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Speaker 1: Barry Soper, Senior Political Correspondence with US.

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Speaker 2: Hello, Barry, good afternoon, Heather, Sir Richard Taylor, great bloke,

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Speaker 2: good human. He's I know him very well and I

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Speaker 2: think he's very intelligent.

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Speaker 1: It's not what he says about you. No, Hey, what

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Speaker 1: did you think when you watched Benedict's story on TV

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Speaker 1: and Z last night?

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Speaker 3: Well you not.

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Speaker 2: I thought I started yelling at the television.

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Speaker 1: To be fair, I was yelling at it. I don't

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Speaker 1: often yell at the television, but I did think that

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Speaker 1: that was quite out of line.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, interestingly, I have it on very good authority

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Speaker 2: that the Police Minister Mark Mitchell was contacted by a

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Speaker 2: high profile manager at TV and Z to apologize for

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Speaker 2: the way the crime figures were dealt with. In fact,

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Speaker 2: it's lack of balance. Well, just to refresh your memory,

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Speaker 2: the latest Crime and Victims Survey showed forty nine thousand

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Speaker 2: fewer victims of violent crime in the year to October

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty five than two years earlier. Now, the release

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Speaker 2: talked about the effect the things that are put in

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Speaker 2: place to achieve lower crime given police officers effective tools

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Speaker 2: to deal with the gang's low gang patches the stop

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Speaker 2: taxpayer funding of the proliferation of those cultural reports, so

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Speaker 2: many things, three strikes, They're back and all that sort

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Speaker 2: of thing. Well, that was the story yesterday and this

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Speaker 2: is how it was interpreted by TV and z's political

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Speaker 2: reporter of Benedict Collins.

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Speaker 3: Last note, last election, Christopher Luxen promised there would be

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Speaker 3: more police officers than gang members. Labors not impressed.

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Speaker 1: This is a broken promise from the prime minister.

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Speaker 3: Is that a broken promise to New Zealanders?

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Speaker 1: Well, I can tell you what is our commitment is

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Speaker 1: that we are lying crime.

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Speaker 2: And when you see violent serious crime down and that

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Speaker 2: is because gang members.

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Speaker 1: We are tougher on gag members.

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Speaker 3: For sure, Yet other forms of crime are rising fast.

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Speaker 2: We've seen a huge spike in meat, then phetamine and

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Speaker 2: cocaine right across New Zealand.

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Speaker 3: That is an absolute failure of this government to deliver.

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Speaker 3: It seems that whether crime is rising or diminishing depends

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Speaker 3: on where you look and who you talk to.

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Speaker 2: Honestly, I couldn't believe it. There wasn't a mention of

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Speaker 2: the number of violent crimes that had diminished, and TV

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Speaker 2: and Z used figures showing there were wait for it,

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Speaker 2: three more gang members than the word police in the country. Three.

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Speaker 2: I couldn't believe it. But the thing is police numbers,

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Speaker 2: you know, as being fact because getting paid by the police.

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Speaker 2: Gang members, well they're not not getting paid by anybody

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Speaker 2: but the criminals. How do they accurately know the number

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Speaker 2: of gang members to the point of being three more

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Speaker 2: than the police. Their story was absolute, undulterated rubbish. And

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Speaker 2: the terrible thing is, Heather, I feel bad for saying

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Speaker 2: that because I've never criticized before a story coming out,

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Speaker 2: and there are many coming out of the gallery, but

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Speaker 2: I've never criticized publicly one and this is one that

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Speaker 2: I just think is a good example of bias.

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Speaker 1: If you're looking for a silver lining in this though,

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Speaker 1: which maybe Benett couldry and do from time to time,

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Speaker 1: it is that TV and Z does appear to If

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Speaker 1: what you say, and I take your word for it,

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Speaker 1: that somebody at TVs that has called the police minister

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Speaker 1: to apologize for it, then at least they are becoming

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Speaker 1: aware of their bias and that must count for a lot. Well,

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Speaker 1: they're perceived bias or they're occasional bias.

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Speaker 2: Yes, well, yes, clearly, I think anybody looking at that

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Speaker 2: would say.

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Speaker 1: Well, yeah, but the self awareness from TVNZ, I'm taking

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Speaker 1: some heart. Oh well, what I.

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Speaker 2: Mean, hopefully there are self aware and they've got to remember, honestly,

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Speaker 2: this is election year. Some people might say, oh, well

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Speaker 2: biased anyway. Well, I'm biased to the extent that I

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Speaker 2: think the last three years of the Labor government put

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Speaker 2: this country in a terrible situation. And if that's a bias.

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Speaker 1: Well, the distinction is you've been in the job since

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Speaker 1: about seventeen ninety five. You are employed as a political commentator,

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Speaker 1: not as a reporter, and those are two completely different things,

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Speaker 1: completely different things, and I think for that reason you

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Speaker 1: are entitled to bias. If it is biased, I think

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Speaker 1: it's just your opinion. Anyway, just talk to me quickly

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Speaker 1: through what is going on with David Seymour and Winston Peters.

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Speaker 3: Oh well, it.

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Speaker 2: Can come as no surprise to anyone. Look, David Seymour

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Speaker 2: and Winston Peters have never seen eye tie at all.

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Speaker 2: And it's remarkable really that both have been part of

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Speaker 2: the same cabinet for two years. And I take my

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Speaker 2: hat off to them for actually burying their differences and

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Speaker 2: they are significant to work together and the Coalition government

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Speaker 2: but basically David Seymour raised the idea of floating in

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Speaker 2: New Zealand selling it off essentially when you've got a

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Speaker 2: sheer price. I think it's about fifty six cents a

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Speaker 2: sheer down considerably. With the result out yesterday forty million

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Speaker 2: dollars loss in the first six months. I mean, who's

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Speaker 2: going to buy it anyway, you know, if that's the

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Speaker 2: way it's going. Yeah. Winston Peters he has long opposed,

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Speaker 2: He's a nationalist, long opposed selling off anything. And you

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Speaker 2: remember he had the falling out with Jenny Shipley when

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Speaker 2: she was briefly the Prime Minister over Wellington airportrait.

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Speaker 1: This is one of those things that David Seymour can

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Speaker 1: call for. It's a bad idea and he can call

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Speaker 1: for it knowing it will never happen because Winston won't

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Speaker 1: let it happen.

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Speaker 2: And it's called politicking. Election year.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you, Barry. We'll chat to you again. Wrap

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Speaker 1: the Political Week after six o'clock. Barry seat Soper, Senior

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Speaker 1: Political correspondent. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen

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Speaker 1: live to news Talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,

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