Website: https://www.rova.nz/home/podcasts/duncan-garner---editor-in-chief.html Instagram: @DuncanGarnerpodcast TikTok: @DuncanGarnerpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Seymour says he's opposing planning changes in Auckland in his role as local MP, rather than his role as Act Party Leader. Seymour's opposing a move to allow more intensification near transport corridors. The Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Epsom told a public meeting that supporters must impress on Housing Minister Chris Bishop that the plan is not necessary. Seymour told Mike Hosking he's representing the views of his Epsom electorate constituents. He says his job is to ensure Epsom, Mt Eden, Newmarket, Parnell, and Remuera have their interests advocated for. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions have been raised over New Zealand's future in the Paris Accord, with National holding steady in support for the agreement. Yesterday, ACT's David Seymour said New Zealand should leave unless the terms are changed, but Prime Minister Chris Luxon said backing out would mean we aren't a trusted partner on trade - and would punish our farmers. Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says the Government has no plans to pull out, and they're committed to the emissions targets. "The reality is, is that we're a major export nation. I've just come back from Beijing on Friday, speaking with the Chinese Minister, they're committed to the Paris Agreement." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister ponders the Act Party’s new position on the Paris Agreement. David Seymour is effectively siding with Winston Peters. How much heat/friction is this going to cause for the Coalition? We also discuss the latest Roy Morgan Poll, the Amazon deal and relaxing foreign investment. Are New Zealand farms next on the chopping block?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 3rd of September, our tourism stats are slowly continuing to move in the right direction. So when will we reach 100% of our pre-Covid numbers? David Seymour says New Zealand should pull out of the Paris Agreement – National says no. Former Fed Farmers Chair and Associate Agricultural Minister Andrew Hoggard speaks on the topic. On Politics Wednesday, Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell talk the Tamaki Makaurau byelection and Brooke van Velden's controversial comments, plus Mike extracts a promise as to how early they'd get up in the morning for a prerecord. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour's call around the Paris Accord merely adds to the list of calls around the Paris Accord. If we could park the emotion and the bandwagons associated with the obsession around saving the planet, the case for 2050 would no longer add up. For example, take the countries that never signed up, take the countries like America that are leaving, take the future British Tory Government who will bail, take the world's biggest climate alliance for banks who have suspended their activities and proposed a vote on scrapping its current structure after a whole pile of members bailed. The Net-Zero Banking Alliance stated their commitment was to align their lending with achieving net zero. It didn't work. It didn't come close. Since Paris in 2015, banks globally have provided loans of $6.4 trillion USD to oil and gas and $4.3 trillion to green projects. The founder of Reclaim Finance Lucie Pinson says the reality is the banking alliance never truly challenged the fossil fuel business models. On facts alone, climate is losing. You can argue forever about why and whether that's good or not, but if it is fact you are using, then the Seymour call and the growing actions of places like America are actually sensible. Just how much farce, how many COPs 18, 19, 27, 32, do you want to continue the failure? How many press releases do you want asking for us to redouble our efforts, knowing it will never happen? How much funding? How many air miles? How many promises that will never come close to reality do we want to pursue in what is simply a vain hope? A well-intentioned hope, yes. Laudable, but futile. Maybe net zero or Paris is a guide and an aspiration. A "let's give it a go and see how close we get" sort of thing. Perhaps with no target the whole thing falls apart. But like a lot of nonsensical ideas, this one has fast become exposed as a bust. If good intention and hot air was currency it might be different, but the facts and the truth tell us it isn't. Maybe we are all going to hell in a handcart, a dirty, filthy, climate-induced hand cart. Or maybe we aren't. But the juggernaut of Paris isn't working and never really did. Good, clear, decisive decision making would mean we stop the rot, expense and energy sooner rather than later. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's hopes from David Seymour that he can convince National to get on board with ditching climate change targets. The ACT leader wants New Zealand to leave the Paris climate change agreement - unless we can negotiate a better deal. But Prime Minister Chris Luxon says leaving the deal will only hurt our farmers, as international consumers value New Zealand's clean brand. David Seymour says his party is influential. "We've got a pretty good track record - if you look at the influence that ACT has had over this Government, I think it's profound. So watch this space." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"The only party that opposed the Zero Carbon Act is now calling for a better deal from Paris,” says the Act Leader as the Party released its position statement on climate today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Mackay talks to David Seymour, Bryce McKenzie, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Todd Clark, and Phil Duncan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been plenty of debate about New Zealand's future in the Paris Agreement, following some comments made by David Seymour. The ACT leader wants New Zealand to pull out of the global climate agreement, unless the targets are realistic. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Luxon won't withdraw from the agreement - at least not until the 2026 election is over. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore and former Labour Minister Stuart Nash joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! ACT leader David Seymour says the Paris Agreement needs to be reformed - or else New Zealand should walk away. Is he right? Will National get on board for it? Helen Clark and John Key are set to attend China's big military parade alongside Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. What do we make of this? Will Luxon and Winston be glad they don't have to go? The Polish CEO who made headlines after he snatched a child's hat at the US Open has since apologised - do we believe this? NZI says we have three times as many ministerial portfolios as we need - do we need to make some cuts? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finally, we have a serious party who has spent time thinking about it - and is now seriously suggesting that New Zealand should pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Now, that was what came from that ACT Party announcement that I told you would be coming today that you needed to keep an eye out for. ACT says Paris isn't working for New Zealand and it says we should push for the agreement to be reformed - and if it isn't reformed, then we should pull out of it. It isn't working, ACT says, because it's pushing up our food prices and it's pushing up our power prices and it's forcing the farmers off the land to make way for trees. And you can add to that list something that we've seen a lot of this winter and last winter - it is shutting down industry because of those high power prices. Now, there will be a lot of people who hear this from ACT and write it off as nutty climate change denier stuff. It is not. Think about the Paris Agreement critically, right? Set aside, you know, your vibes, whether you want to help the climate, set all of that stuff aside. Just think about this critically as to whether it works or not. And you can see it doesn't work. I mean, I stand to be corrected, but I cannot see any country that is meeting the targets. We will not meet the targets. The US, one of the world's biggest polluters, has pulled out. China, the world's biggest polluter, is still building coal-powered plants. I mean, we are fretting about the one coal-powered plant that we've got and they're building heaps of them. India, another one of the biggest polluters, is also doing the same with coal-powered plants. In which case, why would a country responsible for 0.17 percent of the world's emissions - or something like that - continue to persist with the Paris Agreement? Because we're not saving the planet, we're just making Kiwis poorer. And power is so expensive that we now have people who cannot turn on the heater every time Huntley burns expensive coal. Coal, by the way, which is not expensive, but which we have decided to artificially make expensive in order to save the planet. Now, the Nats have shot this down already and say it's not happening. That's smart politics for them, because they've got to hold on to the swing voters who might react badly, you know, without thinking things through to anything that looks like climate change denial. The Nats might want to be careful about what they rule in or out hard before the election, because they might need flexibility afterwards, given both of their coalition partners want out of Paris. ACT officially wants out unless things change, New Zealand First keeps hinting at it. And if National is honest with itself, they should want to get out of it too, because Paris is making us poorer, but not doing anything to save the planet. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 2 September 2025, ACT leader David Seymour explains why he wants to pull out of the Paris Agreement if the conditions don't change. Luxury real estate agent Anthony Morsinkhof says his phone's been ringing all day with foreign investors wanting to start buying houses here. Sir Peter Gluckman tells Heather why we need to toughen up our university entry requirements. Amazon's NZ Country Manager Manuel Bohnet explains the company's investment in NZ - but gets unstuck when Heather digs deeper. Plus, the Huddle debates the hideous CEO who snatched a signed cap off a kid at the US Open. 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.

Early last week, ACT MP, Todd Stephenson, re-lodged his End of Life Choice Amendment Bill, which seeks to expand the eligibility of the End of Life Choice Act. This follows recommendations from the Ministry of Health's office review into the law, which was an official requirement of the original 2019 Act. Stephenson's bill has accepted all 25 recommendations. National's coalition agreement with ACT requires any proposed changes to the Act having to be progressed through as a member's bill. As well as this, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche, has not ruled out absorbing ministries such as the Ministry of Women and Ministry of Pacific People into larger ministries. In 2023, the ACT Party had campaigned on removing these ministries. And last week, The Justice Select Committee report into four-year parliamentary terms recommended a referendum on the potential move, but had recommended some provisions of ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, be scrapped. These provisions include an incoming government only being allowed a four-year term if the government agreed to give the opposition the majority in the select committee. This would mean that some governments would be three-terms, and some would be four terms. For our weekly catchup with ACT MP Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about all these topics, starting with Todd Stephenson's members bill.

I would have thought the timing could not be more awkward. If you broadly accept the current narrative that this Government is working awfully hard to get us out of the massive economic hole left to it by the previous Government, and if you accept that the previous Government was one of the worst in living memory, then just imagine where we would be if that hopeless lot of 2020-2023 had actually been rampaging across the countryside until last year because they had had a four-year term. Surely it's that cold, present, still-throbbing reality that prevents a discussion on a four-year term going much further. A lot of politicians seem to want one, and who can blame them? There is logic to what they argue. In year one you arrive in your office, introduce yourself to everyone, put a few press releases out and start the spade work. In year two you go for broke because year three is written off in campaign mode. As Britain is discovering, five years is an awfully long time and until they changed the law about calling early elections, they got into a nasty habit of calling early elections because five years tended to exhaust them, and various calamities would present themselves with the only exit strategy being a vote. So, if you're following the logic three years isn't enough and five is too long. So four years is goldilocks. Or is it? David Seymour is a fan of four years. He argued that most countries have longer terms and there are very few countries with three years. There are also very few countries that balance their budgets or pay down their debt. That doesn't make it good. What is good is his admission that the gerrymandered shambles he offered up as a twist on an extended term with committees and numbers will never see the light of day. It's taken us 25 years to get our head around MMP. The Seymour version of an extended term has a half-life of eight million years. So, four or not? My gut says it will get to be a thing. Change is coming. But here's a small warning: time isn't the issue. It's quality. Time doesn't bring talent, or skill, or insight, or dedication, professionalism, or success. It just brings time. The rest is what we should be way more concerned about. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Cindy Mitchener and Rajorshi Chakraborti. First up, David Seymour has admitted his approach to four-year parliamentary term was too complicated, but he's having another go. The Panel discusses if it has merit. Then a spike in anti-social behaviour has forced a popular restaurant in Auckland to get rid of its pokie machines. What's going on?

I think it is significant that David Seymour has walked away from supporting his own bill to bring in four-year terms for the Government. He was the one who introduced this bill - but he's now pulled ACT's support. Every other party in parliament appears to still back it, but he's pulled support because the safeguards that he wanted are gone. His idea was that we increase the terms from three to four years. So you vote the Government and you get three years - and now he wants to make it four years, which basically means giving the Government more power. But he was only okay with that if we balanced it out by taking away some power. And his idea was to allow the opposition parties to control every single select committee, giving them the power. But that part of the plan, the select committee part, has been removed. So David Seymour doesn't support his own idea anymore, which frankly, I think is a good idea, because he has ended up exactly where I have been this entire time. No to four-year terms unless there are new limits, because as it is, Governments in this country do not have much in the way of limits. If they want to pass a law, they can - they can do it under urgency if they want to. They can announce and pass it in literally the same day. That is what happened with the pay equity law. Did you like that? You want some more of that? Because that would happen with four years. This is why Jeffrey Palmer said that we have the fastest law in the West. Other countries have ways to limit or control or check the power of the executive. They have upper houses, they have senates, whatever. We've got nothing. Given that everyone else in parliament seems to support this, it seems to me there's a fair chance this is going to go to referendum for us to decide, perhaps at the next election. And people who want four years will tell you that you must say yes because Governments don't have enough time to do what they want, which is utter bollocks, because they do have enough time. I've realized in the last couple of years, it's not because of lack of time they don't get things done, it's because of a lack of will. This Government had enough time to make changes to the supermarkets and make changes to the banks and make changes to the energy sector. They've talked about it enough - but they haven't done it because they don't want to do it, because it takes balls. I don't want four years because two blocks of three years of Jacinda Ardern's lunatic Labour administration was enough. Can you imagine how broke the country would be after two blocks of four years? Unless there are new safeguards brought in - and there are no safeguards proposed. So it's a hard no. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Kiwiblog's David Farrar and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! David Seymour says the coalition isn't saving as much money as ACT would have. What do we make of this? Police Commissioner Richard Chambers gave an interview to the NZ Herald saying we should feel lucky to live in New Zealand. What do we make of this? A Wellington restaurant is asking people to sign a contract before taking leftovers home.. to ensure they're not liable for any food safety issues. Is this over the top? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACT leader has promised less spending and fewer public servants. It comes after numerous redundancies in the public sector, following calls for efficient spending as the coalition's budgets were being delivered. David Seymour says the Government is not cutting costs as much as ACT would. "We said that we wanted to reduce the number of public servants back to pre-Labour levels, and we also said that we wanted to reduce spending by about 8 or 9 billion each year." Seymour's reiterating the comments made yesterday when reacting to a further OCR cut. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Sally Wenley and Peter Fa'afiu. First up, the government has announced it's making major changes to the building consent system; The Panel discusses if this may mean a return to leaky buildings. Then The Panel mulls over news that David Seymour sought advice on the benefits of making wearing bicycle helmets voluntary. The Ministry for Regulation told him it would lead to more deaths and as a result no further action has been taken. But is there a case for it?

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! There's growing calls to change the working holiday age limit from 30 to 50 to boost tourism. Is this a good idea? Would you go on a working holiday in your 40s? Volodymyr Zelenskyy - alongside a group of EU leaders - are set to meet with Donald Trump at the White House tomorrow. How do we think this meeting will go? David Seymour reportedly asked the Ministry for Regulation to look into removing bike helmet requirements. Should we change the rules? Will any of us be reading Grant Robertson's book? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Act Party leader talks beer, lefty haters, collateral damage, Dad Dancing and twerking, Grant Robertson's denial over Covid spend up, bike helmets and fiddling while Rome burns when there are bigger fish to fry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Mackay talks to David Seymour, Mark de Lautour, and Kevin "Smiley" Barrett. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A cyclist group says it's worth looking into changing helmet laws, following the release of a new report. Newstalk ZB has revealed the Regulation Ministry has advised its Minister the risks of not requiring the protective measures would outweigh any benefits. David Seymour asked it to look into dumping the rule. Cycling Advocates Network spokesperson Patrick Morgan says Seymour made the wrong call to drop this, as helmets put people off. "If we're trying to solve the problem of inactivity, which we know is killing more than 2,000 people a year in New Zealand, you'd want more people to be active. Anything that's a barrier to cycling - we should look at removing that." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Luxon is defending saying Israel's leader has 'lost the plot' in the face of pushback. The Prime Minister criticised Benjamin Netanyahu over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where people are starving. Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister responded that Luxon can't comprehend the challenges of facing Hamas. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says Luxon's put his own views out there - in a change of pace from factoring in Winston Peters and David Seymour. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I can't blame you if your assessment of Parliament today is that it's become a circus, because what happened today is kind of hard to defend or even explain. Chlöe was kicked out, Brownlee suspended her for a week and all of the Government parties voted for that punishment - and that includes New Zealand First, before Winston Peters then got up to tell Jerry Brownlee that the punishment wasn't fair, even though he just voted for the punishment. And then Debbie got up and said the C-word again. Now, Chlöe did actually break the rules. I mean, this is another one of those seemingly arbitrary or hard to explain rules in Parliament - that MPs can't accuse each other of being cowards. Nick Smith did it in 2003, he accused MPs across the house of not having the spine to debate a vote. He withdrew and apologized. Steve Chadwick did it in 2007, she accused the opposition of being absolutely gutless and spineless. She withdrew and apologized. John Key did it in 2015, quite famously when he yelled at Labour to get some guts over the war, but he got away with it and actually probably shouldn't have. So Chlöe did break the rules. But then, Debbie got up and said the C-word, and she didn't break the rules. So explain that. How is accusing other MPs of being spineless worse than dropping the C-bomb in the House of Representatives? I mean, sure, one is aimed at someone and the other one is just a swear word that's been dropped. But when you get into explaining that level of nuance on offensiveness, I think you've lost the audience. Plus, why is Gerry Brownlee all of a sudden the tough cop? I mean, this is the guy who was wringing his hands over the Māori Party getting kicked out of Parliament for 3 weeks for the haka in David Seymour's face and for refusing to turn up to the Privileges Committee and for them leaking the recommended punishment from the Privileges Committee. But when Chlöe says basically the same thing that John Key once said without punishment, Jerry comes down on her like a ton of bricks. Frankly, none of this makes sense anymore. I mean, it does on a level of detail and minutia, sure, but explaining it to a normal person, no sense whatsoever. But guess who's loving this? Chlöe's loving this, because Chlöe's learned from Te Pāti Māori and the haka that there's one surefire way to get attention, and that's to break the rules of Parliament and not be sorry. What a circus. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins came undone yesterday, twice. You would hope, given there is literally no pressure on him right now and he basically gets to spend his days bagging the Government, he might want to sharpen up, given next year is a whole different kettle of fish. Mistake number 1: He attempted to gain points on Palestine by suggesting David Seymour was holding the Government to some sort of ransom and if it wasn't for the veto they would have declared support for statehood by now. What Seymour said was Hamas would need to be demilitarised. Now, apart from the fact that's not radical, new, or an already widely held view by many who want to recognise Palestine – what is it Hipkins is saying? He doesn't mind Hamas or Hamas being a terror group? Would he be happy with the two state solution, with Hamas at the control panel? If he does, no problem, just say so. Mistake number 2: For reasons best known to himself he got trapped in a discussion about his tax policy. What tax policy, you ask? Exactly. But he somehow managed to suggest that even though there isn't a tax policy, what there is, is broad agreement around a wealth tax and a capital gains tax. And then the bullet in the foot – he couldn't rule in, or out, the possibility that the family home was part of that tax capture. Tip number 1: Drop the Middle East. No vote is moved in this country on a place that has been a disaster zone for decades and the more you look like you tolerate terrorists the more you put middle New Zealand off you. Tip number 2: If you are stupid enough to even hint that a family home could be part of a new tax, give up right now because you are toast. As history shows, a CGT with the family home exempt has been trialled and rejected multiple times by his own party. The irony of ironies being it was Hipkins himself with a captain's call that dropped it last time. So not only is he clearly not committed or convinced, he seemingly may have been hijacked by some left-leaning radicals inside his own camp to get the family home involved. So, a party that can tolerate Hamas and tax your family home. What could possibly go wrong? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 13th of August, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour comments on the debate around recognising Palestine as a state. New rules have been announced for the next America's Cup – Team NZ boss Grant Dalton gives the lowdown. Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the success rate of the boot camps, Willow-Jean Prime, and Mike's advice for Question Time on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parliament is becoming increasingly divided over the situation with Palestine. Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick was barred from Parliament yesterday when she suggested MPs not backing her bill to sanction Israel were spineless. She believes an apology from her isn't needed, and is engaging with Speaker Gerry Brownlee about returning to the House today. Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour raised the question to Mike Hosking of how can you call for an international rules-based order when you can't follow the basic rules in your own workplace. Swarbrick has been a Member of Parliament for more than half her life, he said, so she should be able to debate on the issues – and if she can't, she should be asking why she's not persuading people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deputy Prime Minister has shaken off accusations from the opposition over the Government's decision to take its time in recognising a Palestinian state. The Government plans to make an official decision in the coming weeks. David Seymour says the Government will take the time needed to decide its stance. "The Government is taking its time - some say this conflict goes back 4000 years. I don't think it's a major problem for the Government of New Zealand on the other side of the world to take a few weeks to come to a sober and sensible decision." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Labour leader Chris Hipkins has rebuked his education spokesperson after finding out she ignored, then rejected offers to work with the government on NCEA reforms. ACT's David Seymour said if she was one of his MPs, he would have fired her. But Labour is pushing, and said there still needs to be more consultation on the NCEA changes. Russell Palmer reports.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 8th of August, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour joins to talk about the huge number of kids leaving school without a single qualification. In sporting news – Richie Mo'unga is coming back so there's cause for celebrations for Canterbury and All Blacks fans. And we look at a massive make-or-break weekend for the Warriors to see whether they are serious contenders this year. Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson Wrap the Week and talk about whether Mike is going to feature on reality TV in the very near future. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deputy Prime Minister says he'd sack Willow Jean-Prime for declining numerous Government requests for collaboration on NCEA reform. Documents show Labour's education spokesperson declined an advisor's meeting and didn't answer a text and multiple emails from Education Minister Erica Stanford regarding planned changes to NCEA. David Seymour told Mike Hosking if he were Labour's leader, he would drop her because there are better people for the job. He says he wouldn't know what to do because she may be the best option that Labour has. Seymour says we need alternative schooling options to keep students in schools, with more than ten and a half thousand students leaving school last year with no educational qualifications. Ministry of Education data reveals 16% didn't achieve NCEA Level 1 or above – 6% more than in 2017. He told Hosking the education system has become less appealing because children don't believe they're missing something valuable. There's also ethnic disparity, with 28% of Māori school leavers having achieved no qualifications, compared to 19% of Pacific leavers and 14% of Pākehā leavers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT launched its annual rally with a nod to coalition unity - but its leader David Seymour quickly stirred discord with a fiery letter to the United Nations. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ acting political editor Craig McCulloch examines the three-way coalition dynamic. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details