Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the recent GDP figures showing the economy's contracted

The Government's on the defensive, after the latest sharp drop in GDP.

The economy's contracted 0.9 percent in the June quarter - far more than anyone was expecting.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper weighed in on the latest data - and speculated about when things could improve.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right, Barry Soper, Senior Political Correspondence with that's hallo, Barry.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Good afternoon. Who the wires are so much cake in
the office today?

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Go on, then, go on, just get it out of
your system.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Dear, I go on, Happy birthday, Thank you.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Very much, Barry. Jeez, how long did you think about?
How am I going to get that out there?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
No? No, I didn't mind when I looked away.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Look, you've absolutely excelled, right the GDP, This this was alarming,
this number, wasn't it.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, yes, it was alarming, was much more than anybody
had protected. But look, Adrian Or you'd have to say,
did a great job engineering a recession. Like the government
he was working for at the time, he clearly didn't
know how to get out of it. So they're still
in the maya. But I think I think we've turned
the corner, and I think the third court will be
better than one we're in at the moment, and it'll

(00:49):
be even better than the last quarter.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Well, it has to be better than because geez, there's
no way it could get worse exactly. Okay, So the
spat between David Seymour and Winston Peters about Gaza, Yeah,
how big a deal.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Is this, Well, it's not such a big deal, I
must say, it's been made a big deal by some
sections of the media. But the interesting thing is that
even though Seymour has been sniping away at Palestine and
what New Zealand should be doing, it's really the Foreign
Affairs Minister's job and act hasn't opted out of any

(01:22):
formal agree to disagree position, which is what you meant
to do in a coalition. Nevertheless, standing in for the
Prime Minister today during question time, David Seymour was quizzed
by Labour's carmel Sepaloni over the bickering between him and
Winston Peters. Interestingly, Seymour not once referred to Winston by

(01:44):
a name.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Here they are our position will be made clear by
the right minister at the right place, at the right time,
which is coming up very soon.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Was the Minister of Foreign Affairs correct when he said
that the Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour was quite so,
it's talking out of his field end quote regarding the
government's position on Palestinian statehood.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
Actually he was speaking as the leader of his party
and that's a matter for him which I don't have
a responsibility for.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
When will he instruct his Deputy Prime Minister and his
Minister for Foreign Affairs to stop bickering.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
We have a team that works together very effectively, dangerously effective,
in such a way that it's going to keep the
opposition right where they are for a very long time.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Wishful thinking, that's probably true though.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
All right, what's Jane Jones banging on about the dolphins?

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Oh? I love this because apparently there was a twenty
twenty one report issued by the government suggesting that the
population of hectors and Marui dolphins it's about fifty four
or even as few as forty. A question from the
Greens had the Minister of Oceans and Fishery Shane Jones,

(03:02):
are casting doubt on the very existence of the dolphin species.

Speaker 5 (03:06):
Over the years, a host of restrictive measures have been
put in place for this mythological creature, sadly known as
Maui's dolphins. This has had a significant impact on the
ability and the viability of the fishery sector. But we
should not devalue the work that has already taken place
on the west coast of Deco or Mahwi to provide

(03:28):
remedial measures for this declining population of mythical Hector's dolphins.
But I will not be guilt tripped about mythical creatures
living off the west coast of Taranaki.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
He just thinks they're the same dolphin based he says
they are the same dolphins.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
I'll talk to him after that. He said they are
They've never been different dolphins. That's his view. I kem
all right, not the Greens view that much.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
So are you going to You're going to be tuning
in for Bossy's valedictory.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, one of the few contributions that made to politics
came today and one of Benjamin Doyle's rare questions. Essentially,
what they did was hold up the proceedings as they
asked questions in maldi, which of course they're entitled to do,
but it was something of a struggle to get an answer.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Here they are kate I Feifer, card or Ia ke.

Speaker 4 (04:19):
Ucker, manna E t t or way tongy mean hutunga
a ma to dunga manga a kunam maudis to speak.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
I'm not getting any translation through this air piece.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
That's been a problem all week, and I've got this.
I don't know whether there was a problem for the
bewildered translator, or whether it was indeed a technical problem,
but anyway we can hear more from them. That's Doyle
when they delivered their valedictory in about an hour's time.
See how correct I was hither in the pronouns which

(04:54):
from here on and won't be such a problem with
him gone.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Up to that point. Just what Thanks for Barry Soper,
Senior political correspondent.

Speaker 4 (05:05):
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