Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Mark Mitchell's well us, Ginny Anderson, good morning, good morning,
good morning, Hey, good morning morning, Ginmy, good morning to
Eve eight. You've you first? Mark Nikki Kaye thoughts.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Force of nature. You know. I think we're all devastated
to hear of losing her. But I sort of went
back and reflected last night. When she was diagnosed with
breast cancer in twenty sixteen, I started texting her every morning,
just sending her a message of support, and we did
that right through her treatment. So I went back and
(00:31):
had a look at those texts and reflected on that
she was just a special lady. I mean, we also
lost someone called Alan Towe's very special to us in
the National Party. He was a leader in the party,
wasn't a he wasn't an MP. She was very very
close to Ellen, and we lost Ellen in twenty nineteen.
So I sort of think of them together now looking
down and critiquing us and in making sure that we're
(00:53):
doing the right thing. But she was just mate, She
was just a She was an amazing lady. I remember
during her treatment was on, I was heading up to
India with JK on a trade mission up there, and
I was cheering the Foreigner, Fair's Defense and Trade Septmdey
at the time, and would have liked to become a minister,
and she was in the midst of her battle and
she was sending me a full strategy on what I
(01:14):
needed to do to become a Minister of Press JK
and go to cabinet so and the other thing. Just
very quickly, David Farres, she had a story about you
know her in our quarterly meetings with the mere They
were so funny. We'd all turn up there, all the
international peace would turn up. Nicky would be there and
we quickly worked out that it was we were there
to support her while she brought her long list laundry
(01:37):
list of issues fought for the mayor. She was just
and just the last thing, Mike. I mean, we all
talk about it, but she won that set of Auckland
Central just through sheer, hard work and guts. And that's
exactly what she was all about, and that's how she
lived her life.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Well, said Ginny.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
I just her energy amazing to see a young woman
who was so passionate and driven and she made you laugh.
She had the ability and select committee just to cut
to the point and crack a joke. I'm not afraid
to laugh at herself, and I think that's always a
strong asset to have a as a politician. But the
one thing I'll always be so thankful for is the
(02:16):
stance she took on Great Barrier Island. I spent part
of my childhood there and it's a place close to
my heart. So the fact she stood up against mining
and really took a strong stance even though it was
against your own party, I've got huge admiration for the
strength encouraged that took.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Speaking well, I just just on that genally just reminded
me of something just really quickly. Years ago, there was
a protest march and dog owners came out because they're
using beagles to test pharmaceuticals and make up and things
like that. And they decided that the march was going
to be through my Electric to my Electric office. And
I remember feeling really strongly about that. I'm a dog lover,
(02:54):
and so I decided to join the march. And I
rung Vicky and I said, what do you think, because
it's kind of going against you know, her position, and
she goes, just go for it. So I joined the march.
We all got to my office and everyone had the
loud speaker and they're calling out the same Martin Mitch
will come out and speak to us. I said, hey,
I'm back here. I was back at the march with
my blent leab. You know they were okay, what do
(03:17):
we do? What do we do now? So yeah, but
that was that was nicky. That was nicky.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, awesome story, Ginny. Do you and it's just people
getting on with each other. There's very good piece in
the paper yesterday that explains this four year term thing.
And I'm not sure people understand the four year term.
You've got two things coming up, right. You've got Winston
Peter's vote on whether we want a four year term
or not. But you've got Seymour's idea, which from my reading,
(03:43):
seems to switch the power a bit, if not a lot,
around the Select Committee process and opposition the MP's having
more say and more input. One do you understand that?
And two is it a good idea? Yes?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I read that out a call last night, so I
do understand it. I'm skeptical. I think it could be
used for bad purposes, just to hold things up, and
you get situations and other countries, we get a gridlock,
where as the government's got power on one level but
not on the other, and it can be a check
of power, it can work in a positive way. But
my view is that our Select committees actually work pretty
(04:20):
good right now. And I'm saying that as an opposition member.
So we tend to collaborate and work together to make
a bill as workable as possible under the current settings.
So my concern would be if you flip that around
and enabled opposition MPs like me to have an oversight
and how a bill would be reported back to the House,
(04:42):
that could be that could be problematic, I think, and
I'm thinking of it as government and as opposition that
we actually work together pretty good now, and so I
wouldn't want to fix something that's not I don't think's broken.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, mark your view on four year terms and Seymour's idea.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Well, look, I'm not going to form a view and
it's going to go through a process. But the one
thing I do agree with with Jinny on is that
I think that the Select committee process is really robust.
It's an independent committee, it's a great way for the
public to interact, to make submissions, it's all reported, it's
all public and it's a great check and balance for us.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Are you whipped too much? In general? I'm just thinking
about your march and think things. I mean, you look
at places like America, to a lesser extent Australia where
just because you're national, you don't have to be national national,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
I think, Look, collective responsibility is very very important, That
discipline is important. People want to get the sense that
the parties are united and they're very clear eyed around
what they're trying to achieve and what they're trying to do.
But I think there are times also when you go
to the party when you feel very strongly about something
and say, can I take a different position on this?
And I know that the National Party is always very
open to that. But it's got to be a discussion.
(05:52):
It's got to be discussion with everyone.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Yeah, it's part of the coalition deal. Do you think
that what Seymour wants to do is going to be
contentious or not? What do you only care?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Look, that's something for the boss to work out. You know.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
You said you were going to be whipped.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Yeah, exactly, you're whipped into submission.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Mark.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Do you do you think it's contentious, Ginny.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I think it is contentious because it's completely overturning what's
been quite a long history of how Select Committee's work.
And I think ourthelet committees are pretty awesome. We have
great staffing work on them and it's a very open process.
Is Marxis. The public can come in, but just.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
To argue the case, it's a jack up. I mean,
the government of the day has the power and if
you're against something, you'll be heard to be against something.
And whatever the government tries to do, they're going to do.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Well.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
You know, I would have liked have Mark to have
come to Scrutiny Week next week, but our committee didn't
even get to and that was yeah, that's next week.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yeah, fantastic because what wasn't the last year was first
year was first scrutiny week.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
It's it's nice to hear that surprize to you that
Jinny wants to see me that.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
That was so we didn't even get to invite them.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Oh no, because you all agreed. You both agreed that
Scrutiny Week last year was a was a smash. It
didn't you Well, we.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Do it twice, so you do the budget and now
you do that and you review, you got twice a year.
So two weeks.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Oh well was it too late? Now invite now, Ginny,
say come on, make come along.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Mark, would you like to come along to scrutiny.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Well, I will be at scrutiny Week next week, but
I'm not going to overhaul the decision of the committy.
That was the decision of the committy.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Okay, So we can't even invite him because we don't.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
We'll see that. So you're arguing against yourself, Ginny, because
the national National majority is of course exactly what Seymour's
trying to change.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Yeah, so maybe we would have more scrutiny. Maybe there
is some. I just think that the problem you've got
is you'll get more. Politics are played already, But I'm
more thinking of legislation and how it's scrutinized as opposed
to just scrutiny week. But if you're talking about a
bell and how it's returned to that house.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
The one thing that I can say which is great
is that our democracy in New Zealand, ministers probably have
the highest level of scrutiny just to be anywhere in
the world, and I think that's the right thing that's yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
I think that's fair. C GT this weekend. First of all, Jinny,
where's the conference being held? Christ and whereabout? It's nice place,
good food. What's going on there?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
I think it's just at an overtail. It's just in
the central city, in the.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Wrong of the Neighbortel. Neighbortail is very nice and of
course it's walking to everything. Are you going to vote
for the CGT to move forward?
Speaker 3 (08:29):
As they say, I'm not telling you how I'm voting.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Love it.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I think it's I think there's a good discussion that's
been taking place over the past year and and we'll
have a good threshout on the conference floor to make
sure that we've got some good decisions.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
What's your vibe about how the vote will go? Will
it go forward as an idea to be taken to
the election you think or not?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I think there's some robot views on both sides, and
I think I'm quite I think. But the thing that's
interesting is it's taking New Zealand kind of twenty years
to start to say, well, maybe a capital going to
text isn't such a bad idea, but he is growing.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Public because the problem is if you don't believe in something,
how do you if you can't even tell us how
you're going to vote, how do you sell it?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Because we don't talk about how we're internally voting. It's
not because I don't believe it. I think we've got
a significant problem in New Zealand that we have an
aging population and not enough tax to pay for the things.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Like o he So we're going to text them all.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
So we well, you need to do something Mark to
increase textable.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
That economy personally. Jinny as are just as an exercise
to see where that goes.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Well, Mark can't pay for the fairies. Nicholas canceled them.
We have no.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Boats yesterday by December thirteen. It's all on Do you
know the deal? Mark? Do you know the fairy deals
have gone through cabinat?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
No? I don't know. I'm not involved in that. No,
I don't know the deal.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
No, so cabinet wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
But we're putting that position because we've just about every
single project we inhere. It it as a mess of blowouts
because it's been very poorly managed in the government. The
previous government failed to take decisions on it, and we're
taking decisions politics on your behalf.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
And that's also also where he had blame the others
after a year after year, mark stop blaming.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
They get the first term. My rule is the hosting
rule of thumb. As you get the whole first term,
to blame the last lot you had six years. I
mean to be frank, we're to peck a lot of
We're to pick a lot of it that year.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
That's for real. But look, we're looking forward and I'm
really please. I'm very proud of our police service. I'm
very proud of what they're doing, and we're tracking in
the right direction.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
All right, we'll catch up next week. I appreciate your
time as always, Y Anderson, and we'll see how the
see how the boat goes in christ use this weekend
for the Labor Party.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
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Speaker 3 (10:55):
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Speaker 1 (10:56):
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