Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Politics Wednesday. Jinny Anderson's Willis and Mark Mitchell both good
morning to you.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Good morning Mike, Good morning Ginny. Mike.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Can I the Oazette Government House yesterday for an amazing
investiture ceremony. We get to acknowledge an incredible key. We
was doing incredible things.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We are on your day. No, we know we didn't
get to the lawn yesterday, but we had.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
But was there for a really good friend of ours,
our newest name, Dame Julie Chapman and her husband Kane.
They have twelve cats, two dogs, goats, a cow that
I referred to as Hamburger, and a sparrow she has
got and of course she's the founder of kids Can
and Pet Refuge. I won't go into the heartbreaking cases
that Pet Refuge have to deal with almost on a
(00:42):
daily basis, but a huge shout out to her and
all our other recipients.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Did you take all her animals to Government House or
was that not part of the invite?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
No, it would have been female doo little turning up
to a government house good stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Well I'm glad, I'm I'm glad you had a I
take it this was an Auckland as opposed to Wellington Post.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So this was Wellington a year.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
I think that the two government houses. How many government
houses have you been to Ginny?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Just the main one in Wellington?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
You haven't been to the Auckland one. No, I don't
think it has very nice but it's not as nice Mark.
Have you been to the Auckland one?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I was at the Auckland one last week for a
new program that's been launched by Active to get to
young kids that don't have access to sport and Rick
and then I was there about a month before that
with Dame Cindi Kiro, who helped me get a Peace
and Harmony Agreement accord signed between our Jewish and Wism
leaders to say that we can agree to disagree, but
we're going to do that in a peaceful, intolerant way.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Would you say the Wellington one's better? I would say
the Wellington one's better.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
The Wellington one is much bigger. It's a lot bigger
than the Auckland one. Beautiful, but you know they're both
beautifully kept in it and it does act. It does
add to that. You know, you feel like you're there
for a special occasion.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I was almost I almost bought a house next door
to Government House in Auckland, and my rationale for that
was it would never get built out, And I thought
I'd sort of regret that now because when it could
be high rises under the new unitary plan, couldn't it.
But going in Government House you'd have to think would
be there forever.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I think, well, yeah, I don't think we need to
keep both government houses. I mean they get used a lot,
and like I said, having those when you go to
an Vistas Ceramide like I did yesterday, a lot. Every
single one of those persons people receiving their award, they
don't ask for it, but it's nice for us as
a country to be able to have a formal way
of being able to recognize them in the work they've
done for us as a country.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Ginny, has anyone ever chained themselves to your office?
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Chris Breshop took a media crew out front and I
chased him down the street and that made TV news.
That was quite exciting.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Did you look good? Did you look good when you ran? No?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
He ran. I just kind of stood next to him
and do you want to be in a photo with me?
And he said no, only ran away and they got
turned into a meme on Twitter that was that was
quite quite good. I think it's still doing the rounds.
But he didn't change himself when he was doing a
story outside my office.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
In all fairness, there is probably a few people that
would run away from heaving a photo with your z
can't be too tough.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
That's rather made. There's not very gentlemanly of you at all.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
There's something that happens to you, guys in terms of
like the billboard, the billboard that was shot up over
the weekend. There's something sort of people go feral once
you become a public figure, you know, and you're publicly accountable,
don't they. I mean, you know, chaining yourself and gluing
yourself and shooting up billboards. There's something weird about this
country at the moment, don't you think.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
And I think things are becoming more extreme, that something's changed,
you know. You do see these things happening, not just
in New Zealand but overseas as well, that people's reactions
are becoming more extreme. And I think that is a
real concern for democracy because it puts it risk that
ability to connect with politicians and talk to them. And
that's what we should be able to do.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Couldn't agree more.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I just think that I've always stood by this.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
If there's one lesson I've taken true life is at
the minute you stopped talking and communicating, then it's going
to end up one place, and that is violence. And
that's why it's so critically important that in our country
we're able to protect the rightful, the right to peaceful
protest and the freedom of speech because we just got
to keep talking.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Let me come back to that in just a couple
of months, because I've got a question about the bridge
for the police and you make But Shannon Helbert, Jenny,
do you agree with Shannon Helbert the Marray Party is
starting to create an exclusive bunch of Maury.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Is that true? Is that fair?
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Well? I think it was in relation to wiki orterell Maori,
and I think it was in relation to the fact
they were only giving media interviews intereal Maori. And I
feel like Shannon's point that to Wicki orterial Maori should
be for everybody to court it all intereal Maori, no
matter how much Malori language you can say. So I
support in the sense that if you can speak a bit,
(04:49):
you can speak a lot. It should be for everyone
to speak.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, and what are you going to do about Tamaheri
and Ferris? Now, I mean, this whole thing's turned ferraal,
isn't it. I mean I told you, I mean you're
never going to be able to deal with these clowns.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Well, I stand by what we've said in the past
that there is no place for comments like that, that
we do not agree with them at all. And it
just seems a bit more confused because you've had You've
had the leadership come out saying they can dem Tuckety's comments,
and now it seems to be a different position. But
our position hasn't changed. It's the fact that those comments
(05:22):
have no place in New Zealand. We don't agree with them.
We think that it's a place for everybody and you
should be able to campaign no matter what color your
skin or ethnicity.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Mark real quick on the bridge. The protest over the weekend,
we're being told the police called it. In other words,
they called the closing down of the bridge. N ZTA
apparently didn't. I don't know whether it's true or not,
but here's my simple question. Who calls that a bridge
gets closed or not? Who literally does that.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Do you know well that the NNGGA have the powers
to do that for what understand they didn't have the
requests from the organizers, had not been protest, had not
been processed in time. My own personal view of this
is that Harvardbridge should not be getting closed.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
There are plenty of places to go and have a
peaceful protest.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
We are not going to interrupt members of the public
there and cause inconvenience and members of the public that
are trying to go about their daily business crossing the
Harbor Bridge, and my view is dangerous. You could end
up with sittings. It's not a controllable situation. You're a
long way above the water. If someone goes over the edge,
they die. And so you know, I'm dead set against
having the Harbor Bridge closed at all. Just really quickly, Mike,
(06:26):
you just allow me. As Minnester for ethic communities, I
completely totally condemn what the comments coming out of to
Party Mary Party. I don't think they're all joined up
on that messaging. But we live in one of the
strongest open democracies in the world, and anyone regardless of
when you arrived in New Zealand, what your faith is
what your ethnicity is. You have got the right to
be able to join and apply to join a political
(06:49):
party and get out there and campaign and also use
your right devote depending on whether it's a general election.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
A local election, or you know, a Mary Seats election.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
And I just think that the messaging is awful and
Labor Party come out and condemned them, but ultimately they
should be saying we will not go into government, we
will not work with a party that holds yous like this.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
See and that's your problem, isn't ginny? I mean, you know,
you try and distance yourself, but at the end of
the day, you're gonna this is gonna be your headache
next year, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
Well, there's there's still a lot to happen before that
point in time, but it's been pretty clear from us
and from our leadership that we were not prepared to
work with those points of view. So so that is
that is something that will have to be addressed at
some point. But it does seem that they are a
little bit confused in terms of the messaging.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
So you've so you've.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Clearly discounted them then as a future coalition partner.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Well, have you Mark, would you like to do that
as well?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Absolutely run a mile decisions. Will you discover them? You
discover them? I said, Mark, I'm sorry in this, in
this and this is and this is the problem.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
This is the problem that you've got is it is
it number one? And National actually has got a history
of working very well with to party Mary. We did
a lot with them when Tarry Anaturia and Turo Flavel
were leaders.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
And but you know you've now got.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
A party Mary, Party that are coming out and attacking
our ethnic communities, and you've got a Labor Party that say,
oh well maybe we need to keep our options over.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
We might still go into government with them.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Well, Similarly, National have got a significant problem with climate
change in the Paris Agreement with act A, National sathing
quite different things that have a huge impact on our
trade and our farmers and our ability to export. Quote
how National we're going to work with act when they
have completely opposing points of view on the problem.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
The problem is, Jenny, Literally, the problem is that that
we know that. So I mean they've got those three together.
They there's some tensions periodically. That's a coalition, we understand it.
It's got a working model what we don't have is
a working model of the left. And the more weird
the Maori Party get, the more difficult it is for
people to see a working model of the left. I mean,
that's the problem for you, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Well.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I think as we get closer to the election, there's
a very strong like clihood you'll see either New Zealand
First or or the Acted Party in a similar position.
Is we get closer, we know they kick off and
you could see a very similar situation.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
With just real qu that's that's that's our democracy, and
parties will get to run on in campaign on what
their policies are. But the one thing I would say,
we've proven to be a very stable government where we
can agree to disagree, but we can advance. The country's interesting.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
And we've got ers would strongly disagree with that. I
think New Zealanders would strongly disagree with the In fact,
you've got too small you talk about let me finish,
you've got two smaller parties.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
You on't even condemn a party that's that they're taking
now if.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I'd like to finish, if I'd like to finish, please
just quick. You've got you've got two smaller parties with
Winston Peters and David seymore completely running rings around Christopher.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
But that's a political perception and you're right. But here's
the here's the problem. At the end of the day,
it's a coalition that will hold for three years. It's
worked reasonably well together. You may not like their politics
and that's fine, you don't have to. But as a
grouping they've worked pretty well together. I mean, that's for
the voter to see, and we can see that. But
what we don't see is the possibility of the three
on the left doing the same thing.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Well, you've got the Greens that want to defund the police.
You've got the Greens that want to defund the police,
and you've got their other partner who they were, who
they won't rejected, say we won't go into goun saying
that attacking ethnic communities. How is that good for the country.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
We've been very clear, Mark and I have been clear
that that is not acceptable, and we've said strongly that
there is you're going to government with them not acceptable.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
But you're going to government with them, so you aren't
going to.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
Go you're making a joke yourself. To be honest, you know,
that I don't make this. I really want to yourself
again and again.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
If the ethnic communities do not think this is a joke,
they take it very seriously. And at the moment they've
got a Labor party who's very keen to out there
and condemned the comments, but won't say that they won't
go to government's.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Good here that you feel that only about that mark.
But let me be very clear. We will lay out
exactly who we can and who we can't work quit
with ahead of election next year, and that.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Will not be doing this and that is what it
will make it so interesting. Got to go, you guys
appreciate it. Mike Mitchell, Ginny Anderson.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
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