Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent pays tribute to John Barnett

New Zealand film and television producer John Barnett died on Sunday night, according to new reports.

Barnett's known for working on some of the country's highest grossing films - including Footrot Flats, Whale Rider and Sione's Wedding.

He ran South Pacific Pictures, the country's largest production company, from 1992 to 2015, and was made companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film and television in 2019.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper recalled his experience working with John Barnett.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry Sober, Senior political correspondence with US. Now, Hi, Barry,
good afternoon. Can we start with John Barnette's passer.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah, it was. You could have knocked me over last
night when I was told that John had passed. It
was incredible. Just over a week ago I was at
his eightieth birthday and the speeches from John and his
lovely wife Sarah wonderful. And I ran into him on
Sunday when I was out walking a little girl, and

(00:28):
we had a long chat then and he died later
that day. I found it absolutely extraordinary. This man was
an absolute legend. I've known him for more than forty years,
and in fact we were involved in business trying to
get TV three up and running in the nineteen eighties.
But he went on to do amazing things when South
Pacific Pictures he owned. He put out those wonderful movies

(00:53):
among ten of the top grossing films in New Zealand.
Foot Rock Flats, while rider Cione's Wedding once were Warriors
and the sequel What Became of the Broken Hearted? You know,
an incredible man, Shortland Street, outrageous fortune. They were his
programs as well. And you know, John was never a
man to brag about what his achievements were, but they

(01:16):
were legendary and the tributes that have been pouring in
for him today are you know, what would be expected
of a man of this caliber. It's a very sad
day for the film industry in New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
I mean, yeah, it is. And also it seems kind
of sad for him because he was so happy.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Oh well, I've never seen John incredibly got married for
the first time in his life at seventy eight, and
he went to New York to get married, and you know,
came back and had a wonderful occasion here with all
his friends. But you know, I thought at his eightieth
I thought John was the happiest I've ever seen him.

(01:58):
And in fact, when I talked to him on some day,
we were talking about age and John was saying, one
thing you've got to do is you've got to keep busy.
Always keep busy. Always have a project. I'll tell you
what it does do though, whether it brings home to you.
And I'm sure a lot of listeners listening to this
and so it brings your own mortality home to you.
And yeah, you just never know what's going on.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
I mean, you know, particularly for you at your age. Again, No,
that's not what I mean. It's not day too old,
isn't it. No, No, I do I mean I mean that.
I mean, I think, I think for for you know,
when you see your peers start falling over your big
people in your life, John Bunnett, Bob Jones, people who

(02:40):
are important, it's very confronting. So yeah, sorry, Barry, I
won't tease you about your age anymoy.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Okay, Now is it? Does it appear to you that
Winston Peters maybe getting a bit pissy at the Prime
minister over Palestine.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Oh? He is. And they've said from the start though,
in Winston in particular, and said that look, they'll be
making a statement to the General Assembly in September in
New York, and you know they'll be making a statement
essentially to an empty auditorium because New Zealand, being the
country of its size, and I've been there many times

(03:16):
with prime ministers, they stand up New Zealand at the
end of the day, most people have gone home, and
they deliver a statement. Well, will I would imagine most
certainly recognize Palestine, providing this a two state. We've always
said there should be a two state solution. But in
the meantime, Winston says that he's not happy about people

(03:37):
running on at the mouth and giving a running commentary
essentially of what's going on there. Well, the person that's
been doing that is the Prime minister. But I'm sorry,
I think the Prime Minister is well within his rights.
He is the leader of the country and if he
wants to express a view that maybe outside the gamut
of foreign affairs who are quite conservative in these things,

(03:58):
I think the Prime Minister's going to.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
Run can I ask you, though, and fair enough with
the position that he holds, he does have a right.
But given that the man sitting there, the Foreign Affairs Minister,
is one of the most experienced foreign affairs these countries
ever had, would you not defer to him or listen
to him if he is saying because what Winston is
saying is constant commentary on this is not helpful. So
should Luxon not listen to him?

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well, yes he should, but he is the boss and
if he wants to make a statement, I mean you
look at all the other countries around the world that
have made statements about the madness of Netanyahu and lux
and saying he lost the plot. I think that's absolutely
fair commentary.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
But we don't know what's going on in the background.
So sitting aside, sitting aside the fact that Luckson is
the boss, because he is your right's ultimately his call.
If you had to choose between Winston or Chris Luxon
being right on this, who would you choose?

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Well, there is no right on this, I don't think.
I mean, you know you can say you can tread
very carefully on this and take all the facts into account,
but you know you only have to turn on the
television every night to see what's happening in gars and
the occupation of Garza City to say, well, look, something
isn't right here, and we've got I think we've got

(05:08):
a duty as a country to speaker.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Now, Barry, I don't have a long time, so just
hit me with your spray on the four years go on.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Oh well, I see, I've always been an advocate for
four years, and I said so in the referendum number
of years ago. That was lost. But you know the
idea that you can decide between three and four years.
You can get four years if you give the chairmanship
of select committees to the opposition is patently.

Speaker 1 (05:35):
Saus David was overly complicated.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
But were you imagining this. If the chair of a
select committee had the casting vote on every piece of
legislation and it happened to be the opposition, you would
never get anything done in Parliament. And you know you
say there are checks and balances, and there are in
many systems of Senates in the United States and the
House of Lords in Britain. We've got after our our

(06:00):
higher House that we did have here until the fifties.
We've got the select committee process. It's with the public
attempt laws, laws.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
Time, timetime. Thank you Baron Shorts, great and thank you
very much, very so for senior political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
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