Cross Party Lines

Double Standards, Tariff Hypocrisy and Parliament on the Clock

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines returns to a week that generated more podcast fallout than any episode before it — the Stuart Nash story broke on this show — and moves through Trump’s forced labour tariffs, the Iran quagmire and a parliamentary endgame that Phil and Chris think is being handled badly.All thanks to our foundational partner, Frank Risk Management - the 100% Kiwi owned insurance brokerage. Find out more at frankrisk.co.nz.In this episode:* The Nash fallout, Shane Jones’s knee pads and one rule for some — The Stuart Nash story dominated New Zealand media after breaking on Cross Party Lines, and both Phil and Chris use this episode to set the record straight on how it happened — and why Chris has no apology to make. But the more pointed argument is Phil’s: in the same week Nash was sacked by Peters for ill-judged comments about maternity leave, Shane Jones used the term “knee pads” to describe the Prime Minister’s behaviour toward Modi — a clear sexual innuendo that drew no consequences whatsoever.* Trump’s forced labour tariffs — hypocrisy dressed as principle — The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s original reciprocal tariffs six to three, so the administration has now reimposed them under a forced labour justification. Phil dismantles the argument completely: the Global Slavery Index rates the United States itself as having 1.1 million people in modern slavery, Trump has gutted domestic funding to combat forced labour, and he is simultaneously doing favourable nuclear deals with Saudi Arabia — one of the world’s worst human rights offenders.* Iran, the RMA and a parliament running out of time — Back home, 21 sitting days remain before the House rises on 24 September and the election writ is issued in early October. The order paper is heavy — the RMA replacement legislation alone will generate a hefty debate — and the government has already used urgency more than any administration since MMP, stripping select committee scrutiny from legislation that deserves it.Sharp, historically grounded and angrier than usual in all the right places, this episode is a reminder that double standards in politics — whether applied to MPs or to nuclear deals — always have consequences, and the people who pay them are rarely the ones who set them.Cross Party Lines exists to lift political literacy and create space for calm, good-faith political conversation. New episodes every Tuesday. If you value thoughtful debate, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might too.🎟 Wellington sold out. Last few tickets for Auckland Q Theatre — 8 August with Helen Clark. Live stream also available for both shows at tapliveevents.com — $10 per show or $16 for both. 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

Shock Jocks, Bin Faces and the Destruction of Legacy

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines returns with a week so packed it barely fits into an hour — Paul Henry joins ACT, Andy Burnham becomes Britain’s fourth Prime Minister in five years, Farage faces a comedian with a bin on his head, and back home, the government’s RMA and consent law moves prompt one of Chris’s angriest moments yet.Thanks to Frank Risk Management, the 100% Kiwi Owned insurance brokerage.In this episode:* Paul Henry, celebrity candidates and the history of profile without substance — ACT’s announcement of Paul Henry as a candidate generates the most entertaining segment of the episode. Phil goes through the long and largely undistinguished history of celebrity candidates in New Zealand politics — weather forecasters, All Blacks, broadcasters, and one pair of underpants — and concludes that profile without policy preparation is a recipe for disappointment.* Andy Burnham kisses hands, Farage resigns and Count Binface enters the arena — Britain has a new Prime Minister, its fifth in four years and seventh in ten. Phil and Chris welcome Andy Burnham’s communication skills, his record as Mayor of Greater Manchester, and his promise to rewire the economy for ordinary people and take power out of Westminster — while noting that the fiscal constraints facing him are identical to those that sank Starmer. The episode closes on Farage, who has resigned his Clacton seat to avoid scrutiny by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over his undisclosed donations, triggering a by-election against 34 candidates — including Count Binface of the Recyclon Party, whose deputy is General Waste, and whose campaign slogan is simply that he is not Nigel Farage.* Treaty arrangements, consent law, move-on orders and a government undoing its own party’s legacy — Chris makes his position unmistakable: the government’s move to overturn local council agreements with iwi is a betrayal of the National Party traditions built by Jim Bolger, Doug Graham and Ralph Hanan, done without proper process, without submissions, and in direct contradiction of assurances that such arrangements would be grandfathered. He calls the MPs responsible two-bit careerists who despise the party’s history and says so without qualification.This episode is a reminder that the traditions that hold a political party — and a country — together are easier to destroy than to build, and that the people doing the destroying rarely understand what they’ve lost.Cross Party Lines exists to lift political literacy and create space for calm, good-faith political conversation. New episodes every Tuesday. If you value thoughtful debate, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might too.🎟 Auckland Q Theatre live show with Helen Clark — 75% sold. Wellington sold out. Get your tickets now at tapliveevents.com. 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

Red Carpets, Empty Roads and Pacific Diplomacy

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines opens with a tribute to Sam Neill — actor, environmentalist and proud New Zealander. Then it’s into a packed episode that moves from Modi’s visit to Pacific power plays, and closes with a verdict on the Roads of National Significance that is not kind.Thanks to our Foundational Partner, Frank Risk Management, the 100% Kiwi owned insurance brokerage.In this episode:* Modi in Auckland — a historic visit with an unresolved $35 billion question — Phil gives the visit its due — India is on track to become the world’s third largest economy, the FTA could do for New Zealand-India trade what the China agreement did after 2008, and Modi has genuinely modernised India and lifted millions out of poverty. And the $35 billion investment commitment — mentioned three times by Modi, described as a promise by Indian trade officials, and quietly reframed as an “aspiration” by Christopher Luxon — has the makings of the 21st century version of the Treaty of Waitangi.* The Pacific power vacuum — and how New Zealand got left flat-footed — Phil and Chris are in agreement: New Zealand has dropped the ball, Foreign Affairs has missed the moment, and Penny Wong has run rings around us diplomatically. The deeper story is the vacuum created by Trump cutting US aid by 95% and declaring climate change a hoax — the two issues Pacific Island nations care most about — while China fills the gap with construction projects and red carpet treatment for small-nation leaders.* Roads of National Significance — over promised, under costed and running out of road — The announcement that multiple Roads of National Significance have no start date, no finish date and no funding lands with a thud. Phil puts the blame squarely on Simeon Brown, who as transport spokesperson costed 17 roads at $24 billion in 2023 — a figure that has since more than doubled to $56 billion. Chris asks the question nobody has answered: why does everything cost so much in New Zealand, and why does analysis paralysis set in every time a project reaches the implementation stage?.Wide-ranging, this episode is a reminder that the decisions made in Beijing, Canberra and Washington about the Pacific are not abstract — they show up in aid cuts, missile tests and the vacuum that small nations fill however they can.Cross Party Lines exists to lift political literacy and create space for calm, good-faith political conversation. New episodes every Tuesday. If you value thoughtful debate, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might too.🎟 Auckland live show at Q Theatre — Saturday 8 August with special guest Helen Clark. Nearly 70% sold. Get your tickets now at tapliveevents.com. 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

Pacific Missiles, Zombie Candidates and Unpopular Anniversaries

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines opens with breaking news — a Chinese missile test heading for the South Pacific — before working through a packed episode that moves from America at 250 to Brexit at 10, and closes with a forensic dissection of New Zealand Firsts increasingly chaotic behaviour inside the coalition.Thanks to our foundational partner Frank Risk Management, the 100% Kiwi-owned insurance brokerage.In this episode:* China’s missile test and a new American ambassador — The episode opens with China’s announcement of a test missile launch into the nuclear-free South Pacific. Phil is direct: the message to all nuclear weapon states, and particularly China, should be blunt — we don’t want your war games in our part of the world. The new American ambassador Jared Novelly gets a measured welcome the same week a survey showing New Zealanders now see China as a closer friend than the US should tell him everything he needs to know about why.* America at 250, Brexit at 10 and the John Major interview everyone should watch — Trump’s 4th of July celebrations at Mount Rushmore — labelling opponents communists, smashing down the historic East Wing of the White House — prompt a comparison with Gerry Ford’s dignified handling of the bicentennial in the shadow of Watergate. We then turns to the tenth anniversary of the Brexit vote, anchored around what Chris calls the most devastating political interview he has seen in years: John Major’s conversation with The Independent. Both strongly urge listeners to find it.* New Zealand Firsts zombie candidates, voting rights attack and Peters sabotages the India FTA — The second half turns entirely domestic. Andrea Vance’s description of New Zealand Firsts new candidate line up — a cast of embittered zombies shuffling back to reanimate their dead careers — gets enthusiastic endorsement from both Phil and Chris. And on the India FTA — Peters, as Foreign Minister, has been publicly claiming the government is discriminating against Indians, directly contradicting his own party’s prior claims of a migrant tsunami, and doing so the week before Prime Minister Modi visits New Zealand. Phil’s verdict: this is deliberate sabotage of the free trade agreement.Along the way: Helen Clark confirmed as special guest for the Auckland live show at Q Theatre, Chris’s law clerk Oliver from Leeds asking why he can’t vote and a reminder that the lessons of Brexit are the lessons of every populist movement that has come before it.Cross Party Lines exists to lift political literacy and create space for calm, good-faith political conversation. New episodes every Tuesday. If you value thoughtful debate, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might too.🎟 Auckland live show at Q Theatre — 8 August. Helen Clark joins Phil and Chris on stage. Tickets at tapliveevents.com. 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

Trade Skills, Clean Energy and Opportunities Up

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines goes fully domestic this week — a weekend of wall-to-wall policy announcements gives the panel plenty to work with, a centrist party is suddenly polling close to the threshold, and a government that spent three years going hard on conservation and fisheries has quietly started walking backwards.All thanks to Frank Risk Management, the 100% Kiwi Owned Insurance Brokerage.In this episode:* Labour’s apprenticeship push, National’s solar moment and a rare weekend of good policy — Labour’s congress produced one headline announcement: fully funded apprenticeships for the first two years, reinstating a scheme National halved in government. National’s solar panel policy gets a warmer reception than expected from both sides: electricity prices up, panel costs down, and every party bar ACT now backing some form of solar subsidy.* The Opportunities Party — four percent and rising — With TOP polling at 4.1% in the Herald poll of polls and as high as 4.6% in some variants, Phil and Chris give the centrist party its most forensic examination yet. Chris invokes Peter Dunne’s historical observation — in MMP, no party has ever entered parliament from outside without an existing MP.* Conservation backdowns, fisheries farce and the ninth floor asleep at the wheel — Tama Potaka’s partial retreat on the Conservation Amendment Bill draws a pointed parallel from Phil: this is John Key’s 2010 Schedule Four debacle replayed, almost scene for scene. Forty thousand people marched up Queen Street then. The same constituencies — trampers, Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, coastal communities — are mobilising now.Along the way: Key as the ultimate Teflon politician and the heartbreak of trying to make things stick to him, wallabies crossing the Rangitāiki River as an emerging conservation crisis and Pauline Hanson’s maternity leave blunder costing her three points overnight.Cross Party Lines exists to lift political literacy and create space for calm, good-faith political conversation. New episodes every Tuesday. If you value thoughtful debate, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might too.🎟 Wellington is sold out. Auckland tickets still available at tapliveevents.com. 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