January 29, 2025 • 10 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
The Government is set to bump up some of the speed limits that were reduced under their Labour predecessors. Is this a good call?
What do we make of the newest White House Press Secretary? A true Gen Z - she's looking to open the press credentials to bloggers, podcasters and even influencers. What do we think?
It's been a big week in Parliament, with one Te Pati Māori MP accusing Karen Chhour of not understanding the 'essence of being Maori'. How bad does this look?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty Elevate the
marketing of your home on.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
The Huddle Tonight, Q and a host and host of
Saturday Mornings on z B, Jack Tam Hey, Jack Killer right,
good to have you on the show. Marris Williamson's here
Upland councilor as well, Kilda Morris, Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Hi, Jack that I shouldn't have said that.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Hijack on a plane, Morris, he does on a plane, correct, I.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Just got that right. Let's talk speeds on the roads. Maris,
you look like someone who wants to go fast.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well, I was Minister of Transport for some years and
I argued against the sort of Zealots always wanting to
go with blanket speed reductions. Look, there are some roads
where you need low speeds, some of the back roads
out of Auckland here where there's lots of curly twisty
bends one hundred k's inappropriate. But the Zalots and I
include the last Labor government, decided we'll have a blanket
(00:53):
reduction of speeds right across the board. Now, if you
look at the Packernger Highway here, we were three lanes
either way it was sixty and they just put it
down to fifty. Nobody does it, not even the vicar
on his way to church. And it just created so
much anger at just copped an unbelievable and a flat
for the stupid decisions of putting the speed limits down.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, Jack, do you how do you feel about this?
Because that I mean the left is saying and Labour's saying,
this is going to mean that people die, and then
the government will have blood on their hands because they're
the ones that made the change arest the blanket ban.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I think I think there's always a tension with speed limits, right,
and it doesn't actually matter what the speed limit anywhere is.
I mean, if you have unlimited speed limits everywhere, you're
going to have more deaths on the road, and inevitably,
where speed limits are higher, you have greater risk of death.
So I think, you know, you have to balance those
concerns with productivity. And I think Morris is right in
(01:50):
that a blanket approach to reducing speed limits doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Ideally.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
You want to go around with much more precision and say, actually,
this is a well engineered road, this is a relatively
safe area. We think that we can safely maintain a
speed limit at the current level without having a blanket
kind of approach. And you know that's obviously where a
lot of the pushbackers come. But you know, when you
go back and you reverse the speed limb, it's you know, inevitably,
you know, you do risk the possibility that there could
(02:17):
be serious accents, there could be deaths, and you know,
and if in the future that comes to bear, and
we all hope it doesn't, you can be sure that
the opposition is going to come out and say this
is because the decision your government's made.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
But Brian, one of the those issues he was outside
of schools. They wanted to put a blanket down to
thirty k outside of schools full stop. Now let me
just give you a quick number here, the number of
hours in a year where schools have got kids arriving
and leaving. Given there's six weeks at Christmas they're not there,
and there's three other lots of two week holidays, and
there's Saturdays and Sundays they're not there, those hours come
(02:50):
to four percent of the year where kids are arriving
and leaving school. Now, do you want to put a
blanket down to thirty k for the entire year, or
how about you have a different end speed zone just
for the times when the kids are in danger.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to me why this
was changed in the first place. But anyway we are
they're doing. They're reversing that change, although they are consulting
on a whole bunch more. Apparently for the rules, you
have to consult.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
They're not allowed to just make the change.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Okay, So where do these rules come from? Because Karen
mcinnulty was the Associate Minister of Transport and said that
he couldn't get a speed changed on his local road,
you've got the Minister of Transport unable to change speed
limits because he NZTA has too much power. Who gave
NZTA power? And can't you just take it off them?
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Well you can, and that's what simm and Brown did
by changing the speed rule. The minister has to go
out and consult and then finally table a rule about
how new speed limits are set and so on, and
that you therefore, you can't just sit down and write
an executive order with a big signature on it and
on a black book like Trump does. But you've got
to consult and soign. But he sim and Brown did that.
(04:00):
Got a whole new set of speed limit rules settings
in place, and as of the first of July, all
these new speed limits have to be and I'm just
delighted about it.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, Jack, the new press sect for the White House, Carolyn,
I don't know if it's leave it or leave it,
but she left it all out there on the and
the briefing today, and she's I mean, I kind of
like the style. It's techno prisoners, it's very direct. It's
the antithesis of the last one.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
It's well, yeah, of Biden's one year, but maybe not.
I can't. I mean Donald Trump went through a couple
I think in his first in his first term, remember Spicer,
he was always was it Sean Spicer. He was a
character and went on to a distinguished career as a
contestant on Dancing with the Stars in the US. Yeah,
I mean, it's very it's very on brand for Trump
(04:49):
right to have someone you know, go up and stand
at the podium and decide to fight back. I mean,
I have no problem with her age, although for some
reason people seem to be moaning about that. I have
no problem with that whatsoever. I do think it's c
curious that she's looking to open up accreditation for various
other people in the in the White House Press briefing room.
You know, I have no problem with maybe bloggers and
(05:11):
you know, even even podcast hosts having an opportunity to
apply for accreditation. I do think influencers might be where
I draw the line. So someone who does no reporting
whatsoever and just shills for companies through an Instagram channel,
the Yeah, that's probably not someone I would necessarily want.
You know, you'd hope that people could at least apply
a little bit of scrutiny if they're in that position.
(05:33):
But I suppose this is the Trump Way.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, and that room is so dreadfully small. It doesn't
look it on TV, but.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It's so incredibating.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
It's really tiny. So when you get your CNNs and
Fox and all of the mainstream media in the first
few rows, there's no room for anybody else. If you
think of how many bloggers there are in the United
States and how many influences that you could put it
in the Buddy Grand Stadium.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
That all the all the scene in people are being fined,
you see, so there'll there'll be plenty of room. I
would of thoughts the new media.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
What a contrast of the last one, where Biden would
not come out of his little room, he wouldn't take
any questions from anybody unless he was walking to the helicopter,
and then he couldn't hear the question and you couldn't
hear his answer. I mean Trump's done more press conferences
since he's been elected than Biden did in the last year.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Very true, Jack Tame Marris Williamson on the huddle back
in a second. So it's been a disappointing start to
the parliamentary year. I think anyway this year, this week
in Parliament we've had to Party Maldy call the Children's
mister Karen Shaw basically saying she's not Moldy enough, she
has a Maldy fucker Papa, she fuck Papa's Maldy. And
(06:41):
today they said you don't know the essence of being Maldy.
I mean, how can you say that to a Maldy woman. Anyway.
Then we've also had from the Greens accusations that Winston
Peters has been xenophobic towards them. So we're all focused
on the right issues. Marris Williamson on the panel with
us and Jack Tame Morris. I just shake my head, honestly.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I know.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I mean, it's just a tragedy that it isn't a
debate on real issues and things that affects people's lives,
changes their pocket their pocketbooks, that they've got some more money.
I think Karen Chew is a particularly good minister, and
I think with her background as having been awarded the
state and so on, she's a perfect person to be
in that role. She knows it's sort of inside out.
(07:24):
I've got a lot of respect for that lady.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Jack. A lot of the media, a lot of the
text coming in and saying, oh, the media doesn't give
to Party Mahdi the same hard time that they would
give Winston, for example, over something he might have said.
Do you think there's truth in that?
Speaker 4 (07:40):
Well, speaking speaking personally here, No, and anyone who thinks
that is welcome to go on to the Q and
a YouTube page. Look at my most recent interviews with
to Party Mahdi. My several most recent interviews with to
Party Mardi going back several years, in which case, every
single time I've interviewed these party leaders challenge them about
(08:00):
some of the language they choose to use. You know,
I think the language is really ugly. I think the
language today is suggesting that Karen Chaw doesn't understand the
essence of being Mahdi wasn't as insulting as some of
the other really deeply personal things that to Party Mahdi
MPs have said to the minister over here. Is that
doesn't make it okay. I'm not suggesting that it's okay
(08:22):
for a moment, but I think it's a very very
deliberate tactic. It plays very well with to Party Maldi's supporters,
and actually sometimes I wonder if maybe a better response
from from the you know, from those people who are
most concerned about this language is actually not to give
it the attention that it is so clearly designed to attract,
because they know exactly what they're doing when they're using
(08:44):
this kind of language.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's hard, though, isn't it, because then you've got you know,
remember the Tiger Waitsi campaign that said give nothing to racism,
and you know, call it out every time. So it's like, well,
what do you just ignore it every time? Somebody doesn't
you know?
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Well, well, yeah, I mean I just I just I
don't know what the answer is necessarily but I do
think that to party MARIORI clearly like this is by
design that the language that they choose to use from
time to time, whether you like it or not, it's
it's very much by design. They know how to they
know how to get that, you know, get their party
in the media. They know pat issues in the media. Well,
(09:19):
they know they know how to fire people up right,
and you know, yeah, I think it's perfectly legitimate from
their perspective to be attacking Karen Chaw's policies. I think
it's perfectly legitimate to be attacking Karen Chaw as a minister.
And indeed you wouldn't expect anything less from an opposition party.
I do think when it comes to decorum in that forum,
(09:39):
we could actually expect pretty high higher standards of language
around attacking people at a personal level.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
And yeah, yeah, well what I find on Brian, what
I find unacceptable about it is that they are setting
themselves up as some sort of an arbiter and seeing,
we'll determine whether you're mari enough or whether you fit
the mold. I mean, she's been attacked before, is not
being Mari enough and all sorts of things like that.
That is just disgusting. That is absolutely disgraceful. Go for
(10:08):
the policies and say we don't accept your policy because
it's causing this much harm, and will do so. I
think that's a legitimate role for an opposition to do.
And while I was in Parliament, I had heaps and
heaps of attacks on policies that I put in place
and was fine with it. But once you get into
that personal stuff for no reason. I mean, Karen Sure,
I think's a genuine decent lady who deserves a bit
(10:31):
more respect than that sort of nonsense.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yeah, fair enough to Marris Williamson, Organ Council, I thank
you for being on the Huddle tonight. And Jack tam
Q and a host and host of Saturday mornings here
on News Talk said B.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
News Talk said Be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty Elevate the
marketing of your home on.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
The Huddle Tonight, Q and a host and host of
Saturday Mornings on z B, Jack Tam Hey, Jack Killer right,
good to have you on the show. Marris Williamson's here
Upland councilor as well, Kilda Morris, Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Hi, Jack that I shouldn't have said that.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Hijack on a plane, Morris, he does on a plane, correct, I.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Just got that right. Let's talk speeds on the roads. Maris,
you look like someone who wants to go fast.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well, I was Minister of Transport for some years and
I argued against the sort of Zealots always wanting to
go with blanket speed reductions. Look, there are some roads
where you need low speeds, some of the back roads
out of Auckland here where there's lots of curly twisty
bends one hundred k's inappropriate. But the Zalots and I
include the last Labor government, decided we'll have a blanket
(00:53):
reduction of speeds right across the board. Now, if you
look at the Packernger Highway here, we were three lanes
either way it was sixty and they just put it
down to fifty. Nobody does it, not even the vicar
on his way to church. And it just created so
much anger at just copped an unbelievable and a flat
for the stupid decisions of putting the speed limits down.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, Jack, do you how do you feel about this?
Because that I mean the left is saying and Labour's saying,
this is going to mean that people die, and then
the government will have blood on their hands because they're
the ones that made the change arest the blanket ban.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I think I think there's always a tension with speed limits, right,
and it doesn't actually matter what the speed limit anywhere is.
I mean, if you have unlimited speed limits everywhere, you're
going to have more deaths on the road, and inevitably,
where speed limits are higher, you have greater risk of death.
So I think, you know, you have to balance those
concerns with productivity. And I think Morris is right in
(01:50):
that a blanket approach to reducing speed limits doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Ideally.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
You want to go around with much more precision and say, actually,
this is a well engineered road, this is a relatively
safe area. We think that we can safely maintain a
speed limit at the current level without having a blanket
kind of approach. And you know that's obviously where a
lot of the pushbackers come. But you know, when you
go back and you reverse the speed limb, it's you know, inevitably,
you know, you do risk the possibility that there could
(02:17):
be serious accents, there could be deaths, and you know,
and if in the future that comes to bear, and
we all hope it doesn't, you can be sure that
the opposition is going to come out and say this
is because the decision your government's made.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
But Brian, one of the those issues he was outside
of schools. They wanted to put a blanket down to
thirty k outside of schools full stop. Now let me
just give you a quick number here, the number of
hours in a year where schools have got kids arriving
and leaving. Given there's six weeks at Christmas they're not there,
and there's three other lots of two week holidays, and
there's Saturdays and Sundays they're not there, those hours come
(02:50):
to four percent of the year where kids are arriving
and leaving school. Now, do you want to put a
blanket down to thirty k for the entire year, or
how about you have a different end speed zone just
for the times when the kids are in danger.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to me why this
was changed in the first place. But anyway we are
they're doing. They're reversing that change, although they are consulting
on a whole bunch more. Apparently for the rules, you
have to consult.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
They're not allowed to just make the change.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Okay, So where do these rules come from? Because Karen
mcinnulty was the Associate Minister of Transport and said that
he couldn't get a speed changed on his local road,
you've got the Minister of Transport unable to change speed
limits because he NZTA has too much power. Who gave
NZTA power? And can't you just take it off them?
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Well you can, and that's what simm and Brown did
by changing the speed rule. The minister has to go
out and consult and then finally table a rule about
how new speed limits are set and so on, and
that you therefore, you can't just sit down and write
an executive order with a big signature on it and
on a black book like Trump does. But you've got
to consult and soign. But he sim and Brown did that.
(04:00):
Got a whole new set of speed limit rules settings
in place, and as of the first of July, all
these new speed limits have to be and I'm just
delighted about it.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, Jack, the new press sect for the White House, Carolyn,
I don't know if it's leave it or leave it,
but she left it all out there on the and
the briefing today, and she's I mean, I kind of
like the style. It's techno prisoners, it's very direct. It's
the antithesis of the last one.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
It's well, yeah, of Biden's one year, but maybe not.
I can't. I mean Donald Trump went through a couple
I think in his first in his first term, remember Spicer,
he was always was it Sean Spicer. He was a
character and went on to a distinguished career as a
contestant on Dancing with the Stars in the US. Yeah,
I mean, it's very it's very on brand for Trump
(04:49):
right to have someone you know, go up and stand
at the podium and decide to fight back. I mean,
I have no problem with her age, although for some
reason people seem to be moaning about that. I have
no problem with that whatsoever. I do think it's c
curious that she's looking to open up accreditation for various
other people in the in the White House Press briefing room.
You know, I have no problem with maybe bloggers and
(05:11):
you know, even even podcast hosts having an opportunity to
apply for accreditation. I do think influencers might be where
I draw the line. So someone who does no reporting
whatsoever and just shills for companies through an Instagram channel,
the Yeah, that's probably not someone I would necessarily want.
You know, you'd hope that people could at least apply
a little bit of scrutiny if they're in that position.
(05:33):
But I suppose this is the Trump Way.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, and that room is so dreadfully small. It doesn't
look it on TV, but.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It's so incredibating.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
It's really tiny. So when you get your CNNs and
Fox and all of the mainstream media in the first
few rows, there's no room for anybody else. If you
think of how many bloggers there are in the United
States and how many influences that you could put it
in the Buddy Grand Stadium.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
That all the all the scene in people are being fined,
you see, so there'll there'll be plenty of room. I
would of thoughts the new media.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
What a contrast of the last one, where Biden would
not come out of his little room, he wouldn't take
any questions from anybody unless he was walking to the helicopter,
and then he couldn't hear the question and you couldn't
hear his answer. I mean Trump's done more press conferences
since he's been elected than Biden did in the last year.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Very true, Jack Tame Marris Williamson on the huddle back
in a second. So it's been a disappointing start to
the parliamentary year. I think anyway this year, this week
in Parliament we've had to Party Maldy call the Children's
mister Karen Shaw basically saying she's not Moldy enough, she
has a Maldy fucker Papa, she fuck Papa's Maldy. And
(06:41):
today they said you don't know the essence of being Maldy.
I mean, how can you say that to a Maldy woman. Anyway.
Then we've also had from the Greens accusations that Winston
Peters has been xenophobic towards them. So we're all focused
on the right issues. Marris Williamson on the panel with
us and Jack Tame Morris. I just shake my head, honestly.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I know.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I mean, it's just a tragedy that it isn't a
debate on real issues and things that affects people's lives,
changes their pocket their pocketbooks, that they've got some more money.
I think Karen Chew is a particularly good minister, and
I think with her background as having been awarded the
state and so on, she's a perfect person to be
in that role. She knows it's sort of inside out.
(07:24):
I've got a lot of respect for that lady.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Jack. A lot of the media, a lot of the
text coming in and saying, oh, the media doesn't give
to Party Mahdi the same hard time that they would
give Winston, for example, over something he might have said.
Do you think there's truth in that?
Speaker 4 (07:40):
Well, speaking speaking personally here, No, and anyone who thinks
that is welcome to go on to the Q and
a YouTube page. Look at my most recent interviews with
to Party Mahdi. My several most recent interviews with to
Party Mardi going back several years, in which case, every
single time I've interviewed these party leaders challenge them about
(08:00):
some of the language they choose to use. You know,
I think the language is really ugly. I think the
language today is suggesting that Karen Chaw doesn't understand the
essence of being Mahdi wasn't as insulting as some of
the other really deeply personal things that to Party Mahdi
MPs have said to the minister over here. Is that
doesn't make it okay. I'm not suggesting that it's okay
(08:22):
for a moment, but I think it's a very very
deliberate tactic. It plays very well with to Party Maldi's supporters,
and actually sometimes I wonder if maybe a better response
from from the you know, from those people who are
most concerned about this language is actually not to give
it the attention that it is so clearly designed to attract,
because they know exactly what they're doing when they're using
(08:44):
this kind of language.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's hard, though, isn't it, because then you've got you know,
remember the Tiger Waitsi campaign that said give nothing to racism,
and you know, call it out every time. So it's like, well,
what do you just ignore it every time? Somebody doesn't
you know?
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Well, well, yeah, I mean I just I just I
don't know what the answer is necessarily but I do
think that to party MARIORI clearly like this is by
design that the language that they choose to use from
time to time, whether you like it or not, it's
it's very much by design. They know how to they
know how to get that, you know, get their party
in the media. They know pat issues in the media. Well,
(09:19):
they know they know how to fire people up right,
and you know, yeah, I think it's perfectly legitimate from
their perspective to be attacking Karen Chaw's policies. I think
it's perfectly legitimate to be attacking Karen Chaw as a minister.
And indeed you wouldn't expect anything less from an opposition party.
I do think when it comes to decorum in that forum,
(09:39):
we could actually expect pretty high higher standards of language
around attacking people at a personal level.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
And yeah, yeah, well what I find on Brian, what
I find unacceptable about it is that they are setting
themselves up as some sort of an arbiter and seeing,
we'll determine whether you're mari enough or whether you fit
the mold. I mean, she's been attacked before, is not
being Mari enough and all sorts of things like that.
That is just disgusting. That is absolutely disgraceful. Go for
(10:08):
the policies and say we don't accept your policy because
it's causing this much harm, and will do so. I
think that's a legitimate role for an opposition to do.
And while I was in Parliament, I had heaps and
heaps of attacks on policies that I put in place
and was fine with it. But once you get into
that personal stuff for no reason. I mean, Karen Sure,
I think's a genuine decent lady who deserves a bit
(10:31):
more respect than that sort of nonsense.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yeah, fair enough to Marris Williamson, Organ Council, I thank
you for being on the Huddle tonight. And Jack tam
Q and a host and host of Saturday mornings here
on News Talk said B.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
News Talk said Be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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