Barry Soper: ZB senior political correspondent on Mike King's controversial comments about alcohol

Gumboot Friday founder Mike King has come under fire following his recent comments about alcohol.

In an interview with Newstalk ZB yesterday, King said alcohol can stop negative thoughts - and could be a solution to mental health. 

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says these comments missed the mark, but Labour is wrong to call for Gumboot Friday's funding to be pulled.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry so Per, senior political correspondence with US.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Now, Hey Barry, good afternoon, Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Right, So what do you make of the ksuffle around
Mike King's comment.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well, look, I heard Mike on with you yesterday and
it did surprise me when he started talking about alcohol.
But what he seemed to be saying, in my view
I had to listen back to it is that alcohol
delays or prevents the suicide trigger, and it pacifies the
drinker until other mental health leavers can be pulled. That's

(00:30):
what he seemed to be saying, and he had done
it himself. I mean, he's an alcoholic and you know
he was suicidal at times in his life and alcohol
helped him through those periods. So I know it's not
conventional wisdom. If you look at the University of Otago
professor Rose Crossing, she said, there is certainly a link

(00:52):
between alcohol and depression. I don't think anybody would argue
with that. But it's the trigger for suicide that Mike
King was talking about. And I must say, you know,
I know Mike King reasonably well, and he is outspoken,
he sees what he thinks, and at times probably he
does step over the mark. But for the Labor Party

(01:13):
and Ingrid Leary. I'm surprised she's not coming on because
she used to be a broadcaster, so she's.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
This is what we just got this news through from
from Laura, the producer who just said that the Labor
Party and Ingrid Lary have declined to come on the show.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Did they say, why Laura is she not available?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Well? No, they're so busy in recess here that d
is very busy, don't you know.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
I don't quite know what she's busy with, but it's something.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
But come on, Ingrid, I mean, how can you put
out a press release, How can you put out a
press release, whether you're right or wrong, calling for funding
to be pulled from an organization that actually does help
kids with mental health issues? Is because you're angry at
the guy who's made a comment and then not so.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
You put that out there for everybody. But then you
don't want to come on and defend.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
You know, the argument is, she said, can I ever
say it? She said, sorry to continue to fund gun
Boot Friday sends a message to young people that alcohol
use is a recognized treatment for mental health issues. Well,
to me, she's got it totally wrong. Because that's not
what he's saying. And if she believes that, then she

(02:20):
should come on the progress to explain hers that.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
She is an idiot. Clear she's an idiot because saying
stuff like this.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
So what the message is she sending younger people is
that absolutely she's going to pull all assistance for them
through this particular charity because she's going to punish the
guy who's running the thing.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
And the point is about the funding. It's twenty four
million dollars and I know he struggled off the Labor
Party and the government to get money. The twenty four
million isn't a one lump sum payment. It's over four years,
six million dollars a year. It doesn't go into Mike
King's account and the gun Boot Friday account. It actually

(02:58):
goes into the Ministry of Health account and then they
after they've used counseling services for the young people, then
they apply to the Minstery of Health.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
I'm just going to take a issue with something that
you said.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Though.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
While Mike King did speak about his own personal experience
and I don't think we can argue with him on that,
he did actually say alcohol is not a problem for
people with mental health it's the solution.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
And that is a factually incorrect.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well, I think is participately. Just know I heard that
he probably overstepped the marp here because, like you and
like me on radio sometimes either he gets quite excitable.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Fair enough, listen, Jenny Anderson.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
So she finally fronted up and apologized for talking about
the King's bits.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
She sorry enough for you.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Well, I find an extraordinary if you look at the
meme that she reposted on her Instagram account, there were
four lines to it, and she said she hadn't taken
time to read it properly or read it for goodness sake.
She's either a very slow reader or she doesn't understand
what it meant. I think that's probably closer to the truth.

(04:05):
But look, it's an embarrassment for.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Her, Barry.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
You'd have to be particularly dim not to understand what
that meant.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Oh, absolutely, pretty clear what it meant.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Absolutely in hither there's a new word in the vocabulary
for you. It's it's a portmanteau. Yes, yes, and that's
sort of a new word for you, Barry. Well, yes, no,
I open, yeah, yeah, I had to look it up.
But look, what is it about the Labor Party and pants.
You remember, back in two thousand and two, poor old

(04:37):
Helen Clark got taken taken to the cleaners, if you like,
for wearing trousers at a state banquet for the Queen.
This is twenty two years ago, and all hell had
broke on this. And she also sat down before the
Queen at the State Bank. When I was there, I
didn't notice anything was terribly out of order, but it

(05:00):
blew up in her face that she had disrespected loyalty.
Apparently that meant to taste the soup first. Well, that's uh.
The food tastes is no doubt, tastes the soup before
it even leans to the table.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
There's a tiny part of me that loves the Labour
Party's irreverence when it comes to the Royals. Thanks, Barry, appreciated.
Barry Soper, Senior political correspondent.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
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