The Good Oil

Billy Brown is a Māori/Moriori man from North Canterbury who left school at 13 with dyslexia and built himself from the ground up on work ethic and accountability. He argues that New Zealand is a genuine meritocracy — not a racist country — and that the biggest thing holding Māori back in 2026 isn't colonisation, it's the victim politics of Te Pāti Māori. He calls out iwi elites extracting hundreds of millions in "taniwha tax" from mining and infrastructure projects as extortion, and argues National and Labour are functionally identical managers of managed decline. He backs NZ First as the only real alternative.

On the economy, Brown wants New Zealand to dig: coal, oil, gas, rare earths. He calls out Green hypocrisy on electrification — you can't power everything while blocking every dam and mine — and points to the Think Big era as proof that long-term infrastructure investment works. He's scathing about the red tape strangling construction and the political class of career politicians who've never used their hands.

The conversation ranges wide: New Zealand needs a bigger Pacific footprint or China fills the vacuum; Bainimarama's Fiji has lessons for us on constitutional reform and one-nation politics; the civil service blob is the real government and changing the party in power changes nothing until ministers are willing to appoint and sack their own people. On COVID, another inquiry won't get anywhere — the system prevents it.

He closes with a simple pitch: voters are sick of being lied to. Any politician promising to fix New Zealand in three years is lying. The honest message is we're fixing it for our grandkids, not ourselves. Plain speakers, not riddle speakers.

CHAPTER TIMINGS

00:02:00 Prosperous NZ = good for Maori

00:03:14 Background — dyslexia, left school at 13

00:04:29 Upbringing in Kaiapoi

00:05:31 His father's work ethic

00:07:25 The only person who will save you is yourself

00:08:52 Free speech — it's not 2020 anymore

00:09:22 Racist abuse from Maori toward Maori

00:11:22 Is NZ racist? Two Maori Deputy PMs

00:12:39 The only thing holding Maori back is themselves

00:13:02 Te Pāti Maori's victim business model

00:15:02 Leadership is sitting at the table

00:15:45 The Treaty — three articles, no principles

00:16:58 Property rights vs holding NZ to ransom

00:17:16 The taniwha tax — $350M, $150M, $100M

00:18:46 Billy T. James was ahead of his time

00:20:07 Ngai Tahu — settlement should draw a line

00:21:14 Santana mine — opposed only when demands weren't met

00:23:09 If it's so tapu why is it $150M?

00:24:01 Extortion is extortion

00:25:01 Better model: royalties, equity, labour hire

00:25:43 Sea Lord — are Maori on the boats?

00:26:41 Iwi corporates — no long-term people plan

00:28:09 Hapu farm — gates used as hangi pits

00:30:51 Moriori — not Maori, completely different

00:31:45 1835 — stolen ship, genocide at the Chathams

00:33:05 Rewriting Moriori history

00:33:22 Maori are not indigenous

00:34:26 Cultural evolution — can't be stuck

00:37:12 We're just Kiwis

00:37:20 Coming back after COVID — a divided country

00:39:22 National and Labour — a tissue's worth of difference

00:40:07 Labour has abused Maori votes for 100 years

00:41:02 Ardern split the country

00:41:39 Why Billy backed NZ First

00:41:54 NZF at 20% changes everything

00:42:25 National's hatred of Peters — 30 years in the DNA

00:42:51 National manages the decline, nothing more

00:43:15 Dig the coal

00:43:36 Waitaha Dam — the treaty or the frog?

00:47:58 Electrify everything, build nothing — Green hypocrisy

00:48:28 EVs — expensive, grid can't cope

00:49:47 NI-SI cable at capacity — $2B to fix

00:50:19 EVs export our problems overseas

00:50:55 Ditch net zero — dig oil, gas, rare earths

00:51:16 Real wins: clean water, ban microplastics

00:52:05 Lake Rotorua nitrates — a fixable problem

00:53:14 Not feeling good. Feeling smug.

00:53:27 Who votes Green?

00:53:48 NZ was an economic powerhouse in the 50s

00:55:08 Kiwi innovation killed by red tape

00:55:26 Road cones — 15% of a tender is compliance

00:56:36 Whangaparaoa tollway: 6 years for 5km

00:57:05 Otiha Valley busway — moved the bottleneck 4km

00:58:32 Think 12-24 years, not election cycles

00:59:06 Think Big — all opposed, all essential

00:59:41 Without Think Big: $10 a litre

01:00:31 NZ's Pacific footprint — stop lecturing

01:01:01 China filling the vacuum

01:03:29 Bainimarama — NZ boycotted, China moved in

01:06:28 Fiji's income: remittances and UN soldiers

01:15:06 One nation, one people

01:16:40 Frank's downfall — AG corruption

01:18:55 Should NZ become a republic?

01:19:42 The treaty blocks a republic

01:20:21 Bill of Rights should be primary legislation

01:21:01 Another COVID inquiry won't get anywhere

01:21:47 River of filth — we remember

01:22:00 We're changing managers, not government

01:22:44 The blob in action: the vape ban

01:25:08 Drain the swamp or nothing changes

01:25:54 Ministers need to appoint and sack

01:26:28 The mandarins — never held accountable

01:27:35 Willis's advisors were Robertson's advisors

01:28:57 The PSA — two messages, one Labour candidate

01:29:50 Labour: 40,000 more civil servants, worse services

01:30:20 Whanau Ora — Maori health didn't improve

01:30:52 Cigars, nicotine, strong men

01:31:38 Strong men, strong families, strong economy

01:32:27 Labour tells Maori they're feeble

01:33:40 National: remove Maori seats and I'll lose mine

01:35:02 Labour now represents elites, not workers

01:35:29 Winston rode a horse to school. Hipkins went to Wellington.

01:36:12 Everyday Kiwis back in Parliament

01:38:12 Luxon — rehearsed, empty

01:39:30 Plain speakers not riddle speakers

01:40:38 Fixing it for your grandkids

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Cam Slater finally sits down with legendary political journalist Barry Soper for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation about Barry’s new book, the 12 Prime Ministers he’s covered, and what politics really looks like from the inside.

Barry opens up about the catastrophic loss of his personal archives (a staff member “tidied” several thousand pages of notes going back to Roger Douglas) and how that forced him to write the book as pure memory. They then dive deep into the characters:

Key timestamps:

• 00:05:49 – Muldoon: the little grunter, Think Big, the schnapps election, and why Barry has revised his opinion of him

• 00:19:50 – Jacinda Ardern: five years of close observation, “kindness,” the performative nature of her leadership, and the movie that confirmed everything

• 00:24:00 – Chris Hipkins: the man trying to distance himself from the very government he was central to

• 00:26:00 – Helen Clark: despised her politics, admired her ability and leadership style

• 00:34:38 – Jim Bolger: the man who came to Barry’s wedding and quietly rolled Jim McClay

• 00:43:00 – Winston Peters: the most consummate politician Barry has worked with, his coalition strategy, and why small parties usually get smothered

• 00:49:00 – The Trevor Mallard wine prank and the Annette King flowers saga

• 00:51:30 – Why Luxon is largely misunderstood and what he actually needs around him

It’s funny, blunt, and full of the kind of stories you only get from someone who has been in the room for decades. No political tome — just two old hands telling it straight.

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Cam welcomes Tameem Barakat, founder of The Centrist, for a deep and personal conversation.

The episode opens with the ritual humidor check — this week featuring the La Ora Family Creed Foete Sol Toro from Canteros.nz — before Tameem tells his story. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Tameem has Egyptian and Italian-Jewish heritage. His parents married in 1960s London when class and education mattered more than religion. He recounts watching hours of CNN Headline News as a child, his early obsession with politics, and how his mixed background gave him a unique lens on the Middle East.

Tameem explains why he chose music with a political edge early in his career (inspired by Bob Dylan, Public Enemy, and others) rather than love songs, and how he eventually transitioned into writing and founding The Centrist. The pair discuss the backlash he’s received, including Martyn Bradbury calling the site a “hate blog,” Tameem’s view that the Overton window has shifted dramatically left, and why centrism is now treated as extreme.

The conversation moves into COVID-era New Zealand — Tameem’s move from Canada during the pandemic, MIQ experiences, the wage subsidy, vaccine passes, and his view of Jacinda Ardern as a “shabby little dictator.” They also cover media propaganda, free speech, the difference between criticising governments and antisemitism, and why Tameem believes ideas should matter more than identity.

A candid, wide-ranging interview that gives listeners the full picture behind one of New Zealand’s most discussed new platforms.

Key sections include:

• 01:52 – 09:55 – Tameem’s background and family story

• 10:00 – 15:12 – Music career and early political writing

• 22:00 – 29:10 – The move to New Zealand and MIQ experience

• 32:00 – 45:00 – COVID policies, vaccine passes, and a direct assessment of Jacinda Ardern

• 55:00 – 01:08:00 – In-depth discussion on Israel/Palestine and the Overton window

• 01:09:20 – 01:19:00 – How The Centrist was founded during lockdown

• 01:34:00 – 01:45:00 – Racism accusations from the left and closing thoughts

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Buckle up for a no-holds-barred chat with Elliot Ikilei from Hobson's Pledge. We dive into his wild ride from a chaotic upbringing – solo parents on both sides, teenage drugs, booze, and rebellion – to finding faith at 25 and turning it all around through youth work. Elliot pulls no punches on the bad cases that broke him, the wins that fueled him, and why Hobson's Pledge is battling what he calls "tribal separatism" in NZ. From government overreach to cultural division, we cover the fight for equality, the Treaty mess, and why the left's playbook is failing. If you're sick of the spin, this episode cuts through the crap. Listen now – and join the pushback. 

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro & Cigar Review (Canteros.nz) 

01:07 - Welcome & Guest Introduction 

02:24 - Elliot’s Personal Background: From Chaos to Christianity

06:11 - The Shift: Family Structure vs Colonisation Narrative 

08:00 - Journey into Politics & Conservative Party Years 

13:25 - Critique of Luxon & Hipkins Leadership 

18:22 - COVID Authoritarianism & Jacinda Ardern 

30:00 - The Reality of Jacinda’s “Kindness” 

38:00 - Parliament Protest & Political Loyalty 

43:08 - Joining Hobson’s Pledge & The “Racist” Label 

50:00 - Media Bias & Independent Media 

58:00 - Stochastic Terrorism & Demonisation of Opponents 

01:05:00 - Posie Parker, Brian Tamaki & Man Up 

01:15:00 - Foreign Policy: China in the Pacific & Fiji 

01:22:54 - 2026 Election Outlook & NZ First Surge 

01:32:13 - Hobson’s Pledge Wins & Closing Thoughts

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Cam sits down with the man causing absolute chaos in Māori social media circles — the guy they call Shubz.

After years of watching his people get failed by the very organisations claiming to represent them, Shubz decided enough was enough. What started as live streams on TikTok has turned into a full-frontal assault on iwi elites, unaccountable millions in Treaty settlements, and the “you’re not Māori enough” gatekeeping that shuts down anyone who steps out of line. 

In this wide-ranging conversation they cover: 

- His grandmother’s influence and growing up around politics 

-  Why so many Māori are still conditioned to believe Labour is the only option

- The “waste of Māori blood” attack on Winston Peters and what it really reveals

- The disconnect between the loud activist class and ordinary Māori on the ground

- How Alfred Ngaro’s story convinced him National wasn’t the enemy he’d been told

 00:00 – Welcome & Cigar Review (Perdomo Legacy Connecticut Grand Belicoso) 

03:40 – Introducing Shubz 

06:30 – How Shubz went from live streamer to poking the Māori elite 

11:20 – “You’ve come out of nowhere and caused a fair bit of ruckus” 

15:50 – Growing up around politics, seeing the hypocrisy first-hand 

22:10 – Grandmother’s influence and standing up for the people 

28:40 – The “waste of Māori blood” comment to Winston Peters 

34:50 – Alfred Ngaro’s story and being told he was “in the wrong party” 

41:30 – Why Labour is still pushed as the only option for Māori 

48:15 – Iwi elites, funding that never filters down, and real injustice 

55:40 – The disconnect between activist class and ordinary Māori 

1:02:00 – Final thoughts and where this goes from here

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