Regional Council Chaos, Tax Promises and Party Conferences

Hosted by Sam Collins, Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines breaks down the week in New Zealand politics so you don’t have to — with genuine cross-partisan insight.

In Episode 5:

* Regional Council Reform — National’s plan to abolish regional councils and replace them with mayor-led boards lands with a thud. Phil and Chris unpack what’s sensible, what’s risky and why reform without groundwork is a recipe for chaos.

* The UK Budget Blowback — UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves breaks Labour’s “no new taxes” promise, what can Barbara Edmonds and Nicola Willis learn? And is Brexit still the anchor dragging the whole ship down?

* The NZ Labour Party Conference — A surprisingly upbeat weekend for Labour. What Chris Hipkins and Barbara Edmonds got right, and did it go down well with the public?

Plus: Air New Zealand’s declining brand loyalty, Beethoven’s Ninth, Boris Johnson’s minimum-wage blunder, and why populism is reshaping democracies faster than institutions can keep up.

Cross Party Lines exists to lift political literacy and bring good-faith conversation back to Kiwi politics.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit crosspartylines.substack.com