Cross Party Lines

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson with Sam Collins, Cross Party Lines marks a milestone this week — Sam Collins signs off as moderator after announcing he is standing as the Labour candidate for North Shore. Thanks to our foundational partner, Frank Risk Management.
In this episode:
* James Christmas and the Tāmaki question — The panel turns to Tāmaki, where James Christmas — described by Chris as the smartest person he ever worked with — has defected from National to ACT, setting up one of the most intriguing three-way candidate contests of the election. Phil asks the uncomfortable question: what does it say about the National Party when talent walks out the door?
* Judge Aiken — The Judicial Conduct Panel found Judge Emma Aiken in serious breach of comity for calling out a false statement she overheard at the Northern Club — but stopped short of recommending her removal. Phil and Chris broadly agree the panel got it right on both counts.
* Orbán, the Pope and Trump — Three international stories dominate the second half. First, the stunning scale of Hungary’s election result — Fidesz reduced to 55 seats, the new centre-right government holding a two-thirds majority despite active interference from both Trump and Putin. Second, Pope Leo XIV’s sharp Easter address — “enough of the idolatry of self and money, enough of war”. Finally, the Iran peace talks in Islamabad: 20 hours of negotiations, Iranian framing throughout, and a Trump administration that has now openly floated threats Phil and Chris both read as implying nuclear weapons. Neither is laughing it off.
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.
🎟 Last chance for tickets to the live show at Featherston Booktown Festival — Saturday 9 May. Get in at booktown.org.nz


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

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson with Sam Collins, Cross Party Lines takes a break from the weekly news cycle for an Easter special — handing the microphone to listeners for a wide-ranging Q&A that covers cabinet reshuffles, grand coalitions, MMP thresholds, polarisation and Rocket Lab’s military contracts. Thanks to our foundational partner, Frank Risk Management, the 100% kiwi owned insurance brokerage.
In this episode, the panel tackles questions straight from the audience:
* The Bishop demotion — revenge or rationale? — Listeners wanted to know why Chris Bishop’s reshuffle was read as a punishment. Phil and Chris unpick the moves with forensic clarity: stripping Bishop of the campaign chair role he was demonstrably excellent at, while loading an already stretched Simeon Brown with energy on top of health, suggests this was less about capability and more about Luxon settling scores from last November’s leadership whispers.
* Should New Zealand ever have a grand coalition? — A listener question about Labour and National governing together draws on history from the 1930s wartime cabinet to Germany’s social democrats today.
* Could New Zealand join the EU? Has free trade failed us? And what about Rocket Lab? — A listener floats New Zealand joining the EU; Phil and Chris explore what closer alignment with middle powers might look like instead. On the closure of Wattie’s and McCain’s plants, they examine whether free trade has delivered for regional New Zealand or left it exposed. And on Rocket Lab’s military contracts, Chris invokes Yes Minister’s The Moral Dimension — genuinely uncertain whether Sir Humphrey or the Minister had the better of the argument.
This Easter special is a reminder that the best political conversation doesn’t need a news hook — just good questions and two people who’ve seen enough to know the difference between what politicians say and what they actually mean.
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.
🎟 Tickets still available for the live show at Featherston Booktown Festival — Saturday 9 May. Get in at booktown.org.nz


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

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson with Sam Collins, Cross Party Lines returns with an episode that moves from the murky obligations of a joint statement to the foundations of democracy itself — and finishes with a close read of the parliamentary chessboard ahead of the election. Made possible by Frank Risk Management, the 100% Kiwi owned insurance brokerage.
In this episode:
* The Strait of Hormuz statement — commitment or blank cheque? — New Zealand joined 29 other countries in signing a joint statement condemning Iranian interference with commercial shipping and pledging readiness to contribute to “appropriate efforts” for safe passage. Phil breaks down why that language matters — and why signing up to condemn Iran while staying silent on the US and Israeli actions that triggered the conflict is both inconsistent and potentially compromising. Chris is equally wary of feel-good multilateral statements that could quietly obligate New Zealand to put naval assets in harm’s way. Both welcome Labour’s new Foreign Affairs spokesperson Vanushi Walters, who earned strong marks from Phil for her composed, principled debut — and a predictable spray from Winston Peters, which they take as something of a compliment.
* Democratic resilience — what’s actually at stake — Phil and Chris both spoke at a cross-party Democratic Resilience and Transparency Forum in Parliament last week, and this episode is the debrief. Chris makes the case for an independent Parliamentary Budget Office, a reformed Official Information Act with real teeth, a Commissioner for the Future, and — most controversially — an age limit of 70 for Members of Parliament. Phil went broader: surveys showing 20-25% of Western citizens now prefer a strong unencumbered leader over democracy. Both agree: liberal democracy cannot be taken for granted, and the lessons of history that their parents’ generation paid for in blood are being forgotten.
* The fuel crisis response, Think Big’s ghost and the Tāmaki wildcard — As petrol heads toward $3.70 a litre, the panel looks at whether New Zealand’s policy response measures up. Phil points to Victoria and Tasmania offering free public transport for a month as a smarter and fairer intervention than the government’s $50-a-week payment to 140,000 selected households. Chris — now a committed airport bus evangelist — wonders aloud whether Muldoon’s Think Big programme wasn’t entirely without merit, prompting a firm but good-humoured rebuttal from Phil. And the episode closes with a forensic look at Brooke Van Velden’s surprise exit from Tāmaki, what it means for ACT, and why the seat could become one of the most interesting contests of the 2026 election.
Principled, historically rich and genuinely cross-partisan, this episode is a reminder that the health of democracy — like the price of petrol — is everyone’s problem, not just the government’s.
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.
🎟 Tickets moving fast for the live show at Featherston Booktown Festival — Saturday 9 May. Get in quick at booktown.org.nz


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

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson with Sam Collins, Cross Party Lines returns with an episode that moves from the kitchen table to the Crown balance sheet — and takes in the rise of populism across the Tasman along the way. Thanks to our foundationa partner, Frank Risk Management.
In this episode:
* Cost of living — With diesel up 67% in under a month and food prices running at 4.6% annually, the Iran crisis has stopped being abstract. The panel takes aim at fuel companies potentially pricing ahead of their costs, asks why a one-way flight to Auckland now costs $500, and grapples with what honest political leadership looks like when a crisis is going to hurt for years, not months. Phil paints a sobering picture of families at the supermarket checkout — and argues the government needs to direct support to those genuinely in need rather than spread it thin. Chris notes that Reagan’s misery index question — are you better off than you were three years ago? — is about to become the defining frame of the election campaign.
* Treasury’s prescription: sell more, tax more, spend less — A speech by Treasury’s chief strategist laid out a bleak fiscal picture and called for hard choices. The panel digs in. Chris makes a case for asset sales — Landcorp farms to iwi, Air New Zealand to Singapore — and calls for a mature conversation about a capital gains tax. Phil pushes back on selling assets to cover day-to-day spending, drawing on the cautionary tales of NZ Rail, Thames Water and Air New Zealand’s own privatisation disaster. Both agree the early tax cuts were a mistake, that the interest bill is now crowding out meaningful public investment, and that New Zealand needs a serious debate about what the state should own — not argument by slogan.
* South Australia and One Nation — Labor won the South Australian election comfortably, but the real story is One Nation finishing second — ahead of the Liberals — with 21.8% of the vote. Phil and Chris connect the dots from Adelaide to Wellington: the same grievance politics, the same forgotten blue-collar voter, and the same warning about what happens when a major party loses its identity. Chris draws a sharp distinction between genuine Conservative liberalism and the populist right, and both panellists turn their fire on New Zealand First — a party that, unlike One Nation, can’t claim to be an outsider. It has been in government twice in three years and must own the decisions made at that table.
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.
🎯 Help us reach 10,000 followers — hit follow on Spotify or Apple today.🎟 Catch the team live at the Featherston Booktown Festival — Saturday 9 May. Tickets at booktown.org.nz


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

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson with Sam Collins, Cross Party Lines returns with an episode that sweeps from the parliamentary pecking order to the Strait of Hormuz — and lands on a question New Zealand still hasn’t answered about its own pandemic past. Proudly supported by our foundational partner, Frank Risk Management, the 100% kiwi owned insurance brokerage.
In this episode:
* Party reshuffles and the next generation — Across Labour, National, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, the political talent pool is being redrawn ahead of the election. Phil makes the case for Labour’s newly promoted women — Vanushi Walters in Foreign Affairs and Camilla Belich in Justice — as serious future leaders. Chris offers a generous farewell to Shane Reti and a pointed observation about why timing, more than talent, makes or breaks a political career. And the Greens’ membership-driven list process gets put under the microscope — democratic in theory, but does it deliver the candidates a party needs to actually win?
* Oil shock, drones and the future of New Zealand’s defence — With petrol above $3 a litre and South Korea already restricting refined oil exports, the Iran war has stopped being an overseas story. The panel takes apart the Marsden Point debate — who actually closed it and why the critique doesn’t hold up — before pivoting to a much bigger question: is New Zealand’s entire approach to defence procurement dangerously out of date? Phil argues the wars in Ukraine and Iran have made large ships and fighter jets obsolete, and that drones and asymmetric capability are where New Zealand’s defence dollar should go. Chris wonders aloud whether the aircraft carrier is already yesterday’s weapon. Both agree the last thing you want as your spokesperson in a fuel crisis is Shane Jones.
* The COVID Royal Commission — vindication, lawfare, or time to move on? — The second Royal Commission into New Zealand’s COVID response landed with 63 recommendations and a broadly positive verdict. Chris, who represented Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson before the Commission, explains why their decision not to appear in the public witness box was entirely proper — and why Winston Peters’ call for a third commission is less about accountability and more about using legal process as a political weapon. Phil and Chris find rare cross-party agreement: New Zealand got it mostly right, the work has been done, and the country needs to act on what it knows rather than relitigate what it can’t change.
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.
🎟 Catch the team live at the Featherston Booktown Festival — Saturday 9 May. Tickets at booktown.org.nz


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