Jason Walls: Political Editor on the week that was

Political Editor Jason Walls talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan about the week that was.

What were the highs and lows of budget day?

The debate about the punishment for three Te Pāti Māori MP’s begun ... but didn’t head anywhere quickly.

And Winston Peters had an argy-bargy run in with a member of the public.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So it's wrapped. The political week that was with our
political leader to Jason Willis, welcome.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Back, thank you very much.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
What's your favorite thing in the budget?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
You know, I there was a number of things, I
think for me. I there was a question to Nicola
and I thought she handled the questions quite well. There
was one in particular about government debt and it was
one of the reporters. I'm not gonna name who they are,
but essentially it was like, you know, it's only two percent.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
I named it yesterday on the program.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Okay, it's Bernd Higgs. But Bernard has been asking since
I was essentially, and so when it's essentially since I've
been born, right that why isn't the government borrowing more?
Why can't they just borrow more and just you know,
eat the interest And Nicola Willis gave a really good
answer as to why that was a bad idea and
talked about the interest bill of being about eight or
nine billion dollars a year, and it was it was

(00:47):
quite refreshing to hear somebody talk like this and to
say instead of just kind of taking the easy rote
in terms of getting and piling on more debts so
we can fund other things. It's actually saying we'll hang
on a second. We can't just ratchet up deren because people,
the young people of today are going to have to
pay for that tomorrow. And in saying that, I mean
the government's debt bill is still enormous. But it was

(01:07):
I thought it was good to hear her clap back
if you will.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Do you know what I thought was fascinating Yesterday I
got talking to Paddy Gower naming names again, got talking
to Paddy Gower in the lock up and he said
to me, oh, this is a fantastic budget because it's
a classic blue budget and there's money for the farmers
to go and buy a ute and then claim twenty
percent back. And what occurred to me while he was
saying that is that we haven't quite snapped out as

(01:33):
a country of looking at these budgets in like framing
them as successful or not based on who they give
money to. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah? Yeah, And there's always a tendency to say who
the big winners are out of every.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Single budget, when actually this is a loser's budget because
we are our debt is heading to forty six percent.
What we really need to be talking about as a
country is what are we prepared to cut? What are
we prepared to give up to get the books back
in order? And I don't know that we're quite getting
there as a country yet, are we. If the framing
is like this is a great blue budget.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, yeah, And it was actually quite interest I was
sitting right next to you when you and Patty had
that very animated and lively discussion. Quite it was quite
funny watching the two of you in full flight. But yeah, no,
I mean I do tend to agree, and I think
that we kind of need to wean ourselves off sort
of the big winners and the big losers, and kind
of have a situation where we look at a budget
and say, we need a period of fiscal consolidation for

(02:28):
a while, just to get things just on the straight
and arrow.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Really, do you know what I've met? My match with
Patty A I couldn't get a word in each ways,
did you know?

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well it was because I was sitting there trying to
take cuts for our bulletins and the only thing I
could hear was this is a great budget, and you
were like, this is a terrible budget.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
It was it was like it was great, well, thanks
for noticing. So I mean, look, have we has this week?
Has yesterday not underscored too chippy that he should not
take the side of the Maori Party ever, they will
embarrass him, you.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Would think, And it's very He stood up in the
house and he gave he was one of the only
ones to actually give a speech before Chris Bishop kind
of surprised us all and adjourned the debate. But he said,
now listen, I'm not defending the Marty Party, and everybody
erupted in laughter because it's exactly what he was doing,
and this idea that you know, he's pulling it back
a little bit in terms of the punishment from the

(03:23):
Privileges Committee. They'd recommended twenty one days for the co leaders.
He had said three days, and then later in the
day he reverted that back to twenty four hours. But
I mean, and I think I've said this to you before.
One of the most fascinating things that I've heard recently
was actually David Farrier on your show, and he was
talking about the fact that he's done some polling about
the drag effect on the leaders and if you're a

(03:46):
NAT you tend to like Winston and you tend to
like David Seymour, if you're a Labor supporter, you tend
to not like the Tea Party, Marty cole Leaders and
the Greens. So I think he's got some real concerns there.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah, I mean, is that a surprise to you, Jason.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
No, it's not. I think that the Labor Party is
still a centrist party, but the left, in terms of
the Greens, anti Party, Marty are moving very very much. Yeah,
into this very left space we haven't seen occupied.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
I just wonder if we haven't all together appreciated that. Sure.
I mean Actors you know, is kind of extreme in
some of the stuff, but they that extremity is nothing
compared to how extreme the Maori Party is. Like they
are so extreme that they actually make that whole coalition impossible, right.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
And it's going to be something that Chris Hipkins is
going to have to balance because I was talking to
a few people last night from the various different parties
and they were almost sort of rubbing their hands with
glee in terms of the ads that they're going to
run in the next election, because all they need to
do is just sort of go back to that classic
National Party ad where it's all the different parties rowing

(04:55):
the same row boat and going around in circles.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Jason, it's good to talk to you. Thank you so
so much. As always, Jason Wooll's political editor, wrapping the
political week that was. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive,
listen live to news Talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio