Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time for politics Wednesday, which means it's Ginny Anderson and
Mark Mitchell. Good morning to you both. Good morning, good
morning White, good boye Jenny, And a little delay on
the line for you Mark, because you're a long way
away in Dubai is to buy what what's the temperature
in Dubai at this time of year?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It would be hot, wouldn't it.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yes, yeah, it's hot. It's it's midsummer. So it was
about forty four degrees yesterday.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And what do you do? You go outside it all?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
You go from e conditioning to eco. What do you do?
Speaker 4 (00:28):
You're going to go to that? Are you going to
go that cool water park? What's it called wild Wady?
Where you going to?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
World Body? You know?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I'm sorry either So there's a tell us all, Jenny,
you've been to the water park?
Speaker 4 (00:40):
No, I've just seen the pictures and it looks amazing.
I've always wanted to go.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Oh okay, so you're looking out pictures of water parks, Mark,
have you been to the water park?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I took the kids to the wild Woddy water Park
the day that we arrived from New Zealand, so yes.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
So what's it called wild Body?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
It's called wild Woddy. Yes, it's it's amazing water park.
It's awesome because absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
And did you have like shorts or nutcrackers?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
What were you wearing?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Marks? Maybe becking my cif life saving days thirty years ago?
By no, I had what he's off?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Do you think, Ginny?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And this is not a political question, but I asked
the Prime Minister about this yesterday.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Is Parliament not on enough?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
We thought that?
Speaker 4 (01:25):
When so they you know for a lot that he
does though we're not there as as it used to be.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So what so, Mark, do you understand how it works?
Because in asking lux and he didn't clearly know what
was going on. So you get three weeks off of
the school holidays, they come back for two weeks, which
you was your previous two weeks, and you're off for
another week. I thought you had stuff to do in
legislation departs.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
No, what are you saying? I heard some interview with
you the other day. What are you saying is that
there's so many weeks a year that parliament has to
sais and so and we do that. Obviously we've got
a big He bought parliament there early this year. He'll
do it a year next year because he thinks that
Parliament over the summer break goes away for too long,
and I agree with him on that, but yes, we
have got a big legislative program that we have to
(02:10):
get through. The other thing that I'd say like is
that just because Parliament isn't sitting, you actually should be working,
and you do work. Some people will take the time
like I've done, to go and see family. I missed
out and seeing my family at the last recess because
we had the you know, we had that weather bomb
come through that Hitney East Coast again with Hawk's Bay
Warrior and Gisbone and as Emergency Management Minister, it was
(02:33):
imported us on the ground making sure that we had
a proper response in place. But you know, we have
to take some time to see the family too, and
that's what I'm doing this week.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Okay, Jenny. Time have used congestion charging.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
If they get it up and running, and that's a
bit of legislation, they've got a pass if they get
it up and running before the next election and you
win the next election. Is that the sort of thing
you'd keep in place or reverse.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
And we were support it's not great those long term
issue of congestion in Auckland, so they need to do
announce as well as that. So if some of you
think that congesting alone is going to fact Auckland's traffic problem,
seeing peas dreaming.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Okay, let me get you on a better line, because
this is hopeless. We'll do We'll come back to you
in a moment. Mark, as far as you're concerned. And
I assume you're up with us the Police Association and
letter open letter of the Prime Minister about Nicole McKey.
They want you to be the gun Minister, not her.
I assume you don't want the job, and I assume
you'll argue that Nicole mckey's doing a decent job.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Will Nichole's got her role and I've got my role
on the Minister of Police. So it's board that I
advocate that I've moved forward from a public safety point
of view from a policing perspective. And she's obviously the
Associate Minister of Justice and her job is to rewrite
the Arms Act, which she's doing. That was a colision
agreement she's with myself, Nicole and Chris Carsle, the Police
Association are all joined by one thing and that is
(03:56):
public safety and we all need to work together to
make sure that we achieve it right.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Is she doing a good job in your view or not?
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yeah, absolutely, she's doing a good job. I've got a
very good working relationship with Nicole, which I'll make sure
that we maintain, and our focus should always be on
public safety and we both agree on that.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Do you share any view that the Police Association shares
as regards her being in charge of guns and guns
in reform?
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Look, the Police Association will take their position on things. Again,
I've got a great working relationship with Chris Carphle and
the Association. I'll continue to make sure that I foster that.
Like I said, at the end of the day, we
might all have different views on some points, but we're
all united by one thing and that is public safety,
and we'll work our way through those things.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Do you share Ginny welcome back.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Do you share the concerns that the Police Association have
with Nicole McKee as being in charge of gun reform?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Most definitely. She's a gun lobbyist and now she's rewriting
Your Arms Act. The Police Association and the Police have
raised significant concerns that she should not be the responsible
person for making these changes for all New Zealanders. And
I think deep down Mark knows that as well. He
thinks the Gun Registry is a good thing and act
to want to get rid of it.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yeah, I do pick up and you missed it, Jinny
because you're off the line, but I do pick up
some hesitancy Mark. You you think that the Association might
have a point or two here.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
No, No, I just think that in terms of I
agree with Ginny is that I think the Gun Redistry
does have an important role to play. As the Police Minister,
it's important that I advocate for that. As part of
the as part of the coalition agreement with Actor is
that we said that we review it to make sure
that it's working properly and it's doing the right thing.
And I think that's fear. But of course my position
(05:45):
as Police Minster is that it does have an important
role to play. And like I said to you, I
think that Nicole, myself and the Association at all joined
by one thing, or all agree on one thing, and
that is public safety in our country will always trump
and come.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Ginny is one of the more moderate and sensible members
of the Labour Party caucus. As you've looked at this
power crisis that we have in the country at the moment.
Do you think there's a twinge or tinge of regret
anywhere within labor that they might just have pulled the
pin on gas exploration a wee bit soon.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
I don't think so. We've been the same situation we
are irrespective of that happening, we know that we need Well,
it had like a thirty year time for it to cacin, Like,
it wouldn't have had an effect right.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Now, chilling effect, A chilling effect.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Not really, not really. All the indicators showed that that
would have taken a few while to kick in, so
right now it wouldn't have made a lack of difference.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So all the people who handed back their licenses and
said no thanks, the user will lose it thing, they
all handed back their licenses. So you're telling me it
didn't have any chilling effect whatsoever. So they still would
have gone drilling and looking for oil and gas, but
they just wouldn't have found any.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Well, no, that the CACAN period I think was thirty
years for that to happen. So those licenses were still
active and they were still using them for that period
until they ran out. They weren't just stop making a
whole bunch of money at a drilling up oil, drilling
up gas expiration until the end of the license expired.
And so while those lincense are so active, they're still
getting it. So its no difference.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
All right.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So accepting that what you say is true, which I
don't think we do, but let's say it is.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Very much.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Does the Does the idea that we're importing more coal
now than we ever have make sense?
Speaker 3 (07:23):
No? It does it.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
We need to find alternative energy sources in this covert
still doesn't want we need. We need. We need to
look at more hydro for example. That and the way
we have a dry, cold winter, we're stuffed.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
You can't build a hydro dam in this country because
of the rm A, they won't.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Let you do it.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
Well, we need to look into that to make sure
we have good sources of natural energy here in New Zealand,
and we need to invest in infrastructure to utilize that
so that we're not kept in hand.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Every would you accept or argue that this renewable thing
isn't working as we sity you're right here right now.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
I would say we haven't invested enough in infrastructure to
make it work for us.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
And that's the problem, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Mate? Listen, these guys were a complete wrecking war for
us when it came to come to energy policy. And
by the way, we're already lead. We're one of the
leading countries in the world in terms of renewed newble energy.
We do extremely well there. But yes, the previous government
started burning dirty Indonesian coal because of the power because
(08:21):
of their energy policy settings. And now we're having to
do we're doing the same thing. We're having to be
worn because we've got a shortage. I mean, it's a
travesty that we're even put it, that they put us
in this position. We just can't work our way through it.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Just back up a minute mark. So Jenny's right.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
So say we could still look for gas and there
isn't any gas. There isn't We're running out of gas.
We don't have gas. Gases no longer an alternative. What
is going to fill the gap?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
The wind? We've got those work.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Because the wind isn't blowing at the moment. You can't
build the damn you know that. So what are we
going to do?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Well, we are going to definitely build war of wind farms.
There's no doubt about that. Now a fast trick, well
you just talk about renewables and windows is a renewal.
But the reality of it is this, Mike, because there
is enough guess here for us to be able to
use guests. It's far cleaner dir the intermision, Kle.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
What's the No one knows what's there. They're out drilling
looking for it, so they don't know. They've got to
drinking fracking or whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
And well, we know this natural guess, we know this
natural guests. It, like Mike just pointed out, you guys
signaled to the industry that they didn't have your support,
that you're ideologically driven. And now as a country, we're
paying extraordinarily high power prices. We're having to get the government.
The government now, the government now is going to is
having to come up with ways of actually being able
(09:37):
to make sure our energy grid can provide what key
we need. And that is because six years, that is
because after six years of a labor government with awful
energy policies, we're in this position. We shouldn't be in
this position. Does it just just step up and.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
It does it strike you as ironic?
Speaker 1 (09:56):
That you're sitting in the oil capital of the world,
surrounded by some of the riches, and that maybe that
might be the answer.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Actually, well, I think you know, I haven't filled the
car up. I think it's a dollar fifty a leader
at the you know the bears are, But yeah, I
just think that they've put us in an awful situation.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Come on, what's the what's your plane?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Well, the first thing is to start actually giving the
sector some confidence again that they can actually invest and
they can actually go and get some natural guests for
us to continue to use while we while we continue
as the country remain committed to renewabooks. I just gave
you one very clear example which you didn't do, and
that was Chris Bishop's fast the ability to be able
(10:41):
to deliver more wind farms. So you know we've of
course is right now though, Ginny, we are absolutely in
full on crisis mode in New Zealand. Make sure that
we can actually deliver the power that we need and
we shouldn't be in that position. We're in that position
because we had an awful labor government that had it
was driven by ideological ideas that has been a complete
(11:04):
reaching ball courus.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Right got a motive listen, I appreciate it. You have
a good stay in the middle Easter Mark and we'll
catch up with you next week, presumably Back in New Zealand,
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