May 21, 2025 • 8 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Conor English from Government relations firm Silvereye and broadcaster Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Should Tonkin + Taylor sack the staffer who was caught heckling Winston Peters?
Waitakere Hospital ED raised some eyebrows when they started handing out vouchers for patients to go to urgent care clinics. What do we make of this?
It's Budget Day tomorrow - what do we hope to get out of it?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On the huddle of me. You've got Connor English, director
at Wellington government relations firm Silvery and Mark Sainsbury broadcast
to hell are you two?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Can I hear that new phone just for you? Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Was there a problem with your last phone?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
You remember my ear keep hutting the mute button?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Yeah, but I thought that was an ear problem, not
a phone problem.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Well, no, the new phone. Everything's laid out in a
different ways. So oh, look, we won't eat from noother
couple of months.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
But you know, your commitment to this show is just unrivaled.
I really appreciate it, says, So tell me what do
you think should happen to this chap?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
See? See it's interesting. I mean I think the idea. Look,
the media, you know they shouldn't publicize it. Well, what
if it was a member of you know, being a
member of the you know, secretary of the Labor Party,
or had some vested interests. Of course the media going
to sort of chase it up. But I do you
have to find myself agreeing with you? Actually, Heather, I
think that yep, fair enough. The company is embarrassed and
(00:54):
they want to do something about it that does have
shades of sort of Trump and the law firms. But
that's fair enough. But whether the discipline he needs a
bollocking is he may well put in himself for being
an idiot, but I don't think it should customer's job.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
What do you think, Connor.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Well, it's sort of bad manners to shout at people
when they're making a six hundred million dollar announcement about
investments and trains, which I think this guy had.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I'm assuming he'd just jumped off a train, so he
should be grateful.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, look, I yeah, well it should be. I suppose
that he obviously had a view about other issues and
that's distracted it. And you spend all day talking about,
you know, the interacts between him and Winston So which
is a bit of a shame about the policy issue,
I guess from the from the government's perspective, But I
don't think he should be fired.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
But I think it's just bad manners.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And I can understand the employer apologizing because you know,
if you had one of your employees in that situation
the abundance of caution, of course you apologize because that's
a polite thing to do.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
You need more polite people in the world.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I agree with you, and I think you probably also
be embarrassed as T and T that you managed to
hire such a numpty who's best retorted the Deputy Prime
Minister was to say, oh, bollocks. It was just so lame,
wasn't it. Speaking of apologies, saying so, do you think
that Chippy should apologize to Judith Collins for quite clearly
misquoting her in a way that makes her look like
(02:20):
a racist?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I mean, yeah, that's sort of You've got to be
so careful with that sort of stuff. I mean, because
you'll end up it comes back and sort of, you know,
wax you on the chops because you didn't do it properly.
So yeah, it could well be I mean, it's yeah, yeah,
that's that. It's such a fraud issue, and it's such
a is.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
It fraud those says it doesn't feel it doesn't fraut.
It doesn't feel fraut to me. If Judith says the
lack of civility from the Maori Party and then you
reinterpret that as uncivilized behavior from Indigenous people, that just
seems to me that is just you are mischaracterizing what
she said out and out.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And again it's one of those things. Knock it on
the head, knock it on the head. Don't let it
keep you know, he's going to sort it out. If
you look back and think, yeah, look I was a
bit fust and loose with that, then sort it. Otherwise
it just drags on and he said, she said, and
all these sort of other things start coming through.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
It just kind of the problem is it makes it
makes Chippy look slippery.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Oh well, it's better if people are very clear about
what they said, and other people are very clear about
what they said. And it just seems to be a
wee bit of confusion in this situation, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Is it confusion?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Connor?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Or is this a classic case of Chippy getting busted
twisting the facts, which actually is something he does quite
a lot with a smiling face.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
Oh he's got a nice smiling face, he does, isn't he.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
And he's very good at engaging with the media and
making points that he wants to make.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, well, okay, I feel like you're pulling your punches
on him, So I'm going to talk to you about
that later. Right, take a break back to you guys, Right,
you're back of the huddle. Connor English and Mark Sainsbury Connor.
Do you have any problem with those vouchers being handed
out at ED.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Look, I think it seems to be quite a pragmatic solution,
doesn't it. I mean, ideally you wouldn't have so many
people going to ED anyway and you know, fit and healthy,
but it does seem to be a lot of people
who do. And if you can get the overfly through
quocket by going down the road you know Philly Boots really.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yeah, problem here, Sainso is when people start gaming at
a like now that people are aware of it, you
one hundred percent know that there will people who will
be people who will not go to the GP, but
will go to ED knowing they can get a voucher
and get seen for free down at the White Cross.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, there's always there's always going to be that. I mean, look,
the fact that they're having to resort to giving out
vouchers I am not happy with, as it says that
the system is in coping with what it's designed for.
But you know the risk of us all being in
unison if you're second you need treatment, look anything at
work and if a voucher is going to help, and
it's seems have made a huge difference in numbers in
(05:03):
particularly in that area. Then let it happen. You know,
we can't all stand on principle and this is terrible.
We should be putting the money into the health system.
You're quite correct, But people are waiting for treatment. It's
just unconscionable how long people have to wait at these
at the emergency centers. And if this is a way
out of it, even if it's a temporary solution, then
all power of their own Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I would agree with that.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I don't now.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Yeah, we're doing the same thing with operations too, aren't we.
Which you know that there's not enough capacity in the
public sector. If you can throw some overflow into the
private sector and get the job done quicker makes sense too,
doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
It does absolutely connor. What are you looking for in
the big budget tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Well, fully, funnily enough, I'm looking for the government to
provide some funding for early detection of prostate cancer. It's
a little hobby horse. I've heard for a while for
a pilot at one point six million a year out
of thirty billion dollars a year. But it's not a
big ark, but it will make a big difference to men's help.
(06:04):
But other than that, I'm just hoping that the government
delivers a good, good, sort of sensible budget that I
think is going to be focused on growth, isn't it.
So we all want thes On to progress and invest
in the right places and make a difference, so the
boat goes faster.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
What about you, Sanza?
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Well, look, I can't help but endorse Connor on the
on the prostate. It's men's health. Were coming up on
the ninth of fifteenth of June, so it'll be a
great thing for that. And because there's still a lot
of a lot of disparity, two out of four Mari
men won't get the gold card just by the way.
So that's but what I'm looking for all this talk,
they've dampened down expectations, are saying that there's not going
(06:45):
to be this, it's not gonna be that, it's not
gonna be a lollly scramble. What I'm curious to see
is whether there's they've got anything they're going to pull
out of the hat that is going to surprise us.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
You've been there too many times, haven't ye, saying Zoe,
and heard them say it's not going to be a
lolly scramble, that's right, and then it's a lolly stradle.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
So I'll be I'll be tuned in at five past
five tomorrow, Heather.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Oh thanks, say so, let me just be absolutely clear
to what will you be tuned in.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I'll be tuned into you, Heather. Can you be talking
to the finance minister? That's what I'll be tuned in.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You'll get your commission in the mail later on. I
really are.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, what No, I'm just going to say, look, the
one good thing you know, because you know you have
your own sort of style, but one good thing you're
an equal opportunity aggressive interviewer.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
And I think that's something you have your own little
style saying so elaborate please.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Because you have you have one thing about you you
don't die wanting to know. You have very definite and
strong views on things, job descriptions. To stop be being robust.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Thank you sayin so. I appreciate that. I just I
thought there might have been a little bit of a thought.
I thought, oh, there's a niggle coming from saying so,
I'm going to have to sort him out and over
and they saved himself. What a what a feminist.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Listen live to News Talk Set B from four p m.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
On the huddle of me. You've got Connor English, director
at Wellington government relations firm Silvery and Mark Sainsbury broadcast
to hell are you two?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Can I hear that new phone just for you? Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Was there a problem with your last phone?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
You remember my ear keep hutting the mute button?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Yeah, but I thought that was an ear problem, not
a phone problem.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Well, no, the new phone. Everything's laid out in a
different ways. So oh, look, we won't eat from noother
couple of months.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
But you know, your commitment to this show is just unrivaled.
I really appreciate it, says, So tell me what do
you think should happen to this chap?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
See? See it's interesting. I mean I think the idea. Look,
the media, you know they shouldn't publicize it. Well, what
if it was a member of you know, being a
member of the you know, secretary of the Labor Party,
or had some vested interests. Of course the media going
to sort of chase it up. But I do you
have to find myself agreeing with you? Actually, Heather, I
think that yep, fair enough. The company is embarrassed and
(00:54):
they want to do something about it that does have
shades of sort of Trump and the law firms. But
that's fair enough. But whether the discipline he needs a
bollocking is he may well put in himself for being
an idiot, but I don't think it should customer's job.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
What do you think, Connor.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Well, it's sort of bad manners to shout at people
when they're making a six hundred million dollar announcement about
investments and trains, which I think this guy had.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I'm assuming he'd just jumped off a train, so he
should be grateful.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, look, I yeah, well it should be. I suppose
that he obviously had a view about other issues and
that's distracted it. And you spend all day talking about,
you know, the interacts between him and Winston So which
is a bit of a shame about the policy issue,
I guess from the from the government's perspective, But I
don't think he should be fired.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
But I think it's just bad manners.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And I can understand the employer apologizing because you know,
if you had one of your employees in that situation
the abundance of caution, of course you apologize because that's
a polite thing to do.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
You need more polite people in the world.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I agree with you, and I think you probably also
be embarrassed as T and T that you managed to
hire such a numpty who's best retorted the Deputy Prime
Minister was to say, oh, bollocks. It was just so lame,
wasn't it. Speaking of apologies, saying so, do you think
that Chippy should apologize to Judith Collins for quite clearly
misquoting her in a way that makes her look like
(02:20):
a racist?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I mean, yeah, that's sort of You've got to be
so careful with that sort of stuff. I mean, because
you'll end up it comes back and sort of, you know,
wax you on the chops because you didn't do it properly.
So yeah, it could well be I mean, it's yeah, yeah,
that's that. It's such a fraud issue, and it's such
a is.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
It fraud those says it doesn't feel it doesn't fraut.
It doesn't feel fraut to me. If Judith says the
lack of civility from the Maori Party and then you
reinterpret that as uncivilized behavior from Indigenous people, that just
seems to me that is just you are mischaracterizing what
she said out and out.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And again it's one of those things. Knock it on
the head, knock it on the head. Don't let it
keep you know, he's going to sort it out. If
you look back and think, yeah, look I was a
bit fust and loose with that, then sort it. Otherwise
it just drags on and he said, she said, and
all these sort of other things start coming through.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
It just kind of the problem is it makes it
makes Chippy look slippery.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Oh well, it's better if people are very clear about
what they said, and other people are very clear about
what they said. And it just seems to be a
wee bit of confusion in this situation, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Is it confusion?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Connor?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Or is this a classic case of Chippy getting busted
twisting the facts, which actually is something he does quite
a lot with a smiling face.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
Oh he's got a nice smiling face, he does, isn't he.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
And he's very good at engaging with the media and
making points that he wants to make.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, well, okay, I feel like you're pulling your punches
on him, So I'm going to talk to you about
that later. Right, take a break back to you guys, Right,
you're back of the huddle. Connor English and Mark Sainsbury Connor.
Do you have any problem with those vouchers being handed
out at ED.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Look, I think it seems to be quite a pragmatic solution,
doesn't it. I mean, ideally you wouldn't have so many
people going to ED anyway and you know, fit and healthy,
but it does seem to be a lot of people
who do. And if you can get the overfly through
quocket by going down the road you know Philly Boots really.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yeah, problem here, Sainso is when people start gaming at
a like now that people are aware of it, you
one hundred percent know that there will people who will
be people who will not go to the GP, but
will go to ED knowing they can get a voucher
and get seen for free down at the White Cross.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, there's always there's always going to be that. I mean, look,
the fact that they're having to resort to giving out
vouchers I am not happy with, as it says that
the system is in coping with what it's designed for.
But you know the risk of us all being in
unison if you're second you need treatment, look anything at
work and if a voucher is going to help, and
it's seems have made a huge difference in numbers in
(05:03):
particularly in that area. Then let it happen. You know,
we can't all stand on principle and this is terrible.
We should be putting the money into the health system.
You're quite correct, But people are waiting for treatment. It's
just unconscionable how long people have to wait at these
at the emergency centers. And if this is a way
out of it, even if it's a temporary solution, then
all power of their own Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I would agree with that.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I don't now.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Yeah, we're doing the same thing with operations too, aren't we.
Which you know that there's not enough capacity in the
public sector. If you can throw some overflow into the
private sector and get the job done quicker makes sense too,
doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
It does absolutely connor. What are you looking for in
the big budget tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Well, fully, funnily enough, I'm looking for the government to
provide some funding for early detection of prostate cancer. It's
a little hobby horse. I've heard for a while for
a pilot at one point six million a year out
of thirty billion dollars a year. But it's not a
big ark, but it will make a big difference to men's help.
(06:04):
But other than that, I'm just hoping that the government
delivers a good, good, sort of sensible budget that I
think is going to be focused on growth, isn't it.
So we all want thes On to progress and invest
in the right places and make a difference, so the
boat goes faster.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
What about you, Sanza?
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Well, look, I can't help but endorse Connor on the
on the prostate. It's men's health. Were coming up on
the ninth of fifteenth of June, so it'll be a
great thing for that. And because there's still a lot
of a lot of disparity, two out of four Mari
men won't get the gold card just by the way.
So that's but what I'm looking for all this talk,
they've dampened down expectations, are saying that there's not going
(06:45):
to be this, it's not gonna be that, it's not
gonna be a lollly scramble. What I'm curious to see
is whether there's they've got anything they're going to pull
out of the hat that is going to surprise us.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
You've been there too many times, haven't ye, saying Zoe,
and heard them say it's not going to be a
lolly scramble, that's right, and then it's a lolly stradle.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
So I'll be I'll be tuned in at five past
five tomorrow, Heather.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Oh thanks, say so, let me just be absolutely clear
to what will you be tuned in.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I'll be tuned into you, Heather. Can you be talking
to the finance minister? That's what I'll be tuned in.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You'll get your commission in the mail later on. I
really are.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, what No, I'm just going to say, look, the
one good thing you know, because you know you have
your own sort of style, but one good thing you're
an equal opportunity aggressive interviewer.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
And I think that's something you have your own little
style saying so elaborate please.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Because you have you have one thing about you you
don't die wanting to know. You have very definite and
strong views on things, job descriptions. To stop be being robust.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Thank you sayin so. I appreciate that. I just I
thought there might have been a little bit of a thought.
I thought, oh, there's a niggle coming from saying so,
I'm going to have to sort him out and over
and they saved himself. What a what a feminist.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Listen live to News Talk Set B from four p m.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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