1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,600 Speaker 1: And Barriso for senior political Correspondence with US. 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 2: How Barry, good afternoon. 3 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: What do you make of the report? 4 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 2: Well, it's fascinating, like you have had the head fairly 5 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 2: well buried in it reading it, and it gives us 6 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 2: a very good, you wouldn't say snapshot at seven hundred pages, 7 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 2: but a good view of how people felt about the lockdowns, 8 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 2: the mandates and you know they I think the feeling 9 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 2: was well, I don't think I know that they were 10 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 2: too broad and too harsh. That's the mandates and the lockdowns. 11 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 2: But it's incredible and you consider the amount of people 12 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 2: sixteen hundred people were heard from by this Royal commission. 13 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 2: They held four hundred meetings up and down the country, 14 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:47,879 Speaker 2: thirteen thousand submissions were made, and that just to me 15 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 2: shows you how charged the population was. And I remember 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 2: thinking at the time, if you want to know what 17 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 2: it's like to live in a totalitarian state, New Zealand 18 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 2: was that, and particularly and I heard you meant in Auckland. 19 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: Auckland was lockdown for so long. People were so frustrated 20 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 2: in this setting. A Derne never once, only once after 21 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 2: I got back to Wellington and said, what's your electorate 22 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 2: Mount Albert. Why don't you go back there and see 23 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 2: what your constituents feel about this lockdown. They had no 24 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 2: idea living in Wellington anyway, I won't work so up there. 25 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: And to finish your sentence, then she came back. 26 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 2: Then she did come back the following week, like a 27 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 2: matter of hours, afternoon, a sort afternoon visit and to 28 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 2: a factory that was opened during the COVID lockdowns, and 29 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 2: in fact to a Pacifica event in the afternoon, went 30 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: back to Wellington. I'm sorry. That's about the level of 31 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 2: commitment that the Prime Minster made as of tonight. Of course, 32 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 2: Tony britt Blakeley his work is done, and he says 33 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,559 Speaker 2: Phase two of the inquiry will be more specific. 34 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 3: The Phase two will actually be contrary to what you 35 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 3: might hear from some people now, and there's terms of 36 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 3: reference which I'm fine about, but just to be clear, 37 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 3: and we'll be focusing Laura on some aspects of vaccine mandates, 38 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 3: of lockdowns and the new area of vaccine safety and harm, 39 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 3: so that's where they will focus. I've actually got another 40 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 3: job I've got to get back to, and I committed 41 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 3: to doing the inquiry as it was initially set up. 42 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 3: I don't think the current government particularly wanted me to 43 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:20,679 Speaker 3: be around for the face too. 44 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,679 Speaker 2: I really like Tony Bladley. I think he's I think Tony. 45 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: I think Tony's been unfairly maligned because he's been painted 46 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: as some sort of a toady for the Hipkins and 47 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: our doing government, and he never was. We would often 48 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: actually have a chat to him in his capacity as 49 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: a critic of what was happening. 50 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, so I feel sorry for. 51 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: The guy anyway. Listen on the nurses, Why are so 52 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: few nurses actually getting jobs? 53 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 2: Well, this is fascinating because there was a pool of 54 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 2: nurses eight hundred and forty four of the sixteen hundred 55 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 2: and nineteen graduate nurses yesterday, only fifty percent of them 56 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:05,119 Speaker 2: were placed. Other health providers would have had the opportunity 57 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 2: from today to offer jobs to the remaining seven seventy nurses. 58 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 2: And this isn't a time when we're told that we're 59 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 2: have got such a shortage of nurses, but it seems 60 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 2: that most of them want to work in hospitals and 61 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 2: not for age care and the like incentives of up 62 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: to twenty thousand dollars are now being offered into primary 63 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,839 Speaker 2: community and age care people who hire them to get 64 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 2: nurses into those jobs. But basically the problem was that 65 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 2: we opened the immigration gates to foreign nurses and they 66 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 2: flooded into the country. In fact, it was an amazing 67 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 2: statistic I read today about it. Around three thousand nurses 68 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 2: were hired last year, meaning Health in New Zealand now 69 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 2: employed thirty five thousand nurses, which is extraordinarily, isn't it. 70 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 2: You've never got enough and they've got the lowest turnover 71 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 2: for some considerable time. And that's the problem. Now, these 72 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 2: young graduates who put in three years training to become 73 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 2: a nurse, graduate expecting obviously because of all the publicity 74 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 2: surrounding shortages and hospitals, can't get a job. 75 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: It's bizarre. 76 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 2: It's really hard on them. 77 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: I think really quickly. I don't have a lot of time. 78 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: What do you make of candae Owen's being banned? 79 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 2: I think it's blatantly ridiculous. I mean, this woman has 80 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 2: views that a contrary to many of the views that 81 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 2: were you. 82 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: At not why we banded, why the Australians, Australia. 83 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 2: The Aussies and I talked to the Free Speech Union 84 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 2: this afternoon about it. They're going to appeal directly to 85 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 2: the Minister Erica Stanford, and I can't, for the life 86 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 2: of me see Erica Stanford upholding this band from Immigration 87 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 2: New Zealand based on what Australia did, and if she did, 88 00:04:54,960 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 2: I'm sorry, Immigration New Zealand. You know, what point is 89 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 2: it for them to even be involved in something like. 90 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: This because the Aussies made a dumb decision. If it 91 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: is a dumb decision, Barry, thanks very much, very so, 92 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: Sing your political correspondence 93 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 3: For more from Hither Duplessy Allan Drive listen live to 94 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 3: news Talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow 95 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 3: the podcast on iHeartRadio.