The Prime Minister has made his expectations clear to David Seymour, about the repeated short comings related to the school lunches programme.
The scheme's come under immense pressure, with questions being raised over the quality of the food, the timeliness of the deliveries and the variety of the meals.
NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan says many impacted parents feel that these 'teething issues' demonstrate a lack of care on the Government's part.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
New Zealand Herald Deputy Political editor Thomas Coughlan is with
us now to talk local politics. How are you this morning, Thomas,
I'm very well.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Thanks Francesca love Jane Wellington.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Oh good to hear. Beautiful day. I think it's a
beautiful day cross country, which is lovely. The school lunchgate
which just keeps kind of rolling on as a pretty
unnecessary irritation for David Seymour, isn't it. I mean, I
just think they need to kind of admit we've got
a problem and get on with fixing it as fast
as possible. I'm just a bit worried that everyone's going
(00:43):
to lose sort of interest in patients in it and
it's all going to be a waste of money.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yes, it is. It is a fascinating political issue. You know,
You've got hundreds of thousands of children receiving these lunches,
hundreds of thousands of parents out there who are giving
these stories, you know, seeing these stories about these lunches,
and it does create the sense and I've spoken to
some parents who have told me that that that it
(01:09):
gives a sense that the government doesn't really care about
about what their children are are getting. So that's sort
of a bleeding saw, and that a political like nightmare
really because you've got every single day the opportunity somewhere
in the country for one of these lunches to become
a news story. So it is, it is, there's a nightmare.
But then on the other side of things, you know,
(01:30):
David Seymore has got a bit of a point when
he talks about the affordability of the problem. You know,
we've got a deficis of many billions of dollars at
the moment. From a purely kind of treasury worldview, New
Zealand couldn't afford the lunch program when it started up
a couple of years ago, and we still can't afford
it now. So you know, he's he's on firm putting
(01:52):
from a financial perspective. Of course, the Prime Minister and
the main contractor I think compasses their name. The prime
ministers said, well, that come, David Seymore's sorting it out
and needs to sort it out, and the contractor has said,
you know, look where we are aware of these teething
issues and we're going to sort them out. So there's
a lot of political pressure on David Seymore. I had
(02:14):
to say that, but you know, to be fit of
the guy, he does have some strength of the arguments
that that the program as it was was was unaffordable.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah. So well, like if if the text or anything
to go by Thomas, everyone's fed up with it and
is just saying scrap it, find another way. There we go. Hey,
our prime minister, Our prime minister has responded to the
Trump Selensky over office meeting.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yes, yes he did. It was a very he he
was traveling back from Vietnam at the time this this
this blew up roughly. I'm not sure of the executor
of the exact timing of comparing the different time zone.
So he was he was quite cautious, actually, a very
a very careful statement which avoided, i think, in flaming
tensions with the US because obviously you don't want to
(02:58):
you don't want to to to to to alienate the
White House. But it was also quite a family word
of statement in the at bat Ukraine quite strongly. So
he just said that he was aware of President Trump
and Zelentsi's robust exchange and didn't really but that's a
direct coat, didn't really comment on what he thought about
that exchange, and then went on to say that New
(03:20):
Zealand remains said fast and it's a board of Ukraine
as its defense itself and a war that Russia started.
It's mounting the defense of a proud, democratic sovereign nation,
but also the defense of international law, which does suggest,
you know, implicitly that that lass and backs the Ukrainian side,
but of course not saying that explicitly. And I suppose
it's a it's a diplomatic dancer. I think he actually
(03:42):
did fairly well, fairly well there and certainly as he
redone does z B politically. The Jason Water's column from
his time in Vietnam, He's just come back from trip
to Vietnam. He's actually managing that that diplomatic dance fairly
fairly well. Being a relatively newcomer to that to the
world of international propremacy.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Thomas, we keep hearing about energy reforms and how they're
going to lower our power bills. In that conversation always
seems to come that when another email pops into my
in box from Mercury telling me my energy prices are
about to go out. What's going on here?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yes, well it does. These ammunity reforms, that's Simon Watson
Shane Jones announced this week. They they tiptoe towards this
the sort of nirvana I guess that people have been
talking about for many years, which is to break up
the big gum Taylors, the the generator retailers. This this
(04:36):
these reforms do not do that, be very clear, but
they sort of tiptoe in that direction by creating a
more separated wholesale market. So obviously the generating retailers is
still still generating and then selling their own power. But
the to put it simply, the machinations of the energy
(04:58):
market within within the generation and retail arms of both
the gen Taylors and the other and the other retailers
will be regulated in the extent that there's a sort
of level playing fields for most of the players in
the market, which which they hope will will will put
pressure to keep prices affordable. But will it be enough
(05:21):
over winter? I mean, we're already hearing some sort of
nightmarish talk about another very difficult winter in terms of
power prices. That's going to be really difficult for the government,
which is already obviously behind in the polls, and they'll
be trying to do everything they can to ensure that
that we don't see a repeat of last winter, and
that's actually what they've been saying explicitly, and press releases
(05:41):
and media commentary they've been saying, we do not want
to repeat it for the last winter. So they have
to have put the generator retailers on notice. So it
will be a very interesting to see where we are
in September.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
We shall wait and see. Thomas Cockland, thank you for
your time this morning.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to Use talks it Be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
New Zealand Herald Deputy Political editor Thomas Coughlan is with
us now to talk local politics. How are you this morning, Thomas,
I'm very well.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Thanks Francesca love Jane Wellington.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Oh good to hear. Beautiful day. I think it's a
beautiful day cross country, which is lovely. The school lunchgate
which just keeps kind of rolling on as a pretty
unnecessary irritation for David Seymour, isn't it. I mean, I
just think they need to kind of admit we've got
a problem and get on with fixing it as fast
as possible. I'm just a bit worried that everyone's going
(00:43):
to lose sort of interest in patients in it and
it's all going to be a waste of money.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yes, it is. It is a fascinating political issue. You know,
You've got hundreds of thousands of children receiving these lunches,
hundreds of thousands of parents out there who are giving
these stories, you know, seeing these stories about these lunches,
and it does create the sense and I've spoken to
some parents who have told me that that that it
(01:09):
gives a sense that the government doesn't really care about
about what their children are are getting. So that's sort
of a bleeding saw, and that a political like nightmare
really because you've got every single day the opportunity somewhere
in the country for one of these lunches to become
a news story. So it is, it is, there's a nightmare.
But then on the other side of things, you know,
(01:30):
David Seymore has got a bit of a point when
he talks about the affordability of the problem. You know,
we've got a deficis of many billions of dollars at
the moment. From a purely kind of treasury worldview, New
Zealand couldn't afford the lunch program when it started up
a couple of years ago, and we still can't afford
it now. So you know, he's he's on firm putting
(01:52):
from a financial perspective. Of course, the Prime Minister and
the main contractor I think compasses their name. The prime
ministers said, well, that come, David Seymore's sorting it out
and needs to sort it out, and the contractor has said,
you know, look where we are aware of these teething
issues and we're going to sort them out. So there's
a lot of political pressure on David Seymore. I had
(02:14):
to say that, but you know, to be fit of
the guy, he does have some strength of the arguments
that that the program as it was was was unaffordable.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah. So well, like if if the text or anything
to go by Thomas, everyone's fed up with it and
is just saying scrap it, find another way. There we go. Hey,
our prime minister, Our prime minister has responded to the
Trump Selensky over office meeting.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yes, yes he did. It was a very he he
was traveling back from Vietnam at the time this this
this blew up roughly. I'm not sure of the executor
of the exact timing of comparing the different time zone.
So he was he was quite cautious, actually, a very
a very careful statement which avoided, i think, in flaming
tensions with the US because obviously you don't want to
(02:58):
you don't want to to to to to alienate the
White House. But it was also quite a family word
of statement in the at bat Ukraine quite strongly. So
he just said that he was aware of President Trump
and Zelentsi's robust exchange and didn't really but that's a
direct coat, didn't really comment on what he thought about
that exchange, and then went on to say that New
(03:20):
Zealand remains said fast and it's a board of Ukraine
as its defense itself and a war that Russia started.
It's mounting the defense of a proud, democratic sovereign nation,
but also the defense of international law, which does suggest,
you know, implicitly that that lass and backs the Ukrainian side,
but of course not saying that explicitly. And I suppose
it's a it's a diplomatic dancer. I think he actually
(03:42):
did fairly well, fairly well there and certainly as he
redone does z B politically. The Jason Water's column from
his time in Vietnam, He's just come back from trip
to Vietnam. He's actually managing that that diplomatic dance fairly
fairly well. Being a relatively newcomer to that to the
world of international propremacy.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Thomas, we keep hearing about energy reforms and how they're
going to lower our power bills. In that conversation always
seems to come that when another email pops into my
in box from Mercury telling me my energy prices are
about to go out. What's going on here?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yes, well it does. These ammunity reforms, that's Simon Watson
Shane Jones announced this week. They they tiptoe towards this
the sort of nirvana I guess that people have been
talking about for many years, which is to break up
the big gum Taylors, the the generator retailers. This this
(04:36):
these reforms do not do that, be very clear, but
they sort of tiptoe in that direction by creating a
more separated wholesale market. So obviously the generating retailers is
still still generating and then selling their own power. But
the to put it simply, the machinations of the energy
(04:58):
market within within the generation and retail arms of both
the gen Taylors and the other and the other retailers
will be regulated in the extent that there's a sort
of level playing fields for most of the players in
the market, which which they hope will will will put
pressure to keep prices affordable. But will it be enough
(05:21):
over winter? I mean, we're already hearing some sort of
nightmarish talk about another very difficult winter in terms of
power prices. That's going to be really difficult for the government,
which is already obviously behind in the polls, and they'll
be trying to do everything they can to ensure that
that we don't see a repeat of last winter, and
that's actually what they've been saying explicitly, and press releases
(05:41):
and media commentary they've been saying, we do not want
to repeat it for the last winter. So they have
to have put the generator retailers on notice. So it
will be a very interesting to see where we are
in September.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
We shall wait and see. Thomas Cockland, thank you for
your time this morning.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to Use talks it Be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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