Podcast appearances and mentions of Winston Peters

After a protracted process and plenty of speculation, Winston Peters has announced the cabinet decision on acknowledgement of Palestinian statehood in his address to the general assembly at the United Nations. Not now, he said. “We are not ready to make that gesture.” Variously received as a laudable assertion of independence in avoiding “performative” politics and a “day of shame” for New Zealand, what does the announcement tell us about New Zealand's foreign policy, our position on Israeli activity in Gaza and government decision-making processes? Annabelle, Ben and Toby gather to discuss the latest developments. Plus: the fallout from an unexpectedly large GDP contraction continues, with Nicola Willis enduring a “battering” that included a scolding from the Mood of the Boardroom. And what to make of the results just released from the review of New Zealand's struggling electricity market? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While speaking at the Eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that New Zealand would not be recognising a Palestinian state at this point in time. Peters' rationale was that Hamas's leadership in Gaza would make recognising Palestine an unwise move for New Zealand to make at this point, additionally stating that it could trigger a reaction from Israel that would lead to more aggressive policies in both Gaza and the West Bank, subsequently threatening the two state solution. Aotearoa for Palestine, the organisers behind the march for humanity, have condemned Winston Peters' announcement, saying it was indicative of the government's complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza and that the upcoming march across the Auckland harbour bridge will be held in opposition to the announcement, as well as to call for sanctions on Israel. Oto spoke with Heba Mortaja from Aotearoa for Palestine to discuss Winston Peters' UN Address and his refusal to recognise Palestinian statehood.

For Oto's final wire 

While speaking at the Eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that New Zealand would not be recognising a Palestinian state at this point in time. Peters' rationale was that Hamas's leadership in Gaza would make recognising Palestine an unwise move for New Zealand to make at this point, additionally stating that it could trigger a reaction from Israel that would lead to more aggressive policies in both Gaza and the West Bank, subsequently threatening the two state solution. However, with more than 40% of the New Zealand public expressing support for Palestinian recognition and for stronger action to be taken against Israel for their actions in Gaza, which the The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has officially referred to as a genocide, this decision by Peters' has been the subject of widespread controversy amongst activists, experts and a large portion of the general public. Additionally, despite claiming to take a more balanced and calculated approach to Israel's genocide in Gaza, Winston Peters' decision at the UN General Assembly has placed New Zealand within a small handful of western nations who have refused to recognise Palestine, with the United Kingdom, France, Canada and our close Ally Australia all announcing their recognition of Palestine shortly before. For our weekly catchup with the Green Party's Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto spoke to him about Foreign Minister Winston Peters' decision not to recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly. They also spoke about the government's decision last week to resume oil and gas exploration across Aotearoa.

For Oto's final wire 

While speaking at the Eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that New Zealand would not be recognising a Palestinian state at this point in time. Peters' rationale was that Hamas's leadership in Gaza would make recognising Palestine an unwise move for New Zealand to make at this point, additionally stating that it could trigger a reaction from Israel that would lead to more aggressive policies in both Gaza and the West Bank, subsequently threatening the two state solution. Aotearoa for Palestine, the organisers behind the march for humanity, have condemned Winston Peters' announcement, saying it was indicative of the government's complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza and that the upcoming march across the Auckland harbour bridge will be held in opposition to the announcement, as well as to call for sanctions on Israel. Oto spoke with Heba Mortaja from Aotearoa for Palestine to discuss Winston Peters' UN Address and his refusal to recognise Palestinian statehood.

The Prime Minister says New Zealand remains committed to the peace process in the Middle East. Foreign Minister Winston Peters has told the UN our Government won't be recognising a Palestinian state. Chris Luxon says we can't acknowledge a state whose de facto Government is the designated terror group, Hamas. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Peters delivered a 'well-argued and well-positioned speech' and New Zealand has always had its own foreign policy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has been quick to confirm his party would recognise Palestine as a state if Labour leads the Government after next year's election. On Saturday, while at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced New Zealand would not recognise the state of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Hipkins says Israel's actions are 'unacceptable' and not recognising Palestine sends Israel a message that New Zealand is okay with the 'unfolding genocide.' "New Zealand cannot stand by and cannot turn our backs on what's unfolding in Palestine. It is unfolding genocide, people are being starved to death." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the weekend, the Government confirmed it wouldn't recognise Palestinian statehood - for the time being. Winston Peters made the announcement at the UN General Assembly, saying conditions weren't yet right. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has defended this move - and says no matter what happened, one side would have taken issue with their choice. "We, as a Cabinet, decided to do what we believed was an independent, New Zealand-based decision - based very much on the facts in front of us what we thought was the best thing." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can I just come to the defence of Winston Peters for a minute? Winston has been labelled a coward for the position that he took on Palestine on Saturday, which I do not think is fair because it appears to me that what he's done is actually the opposite of cowardice. The easy thing would have actually been for him to just go with the crowd, just say, yep, we recognize the Palestinian state, because that's what everybody else is doing. The hard thing for him to do is go against the crowd and go against what everybody at the UN is doing, go against the domestic media opinion, go against the commentator's consensus. So actually, when you think about it, he's not being cowardly at all - and I agree with his analysis at the moment. Set aside whether there should be a Palestinian state - because of course there should be a Palestinian state, and I think most of us think that, right? If it's possible, it should happen. But that's not what this is about. It is about whether you do that right now, because doing it right now is rewarding Hamas and they themselves have made it clear that they see the recognition of a state of Palestine as a vindication of the massacre that they carried out on October 7th. You cannot reward terrorists for taking innocent lives, but also, and probably more importantly, it's not gonna do anything to end the war. If you really want to end the war, if Trump's current peace plan fails, then what we need to do is punish Israel for what they're doing. They should be sanctioned and they should be isolated from the international community until they stop. And we've been saying this for weeks on the show. For every day that we talk about whether we recognize a Palestinian state, we are wasting a day that we could be talking about what we actually should be doing, the things that would actually end this war, like punishing Israel for what they're doing - which again, is another day that we've wasted talking about the wrong thing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re edging closer to exceeding 1.5°C of warming globally, and scientists will gather to understand the implications of missing our climate change targets. The world’s best will descend upon Austria this week for the first-ever Overshoot Conference. It’s while Winston Peters delivered a “truth bomb” at the UN recently, singling out four countries for being the world’s largest emitters. So, what happens if we don’t meet our climate targets? Today on The Front Page, Victoria University climate scientist professor James Renwick is with us to delve into climate overshoot, and why we should care about it. 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: Chelsea DanielsEditor/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Jane YeeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters announced New Zealand's stance on Palestinian Statehood this weekend at the UN. We hear the talk around the beehive after Cabinet's decision to not recognise the state. We also discuss the funding of prisons and the upcoming announcement from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on earthquake-prone building law rewrites, and how this will impact Wellingtonians and our businesses. Newstalk ZB political editor Azaria Howel joined Nick Mills for the Beehive Buzz. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SPECIAL GUEST HOST: Ash Rebornhttps://www.tiktok.com/@ashrebornnz Winston Peters spoke at the UN over the weekend saying that NZ's position right now is not to recognise Palestine statehood. Since then there has been a split in the country with one side being embarrassed that NZ is now running from the right side of history, and the other side being proud and supportive of the decision made. Tonight we have Labour Leader Chris Hipkins LIVE at 9pm to give Labour's response to the decisionWe spoke with Green Party co leader Marama Davidson on Saturday which you can see here https://youtube.com/live/9-sDoJ3e5do and we're speaking with te pati Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer on Wednesday nightWe're all very jealous at BHN HQ as yesterday an episode of Gary's Economics dropped with his first ever politician guest and it was Green party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick. We'll take a look at that episode and see what these two legends covered in their 30 minute conversation=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

The government has decided against recognising a Palestinian state. Foreign minister Winston Peters argues that the move would be counter-productive, but he retains the "when, not if" stance. CBS News correspondent in Jerusalem Linda Gradstein told Mike Hosking that Israelis are worried about a 'diplomatic front turning against Israel.' She said that the public want the war to end as the international community's opinion of Israel grows increasingly negative. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister says Winston Peters has articulated New Zealand's position on Gaza well. Over the weekend the Foreign Minister announced that New Zealand would NOT recognise Palestinian statehood, yet. Chris Luxon says Hamas is the de facto government and a designated terrorist organisation in New Zealand. He told Mike Hosking that New Zealand's also called out the excessive response of Israel. Luxon says we're a friend to both groups and are focused on peace. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you watched Winston Peters speech in New York late Saturday morning you can see why he did so well last week in the Herald's boardroom feedback. For the bloke who has been the epitome of aggro and grumpiness, in his better moments he is as good a foreign minister as this country has ever had. Politically, the announcement and its build-up got dragged out way longer than it ever needed to and therefore took up too much oxygen at a time when we really should be focusing on vastly more pressing local issues. No matter what we said the eyes of the world were never really on us, despite the hysteria of too many in our media landscape who have little or no grip on perspective. But given we were to say something, what we did say was logical and sensible, unlike what was said by many far larger countries earlier in the week. The United Nation's greatest weakness is its reliance on hot air as opposed to substance, which is why we landed where we did in our declaration. Just saying stuff counts for nothing. It's too easy, which is why too many people do it. By the time Peters had finished the week, he had done some excellent truth bomb work. On climate he is indisputably right - we make a lot of promises we know aren't going to come to pass. On Gaza we are all appalled at the outworkings of hate. But recognising things doesn't stop that hate, or the war, or have the food flow, or the hostages released. Essentially we should expect more of both Israel and the Palestinians. Don't ask for recognition while you still refuse to release hostages. When there is something a lot more tangible New Zealand is ready to recognise progress. Progress is tangible. Words aren't. The idea that a lot of people saying stuff builds momentum is simply untrue and we have seen that in the past week. A peace, if there is to be one, will be driven by the Americans, who will corral the Israelis to a point of some sort of submission or agreement. Albanese and Starmer and Carney and all the rest of them played true to the usual lightweight, verbal frippery that's made the U.N famous. We at least told it like it is. It was a good moment for a small country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Sunday Panel, resident economist at Opes Partners, Ed McKnight, and Newstalk ZB host Roman Travers joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed New Zealand wouldn't recognise a Palestinian state at this point in time. Are we surprised by this? The All Blacks managed to turn their luck around and beat the Wallabies 33-24 at Eden Park - and claim the Bledisloe Cup. But would it mean more if we won it over three matches? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The state of Palestine is recognised as a sovereign nation by 157 UN member states, and that represents 81% of members. New Zealand is not one of them. Not yet. Like Singapore, like Japan, Germany, South Korea, most Pacific states. New Zealand says, oh, sure, we support recognition, just not yet. Winston Peters, in his speech to the UN over the weekend, said Palestine did not meet the traditional benchmarks for state recognition. But as the Herald's Audrey Young points out in her column, Palestine is a unique and complex situation, not a post-colonial independence state where it's easier to apply the markers of statehood. I don't even know where to begin on this because so much damage has been done by so many people over so many years. Starting with the British who kicked off the whole mess more than 100 years ago with the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, 77 years after the creation of Israel and the British mandate of Palestine. And you've got to look to the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who have propped up Hamas, to try and prevent President Mahmoud Abbas or anyone else in the Palestinian Authority's West Bank government from achieving its goal of a Palestinian state. As the Israeli Times put it, thanks to Netanyahu, in the bid to hobble Abbas, Hamas was upgraded from a mere terror group to a legitimate organisation with which Israel held indirect negotiations, and one that was allowed to receive infusions of cash from abroad. Winston Peters in his speech said recognising Palestine just gave Hamas more metaphorical ammunition in the propaganda war without actually improving the lot of the poor benighted souls who live there. With a war raging, Hamas still in place, and no clarity on next steps, we do not think that time is now. Recognising Palestine now will likely prove counterproductive. That is, Hamas resisting negotiation in the belief that it is winning the global propaganda war. Well, it kind of is, when you've got 81% of the UN recognising Palestine as a state, when you have image after image of those children starving in the arms of their mothers. It kind of is. And although we might think no one cares about what we do as a nation, Israel will use this. It needs to take what it can get in terms of international support. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians across Gaza. On the 7th of October 2023, of course, Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, taking 251 hostages, and there are 47 Israeli hostages still held in the most appalling, you can't even imagine what kind of conditions they're being held in captivity. Hamas justified the attack knowing full well what would happen, knowing exactly what was going to happen. They justified the attack because of what it sees as decades of Israeli oppression, the killing of Palestinians, and the years-long blockade of the Gaza Strip. Of course, you've also got Egypt who's complicit in that. They also said their attack on Israelis had put the plight of the Palestinians on the world's political agenda. It was necessary, they said, to raise an alarm in the world, to tell them that here, there is a people who have a cause and have demands that must be met. So they launched an all-out attack on Israelis at a music festival to raise the alarm to the world. They felt that the ends justified the means. That by killing these people, knowing full well the wrath and the fire and the brimstone that would come down upon the Palestinian state, to raise alarm and attention. Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour says he's proud of the fact that New Zealand hasn't the hasn't followed the mob. I mean, why say anything? It seems extraordinary that the best chance of attaining peace in that desperate strip of land that has the same population of New Zealand living in a total land area of 6,000 square kilometres, we are 268,000 square kilometres, to give you some kind of context - 5 million of them jammed into 6,000 square kilometres, we've got 268,000 square kilometres - but it seems extraordinary that the best chance of attaining peace now rests on the shoulders of Donald Trump. The Trump administration has proposed a 21-point Gaza peace plan that calls for all hostages held by Hamas to be released within 48 hours of an agreement and sets out a road map for Gaza once the war ends, looking at a two-state solution. US President Donald Trump has voiced optimism about resolving the conflict, saying on Friday they are very close to the deal, speaking out at the Ryder Cup as well, saying that he hoped for a solution and you can only hope and pray that in this, Donald Trump is right. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An international relations expert is deeming New Zealand's decision on Palestinian statehood as 'surprising'. Winston Peters confirmed at the UN General Assembly that we won't recognise a Palestinian state right now - as the conditions aren't right. Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller says this decision is out of synch with our international allies, including Australia, the UK and Canada. "And these are states with which New Zealand is quite close with, when it comes to positions on the war in Gaza since October 7th. New Zealand has signed a number of joint statements with Australia and Canada, for example...it's worked very closely with those three." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Saturday afternoon and we have a LIVE special with Green co-leader Marama Davidson reacting to the decision by NZ's coalition government not to identify Palestine statehood with Winston Peters stating at the UN this morning that New Zealand was "not ready to make that gesture" of recognizing Palestinian statehood, as that can only be done once.=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

New Zealand's decision on whether to recognise a Palestinian state is being revealed later this morning in a speech at the United Nations. Foreign minister Winston Peters is expected to give details in an address to the General Assembly in New York expected from around 10.30am - of course we'll keep you across it here on RNZ. It comes on the heels of a tumultuous week in the US, following President Trump's comments to the UN and on autism, the memorial to Charlie Kirk and yesterday's indictment of former FBI director James Comey. US correspondent Mitch McCann joins Susie live with the latest from New York.

The Foreign Affairs Minister says the world needs to face the "elephant in the room" on global emissions at a climate change meeting in New York. Speaking at a UN leaders breakfast on sea level rise, Winston Peters pointed to the four big emitters - the US, China, Russia and India. It comes as China - the world's biggest polluter - pledges its first cut in emissions. Political reporter Anneke Smith has more from New York.

GUEST HOST: Martyn 'Bomber' BradburyJohn Minto LIVE at 9pm to talk about the upcoming decision by this government to either recognize, or not, Gaza and poor old Winston Peters missing out on a dinner with Trump. A record-breaking return for Fonterra and their farmers with a very excited government, with Nicola Willis reminding us that "we feed the world" but the Greens are also asking the question at what cost?An inquiry will look into National's MP for Whanganui Carl Bates' failure to declare 25 properties linked to him and his family. Many of the properties are rentals, but Bates has said he is merely a beneficiary and he was complying with the rules.=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

US President Donald Trump has told world leaders the war in Gaza must be stopped, though he says recognising Palestine will only reward Hamas.Mr Trump's comments in the UN General Assembly debate come as a growing number of member states move to recognise Palestine, to keep a two-state solution alive. Foreign affairs minister Winston Peters will outline New Zealand's position on Saturday, and ahead of that he was coy about responding to Mr Trump's comments. Anneke Smith reports.

Today on the show… National tweaks, immigration settings to give immigrants a better shot at residency. And New Zealand first is not on site and doesn't agree the agree to disagree Clause in the coalition has been used.  Minister Erica Stanford will join me to explain, but all this tinkering as the economy struggles, will it make any difference whatsoever to this economy? Has National got anything up its sleeve to kickstart? The economies are trying hard enough to find ways to get this thing going or is their best chance at a second term to point out how flaky the greens and the diluted late night races are in the to party Maori For labor to government, it'll need both of those parties. National needs to harden up and point out the obvious that Te Pati Maori and the greens aren't fit for government, don't just leave it to Winston Peters naturally to get his hands dirty.  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

The Prime Minister ponders his personal popularity and the performance of the economy. Plus, what is Winston Peters up to in New York?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know how the Prime Minister does a very good job of batting away poll results and saying that his focus is fixing up the joint after the last lot and that he'll wait until election day to be judged? I don't think he will find it quite as easy to do that with these results out today from the NZ Herald's annual Mood of the Boardroom survey. The annual survey of about 150 business leaders – 125 of them being CEOs of major New Zealand companies. People like Port of Auckland boss Roger Gray, the head of Tower Insurance Paul Johnston and Forsyth Barr boss Neil Paviour-Smith. One of the things that comes out in the survey results is a ranking of the performances of our Cabinet ministers. How these business leaders think of each minister is doing. Top of the list is Erica Stanford – she's the highest ranking. Winston Peters is in second place and Chris Bishop is third. The Prime Minister is ranked 15th. In last year's survey, he was sixth. Even Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, who sits outside cabinet, ranks higher than the PM in 10th place. The other big name outside the top 10 is Finance and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis – the bosses at our biggest companies have ranked her in 13th place. Which is not good news for the Government. Because what's coming through loud and clear is that the business community has no faith that there is a plan to get the country “back on track”. We're way more than halfway through the Government's current term and our most senior business leaders are asking: “What is your plan Prime Minister?" I think this result out today is way worse for the Government than any political poll result so far. When you've got business leaders ranking the Finance Minister 13th and the Prime Minister 15th, this is a government in strife, isn't it? The reason I think this will hurt Christopher Luxon more than any of the other poll results he's managed to bat away or put a brave face on for, is that these are his people. Before he entered politics, he was one of them. He probably even took part in these surveys when he was chief executive at Air New Zealand. He's the people he's talking to when he goes on about signs of green shoots in the economy. These are the people he's talking to when he talks about getting runs on the board. The people who have said he's the 15th-best performing cabinet minister. The people he's talking to with his quarterly action plans, deliverables, KPIs, decision gates, and value chains. But his people still don't know what he's trying to do. They still don't know what his plan is. Which is why I think he will really be feeling this today. Because even his people don't get him.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know how the Prime Minister does a very good job of batting away poll results and saying that his focus is fixing up the joint after the last lot and that he'll wait until election day to be judged? I don't think he will find it quite as easy to do that with these results out today from the NZ Herald's annual Mood of the Boardroom survey. The annual survey of about 150 business leaders – 125 of them being CEOs of major New Zealand companies. People like Port of Auckland boss Roger Gray, the head of Tower Insurance Paul Johnston and Forsyth Barr boss Neil Paviour-Smith. One of the things that comes out in the survey results is a ranking of the performances of our Cabinet ministers. How these business leaders think of each minister is doing. Top of the list is Erica Stanford – she's the highest ranking. Winston Peters is in second place and Chris Bishop is third. The Prime Minister is ranked 15th. In last year's survey, he was sixth. Even Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, who sits outside cabinet, ranks higher than the PM in 10th place. The other big name outside the top 10 is Finance and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis – the bosses at our biggest companies have ranked her in 13th place. Which is not good news for the Government. Because what's coming through loud and clear is that the business community has no faith that there is a plan to get the country “back on track”. We're way more than halfway through the Government's current term and our most senior business leaders are asking: “What is your plan Prime Minister?" I think this result out today is way worse for the Government than any political poll result so far. When you've got business leaders ranking the Finance Minister 13th and the Prime Minister 15th, this is a government in strife, isn't it? The reason I think this will hurt Christopher Luxon more than any of the other poll results he's managed to bat away or put a brave face on for, is that these are his people. Before he entered politics, he was one of them. He probably even took part in these surveys when he was chief executive at Air New Zealand. He's the people he's talking to when he goes on about signs of green shoots in the economy. These are the people he's talking to when he talks about getting runs on the board. The people who have said he's the 15th-best performing cabinet minister. The people he's talking to with his quarterly action plans, deliverables, KPIs, decision gates, and value chains. But his people still don't know what he's trying to do. They still don't know what his plan is. Which is why I think he will really be feeling this today. Because even his people don't get him.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Foreign Affairs Minister says New Zealand is not about to "jump the gun" on recognising Palestine, despite many others doing just that. Winston Peters sat in on a UN conference on a two state solution in New York earlier today, as a fresh wave of countries moved to recognise a Palestinian state. He says the conflict in Gaza is "a wretched situation" but there are "many more days to go" before he'll outline Cabinet's final position on recognition. Political reporter Anneke Smith is in New York.

New visa residence pathways for skilled workers has caused a rift between the government coalition, New Zealand First invoking the "agree to disagree" provision over "serious concerns". The Economic Growth and Immigration ministers today announced new visa pathways today, hoping to plug workforce shortages. But New Zealand first leader Winston Peters is refusing to back the policy, saying it will mean New Zealand turns into a stepping stone for people wanting to move to Australia. Giles Dexter reports.

It's been a busy start to the week, and Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen are back with Mike Hosking to delve into the political happenings so far. The Government has announced two new residency pathways for skilled migrants, which Winston Peters has raised concerns about. Is he right to be concerned? The Herald's annual Mood of the Boardroom survey has been released – how is the Government faring? And there's a decision on the way about whether New Zealand will officially recognise a Palestinian state. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston's back, banging the trusty old immigration drum. Election next year, so no surprises there. Nor should there be any surprise that National's keen to keep skilled workers in the country. It's what business wants. And, generally speaking, what business wants - with a Government right-of-centre - it gets. So before we go barking mad on migration, let's look at the facts. Is this an Oprah car competition, carte blanche residency lolly scramble? No. The numbers? Somewhere between 3,500 and 9,000 people. Which barely touches the sides of our 4.3 million working-age population. Will they flood in from all corners of the earth? No. They're already here. You have to be working here in order to qualify and proven yourself. You have to be well-paid - at least $36 an hour - and qualified. This is not a low-rent crowd. Is this a back door into Australia? Well, it can be. But to get through that door, you first have to become a citizen of New Zealand. Let's call that a 10 year process, plus the Minister reckons a further four across the ditch before you're a citizen there. So if you're willing to spend 14 years gaming the system to become a citizen of Australia, you probably deserve it in my book. Is this, as Winston's press release claimed, another example of our proud wee country being fleeced by take-all-give-nothing migrants? We train them up and look after them, then they ditch us across the ditch? No. These people are already trained and experienced and they will pay taxes like the rest of us. Does he have a point on the wider problem we have with educating and training people who are actually born here? Yes. But as even he points out, Governments of all stripes have been trying to fix that problem for decades and the fix remains elusive. But in the meantime, why punish decent Kiwi businesses who've managed to find themselves a decent, skilled worker? Welcome to globalisation. We sell stuff to the world, using, in part, a global workforce to do it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Palestine's Deputy Foreign Minister has shared his view on what it means to recognise a Palestinian state. Foreign Minister Winston Peters will announce New Zealand's position on Saturday, at the United Nations general assembly in New York. At least 150 nations have recognised a Palestinian state, including France, Australia, Canada, and the UK. Omar Awadallah from the Palestinian Authority says it's about recognising the people, Government, and territory of Palestine. "You recognise the ideas, the principles upon which those people are acting." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, lawyer Brigitte Morten and AUT chancellor Rob Campbell joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! We're all waiting on Winston Peters to reveal if New Zealand will recognise a Palestinian state. Which way do we think this will go? NZ First invokes the agree-to-disagree clause over the Government's new residency pathways. Are NZ First right to do this? And are they trying to make immigration a big election issue next year? The Government's made some new changes to the Holidays Act - will this be good for businesses and employees alike? US President Donald Trump has linked paracetamol use during pregnancy to autism. Should we take this seriously? Sir Don McKinnon's idea to kickstart New Zealand is for us to host the Commonwealth Games. Is that really the best way forward? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SPECIAL GUEST HOST Gerard OttoJohn Crocker joins us LIVE at 9pm to talk about the Government scrapping and replacing the Holidays Act in a move it says will finally fix New Zealand's "broken" leave system according the Brooke van Velden. Some, including the Greens, are worried about the changes are "an erosion of workers' rights" and "yet another blow to women across Aotearoa".Winston Peters refuses to be drawn on whether NZ will recognise Palestinian state while questions are being asked as to why Christopher Luxon is not at the UNToday Donald Trump has linked autism to paracetamol use during pregnancy, despite decades of evidence it's safe in another shock to the world of the world's orangeist leader wading into medical misadventureTim Miller of the Bulwark podcast has given something you haven't seen very often, a rational and sane response to a culture war question on Piers Morgan and it's worth watching to bring us back to normality after weeks of online insanity around Charlie Kirk=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

Amid the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, a growing number of nations, including Western allies such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and France, have announced their recognition of a Palestinian state. These moves have intensified pressure on New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, to follow suit. But with Israel's war on Gaza now into its second year, and the Palestinian death toll surpassing 65,000, many Palestinians, experts, and advocates argue that recognition alone is not enough. They describe it as symbolic at best and instead call for stronger international measures, such as sanctions and arms embargoes against Israel.  Meanwhile, the very notion of a two-state solution is being challenged, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to expand annexation and settlement in the West Bank in retaliation against countries that recognise Palestine. I spoke with Dr Ritesh Shah, Senior Lecturer in Critical Studies in Education at the University of Auckland, about why the current wave of countries recognising Palestine is seen as largely symbolic, and what more meaningful steps the international community should take.

I have to say that the Herald's Mood of the Boardroom survey pretty much sums up my mood too. Yes, there are some excellent and capable ministers doing great work within their portfolios, and let's not forget how rare and wonderful that is, given the past administration. Come in Erica Stanford, Winston Peters, Chris Bishop, Simeon Brown – all good performers, all doing well, all delivering. But when it comes to the economy, one of the main platforms upon which National campaigned, the performance is less than impressive. CEOs have sent a clear message to Finance Minister Nicola Willis in the survey. She has to hold the pro-growth line, sharpen delivery, and set out a long-term vision that brings investors back on side. The Government's going for growth agenda has five key pillars: developing talent, competitive business settings, global trade and investment, innovation, technology and science, and infrastructure, which form the backbone of Willis's economic strategy. In the beginning, New Zealand's business leaders gave Willis the benefit of the doubt. In 2024, the CEOs credited her with a strong start. Not anymore. She failed to make the top 10 top performers in the survey. As did Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. He came in for some criticism. Business leaders said he needs to listen more. He's got a mantra that's started to grate, and he knows that. They say he rates very highly when it comes to ensuring his cabinet ministers are focused and delivering. True. He actually rates reasonably well on keeping a coalition together. But the report found Luxon did not score well for building business confidence, his own political performance, and on transforming the economy. So, on those areas, he's got a lot of work to do, as Forsyth Barr managing director Neil Paviour-Smith told Mike Hosking this morning. “There are reasons to be optimistic, but hoping is not a strategy. And the business community is looking for stronger leadership from the Prime Minister and Finance Minister around some of these core long-term issues and the structural deficits of New Zealand.” They are mainly concerned, the business leaders, with boosting productivity. They want a step change that includes a boost in skill, innovation, and technology, not tinkering around the edges. They say they need to see a programme for retraining and reorienting the workforce, especially those at the lower end of the wage spectrum. They say that tax and regulatory settings need to be reformed. We need to accelerate research and development and grow high-value sectors. Infrastructure, well we talked about that yesterday. There's a need for delivery of infrastructure, not just more announcements. They want shovel-worthy projects ready as financing costs ease. Immigration and education settings came through strongly. We've lost a lot of highly skilled people out of the construction industry in the last 18 months. Now with the taps about to turn on, how do we ramp up to ensure there's capacity in the market? They also called for a compelling vision that stretches beyond a three-year election cycle. Again, what we were discussing yesterday. So there's a lot to work on. And Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis would do well to heed the advice, the criticism, and the positive remarks made by the business leaders. All of these things we know, and all of these things we've said. And while it is true that Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori aren't inspiring confidence amongst business leaders to put it mildly. As a country, we need more, we should want more than the least rubbish of two coalition governments. Waiting for the economic cycle to finish its rotation is not the vision New Zealanders were promised when a centre-right government was elected. They said there would be growth, there would be productivity, that good times were coming. Yes, it was a mess. They said they had the answer. They promised that. This coalition government, the National Party in particular, has to do better. Not just for the sake of their own political futures, but for the sake of the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister says the government won't be rushed into revealing its decision on recognising Palestinian statehood. The Foreign Affairs minister Winston Peters is in New York and is expected to announce New Zealand's position later this week, at the United Nations General Assembly. In the meantime, some of New Zealand's closest partners have announced they will recognise Palestine - including three of its Five Eyes partners. Giles Dexter reports.

New Zealand's yet to finalise its position on recognising Palestine, despite recent moves by our key allies. Chris Luxon says Cabinet's expected to make a final decision later this week. Three of the Five Eyes members - Australia, the UK and Canada - have formally announced recognition of an independent state of Palestine. Newstalk ZB reporter Azaria Howell says it's expected the coalition will come together to make a statement, and Winston Peters will likely deliver it by Sunday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One expert has offered clarification around what recognising Palestine as a state means, ahead of New Zealand's decision. Canada, the UK, and Australia have now formally recognised an independent Palestinian state. Winston Peters is in New York for the UN General Assembly and will reveal New Zealand's position later this week. Australia National University lecturer, Dr Anas Iqtait, says this means recognising a hypothetical Palestinian state - which would occupy the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. "This symbolic nature is really related to this reality, rather than the other point - which is, there isn't currently sovereignty on the ground, it's a hypothetical state." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pivotal diplomatic week looms at the United Nations, with world leaders gathering for the General Assembly. For Foreign Minister Winston Peters, all eyes will be on the announcement of New Zealand's position on recognising a Palestinian state. Cabinet is understood to have made an in principle decision on the matter, though it hasn't yet be revealed. . 1News US Correspondent Logan Church gives his analysis on the days ahead.

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

Last week, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters announced plans to campaign for compulsory KiwiSaver at the next election, and increase the minimum contribution from 4% to 12%. He said there would be tax cuts alongside these changes to help fund the increase in contributions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Mackay talks to Ingrid Smith, Blake Holgate, Jane Smith, and Winston Peters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NZ First leader, Foreign Minister, and former Deputy Prime Minister talks 9/11, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, KiwiSaver, National Super, ditching Paris, and Stuart Nash. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Mackay talks to Wayne Langford, Winston Peters, Kevin Mortensen, and Dr David Burger.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Labour Cabinet Minister turned NZ First supporter, Stuart Nash, has quit his job after a comment about women. RNZ reports Nash has resigned from recruitment firm Robert Walters, after a remark about womens' bodies on the Platform. The agency launched a formal review over the comments, which it said were made in a personal capacity, and were deeply inappropriate and didn't reflect the values or standards of the business. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says Nash's comments are likely to negatively effect his chances within NZ First, given leader Winston Peters isn't a fan of bad language. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Towards the end of last week, the government announced a number of measures aimed at expanding the available support services for rough sleepers. One of the five immediate actions, announced by housing minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka, included expanding the Housing First programme to fund up to 300 additional social homes for people already engaged with Housing First but still sleeping rough, however, both the Green Party and a number of city missioners have said that this wouldn't be enough to accommodate the total number of people on the social housing waitlist in Aotearoa. Additionally, earlier this week, Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle recently announced their resignation from parliament. Doyle announced that the reason for their resignation was a series of threats and ongoing abuse they'd received in March onwards, spurred by comments NZ First leader Winston Peters made about their social media posts.  And last Thursday, statistics released by Immigration NZ revealed that approximately 20,980 people in New Zealand had overstayed their visa, following a previous study in 2017 estimated the amount of overstayers at around 14,000. In response, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford announced a series of changes to the immigration act, which included: allowing criminals to be deported for serious crimes even if they have been permanent residents for up to 20 years, triggering deportations for providing false or misleading information, and crimes committed before coming to New Zealand. For our weekly catch up with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss all these issues.

The door to foreign home ownership was slammed shut by the Labour-New Zealand First coalition in 2018. Now, a slight tweak cracks it open for wealthy investors to buy - or build - one luxury home. What's the case for this carve out in the foreign buyers ban? Why do we have a ban in the first place? And why does Winston Peters' name keep coming up? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details