David Seymour's been left in awe of the Indian Prime Minister's x-factor.
Narendra Modi stopped by Auckland on Saturday, attending a series of business, political and community events.
He and Chris Luxon agreed to attempt to double two-way trade by 2030.
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour told Mike Hosking that he heard Modi speak at a rally, which he attended out of political nerd-ism.
He says Modi's a cross between a charismatic Baptist preacher, Winston Churchill, and a new world leader.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I was mentioning before the news that everyone's away on
holiday and that includes the Prime minister. So we've got
an acting prime minister and his name is David Seymour.
Who's well this Good morning?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Good morning mate?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I asked Tom McLay the Mody thing. You were there
as well? Is there a magic about him? As there
is something there about Mody.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You don't get to be the prime minister of one
point four billion people and win three times in a
row without having a bit of an X factor. And
I went along to his rally more out of political
nerdism than any professional engagement. So I sat up there
next to him and Lux and he got up and
gave a speech and wow, he's a cross between a
(00:39):
sort of charismatic Baptist preacher Winston Churchill and a sort
of New World leader. He was more performing than speaking.
So I don't know, maybe a few tips might be
helpful for the campaign.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Here, have they? I mean, do you worry about the
twenty billion the obsession that we've had over this, or
will this be like every other FTA ever work out? Fine?
Thanks very much.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
You know, when I first got into politics, it was
the Transpacific partnership. You might remember the woman who threw
the dildo at Steven Joyce, which was actually one of
the first of many glorious things that have come out
of the tpp.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
A.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Trade is carried on the world hasn't ended. There's always
this controversy before you have a trade agreement, but in
reality it's been good for us. This India Free Trade
Agreement will be fantastic. Just people have spoken to over
the weekend that the business opportunities that they have are enormous.
And we'll look back on this and wonder what all
the fuss was about.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Explain why Winston doesn't get it or is it pure
racism as a guy who was against China. But I
mean that's the beginning of the middle and the end
of your argument, isn't it. You can't be against China
and still be against India, can you? Or can you?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Well, let me try and put a positive construction on this.
Winston's party is called New Zealand first, and whenever we
as a country go out and negotiate with someone else,
there's uncertainty. People aren't quite sure what to make of it.
I'm a free trader. I believe it's positive to trade
value for value with our friends around the world. But
(02:07):
I think he capitalizes on that uncertainty, and I think
he also capitalizes on people not remembering the last time
he capitalized, So good, Honorm. I admire him as a politician.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Where do you think the economy is at? Because we
focus a lot on the national party in that sense,
and I'll come to the road's national significance. But if
you looked at the PMI that came out on Thursday
or Friday, whenever it is, you can't argue with those numbers.
It's going gangbusters. Where's the economy at For the election?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I think it will be positive compared with now. And
there's a couple of reasons for that. One is that
despite what's happened in the last forty eight hours, all
the incentives in the Middle East are for peace and
to open up the strait. And you're seeing that that
Brent crude price is staying low, the price that the
pump is staying low. That means more cash people's pockets.
(03:01):
So that's the first thing. The second thing is I
think there's a lot of spirit out there that look crazy,
stuff's happened. It's been very painful, we've made sacrifices, we
have the light at the end of the tunnel closed down.
It's time to just get on with it. So people's
appetite for taking risk and difficult circumstances has increased. People
have kind of priced the uncertainty in So for those
(03:21):
two reasons, lower energy cost and more sort of realism
about what happens and how we get through it is
going to leave us in a better place.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Right the Ron's and the Bishop announcement on Thursday, do
you carry some of the can for that, because I mean,
it's not working the way that it was promised, and
you are the government of delivery allegedly.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, first of all, I think it's important to separate
what a political party being national campaigned on. They can
campaign on whatever they like, but the government has to
deliver what's realistic, and as a government, that's what we're doing.
The second point I'd make, and I think Chris Bishop
deserves some credit for this, is that he's really the
first one and a generation to ask why does this
(04:03):
stuff cost so much? Because what I've discovered is politicians
that the officials and the bureaucrates basically say you want
this project here's the cost. You guys job is either
to raise more taxes, borrow more money, or cut something
else to pay for it. We're just accountants basically, whereas
Chris has gone back and started challenging them. We did
this with the courthouses. They told us it's a quarter
of a billion dollars, two hundred and fifty million for
(04:25):
a courthouse. We said, hang on, you could build a
really nice home for a million dollars. How can one
court cost two hundred and fifty houses? We said, hey, guys,
you've got one hundred million. You figure it out. And
that's the kind of approach that we've got to start taking.
Don't just take the price the bureaucrats give us. So
if what comes out of this, and when Chris Bishop's
already started to say it, what comes out of it
(04:47):
is we start actually asking why stuff costs so bloody
much in New Zealand, then we might actually be able
to solve this. But do you think we will, Well,
I tell you what, we definitely won't if we don't try,
but we might if we do try.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Where are you at on this social media? Because it
looks like nationally going with labor to try and get
the social media, whatever formal shape it comes out across
the line. Are you against banning kids from social media?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I'm against the ban. I don't think the ban will succeed.
I acknowledge that parents are embattled. You know, we're halfway
through a school holiday right now. I go and knock
on doors and people Actually, he's only four days to go,
so you know, I understand, you know where people are
at and parents need help here. I just don't believe
that the state doing a ban is the help that
(05:32):
is going to solve the problem. And I base that
on what's happened in Australia, It's happened in the UK.
It's unfortunately, for every problem there is a solution that
is easy, simple, and wrong.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Do you think that you're too pure on it, because
you're right, indisputably right. But people want the help.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I think we're at a period of politics that has
become more emotional and less analytical, and I realize that
there'll be people throwing stuff at the radio saying you're
out of touch, you dickhead. Well okay, fine, but our
policies do have to work in the long term. We
didn't build this country by knee jerk reactions and running
(06:13):
off every time there's a problem to put in place
a policy that didn't work. I mean, we had a
lot of that under just Sinda Redurn. Frankly, I'm here
to say, look, we want to build a great country,
but it's going to take a bit more thought than
the first thing that comes along.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Could elbow say no it's not ideal, and no it's
not working the way I thought it would. But at
least we've made a dent and it's better than it was. Therefore,
your argument doesn't stick.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
The stat I saw was that before he did his ban,
eighty four percent of young Australians were using the apps
that he banned. After he did, his band seventy eight
percent of using the apps that he banned. So I
guess he could claim that that six percent drop is
a success. But I think the fact that even he
is now reeling to pat cover over with new extensions
(06:57):
to the ban and new penalties and banning VPA all
the other crazy stuff, exposes that the real Achilles heel
of this is that any band that is strong enough
to outsmart motivated teenagers is also going to wipe out
privacy and internet freedom for everyone else, because teenagers are
generally better at getting around the stuff than had holds.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Before we lived on holiday. Luxon was talking about the
possibility of us joining this defense alliance Australia, Fiji, etc.
Where at government level is that at and what literally
does it mean, because I'm assuming if somebody did something
to Fiji, we'd go to help anyway and vice versa.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
First of all, it is being discussed at government level.
It will take final sign off by Cabinet. But before
the Australians and Fijians made their announcement, we were aware
of it and talking about it and had given a
mandate to our people in the diplomatic corps to go
off and potentially negotiate to be part of the agreement. Obviously,
(07:55):
the Australians and Fijians would would have to want us
to be part of it, So there's a bit of
water to go into that particular bridge. But in the
end we will have an Ocean of Peace agreement with
at least the three countries and it will start to
build out a clear message to anyone else that wants
to come into the region or frankly fire missiles into
the region that people down here like each other. They
(08:16):
work together, and if you want to do business down here,
then you've got to do business with us.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, the problem with that is do you think it
will make a jot of difference?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
I think it will if you look at this announced
this event over the weekend, you know, putting aside the
occasional anti India sentiment out in New Zealand, there was
a warmth about the relationship between Luxon and Modi, between
New Zealand and India, and between Kiwi Indians and the
rest of New Zealand. Now I could say some of
those things about the relationship between Chinese Kiwis and the
(08:47):
rest of New Zealand, and maybe between China and New Zealand.
But at government level, when you're firing missiles into the
sea not so far from where Kiwi kids are, the
lucky ones at least are going on holiday this weekend,
this school holidays, then it's not so warm anymore. And
I don't think you could have imagined that rally with
a politician from China. Unfortunately. So the impact that this
(09:11):
is having is that China's years of diplomacy saying we
are your friends unravels when they pull these kinds of stunts.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Good to see you appreciate it, Acting Prime Minister David Symour.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
I was mentioning before the news that everyone's away on
holiday and that includes the Prime minister. So we've got
an acting prime minister and his name is David Seymour.
Who's well this Good morning?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Good morning mate?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I asked Tom McLay the Mody thing. You were there
as well? Is there a magic about him? As there
is something there about Mody.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You don't get to be the prime minister of one
point four billion people and win three times in a
row without having a bit of an X factor. And
I went along to his rally more out of political
nerdism than any professional engagement. So I sat up there
next to him and Lux and he got up and
gave a speech and wow, he's a cross between a
(00:39):
sort of charismatic Baptist preacher Winston Churchill and a sort
of New World leader. He was more performing than speaking.
So I don't know, maybe a few tips might be
helpful for the campaign.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Here, have they? I mean, do you worry about the
twenty billion the obsession that we've had over this, or
will this be like every other FTA ever work out? Fine?
Thanks very much.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
You know, when I first got into politics, it was
the Transpacific partnership. You might remember the woman who threw
the dildo at Steven Joyce, which was actually one of
the first of many glorious things that have come out
of the tpp.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
A.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Trade is carried on the world hasn't ended. There's always
this controversy before you have a trade agreement, but in
reality it's been good for us. This India Free Trade
Agreement will be fantastic. Just people have spoken to over
the weekend that the business opportunities that they have are enormous.
And we'll look back on this and wonder what all
the fuss was about.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Explain why Winston doesn't get it or is it pure
racism as a guy who was against China. But I
mean that's the beginning of the middle and the end
of your argument, isn't it. You can't be against China
and still be against India, can you? Or can you?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Well, let me try and put a positive construction on this.
Winston's party is called New Zealand first, and whenever we
as a country go out and negotiate with someone else,
there's uncertainty. People aren't quite sure what to make of it.
I'm a free trader. I believe it's positive to trade
value for value with our friends around the world. But
(02:07):
I think he capitalizes on that uncertainty, and I think
he also capitalizes on people not remembering the last time
he capitalized, So good, Honorm. I admire him as a politician.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Where do you think the economy is at? Because we
focus a lot on the national party in that sense,
and I'll come to the road's national significance. But if
you looked at the PMI that came out on Thursday
or Friday, whenever it is, you can't argue with those numbers.
It's going gangbusters. Where's the economy at For the election?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I think it will be positive compared with now. And
there's a couple of reasons for that. One is that
despite what's happened in the last forty eight hours, all
the incentives in the Middle East are for peace and
to open up the strait. And you're seeing that that
Brent crude price is staying low, the price that the
pump is staying low. That means more cash people's pockets.
(03:01):
So that's the first thing. The second thing is I
think there's a lot of spirit out there that look crazy,
stuff's happened. It's been very painful, we've made sacrifices, we
have the light at the end of the tunnel closed down.
It's time to just get on with it. So people's
appetite for taking risk and difficult circumstances has increased. People
have kind of priced the uncertainty in So for those
(03:21):
two reasons, lower energy cost and more sort of realism
about what happens and how we get through it is
going to leave us in a better place.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Right the Ron's and the Bishop announcement on Thursday, do
you carry some of the can for that, because I mean,
it's not working the way that it was promised, and
you are the government of delivery allegedly.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, first of all, I think it's important to separate
what a political party being national campaigned on. They can
campaign on whatever they like, but the government has to
deliver what's realistic, and as a government, that's what we're doing.
The second point I'd make, and I think Chris Bishop
deserves some credit for this, is that he's really the
first one and a generation to ask why does this
(04:03):
stuff cost so much? Because what I've discovered is politicians
that the officials and the bureaucrates basically say you want
this project here's the cost. You guys job is either
to raise more taxes, borrow more money, or cut something
else to pay for it. We're just accountants basically, whereas
Chris has gone back and started challenging them. We did
this with the courthouses. They told us it's a quarter
of a billion dollars, two hundred and fifty million for
(04:25):
a courthouse. We said, hang on, you could build a
really nice home for a million dollars. How can one
court cost two hundred and fifty houses? We said, hey, guys,
you've got one hundred million. You figure it out. And
that's the kind of approach that we've got to start taking.
Don't just take the price the bureaucrats give us. So
if what comes out of this, and when Chris Bishop's
already started to say it, what comes out of it
(04:47):
is we start actually asking why stuff costs so bloody
much in New Zealand, then we might actually be able
to solve this. But do you think we will, Well,
I tell you what, we definitely won't if we don't try,
but we might if we do try.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Where are you at on this social media? Because it
looks like nationally going with labor to try and get
the social media, whatever formal shape it comes out across
the line. Are you against banning kids from social media?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I'm against the ban. I don't think the ban will succeed.
I acknowledge that parents are embattled. You know, we're halfway
through a school holiday right now. I go and knock
on doors and people Actually, he's only four days to go,
so you know, I understand, you know where people are
at and parents need help here. I just don't believe
that the state doing a ban is the help that
(05:32):
is going to solve the problem. And I base that
on what's happened in Australia, It's happened in the UK.
It's unfortunately, for every problem there is a solution that
is easy, simple, and wrong.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Do you think that you're too pure on it, because
you're right, indisputably right. But people want the help.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I think we're at a period of politics that has
become more emotional and less analytical, and I realize that
there'll be people throwing stuff at the radio saying you're
out of touch, you dickhead. Well okay, fine, but our
policies do have to work in the long term. We
didn't build this country by knee jerk reactions and running
(06:13):
off every time there's a problem to put in place
a policy that didn't work. I mean, we had a
lot of that under just Sinda Redurn. Frankly, I'm here
to say, look, we want to build a great country,
but it's going to take a bit more thought than
the first thing that comes along.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Could elbow say no it's not ideal, and no it's
not working the way I thought it would. But at
least we've made a dent and it's better than it was. Therefore,
your argument doesn't stick.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
The stat I saw was that before he did his ban,
eighty four percent of young Australians were using the apps
that he banned. After he did, his band seventy eight
percent of using the apps that he banned. So I
guess he could claim that that six percent drop is
a success. But I think the fact that even he
is now reeling to pat cover over with new extensions
(06:57):
to the ban and new penalties and banning VPA all
the other crazy stuff, exposes that the real Achilles heel
of this is that any band that is strong enough
to outsmart motivated teenagers is also going to wipe out
privacy and internet freedom for everyone else, because teenagers are
generally better at getting around the stuff than had holds.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Before we lived on holiday. Luxon was talking about the
possibility of us joining this defense alliance Australia, Fiji, etc.
Where at government level is that at and what literally
does it mean, because I'm assuming if somebody did something
to Fiji, we'd go to help anyway and vice versa.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
First of all, it is being discussed at government level.
It will take final sign off by Cabinet. But before
the Australians and Fijians made their announcement, we were aware
of it and talking about it and had given a
mandate to our people in the diplomatic corps to go
off and potentially negotiate to be part of the agreement. Obviously,
(07:55):
the Australians and Fijians would would have to want us
to be part of it, So there's a bit of
water to go into that particular bridge. But in the
end we will have an Ocean of Peace agreement with
at least the three countries and it will start to
build out a clear message to anyone else that wants
to come into the region or frankly fire missiles into
the region that people down here like each other. They
(08:16):
work together, and if you want to do business down here,
then you've got to do business with us.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, the problem with that is do you think it
will make a jot of difference?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
I think it will if you look at this announced
this event over the weekend, you know, putting aside the
occasional anti India sentiment out in New Zealand, there was
a warmth about the relationship between Luxon and Modi, between
New Zealand and India, and between Kiwi Indians and the
rest of New Zealand. Now I could say some of
those things about the relationship between Chinese Kiwis and the
(08:47):
rest of New Zealand, and maybe between China and New Zealand.
But at government level, when you're firing missiles into the
sea not so far from where Kiwi kids are, the
lucky ones at least are going on holiday this weekend,
this school holidays, then it's not so warm anymore. And
I don't think you could have imagined that rally with
a politician from China. Unfortunately. So the impact that this
(09:11):
is having is that China's years of diplomacy saying we
are your friends unravels when they pull these kinds of stunts.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Good to see you appreciate it, Acting Prime Minister David Symour.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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