Thomas Coughlan: NZ Herald Political Editor discusses Labour's Auckland conference and comments from Tākuta Ferris

Labour is hosting a conference in Auckland this weekend, with speculation rising around the potential for new policy announcements from the opposition. 

And expelled Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris has called on Labour to show 'strategic restraint' in Māori electorates, as he believes it's the best way to unseat the current government. 

Thomas Coughland told Heather duPlessis-Allan that it's an 'interesting strategy', and one that has the potential to backfire. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thomas coglan is with me. Hello, Thomas, Heather good afternoon,
should obviously say political editor at the Herald go into
the turkey.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thomas, So, sorry turkey for Thanksgiving? You means well, I
lived in America once for a year. Didn't exchange you
over there, and I did the whole Thanksgiving thing. It
just feels it feels a wee bit early for our holiday,
like it sort of feels like a fake Christmas. Yes, yes,
and I don't really like turkey, thank you.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
That's what I was looking for right there. Turkey is sucky. Okay, now, Thomas.
The Labor conference in Auckland this weekend, are we expecting
anything out of it?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yes, there is likely to be a policy announcement. I
wouldn't hold my breath for anything big. It sounds like
it's going to be a policy announcement that will fill
in some of the blanks or compliment what they've already announced,
which is the CGT plus the free GP visits and
the cervical screening policy. So I mean, look, just this
is just guesswork. So maybe they're putting something else on

(00:58):
their metacard, which is you know you're going to get
sick of seeing that medicard before the election next year.
But in the opportunity for Chrisippins to wave that card
of the camera, they will take. So I'd imagine maybe
there'll be something that I'll learn onto that.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
What am I supposed to do with the medicard? What's
going to get me?

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Well, well, if you're the Labor Party, it's going to
get you. Like this is this is part of an
industrial scale intellectual property theft from Australian political parties. I
think this is the Labor Party in New Zealand stole
this from Anthony Albanzi, who basically used the Australian medicrd
s is keita winning the Australian I.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Remain confused about it, other than the symbolism of it,
because I can go to the doctor now and get
all the stuff that I could get regardless of whether
I had a little red card in my head.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yes, I think. I think it's just it's something that
they can give you so that you can tangibly hold
your It's a political thing. It is something to say
hither that is your card, and we the Labor government,
have given you this card and given you these freez
p visits. So remember remember us and you know, like
like how many conversations have you had about a super

(02:08):
Gold card that that haven't ended in you know, talking
about Winston Peter's people will if Labor does get it
across the line, people will remember it for a very
very long time.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
But the super Gold card at least has a value,
like you can you can go up to the thing
and flash your super Gold card and you get something
that other people without the card can't get. Do you
know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yes, I mean, I mean this card is going to
have an app which you can also used if gets
policies across the line. It is I can see, you
can see that there would be possible to do free
GP visits without the card.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Everything about the card is at the stage universal. Therefore,
whether you have the card or not, you are entitled
to it. Though, so the card means nothing. So the
cards going straight in the bin, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Well, I mean if you well, I don't know whether
you do need the card to get the policies in
the future. I think they're going to put them on
an app.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Okay, but yes, your cards are very nineteen ninety five,
aren't they now? Takuter Ferris has been asking Labor for
restraint when it comes to running in the Maori seats.
What does he actually mean by that.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Well, the Maori seat a lot of votes, blessing and
they always they have been for a very long time.
What that means is that it's quite common to give
the Labor Party your party vote in the Maori seats
and then to vote for another candidate in the Marori
seats from a different party. He is basically saying, let's
do that again and vote for me for your candidate vote,
so I get in and give your party votes to

(03:33):
Labor if you want. What that would do is create
an overhang in parliament, so you get extra seats in Parliament,
and that would give the left wing block, the anti
coalition block, and advantage when it comes to forming a government.
It's an interesting strategy. It's a sort of two for
one strategy. It's a bit of a dangerous game, of course,
because imagine, imagine if you get to election night and
you find that it is the overhang that has caused

(03:55):
the government to change. If this sort of quirk of
electoral law is the thing that determines the government's changing
or not changing, then of course, it could risk undermining
the kind of mandate for the multi seats to continue existing,
because we remember, you know ACT in New Zealand, First
National I think still as a party is in favor

(04:17):
of eventually facing them out, So you probably wouldn't want
to give those parties an excuse to accelerate that policy
to get rid of the sets completely.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
Hmm, that's fair point, okay, Thomas, listen, thanks very much.
We'll read the political week that was with you later
about quarter past sex Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editor.
For more from Heather Duplessy, Allen Drive, listen live to
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