Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on Parliament wrapping up for the 2025 year

The Prime Minister's delivered his final parliamentary speech for the year, handing out plenty of praise for his Government and jibes for the Opposition.

Parliament's wrapping up for the year, with party leaders getting in their last say.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper recapped the final speeches.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
First, Barry soapers here. Hey, Barry, good afternoon.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Right now they wipe it at to trust investigations over
and it's avoided de registration, but there'll be some changes.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
Yes. Indeed, this investigation has been going on since twenty nineteen,
so it's a very long one and the wipe area
of trusts it's like an octopus. It's got tentacles and
so many parts of the charitable business and that's why
I think they found it really difficult to deal with

(00:30):
in terms of de registering it because a lot of
people would suffer as a result of that. As I
understand it. John Tammerherry, who's the CEO of the trust
and the Trust may be parting ways, but that's what
I understand. It's, like I said, a long running investigation
and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been made to

(00:55):
donations to political parties, to the campaigns and to the
campaign of the chief executive, John Tamaherry when he ran
for the mayoralty. Here now Charlotte Stanley, who's the Director
and Regulated Charity Services. She announced the conclusion of the
six year probe, saying that regulators had forced Wiperira to

(01:17):
make significant government governmental and structural changes. What they are though,
we don't know, so the statement didn't provide any details
of what they are. Now you may remember, and I
was astounded by it that the wiper Era's financial reports
for the year to June twenty twenty three, they're only

(01:39):
published last year. They revealed that Tama Harry had repaid
three hundred and eighty five thousand dollars that owed to
the Trust. But it was made quite easy to repay
that money because the key management personnel, of whom Tama
Harry is the most senior, had that year received a
pay increase of seventy seven percent, and that means they've

(02:06):
become the New Zealand's highest paid charity executives, all earning
over five hundred thousand dollars a year.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
The mind boggles, Well, the mind does boggle.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
I think. I don't think we've heard the last of
this yet, but there will be governmental and other changes
to the Trust and structural changes, and you'd have to
say not before time.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
No, exactly. Well, we'll look forward to your update on
that tomorrow. Berry.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Now we've got the agermin debate happening in Parliament. Anything
interesting so far?

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Well, yes, it's the wrapping up. Chris Luxen's on his feet,
you know, thanking the cleaners, all the sundry at Parliament,
the messengers and what have you. So it's not particularly
exciting at the moment. The most exciting part today though,
will be the gallery party that follows the winding up.
And I won't be there because here there's doing hosking

(03:01):
in the mornings, which means.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Poor you, Barry.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
I have to yeah, well, you know you've been to enough.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Your family comes first, Ryan, And indeed I have been
to many, many of them.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
I used to avoid them because it was you don't
want to get go there and then get to to
tipsy and then you know some people remember people would
fall over and fall into the ice backet.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
I could tell.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
So, man, your stories will be shagging and just terrible.
You don't want to be one of those people. No,
but Labors Labor candidate's views have been highlighted in Parliament.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Well, this is interesting and you may remember the economist
Craig Rennie. He was selected to buy Labor to be
the candidate in Wellington Bays, which is a new electorate.
Now he's of course since he left Grant Robertson's office
as his advisor has been working for the Council of

(03:54):
Trade Unions. So Nikola Willis has been reading a book
written by Ready and says if he wins the seat
for Labor, his views differ significantly from Treasury and wonders
whether labor would go along with them.

Speaker 4 (04:10):
He says this work suggests the debt limits should in
fact be around eighty to ninety percent of GDP, and
he cites Supreme Party's analysis showing that the debt limit
should in fact be up to one hundred and seventy
four percent of GDP. And this author doesn't think savings

(04:32):
are necessary, says New Zealand does not face fiscal constraints
and thinks the debt could be a lot higher, could.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Be a bit of spending if Craig Ready his way.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
It's been an unhappy Christmas for some Barry wants this.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
Yeah, well apparently the Greens Chloe Swarbrick and the Maori
Party's Debbie no Riwapaka. We're told on Monday by emergency
food providers that there's not enough to go around this Christmas.
It's an issue that Reward Packer took up with the
Prime Minister in Parliament this afternoon.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
Is here aware that community providers of KAI have had
to stop advertising their services because they cannot meet demand.

Speaker 5 (05:15):
What I'm aware of is that many New Zealanders will
put into a very difficult situation because of economic mismanagement
and vandalism from a Labour Green's government. There's the government
working very hard to make sure there is opportunity being
created and growth in our economy.

Speaker 3 (05:29):
That's not putting food on the table, but.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
It's not No, maybe a marmite sandwich.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, well that's it in an apple.

Speaker 1 (05:35):
Don't forget Barry Soaper politics.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
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Speaker 2 (05:42):
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