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Latest FromBarry Soper

From left, Donald Trump, Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern. Photos / AP, Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Ardern's big meeting trumped by Aussie counterpart

18 Sep, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: King of Australia, as Trump's called him, basking in glory of stars and stripes.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Once bitten twice shy? Not the case for Labour

17 Sep, 2019 7:25am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Prime Minister clearly hopes the matter will be buried for a while.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Labour Party president Nigel Haworth. Photo / Greg Bowker

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Sex claims rock Labour - has there been a bigger botch-up?

12 Sep, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: If political capital was cash Labour would now be bankrupt.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Labour Party president Nigel Haworth.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Labour's handling of sex attack claims beggars belief

11 Sep, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It beggars belief that this leadership of the Labour Party didn't know something.

The man's employer, Parliamentary Service, apparently continues its secret reopened inquiry. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Cone of silence surrounds stood down Parliament worker

10 Sep, 2019 6:00am
4 minutes to read

Parliamentary Service reopened an inquiry into sexual allegation but is saying nothing.

Winston Peters is out to discover who leaked details of his pension over-payment.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Revenge fuelling Peters' legal scrap with National

22 Aug, 2019 6:15am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Some MPs live in an indestructible, soundproof bubble - oblivious to reaction.

NZ First leader Winston Peters launched a lawsuit against Paula Bennett on the eve of the last election.

NEW ZEALAND

Winston Peters will settle lawsuit for Paula Bennett's scalp

20 Aug, 2019 5:00pm
3 minutes to read

Peters is suing two ex-National ministers after his pension overpayment was made public.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: A positive campaign for a change

15 Aug, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Bill English said the details shouldn't have been released.

Protesters sit-in at Hong Kong airport, cancelling all flights for the second day this week. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Evacuation plan: Will Kiwis in Hong Kong be flown out?

14 Aug, 2019 4:10pm
2 minutes to read

Thousands of Hong Kong residents hold New Zealand passports.

Fonterra has just released its dismal results. Photo / Christine Cornege

BUSINESS

Soper: Shane Jones' harsh words for Fonterra seem justified

14 Aug, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Fonterra's a cash cow for the suits but little more than M bovis for the farmers.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Labour Party president Nigel Haworth in 2018. Photo / Greg Bowker

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: 'Process underway' a convenient shield for Labour

13 Aug, 2019 6:00am
2 minutes to read

COMMENT: Thankfully new appeal won't be another navel-gazing exercise.

Justice Minister Andrew Little announcing abortion law will be modernised so it is treated as a health issue rather than a crime. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: The issue Parliament avoids like the plague

9 Aug, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: There's been a lot of poppycock talked about abortion over the years.

Getting an answer out of Jacinda Ardern is like getting blood out of a stone. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Where's the PM's 'transparency' on Labour Party sex scandal?

7 Aug, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Getting an answer out of Jacinda Ardern is like getting blood out of a stone.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Taxpayers deserve to know what Genter, Twyford are hiding

6 Aug, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: What influence did Greens have in foiling the $6.4 billion transport plan?

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: It's time we showed some mettle with the Aussies

1 Aug, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: We treat Aussies in this country the way we used to be treated in theirs.

David Seymour has tweaked the bill, limiting euthanasia to those likely to die within six months, according to two doctors.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: MPs return today to the thorny issue of euthanasia

31 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Signs of opposition to Act MP David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill.

The human Gareth Morgan with the cat Gareth Morgan. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Aeroplane anxiety flying with Gareth Morgan the cat

30 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: The human GM is no doubt relieved that the cat is now just another Jaffa.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: NZ's never-ending wrestle with the RMA

25 Jul, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: You'd have to be a political nerd to get through the 300-page tome.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Greens' sense of humour deserts them

24 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Dramatic backdown drew more attention to the ad than it would ever have gotten.

National Party leader Simon Bridges. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Can Bridges survive another unfavourable poll?

23 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Word has it National has slipped below 40 per cent in a new poll.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Jacinda and Scomo catch up across the ditch

18 Jul, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Jacinda Ardern wings her way to Melbourne today.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Another Twitter tantrum from White House toddler

17 Jul, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Trump gets so cross when anyone challenges what he says to his Twitter family.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has the ability to relate. Photo / Marty Melville

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: US trip another test for Winston Peters' diplomacy

16 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: He's the puppeteer in the Beehive - nothing happens unless it's run past him.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Donald Trump is a Twitter toddler in a White House playpen

11 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: There's nothing free about speech when it comes to Donald Trump.

Jacinda Ardern, Clarke Gayford and baby Neve at the airport in Rarotonga. Photo / Cook Islands News

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Why does Ardern need to keep her holiday a secret?

10 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Inquiries to PM's office were met with a 'we're not saying where she's going'.

Achieving a more environmentally friendly vehicle fleet is going to take a long time. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Govt's plan to push green vehicles a no-brainer

9 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It seems they've come up with a pretty good way to do it but it'll take time.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: So what could a Kiwi utopia look like today?

5 Jul, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: New Zealand, the land of milk and honey.

Google clearly breached the suppression order of Grace Millane's (pictured) murderer. Photo / Facebook

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Not a lot done over Google's name suppression breach

4 Jul, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: Google clearly breached the suppression order of Grace Millane's murderer.

NZ isn't working in the best interests of our indigenous people. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Māori statistics a damning indictment on NZ

3 Jul, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: This country isn't working in the best interests of our indigenous people.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has done nothing to dent her popularity with her colleagues. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Ardern's reshuffle about as refreshing as fly spray

28 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: The PM has done nothing to dent her popularity with her colleagues.

National Party leader Simon Bridges speaking about the Wellbeing Budget 2019. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: The peculiar Bridges-Collins 'dinner date'

27 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: Claim Bridges and Collins had dinner together came as a surprise to other diners.

New National finance spokesman Paul Goldsmith with leader Simon Bridges after their reshuffle announcment Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: The invisible man - National's new finance spokesman

26 Jun, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Up until now He's been happy to be a somewhat invisible man of politics.

Jacinda Ardern's reshuffle will be minor because most of those who should be in Cabinet are already there. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Cabinet reshuffle - Jacinda Ardern needs to get tough

25 Jun, 2019 7:25am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Tweaks likely to be minor for PM who clearly finds it hard to be hard.

Authors Nicky Hager, left, and Jon Stephenson during the launch of their book, Hit & Run.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Hit and Miss a better title for Nicky Hager's book

21 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: $7 million will be spent on an inquiry into a book that got it mostly wrong.

Fiji is a good example of how water tax works. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: What happened to tackling bottled water exporters?

19 Jun, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Is it too much to ask that we all own the water for the purposes of export?

Dairy cows in a paddock. Photo / Mark Mitchell

BUSINESS

Soper: Govt steps up to farmers' plate usually served up by Nats

18 Jun, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Farming is a business like no other.

Sir Robert Muldoon watched by the Governor-General , Sir David Beattie, announces snap election at Government House in Wellington. Photo / Paul Estcourt

NEW ZEALAND

Inside the night Rob Muldoon called a snap election

14 Jun, 2019 5:26pm
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Never has a politician appeared in front of cameras in such a drunken state.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Beehive Banquet Hall's cavernous atmosphere

14 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: Sharing the same atmosphere as Trump walking into a Democrat's convention.

Outgoing Retirement Commissioner Diane Maxwell. Photo / Supplied

BUSINESS

Soper: Did Diane Maxwell get natural justice from Govt? No

12 Jun, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Surely it's time we all hardened up at work and start giving as good as we get.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during question time in Parliament in March. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Ardern will need flak jacket in House over Budget debacle

11 Jun, 2019 5:06am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: The Nats will today train their Budget fallout attack on three ministers.

It was the start of the end of the Second World War. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: D-Day: 'The wartime generation is resilient'

7 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: It was the start of the end of the Second World War.

Was the late Jim Anderton right in his claim that Kiwis were being ripped off by the Aussies? Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Kiwibank hardly setting the right example

6 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: Was Anderton right in his claim that Kiwis were being ripped off by the Aussies?

A happy smile from the new MP for Hunua, Mr Winston Peters, (left), as he clinks teacups with junior government whip, Mr D.M.J. (Dail) Jones in 1979. Photo / Herald Archive

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Not much changed about firebrand Peters over years

5 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Forty years ago today a scrapper rose to give his maiden speech to Parliament.

National leader Simon Bridges. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Budget spoiling Simon Bridges had good reason to celebrate

29 May, 2019 6:00am
2 minutes to read

COMMENT: Simon Bridges was floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee yesterday.

The man was stood down after a report on bullying and harassment in the Beehive. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Why I believe man stood down from Parliament deserves apology

28 May, 2019 6:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: A significant wrong has been done at Parliament.

The male employee has been stood down from his role at Parliament.

NEW ZEALAND

'Bullied out': Man stood down from Parliament wants apology

28 May, 2019 5:27am
4 minutes to read

Fallout from report of review into bullying and harassment at Parliament continues.

'I feel I've been bullied out of Parliament and harassed within it', says the man stood down from Parliament last week.

NEW ZEALAND

'I'm in a very dark place': Man stood down from Parliament

27 May, 2019 4:00pm
6 minutes to read

The man stood down from Parliament says he feels like he's been bullied from the building.

Speaker Trevor Mallard announcing a parliamentary staff member has been stood-down. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Stalking the corridors of power

23 May, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: Secrecy plays a large part in the toxic culture Parliament finds itself in today.

Speaker Trevor Mallard and reviewer Debbie Francis releasing the external independent review of bullying and harassment at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Working in Parliament is a hazardous task

22 May, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Francis' review makes you feel that you need to be paid dirt money to work here.

Families gathered with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Little at a ceremony on May 3. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Are public being short-changed by Pike River media ban?

21 May, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: In fairness to PM apparently it wasn't Govt's decision, it was the families'.

Alfred Ngaro could stand in the Botany seat, where National has the strongest party vote by far. Photo / George Novak

NEW ZEALAND

Exclusive: Christian party deal in Botany - National's big hope?

17 May, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Talk within the party's been rife for weeks now with Ngaro's plan being well received.

Social media is of course another matter. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Leave mainstream media out of social media crackdown

16 May, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: NZ media is self-regulatory, mindful of the harm that publication can cause.

French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Ardern used by Macron to boost his image

14 May, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: What is French President Emmanuel Macron playing at with summit call?

French president Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Ardern's internet pledge laudable but Facebook's a monster

13 May, 2019 6:00am
2 minutes to read

COMMENT: Cleaning up the internet is tantamount to putting toothpaste back in the tube.

National MP Nick Smith regularly clashes with Speaker Trevor Mallard.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Nick Smith rekindles bitter history with Speaker Mallard

9 May, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Long bitter history of sparring leading up to Smith being named by Mallard.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Got the munchies? Cannabis referendum serves up dead rat for Greens

8 May, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It's becoming a familiar taste for the Greens, swallowing dead rats.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in April. Photo / AP

BUSINESS

Soper: Difficulty of doing business with China highlighted by Air NZ

7 May, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: But with so many eggs in the one basket we have little choice.

29 crosses leading up to the Pike River mine near Greymouth. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Mines are volatile places

3 May, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Human beings should never have seen the inside of that mine.

Few would argue Jacinda Ardern's motivation behind trying to get rid of terrorist material on the Internet. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Rid the world of horror found along cyber highway

2 May, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: Those who unfortunately saw the Mosque slaughter will never forget.

National Party leader Simon Bridges. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Raucous caucus - Rattled Simon Bridges a leader under siege

1 May, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Unflappable Collins stares down tough questions behind closed doors.

National Party leader Simon Bridges. Photo / Jason Oxenham

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Simon Bridges' shot at PM becoming more remote by the day

30 Apr, 2019 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Bridges is proving that Opposition leader is the toughest job in politics.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Irony to NZ and France's terrorism summit next month

25 Apr, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Comment: What the Summit is really about - full, frank and meaningless words!