October 16, 2025 • 12 mins
FIRST WITH YESTERDAY'S NEWS (highlights from Thursday on Newstalk ZB) Memories of Jim/What State Housing Is For/Climate Policy Is So Last Decade/That's No Way to Live
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk said be
follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on
iHeartRadio used Talk Said Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hello, my beautiful beanies, and welcome to the Bean for Friday.
First of yesterday's news. I am Glenhart. We'll looking back
at Thursday state Houses. He's been a report on state houses.
Sounds fascinating. What other countries think about climate policy or
do they think of it at all? And somebody has
(00:46):
a weird tone al clipping technique? Who shows that on
on Marcuses? But before any of that, Yes, So remembering
Jim Bolger.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
He was decent. He was a decent Kiwi. He was
a decent man, fair minded, intelligent, pragmatic, could talk, and boy,
if you ever had the pleasure of meeting him, you'll
know man could talk. Last time I saw him was
at a dinner early last year. I sat next to him,
and I spent pretty much the entire dinner listening to
a dissertation on the benefits of fair pay agreements, which
(01:19):
I don't know about you, but not the best way
to spend it Friday night. And yet you know, this
is what we talked about because Jim had been the chair.
You'll remember of Grant and just Sinda's Fair Pay Agreements
Working Group, and that brings me to the contradiction of
Jim Bolger. That working group was one of the examples
of Jim Bolger changing his mind in recent years, and
there was a fair bit of that. His government in
(01:40):
the nineteen nineties passed the Employment Contracts Act, but Jacinda
and Grant hired him for the Fair Payments a Fair
Pay Agreements Working Group to essentially unwind that Employment Contracts Act,
which he himself had become publicly critical of. He also
became critical of the neoliberal policies of his government. He
said they absolutely failed. Some people became very wealthy, others
became very poor. He was critical of Ruth Richardson's welfare cuts.
(02:04):
And I've wondered about this what happened to him in
recent years. I've wondered about that affair. I wanted did
Jim Bolger criticize his own government because he had the
courage to admit that they might have made mistakes and
he had the courage to publicly change his mind, Or
did Jim Bolger criticize his own government because he didn't
like the way that history remembered his government. I don't
(02:25):
know that he should have worried about that, because I
think history has actually been kind to him. His legacy
is the Treaty Settlements which he and his colleagues got underway,
and that is despite opposition. And frankly, I can think
of worse things than being remembered for being decent.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I would like to not be remembered at all. In fact,
I'm perfectly happy if people don't even remember to have
a funeral, this gary on with their lives. Yeah, I
would just prefer that to anybody bringing up some of
(03:01):
the things that I'm done and said worth.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Probably about news talk ze.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Been isn't about me, it's about Jim Boja.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Michael, you've got a bulger story.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
I do. I do. So my mother was Jim Bolga's
secretary while he was prime minister, so he used to
come to our house all the time. So obviously he's
my favorite prime minister all the time.
Speaker 6 (03:24):
What was he like?
Speaker 5 (03:27):
He was a lovely, lovely man. So every Christmas Eve
he would come to our house with his two bodyguards
to his ass bodyguards and stuff like that. And yeah,
look brings me well personally, but so so The funny
story is after my father passed away the day of
the funeral, we're out at my mother and dad's house
having having a drink and stuff, and he said to me,
(03:48):
he said, Michael, your dad always used to have a
nice bottle of whiskey in the cupboard in the hall there.
How about we grab one of those and we'll just
crack the top off. And now I'm not a big
whiskey drinker, but I don't mind little drop. So I went.
I thought, from memory, I think it was a black label.
I think it was a nice black label, Johnny Walker.
But so yeah, and he said, just a little dash
of what was mine? Thanks Michael, you know. And so yeah,
(04:10):
so I brought us a couple of whiskeys and he
pretty much knocks his one back in a single gulp,
you know, and I get on mine, and he said,
should we just have one more in honor of your dead?
And he should just hold the water on the next one. Thing. Yeah, yes,
So I know that's my funny story. But you know,
I'm quite sad today to hear of us passing in.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
Yeah, well, thank you so much, Michael, because I mean
that's the thing, you know, most of us don't even
know these politicians for their speeches and you know what's
written about them and the media coverage. Yeah, but you
know in New Zealand specifically, specifically they You know, being
a prime minister does not move you far away from
everyday people, does it?
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Oh? So true, so true? Talk about two degrees a
one degree in New Zealand. Really one of two degrees
was exaggerating it a bit. For the whole two things
should have just gone one. I know there's another phone
company with one that wouldn't it worked. Got a little
bit off topically, you talk sid Okay, So the New
Zealand Initiative is in a report on state houses a
(05:13):
gripping read.
Speaker 7 (05:13):
Here's the money you house these people, you know them,
you know what they need. You're passionate about seeing them
live full and meaningful lives.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Go for it.
Speaker 7 (05:26):
Personally, I think that's the way to go. I have
not lived in a state house. My dad came from
a state house, his siblings grew up in a state house.
Nobody from that family ever needed a state house again.
It was a launchpad for all of them and for
all of us, for the kids and the cousins. Nobody's
(05:50):
ever needed it since, and that's the way it should be.
Empowerment choice. You're not a victim. You do not need
to be looked after for the rest of your life.
Yes you might have had problems, Yes you might be
going through problems. Yes you might have disabilities. It does
not mean you're worthless. It does not mean that the
(06:12):
state has to look after you for the rest of
your life. You have choice. I love the message in this,
but I can only see it lasting as long as
you ever sent to write government and power.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I was in town last night, walking to from where
I parked macall here at work down to an event
at Commercial Bay, just down by the waterfront in Auckland,
and I discovered an entire encampment of unhoused individuals. They
(06:48):
weren't really individuals. I think there was a sort of
a community going on down there, which I, heatherfore too,
had not been aware of. I'd love to know if
they're interested in a state house themselves, or whether they
just prefer to carry on doing what they're doing. I
(07:08):
would not love to know it enough to actually ask them.
And in fact, I walked a different way back to
work later on in the evening. I'm not sure what
that says about me or society in general. That's what
it seemed. Kind of adjacent to the discussion, right It
(07:31):
seems to be some talk about other countries are disapproving
of the changes that we've made to our climate policy,
resetting certain targets about things. I think Ryan thinks that
nobody's noticing what we've done with our climate policy.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
I think he's probably wrote the aussi's and we covered
this at the time. So they set their target of
sixty two to seventy percent reduction on two thousand and
five levels last month. That was lower than they were
forecast to do. They were criticized by green groups it
was contrary to advice from their equivalent of the Climate
Change Commission. Naughty naughty tisk tisk in the UK, Stara's
(08:05):
being told to prepare the government buildings there for temperatures
of two degrees higher than normal rather than the one
point five limit that everyone's hoping but failing to achieve.
And the Big Four aren't exactly doing their bit either.
Just this morning, another new climate report, because we get
one every day. Guess what, a record amount of emissions,
the largest increase in modern measurements since the nineteen fifties
(08:28):
when we started doing that. So it's not like the
rest of the world is covered in glory. It's a
dog eat dog world out there, and everyone's basically up
for themselves in New Zealand, there's no exception. Does this
mean the government's made the right call? Can they saddle
up on a high horse?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
No?
Speaker 4 (08:43):
But it also doesn't mean we're about to get sued
or blocked by our trading partner.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I get the vibe. Generally speaking, nobody really cares about
the environment anymore. So just carry on doing what you're doing. Everyone, Sure,
it'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
News talk Z been right.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Let's finish up with toenail talk. I don't think I've
ever said that before.
Speaker 8 (09:08):
Interesting conversations, and it's nice to hear all the laughter,
but I.
Speaker 7 (09:13):
Love you gotta love the laughter.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Ag.
Speaker 8 (09:18):
Yeah, you can't beat it.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
I can't beat You've got laugh today today?
Speaker 8 (09:25):
Or yes, I'm blurring between the two sometimes. Have you
slept ye woke up, thought it was the middle of
the night, and I thought that there pone says nine something.
I thought, Oh, I'm all disillusioned anyway, don't I was
(09:51):
so tired of being out gardening, and I just went
to be thought, oh, well, I have a little half
our nap and I woke up at nine thirty or
something tonight. You good could being a good sleep?
Speaker 4 (10:09):
How the toenails are good?
Speaker 8 (10:14):
I was going to say, it wasn't those little clippers
that I was using. It was the hedge clippers, very sharp.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
One are the hedge clippers?
Speaker 8 (10:25):
Oh? You know you can't reach so in trying to
get my legs up around the neck so I can
clip seasy With the hedge clippers, you're going to have
to reach for you just leaned down and long you see. Wow,
great tip.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Wow.
Speaker 8 (10:49):
We the hitge clippers.
Speaker 7 (10:51):
Yeah, I thought they wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
I thought the blades wouldn't be tight enough coming together
for toenails.
Speaker 8 (10:59):
Oh yeah, yeah. The huge clippers get very thick. You
know when you get Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I mean no offense to Jen, but I think when
you're at the point that you're using hedge clippers to
cut your nails, I think it's time to wrap it up. Sorry, Jen, But.
Speaker 8 (11:26):
I know we don't.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I don't think we need to look that way.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
Do we.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
If that's what if that's what it's come to it
sounds like a way. I don't know how you'd be
accurate enough. I think you'd be clipping just your toes,
not your toenails. I guess that solve the toenail problem
once for all. That might be a solution too. It's
start with the toes and then we'll move on to Jen.
(11:52):
If that doesn't work, what do you think, Hash, Queen Hash,
I'm just joking again. I'm just think silly because she
Jen likes the laugh. If she likes the laugh, heads matters.
I am green hat. I don't know if it was
a good joke, but it was a joke. I'll see
you back here again with a weekend edition on Monday, News.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Talking Talking z it Bean. For more from News Talk
set b listen live on air or online, and keep
our shows with you wherever you go with our podcasts
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk said be
follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on
iHeartRadio used Talk Said Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hello, my beautiful beanies, and welcome to the Bean for Friday.
First of yesterday's news. I am Glenhart. We'll looking back
at Thursday state Houses. He's been a report on state houses.
Sounds fascinating. What other countries think about climate policy or
do they think of it at all? And somebody has
(00:46):
a weird tone al clipping technique? Who shows that on
on Marcuses? But before any of that, Yes, So remembering
Jim Bolger.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
He was decent. He was a decent Kiwi. He was
a decent man, fair minded, intelligent, pragmatic, could talk, and boy,
if you ever had the pleasure of meeting him, you'll
know man could talk. Last time I saw him was
at a dinner early last year. I sat next to him,
and I spent pretty much the entire dinner listening to
a dissertation on the benefits of fair pay agreements, which
(01:19):
I don't know about you, but not the best way
to spend it Friday night. And yet you know, this
is what we talked about because Jim had been the chair.
You'll remember of Grant and just Sinda's Fair Pay Agreements
Working Group, and that brings me to the contradiction of
Jim Bolger. That working group was one of the examples
of Jim Bolger changing his mind in recent years, and
there was a fair bit of that. His government in
(01:40):
the nineteen nineties passed the Employment Contracts Act, but Jacinda
and Grant hired him for the Fair Payments a Fair
Pay Agreements Working Group to essentially unwind that Employment Contracts Act,
which he himself had become publicly critical of. He also
became critical of the neoliberal policies of his government. He
said they absolutely failed. Some people became very wealthy, others
became very poor. He was critical of Ruth Richardson's welfare cuts.
(02:04):
And I've wondered about this what happened to him in
recent years. I've wondered about that affair. I wanted did
Jim Bolger criticize his own government because he had the
courage to admit that they might have made mistakes and
he had the courage to publicly change his mind, Or
did Jim Bolger criticize his own government because he didn't
like the way that history remembered his government. I don't
(02:25):
know that he should have worried about that, because I
think history has actually been kind to him. His legacy
is the Treaty Settlements which he and his colleagues got underway,
and that is despite opposition. And frankly, I can think
of worse things than being remembered for being decent.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I would like to not be remembered at all. In fact,
I'm perfectly happy if people don't even remember to have
a funeral, this gary on with their lives. Yeah, I
would just prefer that to anybody bringing up some of
(03:01):
the things that I'm done and said worth.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Probably about news talk ze.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Been isn't about me, it's about Jim Boja.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Michael, you've got a bulger story.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
I do. I do. So my mother was Jim Bolga's
secretary while he was prime minister, so he used to
come to our house all the time. So obviously he's
my favorite prime minister all the time.
Speaker 6 (03:24):
What was he like?
Speaker 5 (03:27):
He was a lovely, lovely man. So every Christmas Eve
he would come to our house with his two bodyguards
to his ass bodyguards and stuff like that. And yeah,
look brings me well personally, but so so The funny
story is after my father passed away the day of
the funeral, we're out at my mother and dad's house
having having a drink and stuff, and he said to me,
(03:48):
he said, Michael, your dad always used to have a
nice bottle of whiskey in the cupboard in the hall there.
How about we grab one of those and we'll just
crack the top off. And now I'm not a big
whiskey drinker, but I don't mind little drop. So I went.
I thought, from memory, I think it was a black label.
I think it was a nice black label, Johnny Walker.
But so yeah, and he said, just a little dash
of what was mine? Thanks Michael, you know. And so yeah,
(04:10):
so I brought us a couple of whiskeys and he
pretty much knocks his one back in a single gulp,
you know, and I get on mine, and he said,
should we just have one more in honor of your dead?
And he should just hold the water on the next one. Thing. Yeah, yes,
So I know that's my funny story. But you know,
I'm quite sad today to hear of us passing in.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
Yeah, well, thank you so much, Michael, because I mean
that's the thing, you know, most of us don't even
know these politicians for their speeches and you know what's
written about them and the media coverage. Yeah, but you
know in New Zealand specifically, specifically they You know, being
a prime minister does not move you far away from
everyday people, does it?
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Oh? So true, so true? Talk about two degrees a
one degree in New Zealand. Really one of two degrees
was exaggerating it a bit. For the whole two things
should have just gone one. I know there's another phone
company with one that wouldn't it worked. Got a little
bit off topically, you talk sid Okay, So the New
Zealand Initiative is in a report on state houses a
(05:13):
gripping read.
Speaker 7 (05:13):
Here's the money you house these people, you know them,
you know what they need. You're passionate about seeing them
live full and meaningful lives.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Go for it.
Speaker 7 (05:26):
Personally, I think that's the way to go. I have
not lived in a state house. My dad came from
a state house, his siblings grew up in a state house.
Nobody from that family ever needed a state house again.
It was a launchpad for all of them and for
all of us, for the kids and the cousins. Nobody's
(05:50):
ever needed it since, and that's the way it should be.
Empowerment choice. You're not a victim. You do not need
to be looked after for the rest of your life.
Yes you might have had problems, Yes you might be
going through problems. Yes you might have disabilities. It does
not mean you're worthless. It does not mean that the
(06:12):
state has to look after you for the rest of
your life. You have choice. I love the message in this,
but I can only see it lasting as long as
you ever sent to write government and power.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I was in town last night, walking to from where
I parked macall here at work down to an event
at Commercial Bay, just down by the waterfront in Auckland,
and I discovered an entire encampment of unhoused individuals. They
(06:48):
weren't really individuals. I think there was a sort of
a community going on down there, which I, heatherfore too,
had not been aware of. I'd love to know if
they're interested in a state house themselves, or whether they
just prefer to carry on doing what they're doing. I
(07:08):
would not love to know it enough to actually ask them.
And in fact, I walked a different way back to
work later on in the evening. I'm not sure what
that says about me or society in general. That's what
it seemed. Kind of adjacent to the discussion, right It
(07:31):
seems to be some talk about other countries are disapproving
of the changes that we've made to our climate policy,
resetting certain targets about things. I think Ryan thinks that
nobody's noticing what we've done with our climate policy.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
I think he's probably wrote the aussi's and we covered
this at the time. So they set their target of
sixty two to seventy percent reduction on two thousand and
five levels last month. That was lower than they were
forecast to do. They were criticized by green groups it
was contrary to advice from their equivalent of the Climate
Change Commission. Naughty naughty tisk tisk in the UK, Stara's
(08:05):
being told to prepare the government buildings there for temperatures
of two degrees higher than normal rather than the one
point five limit that everyone's hoping but failing to achieve.
And the Big Four aren't exactly doing their bit either.
Just this morning, another new climate report, because we get
one every day. Guess what, a record amount of emissions,
the largest increase in modern measurements since the nineteen fifties
(08:28):
when we started doing that. So it's not like the
rest of the world is covered in glory. It's a
dog eat dog world out there, and everyone's basically up
for themselves in New Zealand, there's no exception. Does this
mean the government's made the right call? Can they saddle
up on a high horse?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
No?
Speaker 4 (08:43):
But it also doesn't mean we're about to get sued
or blocked by our trading partner.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I get the vibe. Generally speaking, nobody really cares about
the environment anymore. So just carry on doing what you're doing. Everyone, Sure,
it'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
News talk Z been right.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Let's finish up with toenail talk. I don't think I've
ever said that before.
Speaker 8 (09:08):
Interesting conversations, and it's nice to hear all the laughter,
but I.
Speaker 7 (09:13):
Love you gotta love the laughter.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Ag.
Speaker 8 (09:18):
Yeah, you can't beat it.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
I can't beat You've got laugh today today?
Speaker 8 (09:25):
Or yes, I'm blurring between the two sometimes. Have you
slept ye woke up, thought it was the middle of
the night, and I thought that there pone says nine something.
I thought, Oh, I'm all disillusioned anyway, don't I was
(09:51):
so tired of being out gardening, and I just went
to be thought, oh, well, I have a little half
our nap and I woke up at nine thirty or
something tonight. You good could being a good sleep?
Speaker 4 (10:09):
How the toenails are good?
Speaker 8 (10:14):
I was going to say, it wasn't those little clippers
that I was using. It was the hedge clippers, very sharp.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
One are the hedge clippers?
Speaker 8 (10:25):
Oh? You know you can't reach so in trying to
get my legs up around the neck so I can
clip seasy With the hedge clippers, you're going to have
to reach for you just leaned down and long you see. Wow,
great tip.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Wow.
Speaker 8 (10:49):
We the hitge clippers.
Speaker 7 (10:51):
Yeah, I thought they wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
I thought the blades wouldn't be tight enough coming together
for toenails.
Speaker 8 (10:59):
Oh yeah, yeah. The huge clippers get very thick. You
know when you get Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I mean no offense to Jen, but I think when
you're at the point that you're using hedge clippers to
cut your nails, I think it's time to wrap it up. Sorry, Jen, But.
Speaker 8 (11:26):
I know we don't.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I don't think we need to look that way.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
Do we.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
If that's what if that's what it's come to it
sounds like a way. I don't know how you'd be
accurate enough. I think you'd be clipping just your toes,
not your toenails. I guess that solve the toenail problem
once for all. That might be a solution too. It's
start with the toes and then we'll move on to Jen.
(11:52):
If that doesn't work, what do you think, Hash, Queen Hash,
I'm just joking again. I'm just think silly because she
Jen likes the laugh. If she likes the laugh, heads matters.
I am green hat. I don't know if it was
a good joke, but it was a joke. I'll see
you back here again with a weekend edition on Monday, News.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Talking Talking z it Bean. For more from News Talk
set b listen live on air or online, and keep
our shows with you wherever you go with our podcasts
on iHeartRadio.
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