Cross Party Lines

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

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson with Sam Collins, Cross Party Lines is back with an episode that flows from domestic political turbulence straight into the fires of the Middle East — and lands on the economic storm heading New Zealand’s way. Proudly supported by our foundational partner, Frank Risk Management, the 100% kiwi owned insurance brokerage.
In this episode:
* National in freefall — is Luxon’s leadership terminal? A damning Taxpayers Union Curia poll puts National at just 28%.The panel unpacks what the numbers really mean, when voters start paying attention, and whether a leader change this close to an election is a lifeline or a death sentence. Phil draws on the hard lessons of Labour’s Palmer-to-Moore pivot in 1990.
* Iran, international law, and the ghost of Iraq — Nine days into the US strikes on Iran, there is no clear objective, no post-war plan, and the civilian death toll is rising. Phil draws a sharp line from the WMD lies of 2003 to the intelligence being ignored today — and argues that every US regime-change attempt, from Iraq to Libya, has left a failed state in its wake. Chris questions what happens to the rules-based international order when the country that built it decides the rules no longer apply. And what does a Chinese move on Taiwan look like in a world where “might is right” has been normalised?
* Inflation is back — and this time, wages won’t save you — Oil nearly doubled since January. LNG up 70% in a week. War surcharges on every container at sea. The panel examines how the Iran conflict threatens to derail New Zealand’s economic recovery, hammer small businesses already on the edge, and hand the opposition a weapon the government has no good answer for. Phil and Chris debate whether Nicola Willis can avoid Grant Robertson’s fate — and whether freezing the fuel excise increase would even matter.
This episode is a reminder that the decisions made in Washington and Tehran don’t stay there — they show up in your petrol tank, your mortgage rate, and the ballot box.
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.


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 homelessness policy at home to war and international law abroad.
There may be many headlines this week — but there is really one global story dominating the conversation.
In this episode:
* Move On Laws and rough sleeping — Are proposed “move on” powers a practical response to visible homelessness, or political theatre dressed up as law and order? Phil argues the answer lies in Housing First and sustained social support, not fines or prison. Chris reflects on the balance between individual rights and community rights — and whether both can be protected without abandoning compassion.
* Local Government under fire — Following criticism of councils at the Local Government Conference, the panel asks whether central government is undermining its own partners. Is local government being scapegoated for cost-of-living pressures? Should the Local Government Act be revisited? And why does funding reform matter more than slogans?
* Iran, Trump and the future of international law — The second half of the episode turns to the US strikes on Iran. Was there an imminent threat? What does the War Powers Act require? And what happens when great powers sidestep the UN Charter principles New Zealand helped shape in 1945? Drawing comparisons with Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, Phil and Chris question whether regime change without strategy ever delivers stability — and what this moment means for the future of the rules-based international order.
Along the way: reflections on American history, congressional authority, the danger of “might is right,” and why small countries like New Zealand have the most to lose when international law is weakened.
Serious, candid and unflinching, this episode is a reminder that whether we’re talking about Queen Street or Tehran, politics is ultimately about consequences — and who bears 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.


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 tackles three of the biggest structural questions facing New Zealand: how we build the country, how we keep our young people here, and how we respond when politics drifts into populist rhetoric.
This week’s episode moves from infrastructure to immigration — and ends with a firm defence of decency in public life.
In this episode:
* The Infrastructure Gap — Following the release of Te Waihanga’s National Infrastructure Plan, Phil and Chris debate whether New Zealand’s problem is underinvestment, poor coordination, political short-termism — or all three. Why do we spend near the top of the OECD as a share of GDP but rank near the bottom for results? And is bipartisan buy-in the only way to avoid stop-go mega-projects and pork-barrel politics?
* Keeping Young Kiwis in Aotearoa — With net departures to Australia surging again, the panel revisits the myth of “rabbit out of the hat” election policies like interest-free student loans. Did it really change the trajectory in 2005 — and what would actually address the long-term productivity gap with Australia? From capital investment to university reform to targeted student loan relief, the discussion turns to how New Zealand can compete in a shared labour market with a larger, wealthier neighbour.
* Populism and the Politics of Immigration — Shane Jones’ latest comments on Indian migration spark one of the most forceful conversations yet on the podcast. Phil and Chris challenge the rhetoric head-on, arguing that migrants add more than they take, that demographic change strengthens rather than weakens the country, and that cruelty dressed up as “plain speaking” corrodes democratic culture. The episode closes with a broader question: how should mainstream parties confront — not normalise — dog-whistle politics in an election year?
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 politics, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might too.


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