2020 Election: Newstalk ZB Leaders Breakfast – Winston Peters, James Shaw, David Seymour join Mike Hosking

Should you consider giving your vote to someone other than the “big two” of National or Labor?

Tune in to the second of Newstalk ZB leaders’ breakfasts this morning to hear from NZ First leader Winston Peters, Green Party co-leader James Shaw and Act Party leader David Seymour.

Mike Hosking will debrief each leader in half-hour interview slots. Listen live on Newstalk ZB and iHeart Radio, and watch the live stream and updates here.

Winston Peters, New Zealand First

The first was Peters, who is fighting for the survival of his party, as recent polls put NZ First well below the 5 percent threshold, at about 1 percent.

Peters was asked to rate the Coalition from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best; It gave it an 8. In Covid’s response, it also gave an 8.

“We went early, we weren’t tough enough in the context of putting the military in, wearing masks … but we still got a very, very good result … but we should never have the second break, in my view.”

Peters said NZ was too conservative in moving toward measures like travel bubbles. The South Island could have been linked to places like Tasmania and the Cook Islands.

People were rightly afraid of Covid, but a collapsing economy was also a huge threat.

What was it you wanted that you couldn’t get? Peters said his party wanted the military in from the start.

“I was met with apathy on that.”

I also wanted the use of the mask to be mandatory in public transport before.

Beyond Covid, Peters said what he wanted and couldn’t achieve was the need to seriously reform the economy.

“There are some values ​​abroad that have to do with work and savings, which we must adopt in our country.”

When asked what NZ First had stopped in government, Peters cited the bankrupt capital gains tax and what he said were Labor plans to “interfere with leases,” which he compared to belonging to countries like Venezuela.

Peters said that some people in the Labor Party were great, but there was also “the tribal type.”

On the provincial growth fund, Peters said the fund had helped repair community centers like churches, council facilities and marae across the country.

“I’ll tell you how dynamic it was … all the Labor MPs have tried to reach all the openings, all the MPs from the National Party, all the provincial MPs.”

The NZ First-insured career industry measures were necessary as the industry employs “up to 50,000 people,” including casuals.

At the Pike River re-entry, Peters said he suspected bodies would be found.

Hosking asked about NZ First’s low polls.

“Our historic place in New Zealand society has been to defend the vulnerable against extreme policies,” Peters responded, saying this was more true than ever in the time of Covid-19.

Peters said the campaign had indeed been treated by the media as a first post-post campaign, despite the MMP system.

The NZ First leader said he knew the results and the negotiation, given his experience, even as a lawyer, unlike other political leaders.

“I go in prepared to lose everything.

“We have a lot of lines that we are eager to promote and push … we have a surge right now for NZ First, I feel it on the streets and in the malls.”

Hosking responded to that claim with laughter and bet him $ 100 that his party would not get 5 percent. That ended the interview.

James Shaw, the Green Party

How different would it have been if NZ First weren’t in government? Shaw said the government could have moved faster in many areas.

“It would have been a more coherent government.”

Shaw said the latest government’s work showed how MMP could work.

“I have issues with the way NZ First conducted itself at times … but ultimately, that is not the system’s fault.”

What most did the Greens want to do that didn’t happen? The capital gains tax.

Shaw said that because Jacinda Ardern had waived a capital gains tax, the Greens had put forward the estate tax proposal.

“The most likely outcome of this election is a Labor-green government … most voters, when they cast their vote, are aware of what the shape looks like.

“It is not unreasonable to assume what will be the form of the next government … the largest party forms the majority of the program.”

Shaw said the Greens had accomplished a lot in the past three years. His personal highlight was the zero carbon law.

His party was the party of long-term thinking.

Is it love of taxes? “Taxes are what we do to have a civilized society,” Shaw replied.

Hosking asked if Shaw doesn’t understand farmers. The Greens’ co-leader said he grew up in the city, but his mother came from an agricultural country.

“But I understand that there is a sense of wrongdoing, if you like. You won’t find me as one of those people who say, farmers are bad or wrong … each sector has areas where we have to lift our socks.

“I understand that there is a narrative that the Greens hate farmers … it is not true.”

It was important to build consensus.

“Farmers want clean rivers … they are the most vulnerable to climate change … we all want the same things. The question is how we get there.”

Hosking asked about Taranaki, as a region where the transition of fossil fuel industries was not going well.

Shaw said it would take time, but there was time: “They want to give themselves a long hint.”

Hosking asked again about MMP, suggesting it didn’t work. That was rejected by Shaw, but he agreed with Peters that the media was still covering the election as if it was the first time the post was running.

Was a co-leader necessary? “For us it really works … we are the only party that is going to challenge history and be as strong in the subsequent elections as they were in the previous … a vote for the Green Party is not a vote in vain.

David Seymour, act

Used to being a one-man show in Parliament, the Law’s leader is expected to lead a series of largely unknown candidates next term, and recent polls put the Law at 8 percent (10 MPs).

“We are taking each day as it comes,” Seymour said of that position.

“If Act can play a role in holding everyone accountable, that’s really good.”

Hosking went back to MMP and asked if it was faulty. Seymour said the Act had made the system work, but others had not: the Green Party split the left vote in Auckland Central, for example.

Seymour attacked Labor for what he said was a “skills shortage” in their ranks and their opposition to the Act’s policies, such as charter schools.

“I can’t work with those people.”

Hosking asked about the Act Party slate of candidates and whether the people who would enter Parliament could be trusted to act.

Seymour said there was a strong investigative process and they would be great MPs. No one knew who many of them were, he said, but it was to be expected: “No one knew who Margaret Thatcher was.”

Seymour said the Act had no results in the post-election negotiations.

“If you vote for the Act, then you are getting a push towards a more aggressive, more Taiwanese-style approach to health … you are getting a more aggressive approach to debt … there are other issues surrounding the RMA, charter schools … firearm laws. “

Even the big parties could not guarantee that their politics would survive the negotiations.

Seymour said he had worked with five national leaders, all of whom were good day-to-day managers and eager to stay in power. Act was different because it prompted new ideas.

“That is the role of Act: bring ideas to the table, drive change.”

Hosking asked about Act’s courtship of the arms vote in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks. Seymour said the Act was vindicated by opposing the hasty gun reforms.

“We haven’t solved the real problem of how this guy got away with that heinous crime.”

What did the last government do that impressed you? Abortion law reform, Seymour said.

Seymour said polls indicated that the referendum on euthanasia would be supported with a “yes” vote from the public, but that there was a “campaign of fear” by opponents.

The change was badly needed, Seymour said, and the proposed system was safe.

“My mother died with excellent palliative care … but it doesn’t work for everyone.”

Something that defines Act and what it represents? Better politics, Seymour said.

The Law leader said that a National Law coalition would happen “by a hair.”