1 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:05,279 Speaker 1: Kyoda. 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 2: I'm Georgena Campbell in for Chelsea Daniels and this is 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 2: the Front Page, a daily podcast presented by. 4 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 3: The New Zealand Herald. 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 2: The National Party will be gathering for its annual general 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 2: meeting this weekend. It comes as the party recently marked 7 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 2: eight months in power and as key campaign promises of 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 2: tax cuts and use bootcamps take effect, giving them plenty 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 2: to celebrate. But it's not been an easy ride for 10 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 2: the biggest party in Parliament, caught in the middle of 11 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 2: a coalition it would rather not be in, and facing 12 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: continue to push back over its handling of MALDI relations 13 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 2: and the environment. Today on the Front Page, we discuss 14 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 2: how National is handling these highs and lows with New 15 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 2: Zealand Herald political editor Clear Trevette Clear, what can we 16 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 2: expect from this weekend's conference? 17 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: So it is the first of the National Party big 18 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: conferences since they got into government, so it will be 19 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: I guess luck, since first one as Prime minister. They'll 20 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: all be there to give their reckons on how much 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: the National Party has achieved. There will be presentations from 22 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: the key ministers, as there always is, on kind of 23 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: how things are tracking in their progression. And then the 24 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: members will get to debate a few of the remits, 25 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: which is kind of policy, kind of issues that they 26 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: like to cheer over and sometimes send a message to caucus. 27 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: And then Christopher Luxen will give his speech on Sunday 28 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: with I would expect some form of an announcement in 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: that speech, So it should be quite a big weekend 30 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: for them. 31 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,639 Speaker 2: So how different is a party's conference when that party 32 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 2: is in government? As you just indicated, they can and 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: actually make announcements. Can we expect it to be a 34 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 2: big one or is it more likely to be a 35 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 2: smaller one because of the coalition? 36 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, I've been trying to pick what the announcement might be. 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: So at some point they can differentiate between announcing something 38 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: that they're going to do in governments as opposed to 39 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: announcing what they might campaign on in the next election. 40 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: And in that case, national will soon start looking at 41 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: what they might start rolling out for the next election 42 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: campaign because they can't. Does Willie Nelly bring in new 43 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: policies this term? Really because of the coalition agreement, They've 44 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: agreed to do whatever's in those agreements, and that's kind 45 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: of where it stops. So if they want to do 46 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: anything that they hadn't campaigned on last time, and that 47 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: coalition partners hadn't agreed to. They would have to get 48 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: their approval before they could kind of do it. So 49 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: I'm just trying to work out which of the things 50 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: in the government's action plan haven't yet been done which 51 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: might form the basis of an announcement for this conference, 52 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 1: or whether or not Christopherlatson might picture a bit further 53 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: forward and give some indication of what they might be 54 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: thinking about doing in the next term and the event 55 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: they get through to the next election, what they might 56 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: campaign on. So we'll wait and see. I do know 57 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: the focus of the conference is going to be on 58 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: national core bread and butter issues such as the economy, 59 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: law and order, health and education, so I would be 60 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: picking that the announcement will be in the economy area 61 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: or the law and order area. It is a bit 62 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: different when they're in government because at their last conference, 63 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:28,640 Speaker 1: you'll remember they went in there and they announced their 64 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: law and order policy, their corrections policy, and that was 65 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: the kind of keynote of that, and the speeches were 66 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: all full of how bad the Labor government was and 67 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: how National was going to make everything better. When you're 68 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: in government, you have to turn up and tell the 69 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: members what you've done to make it better now that 70 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: you're in government. But there will still be a bit 71 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: of a jab at the former labor government, I'm sure, 72 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: for the areas they might not have achieved as much 73 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: as they want it too, they'll still want to be 74 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: blaming the former labor government. 75 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 4: Will your government achieve those twenty twenty eight child poverty productions? 76 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 3: Well, we're coming from behind because actually the last government 77 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 3: saw child poverty increase because they leat inflation run completely 78 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 3: out of control. We inherited a cost of living crisis, 79 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 3: a recession, and part of our cleanup is getting people 80 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 3: off the job seeker benefit. 81 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 4: Will your government commit to hitting those twenty twenty eight 82 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 4: child poverty reduction targets? 83 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 3: That remains a target, but as you can see, it 84 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 3: would be extremely challenging to meet it. 85 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 2: Do you think they might be particularly hyped up after 86 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 2: this week of their big promise being tax cuts coming 87 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 2: into effect. Do you think that sort of provides them 88 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 2: with a bit of energy going into the conference. 89 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think they will go in with a fair 90 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: bit of energy. So what you've got to remember is 91 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: that there are things that are upsetting people kind of 92 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 1: outside around the more controversial policies and stuff like that 93 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: aren't necessarily upsetting to the National Party member. A lot 94 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: of them are they call bread and butter issues, and 95 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: in the lead up to the conference there's been a 96 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 1: big chunk of those rolled out. So you've had the 97 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: tax cuts land the week before the conference, Yes, Nationals 98 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: delivered on that was very much the centerpiece of its 99 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: election campaign. It's also gone hard on law and order 100 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: and the lead up to it, it's rolled out the 101 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: military style boot camps, you know, the announcement that police 102 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: we're going to put more police on the beat. It's 103 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 1: just the kind of stuff that the National Party faithful like. 104 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: They like to see the police. They don't have much 105 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: sympathy for the kind of ins and outs of whether 106 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: or not we should be going tough on the crimson 107 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: or not. That kind of stuff. It's all very appealing 108 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,600 Speaker 1: to them. And that stuff has all happened in the 109 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: lead up to the conference, so they will be going 110 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,159 Speaker 1: and they're feeling pretty good about what has happened. And 111 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: then of course there's Sam and Brown with his Potholes 112 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: task forces. He's put that out so it's all kind 113 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 1: of roads, law and order and tax cuts. Is all 114 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,720 Speaker 1: a good diet for a National Party member really, so 115 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: they'll be pretty happy with what they've seen in that regard. 116 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 2: And how would you describe the current state of the party, 117 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 2: you know, compared to when National was in opposition, it 118 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 2: was a pretty tumultuous six years for them. 119 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: Yes, well there of course a lot happier now. Those 120 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:18,039 Speaker 1: are not good times and they do like to be 121 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: in governments, so they will be a lot happier than that. 122 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 1: I would say the party will be in pretty good appetite. 123 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: They've been pretty disciplined by and large, and in their 124 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: instances where there have been shortcomings, Christopher Luxen has dealt 125 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:32,840 Speaker 1: with them pretty quickly, so they'll be pretty happy while 126 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: they're in government. The only question mark that some of 127 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: the members might have is around National's own polling, so 128 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: they're kind of used to the time they were. Possibly 129 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: the happiest was in the Key era when National was 130 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: regularly polling in the mid forties, even high forties, and 131 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: we're very much the dominant party. Sylvia would the party 132 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 1: president and the lead up to the conference, has said 133 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: that the aim of the National Party should always be 134 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: to be in the mid forties, and she would like 135 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: to see them get back to that position and be 136 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,119 Speaker 1: less reliant or at least be stronger up against any 137 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: coalition partners they might have. I think they would see 138 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: their coalition agreement as a necessary evil rather than a 139 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: permanent feature for them basically, So they will be hoping 140 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: that National can rally it's polling back up at least 141 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: above forty mark and into the mid forties. So I 142 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: would say that that is kind of what the underlying 143 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: hopes would be and expectations actually of the National Party members. 144 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: That kind of raises the question of whether that is 145 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: almost nostalgic and whether MMP has evolved to the point 146 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: whether smaller parties will keep holding their own because so 147 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: FA and New Zealand First have held up. But there 148 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: will be questions around that, around whether or not National 149 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: has any way of bumping up their polling back over 150 00:07:58,360 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: the forty mark. 151 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 2: And is that's an issue of National getting the cut 152 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 2: through to stand out and make their mark against the 153 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 2: likes of you know, Act in particular, it seems to 154 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 2: be generating a lot of headlines. 155 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's hard to see how they would do it. 156 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: Without cannibalizing their coalition partners, and to some extent, I 157 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: don't think they would necessarily think that was bad. They 158 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: would like them to be a bit weaker probably. I 159 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: would suspect the members would rather have a clean National 160 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: Act coalition rather than involve New Zealand. First. There's a 161 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: lot of big blood there, and yeah, the question is 162 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: how they do it, and especially how they do it 163 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,839 Speaker 1: with without upsetting the coalition basically, so they've all got 164 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: kind of codes of behavior and stuff like that. As 165 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: the election starts to learn closer, we'll see the parties 166 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: start to differentiate themselves a bit more so at the moment, 167 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: Latson has been treading pretty carefully and just kind of 168 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: trying to distance National as much as possible from the 169 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: coalition partners' policies that are quite controversial, which they have 170 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: agreed to kind of support but don't necessarily want to 171 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: advocate too much. And a lot of those will be 172 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: in the race area around kind of Mariya Schuesler ex 173 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: Tretty Principal's bill. But their question is how they do 174 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: And I had it actually expected National to be holding 175 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: a little bit more strongly and the last one we 176 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,839 Speaker 1: saw Luxeon tick up as preferred PM, purely by a 177 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 1: virtue of being in government, and they have been fairly active. 178 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:27,440 Speaker 1: They have done things that they said they would do, 179 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: and at some point they will be hoping they get 180 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 1: the rewards for that. 181 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 2: Christopher Luxen and Nikola Willis, how do you think they 182 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 2: are performing in their respective roles? 183 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, fairly well. Actually, I think Luckson has stepped up 184 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: fairly well. He's pretty good in the foreign affairs area. 185 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: He's kept the coalition running smoothly, and I think his 186 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: action plan kind of approach works because it makes it 187 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: look like they're doing a lot, and they actually are 188 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: kind of doing a fair bit, whether people like it 189 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: or not. I mean, his approaches worked to hold that 190 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: kind of coalition together. Doesn't overreact when one of the 191 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: coalition partners does something that he might not necessarily like. 192 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 2: Has he spoken to Winston Peter's about the comments and 193 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:26,199 Speaker 2: maybe today about Nazi Germany. 194 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 4: No, I haven't had a chance to do so. But 195 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:30,719 Speaker 4: that's not what I would say. I don't think that 196 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 4: is the way that I would phrase it at all. 197 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 4: Calling on people from all political parties to maintain the 198 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 4: civility in our politics and I don't think extreme language 199 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 4: on either side from any particular party is actually helpful 200 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 4: or necessary. 201 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: And he's also proven recently in the Health New Zealand 202 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: situation that where there is a trouble potentially brewing, he 203 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: gets in there himself kind of thing to make sure 204 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: that everything's tickety bo. So he really revealed this week 205 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: that he is taking part in those regular meetings with 206 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: kind of Health New Zealand, the Finance Minister and the 207 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: Health Minister and all that, just to keep an eye 208 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: on how Health New Zealand's tracking. And I would say 209 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 1: he'll stay in there until that's kind of all resolved. 210 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 1: He likes to be on top of those kind of things. 211 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 1: Nikola Willis is a very impressive politician. She's very good 212 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,720 Speaker 1: at selling National's case, she's good at speaking. I think 213 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: she's a pretty solid finance minister. So I think both 214 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: of those two are probably earning their keep at the moment. 215 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,200 Speaker 1: Lucks it's made a few clubs. They won't matter to 216 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: the National Party membership really, and he would possibly see 217 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: them as learning things along the way. 218 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 2: And are there any other ministers that stand out for 219 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 2: you as top performers in this government? 220 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,440 Speaker 1: They're very obvious. I mean I would put Willis in 221 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: that top list. Simian Brown is consistently very good. Chris 222 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: Bishop also very good. He's balancing his very heavy portfolio 223 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: with his more strategic role as Leader of the House 224 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: and that kind of strategy guy within national He's also 225 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: pretty impressive. Eric Stanford has been pretty impressive in education, immigration, 226 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: and over the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in 227 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: State care recently she's taken the charge on that. I 228 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: think in terms of the more visible ones, Muchure is 229 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: pretty well suited to his portfolios of police and emergency management. 230 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: He gets out there on the ground the moment emergency 231 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 1: situation kind of strikes and moves pretty quickly to get 232 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: that inquiry up and running over the Wide Isle River recently. 233 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: So they're probably the top performers. There's other ones who 234 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: are doing pretty well in their portfolios, basically the top 235 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 1: four or five as their top performers, so as you 236 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: would hope and expect. In terms of the lower down run, 237 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: Shane Retti is still under a bit of a test, 238 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,439 Speaker 1: especially in regards to his handling around health New Zealand 239 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,319 Speaker 1: and his ability to deal with not only the kind 240 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 1: of health system and clinical side of being the health minister, 241 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: but also the financial side and the political side of it. 242 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: So I wouldn't say he's good or bad at the moment, 243 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: but he's in a test period. 244 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 2: Do you think that healthcare is a weakness for national 245 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 2: given the absolute strain the system is under at the 246 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 2: moment and shamee Retty as you say, sort of being 247 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 2: in a test period? Or does Christopher Luxen, in the 248 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 2: fact that he has sort of taken quite hands on 249 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:34,959 Speaker 2: approaching that area, does that kind of compensate for that. 250 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,199 Speaker 1: I mean, it's all a kind of murky at the moment, 251 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: and it's not quite sure who has fluffed up and where, 252 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 1: which is why I've put Rety in a test pattern 253 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: rather than blaming anyone. So I don't know if it's 254 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: becoming an isses. So the most important thing is for 255 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 1: them to look like they're in control of it, which is, 256 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:54,120 Speaker 1: you know, if they can assure people that they have 257 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: it in hand and they're in control and the whole 258 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: health system isn't going to crash around, We're not going 259 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,200 Speaker 1: to run out of money and all that stuff, then 260 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 1: I think they'll be fine. I mean, where people see 261 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:06,479 Speaker 1: the health systems when they actually turn up the hospitals 262 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: and the doctors and stuff. So that is kind of 263 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: where it comes to the crunch. I mean, health is 264 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: a problem for every single government because it's a bottomless 265 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: pit and there are always troubles with money, there always 266 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: troubles with the workforce, and flash points come up and 267 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: then they go, and it's more a matter of being 268 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: able to reassure people that you're kind of in control. 269 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,560 Speaker 1: And I don't think health is an issue for them 270 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: at the moment. No, It's just a big topic which 271 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: will come up throughout the term and it's something that 272 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: you have to manage very carefully. 273 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 2: Politically, the party used to leak frequently in opposition. How 274 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 2: have they managed to turn that around? What's the discipline like? 275 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: Well, that was the result of an existential crisis that 276 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: they had after the twenty twenty election when they did 277 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: not fare very well at all and their former Prime 278 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: Minister John Key went down and tour strips off them 279 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: and told them that if they didn't stop leaking, they 280 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: would be forevermore. The party and opposition. 281 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 5: Leadership, changes, missteps, disunity, leaks and mixed messaging in national 282 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 5: put them off us. I know it sounds harsh, but 283 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 5: it's true. If you can't quit your leaking, here's a clue, 284 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 5: quit the party here. 285 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: They have then subsequently realized that John Key was right 286 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: and if they leaked, they lost, and also the change 287 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: of leadership in the end of it all and Christopher 288 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: Luxin's iron fist over the caucus. But to be fair, 289 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 1: rather than Luxelin's fist, good polling and the sniff of 290 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:50,119 Speaker 1: success tends to exert strong disciplinary forces on a caucus, 291 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: and as long as the polling is good, that remains 292 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: the way because they do not want to throw it 293 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: all away again and. 294 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 2: Clear, I feel like I couldn't have you as a 295 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:04,080 Speaker 2: guest on the podcast without asking you about the cook 296 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 2: straight fairies. Do you think that issue is hurting the 297 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 2: party at all or you know, where would you put 298 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 2: that issue in terms of national's priorities. 299 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 1: I think that that issue is the one that will 300 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: test I mean, you're more the expert on the fairies, 301 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: then may I have to be honest, But politically I 302 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: think that that's a test of judgment. Calls by Nikola Willis, 303 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: So when we see what they end up doing about 304 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: the fairies is when we'll be able to cast a 305 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: judgment on whether or not they have mishandled that or not, 306 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: and how much it enter costing the text payer and 307 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: how much of that is wasted spending. So I'm not 308 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: going to really comment on it before then because you're 309 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: the expert. 310 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 2: So it's such a long long wait for that announcement 311 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 2: of what they're going to do with the fairies. Well, 312 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 2: look to run things off clear. Are you expecting a 313 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 2: triumphant atmosphere over the weekend. What are your expectations of 314 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 2: this conference? 315 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: I think it will be content rather than triumphant as 316 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: such because of the nature of the coalition agreement. It 317 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: will be contented because they of course back in government, 318 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 1: but they will be the members will be very curious 319 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: to find out kind of what happens next for the 320 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:18,360 Speaker 1: National Party and how National kind of makes its own 321 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:22,359 Speaker 1: space and the coalition agreement. Without giving away too much, 322 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:25,239 Speaker 1: I'll be quite interested to see if there's anything that 323 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,479 Speaker 1: the members are concerned about in terms of what the 324 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,479 Speaker 1: concessions that they have made for those coalition partners and 325 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: whether there is any concern about that or whether they 326 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 1: are just except that that's what had to be done 327 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: to get into government. So Yeah, I'll be hoping there'll 328 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 1: be some indication of which areas have disquieted the members 329 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,360 Speaker 1: in terms of the games they've given to the other 330 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: parties and those coalition agreements. 331 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:49,360 Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us. 332 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 1: Clear. 333 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,439 Speaker 2: That's it for this episode of the Front Page. You 334 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 2: can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage 335 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 2: at inzidherld dot co dot inzid. The Front Page is 336 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:10,880 Speaker 2: produced by Ethan Sills and sound engineer Pattifox. I'm Georgina Campbell. 337 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,439 Speaker 2: Subscribe to the Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you 338 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 2: get your podcasts, and tune in on Monday for another 339 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 2: look behind the headlines.