Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on Chris Luxon's statement on the Marokopa investigation

Prime Minister Chris Luxon has voiced concerns about the missing children of Marokopa man Tom Phillips.

Phillips was shot dead by police this morning, concluding a four-year manhunt, but two of his children are belived to be unaccompanied in the bush. 

Luxon hasn't been briefed on any specific locations the police think the children might be.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Luxon's reflected on the concerns the country must be feeling.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry Sober, senior political correspondent, is with us.

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

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Right, So Chris Luckson's spoken about the Tom Phillips shooting.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, you can imagine the beehive has been on the
phone to the police all day, Mark Mitchell, police minister.
I know you're going to be talking to him. After five,
Chris Luson started his news conference off post cabinet, commenting
on it. Luxon has been briefed on the shooting. He
got briefed as soon as he got off a plane
this morning, and he reflected on how most New Zealanders

(00:29):
will be feeling at the moment.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, very concerned, like all New Zealanders are. You know,
these are our children out there that actually we're running
out of daylight hours. Police have put assurship with a
huge amount of resources into the area. They're doing an
incredible job of trying to find these children as quickly
as possible. You know, that's obviously a big concern. But
also you know the foreign police officer as well, who

(00:50):
is going through obviously some serious surgeries as we talk,
you know, given the injuries that he's encountered. So you know,
our thoughts are in both those spaces. This is sad,
had an absolutely tragic event. I mean, this is not
what anybody wanted to happen today, and I think that
is a consistent feeling from everybody across news Land. You know,
we are used to seeing these stories from other parts

(01:11):
of the world, but not hearing his island. And it's
certainly very very sad and tragic day.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
So it is.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Now, I wasn't surprised that order any Ky beat Penni Hena,
but I was surprised at how much of a smash
and she gave them.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, I've got to say I was surprised. I thought
Pennie Henade give him that he's represented that electorate for
some time. I think the fact that it was made
much of by the Maldi Party that win or lose,
Pennie Henada would be back in parliament anyway. I think
what they've got to do is now they've got to
school KaiA on how parliament works and that the Maori

(01:48):
Party have repealed nothing because they're not in power. They
can't do it. So you know, she's got a lot
to learn going into politics. But you know she won,
as you say, quite the although you'd have to say
in the electorate about less than a quarter of it
turning out the registered voters to vote, says something about

(02:09):
by elections in this country.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
But I mean, if you were Labor looking at this outcome,
you would I think I'll be worried. You'd be coming
to terms of the fact that you are not going
to get any of those seats back in last election.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
No, I'd be absolutely. I think what the Marori Party
have done very successfully. They're very much a protest party
and they've appealed to the young Mary I think in particular,
I think the older Marory they wouldn't be as convinced
as some of the young Mardy are. And what they're
doing is they're out appealing to that group.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah, okay, So what's been going on with Labor is
that they have been unsure quite how to do politics right,
some of them, Willie Jackson has want its attack to
the left to try to get the Marti seats back.
Now that they I mean, if they just accept the
situation you're not going to beat the Mary Party and
leave them to the Marty seats. Doesn't this leave them
with the other option, which is the smarter option, which

(02:57):
attack a little bit more to the right, try to
capture the center instead.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, yes, I mean Labor and National at one stage
were seen as almost inseparable. They were seen to parties.
But you know, in the last three years of the
Labor government they've moved very much to the left. So
you know, it's not now and it won't be seen
and come the next election as a center party, it'll

(03:23):
be seen much more to the left.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
But so doesn't this because because there's a real struggle
going on in Labor between the people who want to
attack to the center and the people who want to
tack to left on the Maori issues in particular, doesn't
the strengthen the hand of those who want to go
to the center, like I think Chippy does. And actually
and by just saying to Willy Willy, you're not going
to win them, let it go.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well yes, but it's not only the Maori Party, of course,
it's you know, other factions in the Labor Party as well.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
You mean the Mardy caucus.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Well, you know the caucus, it's quite powerful in the
in the party.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
That's what I'm saying is Chippy can say to the mate,
you have no power, You're not going to Winther.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
He's got the influence to do that. There's another matter.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, well that's a very good point. I mean, this
is this is obviously idealistic. What did you make of
that opinion poll?

Speaker 2 (04:07):
That's very interesting, isn't it that we see that if
there was an election tomorrow, which of course is not
going to be, but there would be a sixty sixty
one in terms of seat to the center left, so
you'd have the Marlori Party in certainly in the mix

(04:27):
then for a coalition government led by Labor. But look,
I for the life of me can't see that these
poll numbers are going to hold up. I mean, Chris
Laxon in this poll, he got a bit of a
lift last month. One point five percent is preferred prime minister,
but still at twenty one point seven percent is very
very low. And if you look at the margins and these,

(04:49):
you know the margin of era is three percent. Well
we're talking when you say, you know the Labor Party
is ahead of the National Party, we're talking fractions of
a percent. So the margin of era is not even
considered when we're talking about this, which it should be.
That you can't really believe what the polls are telling
you at the moment.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
Barry, thanks very much, appreciate it. Barry Soper, Senior political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
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