Barry Soper: ZB senior political correspondent on Chris Hipkins meeting members of the UK Government in Britain

Chris Hipkins says there's lessons New Zealand's Labour party can learn from its British counterpart.

He's attending the UK Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool this week to meet with members of the recently elected Government.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this comes off the back of an underwhelming poll result for Labour - and Hipkins is getting philosophical about the loss.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry Sober Senior.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
You forgot your mic there, I'll tell you what.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, Okay, So Mike Mitchell be absolutely thrilled at what
the cops have done.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Well, it is incredible when you think you know that
bust that we saw. That total of one hundred and
thirty seven chargers have been laid against the gang members
and their associates. That included seventeen so called office holders,
ten patched members and fourteen gang prospects. So it was

(00:30):
a real round up these Common Heiros, many of them
have come from Australia and we hadn't heard from them
before we heard of five Ozo ones. And I've got
to say it was a proud Policemanister Mark Mitchell who
outlined the booty the cops took from the gang.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
I'd also like to acknowledge your outstanding police force who
announced today the conclusion of three significant operations targeting the
Common Heros operations Scuba, Brewer and Avon. The operations have
seniorly every member of the Common Heroes in New Zealand
face chargers. Seized two hundred and six kilograms of methamphetamine,
nine point two million dollars in assets seized, one point

(01:06):
two seventy five billion in cash, five properties, fourteen vehicles,
had fifteen firearms.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
More than two one hundred Was it two hundred two
hundred kilograms of lot of drug's name methamphetament? Absolutely incredible,
there was. It was an inter governmental raid. Customs corrections
and in their revenue were all part of the investigations.

(01:32):
The insignia was taken down. You will have seen from
christ Church for their headquarters in Woollaston. And if anybody
ever thought that gangs are not involved in the drug trade,
just have a look at the slot and they'll be.
I would imagine other gangs are similarly involved, will not imagine.
It's pretty pretty common knowledge that they are. So let's

(01:55):
hope that the police met out the same sort of
message that they've issued to the common gyros.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Has Chippy jumped on the plane yet.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
No, he hasn't. He goes on Thursday. He's off to
the UK's going to a Labor Party annual conference in Liverpool.
He said he'll be taking partner number of panel discussions
and speaking events at the conferences. Away for quite a
long time. He doesn't get back until October the first,
so he's having a bit of a time there Opposition
leaders are allowed one big trip a year and this

(02:26):
is it. And hopefully for him he'll learn something from
the British Labor Party. He's said he'll be meeting with
think tanks, economists and writers in both Liverpool and in
London where he'll go to after the conference. But the
Prime Minister gave Hipkins lessons and lesson in economics before

(02:46):
he leaves, followed by Winston Peters, who basically added insult
to injury.

Speaker 4 (02:51):
How does it start? You have an eighty four percent
increase in spending, It drives record levels of inflation, that
drives high levels of interest rates, that puts their me
into recession, that drives unemployment. That is the history of
economics that we've been trying to articulate to that member
and also his former government about why they got it
so wrong. Take some responsibility. We are where we are

(03:13):
today because of woeful, uneducated economic management.

Speaker 5 (03:17):
They're on on Winston Peters cadas the Preme Minister. Does
he not think he should contact the UK Prime Minister.
Kastarma about a visitor said, did he come to his
conference and warn them that slighting poles are contagious?

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Rude?

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Hey, what did he say about the polls? Actually sounds
like he's pretty philosophical about it.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Well, like all politicians, he'd like to be liked more,
but he's not liked enough. I mean when you look
at the net favorability that's been a big drop for him,
fell sixteen points to minus ten percent, and just thirty
one of the polls respondent said they had a positive
view of the Labor leader. Now you know, with polling

(03:59):
life like that, of course the Labor Party will be
looking over their shoulders wondering what they can do. I'm
sure that Chris Hopkins is seen as a care taker
leader of the Labor Party. Just how long he lasts
is a matter for the party itself.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
It sounds like the party is not going to roll him,
and I think that's the smart thing to do at
the moment. Why would they roll them.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Well, that's true because they know that if they go
into the next election, the likelihood is they'll be beaten again,
and so it's better, I would imagine. But then people
are very ambitious in politics heither, and whilst you might
think they do themselves a favor by holding off, many
of them.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
Don't ambition Aside right. They can be ambitious all they like,
can go for it if they want to. But for
the benefit of the Labor Party itself, there's no need
to roll.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Well, no there's not. But and the other thing is
who is the leader in waiting in the Labor Party,
you know Barbara Head and Edmunds. I think it could
be a good future leader of the Labor Party. I mean,
she's got a good labor background. Died when she was four.
She grew up being brought up by her father on
a benefit. She essentially got into the beehive, not as

(05:10):
many do as in a paracheck of the party. In fact,
she was a private secretary to Michael Woodhouse from the
National Party as Revenue Minister. She's a tax lawyer and
was also working for Judith Collins at one stage when
she was Revenue Minister and they described her as first class.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
And how many children has she got?

Speaker 5 (05:29):
Eight?

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Thank you, absolutely, very so. That's amazing, very so for
senior political correspondent. Seven Away from five.

Speaker 5 (05:36):
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