Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Brigitte Morten: Political Commentator on the postponement of the Te Pati Māori suspension recommendations

Transcript

Brigitte Morten: Political Commentator on the postponement of the Te Pati Māori suspension recommendations · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Political master stroke. Was it from National yesterday to adjourn
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the debate, to move the privileges debate to the June
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: the fifth focus goes back on the budget for Budget week,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the hype and the steam goes out of the issue.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Or are they risk to doing this? Bridget Morton, political
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: commentator with me this morning. Bridget good morning, Good morning.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: The multi party described this as psychological warfare. What do
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: you reckon?
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: I think it's just actually knowing the standing orders and
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: knowing how to use parliament and clearly National did that
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: yesterday and they're also able to therefore take the moral hyground.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: They're actually about to say this allowed those two parting
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Maori mp to be there for the budget and actually
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: that that's one of the most important things that needs
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: to happen in the parliamentary calendar, and they're going to
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: be there to have their vote in their name.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: And yet Chris Hipkins and Labor voted against it. How
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: does it make them look? Well?
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: I think for them they were in a tricky position
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: because they don't agree with the extent of the punishment
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: being handed out and they do think. Hipkins did give
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: a powerful speech in the House today just about the
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: extent of the punishment, But it was clear from National
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: jumping up that Hopkins had not anticipated that this might happen,
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: and I suspect perhaps that that actually had more time
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: to contemplate it. They may have actually agreed with the
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: government and had that delay.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Is Hopkins and I might be going out on and
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: this might be a long bow. But you know, he's
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: arguing because he wants to go from twenty one days
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: down to one day. That's a like ninety five percent
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: reduction in sentence. You know, does he risk playing into
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: that soft on crime thing?
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: Well, I don't think it's necessarily soft in crime, but
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: it does make him look like he's not willing to
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: stand up to Party Maori, and at the moment, should
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: they want to be back in government, they would need
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: to Party Maori as a coalition partner. And it doesn't
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: necessarily demonstrate that he would be a strong leader if
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: he's willing for that kind of behavior, which was egregious
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: as happened in Parliament during the Treaty Principal Buill debate
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: to happen without any significant pushback, and one day is
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: a very small punishment for what they did.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree, but also Act went a little bit
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: far asking about in terms of imprisonment.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, I think that was frankly just a bit silly.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, totally silly, in a waste of everyone's time. Bridget,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: thank you very much. We'll probably talk to you after
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: the budget. Bridget Morton, political commentator.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: to News Talks. It'd be from five am weekdays, or
• 2:32
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