Like the podcast, but a book! While that sounds boring and pointless, Duncan Greive controversially argues that it’s actually good. I found the 9th Floor “urgent and revelatory” upon its release in April and May, writing somewhat pompously that it “strips our recent political history of much of the distracting rancour which accompanied it in … Read more
The shorthand used in The 9th Floor insinuates that Jenny Shipley’s prime ministership was somehow less legitimate than that of her successor, and that’s just not true, argues Paul Brislen. I’ve really enjoyed Guyon Espiner’s The Ninth Floor series of interviews for RNZ with former prime ministers of New Zealand. I’ve learned a lot about Mike Moore that … Read more
In the fifth and final part of The 9th Floor, Guyon Espiner talks to Helen Clark about her three terms in power as she sought to draw a line under Rogernomics, unleash new social reforms and rethink New Zealand’s place in the world. In an hour-long conversation, Clark, Labour PM from 1999 to 2008: Discusses the “turning … Read more
Is there a male equivalent of a “vile hag?” What about a “sanctimonious bitch?” How about “patronising c**t”? Megan Whelan of RNZ thinks not. More than race, sexuality, the environment or politics, stories about gender attract abuse, profanity and flat-out nastiness. So, when we posted a video from our series The 9th Floor, featuring former … Read more
The best New Zealand production of the year isn’t TV or radio – it’s a podcast and online video which uses hindsight and our former prime ministers to produce a series of lasting power, says Duncan Greive. While it mightn’t seem so on Twitter during Question Time or in the comments sections of any semi-popular … Read more
In the fourth of Guyon Espiner’s extended interviews with former prime ministers for RNZ, Jenny Shipley mounts a robust defence of the welfare reforms she oversaw as minister under Jim Bolger, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of Winston Peters, and points to sexism in political commentary. In the hour-long conversation, Shipley, who was PM from 1997 … Read more
In the third of Guyon Espiner’s extended interviews with former prime ministers for RNZ, Jim Bolger, who led the National Party to power in 1990 pledging to return the ‘decent society’ to New Zealand, criticises the prevailing economic orthodoxy, saying it has led to a dangerous gap between rich and poor. Bolger defends the record of Ruth Richardson, who as finance … Read more
For the second of RNZ’s ‘9th Floor’ series of interviews with ex-PMs, Guyon Espiner talks to Mike Moore about his short spell in the top job, getting rolled by Helen Clark, and his hopes and fears for Labour today – including some advice on the party’s leadership rules. Moore also rejects the idea that Roger Douglas’s … Read more
Watch the first in RNZ’s big new series of interviews, The 9th Floor, and read our slightly shorter interview with their interviewer – on the contrast with Morning Report, Jim Bolger’s surprise attack on neoliberalism, and why John Key isn’t involved. RNZ this morning launched an ambitious new series of filmed interviews with former New Zealand prime … Read more