Andrew Dickens Afternoons

Well, here we are. Finally in the last week of an election campaign between the most incompetent cohort of politicians seen in a long time and wouldn't you know it, an international geo-political crisis just to accentuate that statement. Obviously, Nanaia Mahuta sympathises with Palestinians. She feels they've been colonised the same way Maori were. That doesn't make her an anti-Semite. BUT- you must condemn a surprise raid on civilians that killed thousands. She didn't, while the rest of the world did. So it was left to Chris Hipkins to do the right thing. Isn't that just like Labour. The few competent people trying to tidy up after the incompetent after yet another cock up. So why do I think this is the most incompetent cohort of politicians? They all blow in the breeze and will say anything to get the job. It started when Hipkins got the big job and started the bonfire of the policies, leaving me to ask whether he stood for anything at all. Since then, he's announced more and more spending despite advice t

I want to start the show with tributes to 3 people. The first is Brooke Graham. My neighbour and friend from the Coromandel who died recently at the age of just 42 from brain cancer.  A fast death inside 9 weeks but slow enough for her to make plans for her 10 year old daughter and her husband. Hers was a death of great grace and I am immensely sad. So to Carrick and MacKenzie, here's to your amazing wife and mother. Then there's Simon Barnett and his support of his wife, Jodi over the past 6 years in her fight against brain cancer as well. This was featured in the Weekend Herald on Saturday. Of course all of us here have on the afternoon show have known what Simon and his family have been going through. His strength, courage and love while still working this demanding job is amazing. It's good that you now know. And finally I want to acknowledge Richie Poulton, the director of the Dunedin study who passed away yesterday at the age of 61, again of cancer. Richie and I were at Auckland Grammar together. In the

What a funny old week it's been listening to the media and the Government howling for National's costings on their foreign house buyers tax and National's refusal to release them. Personally I don't give a flying fig on the costings. It seems perfectly obvious that National will not raise the money it says it will because that would take a record level of overseas sales. And National doesn't care. The overseas buyers tax is a sideshow. They are committed to tax cuts. That's their thing. That's non negotiable. They will happen. So if they can't subsidise the cuts with the new tax what could they do?  Either borrow more or cut Government spending. Cutting services will make their coalition partner happier, so what do you think will happen? The overseas buyers tax seems like a strange one for a so called right wing neo-liberal globalist party to propose. One that says it's committed to fighting inflation. In essence it's a wealth tax. "You can afford a $2 million dollar house. Great we'll have another $300,000 b

What a wild and woolly weekend on the hustings. Christopher Luxon turns up on Q&A to talk about National's policies. First up, he promises to close Rotorua's emergency housing motels and kick any troublesome Kainga Ora social housing tenants out. Obviously, this is great news for law abiding Rotorua residents and New Zealanders suffering from the neighbours from hell. But he forgot that people ask follow up questions. Like, so where do you put these people? To which he has no answer. This is not good.  Don't take my word for it. Avowed right winger Ashley Church was on Early Edition said this went too far. The State is the landlord of last resort, blah blah blah blah. The social housing and the motels were a bad answer to a bad problem.  Get rid of them and all you have is a badder problem getting worse. And if you think feral's behaviours are bad in a state house you wait until they live in a car. Luxon offered nothing. Then he said their housing policies would provide downward pressure on rents. Of cour

So we're off and running with an election 40-odd days away and both parties promising the world. Labour is out of the gate with their policy of free dental care for the under 30s. A policy they, themselves, said was unachievable just a month ago. A policy that needs more dentists, but we only train 60 a year and it takes 6 years for them to be in the workforce. Everything is against this policy and Labour knows it, which is why they won't even try to do it until 2026, and only if they get back in. It's almost as if Labour doesn't get what's driven the electorate off them over the past 3 years. Pie in the sky word salads that are barely possible if not impossible. They were given an incredible mandate just to repair what pandemic lockdowns did to us but instead, they started chasing unicorns. My pet peeve is the Light Rail that might bother some shop owners, so they thought- let's just stick it underground at eye-watering cost. And you want us to take you seriously. To win, National just needs to seem capable

So last week we lost Sir Michael Parkinson, the great interviewer. His son interviewed in the weekend saying his father was proud of his working-class roots but hated politics. While he hated politics but loved policy. He thought most of politics was just an act, but policies are actions.  I thought about that watching the corny play that was acted out over the weekend. Hipkins ruled out Peters even though Peters had ruled out Hipkins ages ago. Then Dunne says great politics and that it snookers Luxon, but Luxon comes back and says he's not thinking about Peters at all.  Honestly. So much hot air over almost nothing.  Then Chippy calls National, ACT, New Zealand First a coalition of cuts, chaos, and confusion.  Virtually the same thing that Luxon has been saying all year. Could you be any more insipid?  I said last week that I fail to comprehend what Chris Hipkins actually stands for anymore, and there's more proof.  Then we have Paul Henry in the paper on Sunday. John Key's bestie and former National party c

So the World Cup has finished it' stellar month downunder with a victory for Spain. Who, I hope, took the time to thank Palmerston North for the city's contribution towards their success.  After all one would presume that if the team was so bored with the Palmie nightlife then they'd be getting good sleep and spending plenty of time practicing and improving their game during the day. And that is the magic of this World Cup. That New Zealand was so significantly and visibly involved. We hosted half the draw in a tournament whose ratings far exceeded anything we've hosted before. Bigger than a Rugby World Cup, bigger than the America's Cup, bigger than a Commonwealth Games. 2 billion pairs of eyes watched us. Despite what negative columnists wrote about our domestic problems being visible to the world I can assure you that was not the case. We looked great. And if a fraction of those people decide to visit us in the future that's a win. The monetary benefit is still to be calculated but it's fair to say the who

So Chris Hipkins’ big roll of the dice has happened. Two months out from the election. 61 days if you're counting GST comes off fruit and veg, Working For Families gets even more money and higher thresholds. It's a 2 billion dollar giveaway for poor vegetarians and breeders. The rest of the poor are left out. And this is it. The economic situation, both local and global, preclude any more big spend ups. We've heard Grant Robertson say that. But we've also heard Grant Robertson say many other things only to be guzumped by political expediency, so who knows? So will this do the trick? I don't think so. Nicola Willis got the GST debate out early stealing its power. Meanwhile, the increase in In Work Tax Credits and Working For Families cash is being largely ignored as it benefits only 160,000 families. Still a big number but not big enough. There's a lot of other poor people getting nothing And it's very hard to vote for Labour in 2023 after their six years in power, for two main reasons. I'm reading a book by D

Infrastructure is hogging the headlines as Labour and National push separate priorities. Unfortunately both priorities are pressing. But this is the New Zealand way. We ration our spending which invariably means everything costs more and happens too late. But there is a much criticised piece of infrastructure that is currently working very well. I'm talking about Eden Park which is taking a starring turn at the Women's World Cup. The weekend game of Spain versus Switzerland saw a new record for a football match in New Zealand. 43,217 spectators for a game that featured no New Zealanders. It's the third time the record has been set in the tournament as the audience enjoys the experience enough to go multiple times. Now where I live has been the base for a number of travelling supporters of teams and I have taken the time to have a chat to them about their experience. The love the stadium. They say it's quirky and has character and they are aware of the venue's history. They're a little surprised at the the lac

The media seems to be writing to a theme and the theme is "Rats leaving the sinking ship". Over the past few weeks there have been a string of stories about high profile and high net wealth New Zealanders leaving New Zealand because the place has apparently lost its vibe and energy. It's election year and a tactic to get rid of the Government is to prove that the country has gone to wrack and ruin I hate the tactic. It's like we had to burn the village to save it. Marc Ellis kicked it off. He made his fortune in professional sport, the media and the orange juice business. He's semi retired. He's relocating to Puglia in Italy where the property prices are cheap as chips, unlike New Zealand. He's right on that. Puglia is the heel of the boot of Italy. Its main industry is olive oil, that has seen technology strip the work force so there are empty houses galore in an area with loads of beaches. He's a rich man going to live in a poor place Also remember that Italy's tax rates are higher. Its GDP growth is slower

Well didn't Kiri Allan throw the cat amongst the pigeons last night. Driving along Evans Bay parade, the windy road on the East side of the bay that is used as a route out of Wellington, the Justice Minister hit a car. The cops turned up.  It turns out she's been drinking.  She refuses to accompany a police officer so she's hauled off to the police station to sit on a naughty chair until the early hours of the morning. She's the Justice Minister. She's been detained by the police. The Number 1 thing not to do in that job. She had returned a breath test over the legal limit but at a level considered an infringement offence and police will not press charges in relation to that. She was described as being very distressed So she quits her ministries and then the Prime Minister starts blaming her mental health. Just a few days after assuring us that her mental health was good enough to continue in her job. None of this is good.  None of this shows an ability to deal with stress and responsibility.  All of this sma

So, welcome back after the Matariki holiday weekend. Yesterday our media was full of stories of New Zealanders celebrating Matariki in all sorts of ways. Whether it was kite flying, or welcoming the dawn and trying to spot 9 dim stars as they pop over the horizon, or music festivals, or —in the case of the visiting US Womens Football team here for the World Cup— wishing everyone a happy Matariki and reminding you to remember all those in your family who have passed on. It was all a bit rah rah, but then again it's only the second time the holiday has been marked, so it's still new and we're figuring out what the holiday means Which gets up a lot of people's nose. They accuse the media of being complicit in a Government scheme to force an unwanted and unneeded holiday on New Zealanders. Social media was full of people claiming that Matariki is a made up holiday. Well, if you want a made up holiday, try King's Birthday Weekend which celebrates the birthday of a man who doesn't live in this country and even more

Well the culture wars and cancel culture just grows and grows and grows. All Black captain Sam Cane was criticised by some, including himself, when he tripped a pitch invader after the All Black game in Agentina. The invader was one of about 15 that took to the pitch, generally making a nuisance of themselves. The invader ran past Sam who swung a foot and tripped the invader, who then scampered off while security staff ambled along in his wake. Promptly the All Black captain apologised in front of the media, All Black management sought the invader out and apologised and members of New Zealand media including Andrew Gourdie from Newshub castigated the captain for actions. And yet a poll soon after showed that nearly 80% of New Zealanders had no problem with Sam's actions at all. So why did Sam do his mea culpa? Fear of a backlash from the minority who thought his actions were unworthy of an All Black captain. Fear of a media firestorm. Because that's the way the world operates today. There's always someone off

There's an old political wisdom that if you've got bad news to tell, drop the news last thing on Friday so it gets buried by the weekend. So I was a bit confused to be watching One News on Friday with John Campbell oozing and gesticulating all over the screen, telling a story that on the surface seemed to be good news. 1News exclusively revealed that nearly 40,000 charges have been laid with over 8,300 people arrested to date as part of Operation Cobalt, their operation against gang activities. The operation was originally set up after an intensive spate of Killer Beez and Tribesmen-linked shootings in Auckland last year. Police said the arrests include patched gang members, gang prospects, and gang associates. Over 400 firearms have been seized and more than 1,100 search warrants executed. By any metric this is a significant blow against organised crime. Now the cynic in me immediately thought the Labour Party has leaked this before the National Party conference, which we could all tell was going to be hard

The first thing I thought when I heard of the new surgical wait list criteria policy which includes ethnicity is that Labour wants to lose this election. If their strategists didn't immediately see the risks in this policy then what are they doing in the job. After an autumn full of racially tinged politics where it is obvious that that National and Labour are more than willing to hoe into any policy favouring Maori and Pacific Islanders, this should have been placed in the "not now, not ever" pile. And I say not ever because this is fundamentally bad policy. It asks doctors to award care based on race and not need which is against the fundamental tenet of providing care to everyone with no fear of favour. From the Hippocratic Oath through to the Geneva Convention doctors are taught to treat people humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. But not in New Zealand. If the doctors are moaning about it then you know i

It must be election year because the signature polices are coming out to play. The latest is the Greens wishlist policy of more taxes on more stuff and income owned by well off people. Which, in my opinion, is barely worth the paper it's written on. Three reasons: first of all, as James Shaw told Mike this morning it's not a bottom line policy for coalition formation. And Labour is not politically stupid, well. They might be, but they’re not that stupid, and they know this will not aid them forming a government. I mean, this thing isn’t happening. This is virtue signalling; this is them saying “this is what we would do if we could, but we can’t, so we probably won’t.” Secondly the policy is a radical and revolutionary change to the very foundations of New Zealand’s economy and people's economic planning. And New Zealand is no longer a place where revolutions happen. We're cautious and afraid of change and like turkeys we don't vote for Christmas. So why should any ambitious generation vote against a system th

So I come to you fresh from 12 days holiday in Japan. For those of you who are keen but the language difficulties keep you from going, I've got 2 words for you. Google Translate. The free app that translates anything written in most languages. It's the key to unlocking a different culture. Japan is the home of high performing public transport. The government decided to put all its effort into trains and subways, letting private enterprise build the motorways.  As a result the roads are tolled and expensive.  While the trains are plentiful and cheap and so on time. No one is ever late for work. Meanwhile bicycles and cycle lanes are everywhere because the costs associated with cars are prohibitive. Watching mums cycling around with 2 kids on their mama chariot bikes was eye-opening. It was my first big trip overseas since 2015 and Japan had only just lifted Covid vaccination controls the week beforehand. I was bracing myself for all the people calling New Zealand a laughing stock because of our overreaction to

So why are so many mainstream media outlets so poor at telling the news? I say this after tuning into One News coverage of the coronation only to blunder into a 5 minute piece about Harry, followed by how to cook coronation quiche. Maybe they thought they were being entertaining, but instead they came off as infantile. So I tuned over to BBC World. There, they were talking about the King’s involvement in the arts and they followed it with more details about the ceremony. The story was about the King and his country, not his errant son. In fact, Harry arrived on a commercial flight, gave no interviews, joined the rest of the family, sat with other retired or non working royals (which is what he is), and afterwards he went to the airport to go home to see his own family. No fights, no showdowns, no dramas. Yet the Mirror alone, over the week ran 100 articles about Harry, mostly derogatory. People have described the onslaught as 'hate for hire'. Even when Mike Hosking wrote 1000 words about the Coronation for th

In less than a week, King Charles the Third will be crowned, sealed and delivered. Officially invested as the new King of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and our official head of state. What a thing. In 2023. Which has led to a number of protests and general grumbling about the anachronism of the monarchy. Then to make things worse Charles wants us all to stand up and say this in the middle of the ceremony.  “I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God” That’s not going down well with some saying Swear At the King rather than Swear For the King. But that’s not enough for me to go off the whole palava. I think it’s a marvellous folly. A useful sideshow from the drudgery of everyday life. A bit of fun with a handy side serving of pragmatism and finance. Firstly why should the UK persevere with the monarchy? Well, it’s a real money-spinner. A recent study found the British people paid 100 million pounds in costs to keep royalt

It didn't take long, did it, for the headlines to change. One moment the Prime Ministers of both New Zealand and Australia were trumpeting a new deal for Kiwis living in Oz. Nek minnit. New Zealand is petrified about a brain drain. The new deal means a faster and cheaper path to residency more in line with the pat for Aussies here in New Zealand. And that means a faster line to the dole, and pensions and healthcare for Kiwis in Australia. That makes it more attractive if you're wanting to plant some roots in a place. But the real kicker that makes Australia so attractive for New Zealanders is the pay. You get paid more there. You pay more tax principally because there are 3 tax levels. Rates, State taxes, and federal taxes. But you get paid more and stuff is cheaper there. So on balance it's more attractive. So my real question is why do you get paid more in OZ? Many say that the population is bigger which means more demand and there's a mineral wealth that flows into the economy. And while that is true it ma