Elliott Smith: Sportstalk host on Labour's Willie Jackson urging the Government to freeze Netball NZ's funding

The Netball New Zealand v Dame Noeline Taurua saga is beginning to gain traction inside the halls of Parliament.

Labour MP Willie Jackson is urging Sports Minister Mark Mitchell to freeze the Netball New Zealand funding until it clears up the suspension of Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua.

Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explained the situation further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Elliott Smith's sports talk Hoosters with Us. Hey, Elliot, I.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Heard you talking about this before the break. Have you called.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Netball New Zealand and just offered to be a supporter?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Can't be the mediator? Yeah, we could put this on
the yesternight seven o'clock, which.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
She would just do it in public.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, that's right. It's like an election to mate or whatever.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Imagine it horse was televised, the ratings it would go off,
wouldn't it. But have you seriously have you called them
and just done a welfare check and made sure they're okay?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
I wouldn't want to be them. No, it's just one
thing after another, isn't it sucks? Then there are also
one kneel down in the series. Let's not forget that
and that.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
But Elliott, I don't feel sorry for this is what
happens when you stuff something up last. And I think
what they've I think they have failed to appreciate the
national treasure that she is. But also just you know,
people's sense of fairness.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, I think that's it. And everyone, to a person
promotion loves apart from maybe a couple of players in
the Silver Fins loves Dame Nolan told her they may
not you know, the results may not always come their way.
But she won to World Cup for New Zealand. She
was a savior when she did come in in the
first place back in twenty eighteen. She's got an outgoing personality.
She tells it like it is, and that endears you
to people. It's not like an All Blacks coach, where

(01:04):
even if you lose a couple of games people come
at you. It's you know, she is, as you said,
a national treasure and when she is deemed to be
treated unfairly, that's when people get their their backs up
that I think this is what happens.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
But now is it possible for for the thing to
happen the way that Willie Jackson wants it to happen,
which is funding to be withheld.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
I don't know that that would necessarily play art in actuality.
They're freezy funding there, you know, teams in the middle
of a series. You can't just freeze the funding and go, well,
we're gonna pause this right here. You've got things that
need to be paid, players that need to be paid.
It's a it's a great headline from Willie Jackson. I
don't know whether it holds up an actuality, but what
it does do is put the pressure on Mark Mitchell
and Sport New Zealand and Knitball in New Zealand to

(01:43):
get something done and resolve this thing. Because it looked
like it was going to be a resolved before the
South African series finished. Then we drag into the Australian series.
If at McCausland jury and co are appointed right through
to the end of the year, there seems to be
no end in sight. And that's, you know, frankly not acceptable.
It wouldn't be samtable for a government to apartment to
drag on something this long. Not acceptable for Niitball in
New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Chances she comes back, I.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Don't think it's I'd say fifty to fifty at this point. Look,
you hear various things, don't you, around the traps and
she wants the job back, and I think that's a positive.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Because she's made it known that she wants that's right.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
She may have gone, I can't be bold dealing with anymore.
Give me a contract with England or Australia or one
of those Australian teams and I will just not be
done with you. Know the Nible New Zealand's I mean, can.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
You imagine how awkward if she got the job back,
how awkward it would be to be Dame Knowles walking
down the corridor or for it to be Jenny Wiley
walking down the corridor and if pops out of the
loo walls.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, exactly, office kitchen, you know, around the water cool
it exactly to recently.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah weather anyway, listen, would you would you rather play
for Canterbury in the NPC final for the All Blacks
in Chicago?

Speaker 2 (02:50):
I think if you're giving me the option, I'd rather
still play for the All Blacks in Chicago. I think
it's understandable. Look, the state's been the calendar for ages.
It's just the way it goes. And a couple of
players that have been called out of the NBC, Sam
Darry and George Belip can't play for Canry. They've done
their bet to get them to the final. Now they
have to spread their wings and go abroad and allow
their teammates.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
To refeel about that, I think.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
They're accepting of it. They didn't make much of a
pictures my understanding to try and get these players basically
that they knew the flight was going on Friday, and
these players had to go, and there's a few injuries
persisting around the All Blacks or niggles around the All
Blacks that this is always going to be a tough
ass to get them. So it was always going to
be unlikely that these players played. They weren't part of
obviously of the All Black squad to begin with for
the Rugby Championship. They're now coming in. So it's a

(03:34):
hard one. But I suspect that they probably knew this
was always going to be likely to how.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
You know, it's always the All Blacks, always, don't they?

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Hi here, Yeah, thank you very.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Much, Elliot.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Elliott Smith will be our sports talk host this evening.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
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