1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,440 Speaker 1: Stuart Nash turning up at the conference over the weekend. 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,480 Speaker 1: That was quite a coup for New Zealand First. Now, 3 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: clearly what New Zealand First is trying to do is 4 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: emulate what Reform in the UK is doing. This is 5 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Nigel Varaja's party. If you've been following what they're up to, 6 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: they have had a huge number of politicians defect to 7 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: Reform and every single time it happens, the news media 8 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:20,440 Speaker 1: covers it and it makes Reform look like the party 9 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: with the momentum. That is what New Zealand First is 10 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: trying to do. That's why you had both Stuart Nash, 11 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: formerly of Labor, and Hardeza hippung Or formerly of National 12 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: at the conference over the weekend. Now, despite the circumstances 13 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: of Stuart leaving Parliament, he's actually a really big defection 14 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: from Labour because he's a very capable politician. He managed 15 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,879 Speaker 1: to turn a Napier into a red seat in twenty fourteen, 16 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 1: which was despite the popularity of the Key government at 17 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: the time. He was one of the few ministers in 18 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: the Ardern administration that voters on the right actually had 19 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: time for and I think that's because he's a proper 20 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: centterrist in the Labour Party, not crazy left like a 21 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: lot of them, Marp a little bit more to the right, 22 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: which is why he's probably going to find a better 23 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: home for himself in New Zealand first than the Labour 24 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: Party of twenty twenty five. Now, if I don't know 25 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: if Labor realizes what they've lost with Stuart Nash leaving. 26 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 1: I mean, of course he's really been out of Labor 27 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: since the moment Chippy fired him. But I don't think 28 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: they even realized then what they'd lost because they haven't 29 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: replaced him. And what I mean by that is they 30 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: haven't gone looking for another true centrist politician. Back in 31 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: the days, the Labour Party had heaps of them. May 32 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: they had Phil Goff, David Shearer, Richard plet just going 33 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: back through time, Richard Preble, Roger Douglas, Mike Moore. It 34 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: wasn't that unusual to have a good little centrist, alrighty 35 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: sitting in the Labor Party. Now, name one for me. 36 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: I mean you might have once been able to say Chippy, 37 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: but he's allowed himself to be pulled so far to 38 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: the left, I'm not sure you could call him a 39 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: centrist anymore. Now you cannot as a labor party win 40 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: over the center voter if you do not have politicians 41 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: that the center voter likes. And Stuart Nash I think 42 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,559 Speaker 1: was probably the last one of them. I would say 43 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: total coup for New Zealand. First, for more from Heather 44 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news Talks. It'd be 45 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.