Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on former broadcaster Paul Henry looking to run for ACT

Former broadcaster Paul Henry recently confirmed he plans to run for the ACT Party this election, and leader David Seymour has expressed confidence in him.

Henry has announced he's running as a list-only candidate, and has resigned from TVNZ's board.

The famed former broadcaster failed in a National bid for Wairarapa in 1999.

He says he wants to be a minister - but won't name a portfolio.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barries with US High Bary. Good afternoon, Heather, Right, do
you want to talk about Paul Henry first?

Speaker 2 (00:04):
How well the excitement that you've expressed this afternoon, maybe
I should Well, I wasn't going to talk about it first,
but I've known Paul Henry for at least forty years.
We've worked in the same industry for many years together,
so I know him very well. The only reservation I
would have about Paul coming into politics is whether in

(00:27):
fact he will be able to withstand the strictures of
being in Parliament. It's not the easiest place to work.
It's pretty mundane. Sometimes it looks quite exciting from the outside,
but if you're in there trying to do a job
the late nights the early mornings. His super yacht will

(00:49):
have to be dry docked, no doubt, for the next
three years.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
And that's fair. But somehow he doesn't. I just I
don't imagine he's going to do the graft of politics.
He's their glory guy.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
All right, He's got to do the graft.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
But why does he have to do that?

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Well, what he said was he said, look, he expects
to be elected, being given a fairly high place on
the Act Party list and he hopes to be a minister. Well,
if you hope to be a minister, you've really got
to do the hard yards. Oh yeah, that's a really
hard job.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
But you don't expect ministers to sit in the House
until ten o'clock at night just minding the act Party before.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
It depends on whether they're they're promoting a bill that's
before the.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
House fair enough to be there, I was imagining. I
don't think he's going to do the kind of grafty,
grindye work that you have to sit there in Parliament,
you know, knitting while you listen to boring speech.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Well, you know, look, everybody has to do that to
some extent. Paul's never worked in the Parliamentary Press Gallery,
so he's never really seen Parliament upfront and the way
it works. And that's taking nothing away from him at all.
He's interviewed many MPs. Sometimes he gets the name of
them a bit wrong when it comes to Indian people

(01:59):
like Dixit and.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Sorry what keV keV was there at the time at
tv Z. What was the actual pronunciation of Sheila's name
in the end or was it dick shit? Was it?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Well it was somebody else.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Held out from the side when he did say that,
because he the thing about Paul Henry that that I've liked,
probably more about his personality, having known him as his
infectious laughter. I mean, he can't stop himself laughing when
something ridiculous happened and a bigger party get. He's certainly

(02:35):
got profile and he will certainly make no doubt waves
for act against Shane Jones in the House.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
For example, who's a better get, Paul Henry or Michael Laws.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Well, I other think Paul Henry, I mean he hasn't
got the the Well I was going to say, dodgy background.
Michael laws hasn't either. He's quite a bright, bright guy.
But well, yes, that's right now. I mean none of
us have absolutely tell me about the chinesy white background,
so talking about the Chinese changing the topic completely. The

(03:10):
Chinese are very upset at New Zealand. New Zealand's reaffirmed
its decision, or the decision of an arbitration tribunal convened
under the United Nations that no legal basis for China's
expensive maritime claims in the South China scene. Now New
Zealand that's celebrating the tenth anniversary of this particular declaration.

(03:34):
It's being led by the United States, and New Zealand
signed up to it along with fourteen other countries. And
I guess diplomatically you would say, look, we trade they
are the biggest trading partners China. Why did we need
to sign up to the tenth anniversary Declaration? Why what

(03:55):
good would it do New Zealand. Well, certainly, if you
look at the ambassador of the Chinese ambassador in Wellington,
he's none too happy that the New Zealand government had
put its signature to it. He said the decision basically
is not just not acceptable to China, it's violating China's

(04:17):
interests and he said it's not what's been discussed in
the past by leaders of both countries. So he believes
that New Zealand stepped outside what the Chinese would expect
of it. And you know, we shouldn't be cowered by China,
there's no doubt about that. But we've also got to
look after a pocket and that's the money that the

(04:38):
Chinese do put into it by the FTA the right.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Okay, listen on the R and Z read research pole.
I've run through the numbers just before. What do you
make of National sitting on twenty nine here, Well.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
It's the lowest that they've been at in this particular
poll since Chris Luxen has been the leader. Look, they
just haven't been able to get traction, have they? The
National Party and the expense of New Zealand First, which
is picking up points as we go along, and you
know that obviously is going to do quite well in

(05:09):
the upcoming election. But this poll still shows that the
coalition would be returned with the majority of two seats,
not a great majority, but nevertheless enough. But the problem
is you've got the Opportunity Party. They're at now four
point seven percent I think in this pole, and they
will change the whole dynamic if they crack that five percent,

(05:33):
And this pole is dependent on the Moldi Party, which
I don't think they will get, but getting three electorate seats,
you know, it's still very much.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
Up on the Thanks Barry, appreciate it, Barry so for
seeing your political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
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