The Trans Tasman Pol Pod

This podcast looks at New Zealand’s political week, and talks with key figures about the events of the day. Packed with analysis, it gives you some insights into politics today.

The Trans Tasman Pol Pod is a news podcast hosted by tony2g, with 69 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

tony2g hosts The Trans Tasman Pol Pod, a news show with 69 episodes published.

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  Episode #69

  The Trans Tasman Pol Pod Episode 23

  Aug 13, 202612 min

  It's been an extraordinary week in politics, with Chris Luxon once again having to face down his detractors in caucus, and once again winning a confidence vote. Amazingly, in a week in which his MPs tried to depose him as leader, Luxon is ahead of Labour leader Chris Hipkins as preferred Prime Minister in the most recent polls, and the National Party is holding its own. The big mover this week is Opportunity, which both latest polls suggest will be in Parliament after November 7. The question is whether Luxon will rue announcing he won't work with the fledgling party. And joining us to unpack the dramatic events of the week, is political columnist Janet Wilson.

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  Episode #68

  The Trans Tasman Pol Pod Episode 22

  Aug 6, 202619 min

  Christopher Luxon has had a bad week. First there was the kerfuffle over his comments to a group of business people in Rotorua, where he insulted one of his party's key voting blocks by telling them effectively to grow up and just deal with tough economic times. He then threw his MPs and advisors into a spin by basically making policy on the fly, saying he'd call a referendum on MMP if re-elected. With 39% of voters believing they are now worse off, Labour is continuing to lead in people’s view of which party is best equipped to handle major aspects of the country’s well being. It’s not surprising, with the latest unemployment figures also grim for the Government. They show 5.6% of people are out of work, the worst figures since 2015. The latest Taxpayer's Union Curia poll, has Labour in the 20s and National top of the heap in the 30s – but Luxon could be regretting saying he won't work with Opportunity, because this poll clearly has the party gaining seats in Parliament. It seems it will be kingmaker. We know NZ First doesn’t like immigration, but its latest policy announcement seems like going a bit too far. It’s set to campaign on introducing a Kiwi Kids Grant to support New Zealand citizens raising their first three children, through the first three years of their lives. And joining us to talk about this money for babies is Auckland University sociology professor Francis Collins, who says population growth is much bigger than just having babies.

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  Episode #67

  The Trans Tasman Pol Pod episode 21

  Jul 30, 202617 min

  The latest Talbot Mills poll which saw National climb out of the 20s will be good news for the party, but Chris Luxon's decision to rule out Opportunity after the election may come back to bite him. Winston Peters invoked a political storm this week with his attack in Parliament on Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan telling him to "go back to your own country" during a debate. Some called it a sackable offence. National has tried to blunt some of its negatives among women by offering more paid parental leave. But not all at once – it’s not important enough for that. LGNZ President Rehette Stoltz took a positive view of a number of improvements made to the Government’s RMA Bills, reported back by the Environment Committee, but she’s not happy with all the changes. Chris Luxon appears amenable to some regulation of data centre activity in this country, but won’t countenance a moratorium on their approval for a year as proposed by the Greens. And we're joined by Dr Michael Swanson honorary research fellow at the university of Otago to talk about the rise in populism in New Zealand politics and the way political language has become more aggressive.

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  Episode #66

  The Trans Tasman Pol Pod Episode 20

  Jul 22, 202618 min

  ACT and NZ First are rapidly becoming bolt holes for failed politicians from other parties where they are retreaded and given high list positions to try to kick start their former mediocre careers. But the resignation of Stuart Nash as a NZ First candidate after a sexism scandal shows the danger of recruiting these failed politicians. Winston Peters has firmly positioned NZ First as the party of fossil fuel, and in the process backed what in years to come will be seen as the global loser on the energy front, putting it on the wrong side of history. The Greens have taken a bold gamble in their campaign gambits for this year, backing unions to the hilt. Despite widespread anti union sentiment around the country. While Labour was quick to try to pin the blame on the Government, the latest rise in inflation was both widely anticipated, and also mostly imported. And we're joined by Emeritus Professor of Economics Basil Sharp from Auckland University's Business School, who says NZ First's plan to pump a billion dollars into oil exploration just doesn't stack up.

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  Episode #65

  The Trans Tasman Pol Pod Episode 19

  Jul 15, 202615 min

  Narendra Modi's visit went off without a hitch and he and Prime Minister Luxon appear to be the best of friends. They want to take the relationship to the next level, which includes a focus on maritime security which could put us offside with China. Another decision which could put us in China's bad book is potentially joining the new Ocean of Peace Alliance between Australia and Fiji. It is clearly anti China, and may necessitate further increases in defence spending in order to meet mutual assistance obligations. The major parties may have to start considering Opportunity as a coalition partner in November, with the fledgling party looking likely to pick up seats. This may put it in the Kingmaker role rather than NZ First. And a number of economic indicators suggest the economy was starting to come back to life - before Donald Trump intervened in Iran again. Joining us to look at some of the numbers is NZIER Deputy Chief Executive, Christina Leung.

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