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Latest FromBarry Soper

Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern campaigning in Grey Lynn in 2017. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Ardern's rise still unprecedented a year on

18 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It was a job PM-to-be hadn't aspired to - but there was no one else in Labour.

Winston Peters, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw talk with media after outlining the next steps in the Coalition Government's plan. Photo / Greg Bowker

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Freaky Fridays dogging the Govt

17 Sep, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: So by week's end you could be forgiven for thinking the Govt was falling apart.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: When does collective Cabinet responsibility kick in?

14 Sep, 2018 5:00am
2 minutes to read

COMMENT: That's not an easy one to answer when it comes to this Government.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Top diplomat talks fairness and responsibility

13 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

It was a parting shot to the Aussies and coming from a diplomat it'll hopefully resonate.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is having a tough time dealing with coalition concerns. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Māori issues in the middle of a coalition tug-of-war

12 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Managing the coalition Government is becoming an unwieldy task.

Kelvin Davis, Titiwhai Harawira and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at an announcement on a Crown-Maori Partnership office at the Beehive. Photo / Audrey Young

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: From haters and wreckers to a seat at Cabinet table

11 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: This was the Govt doing what it does better than any other - virtue signalling.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern obfuscated when answering questions about Clare Curran, knowing full well she'd resigned the night before.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Clare Curran saga reflects poorly on PM's leadership

10 Sep, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Clare Curran's demise eerily similar to that of the Labour MP she replaced.

NZ Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Winston's NZ First among equals

6 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Feisty Foreign Minister says a lot through a tight slit that emits the sound.

NZ Minister of Foreign Affiars Winston Peters speaks to the media in Nauru. Photo / Jason Oxenham

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Action needed, not words, if Govt wants to help Nauru refugees

5 Sep, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Stage is set for Jacinda Ardern to confront Australia's Nauru refugee situation.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during her post-cabinet press conference at the Beehive. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: PM's $80,000 plane bill for unnecessary Nauru trip

4 Sep, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It's like the old public service mentality: if you've got a budget spend it.

$Chelsea Manning addresses participants at an anti-fracking rally in Baltimore. Photo / AP$

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Chelsea Manning has courage and integrity - should be welcomed here

3 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: The Aussies ran scared of controversial figure, but I'm glad NZ didn't.

Jim Anderton. Photo / NZPA/ David Alexander

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Abiding memory of election 20 years ago

31 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Jim Anderton was good to his word.

Barry Soper with the leader of the Afrikaners' Resistance Movement, Steyn Von Ronge.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Thank Trump for pausing South African land grab

30 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Trump has used the power of his office to do something good.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern fronted the business community yesterday. Photo / NZ Herald Focus

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Why does this govt need so many experts?

29 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: This Government has become expert at setting up groups to address issues.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Why are landlords being picked on?

28 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Most landlords aren't fat cats, so why change rental laws, asks Barry Soper.

National Party leader Simon Bridges didn't need to fly in all the senior MPs to stand behind him while addressing the expenses leaker saga. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Someone's out to get Simon Bridges. They'll likely succeed

27 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: To know the enemy from within but perhaps the truth is too hard to bear.

Australian former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Aussie politicians - they like a blood soaked carpet

24 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: The ruling Liberal Party's been like a pack of dingoes rounding on their prey.

Many of us who have worked with Greg Boyed over the years were numb at news of his death.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Greg Boyed and the silent disease that is depression

23 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Greg Boyed's family has shown true courage amid his death.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull address reporters at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Australian leadership becomes a toxic waste dump

22 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It's good news for NZ that Peter Dutton's power grab failed.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during her post-cabinet press conference at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Pay freeze an easy move for Jacinda Ardern to sound altruistic

21 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Self-appointed paymaster Jacinda Ardern rendered Remuneration Authority impotent.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Plastic is now public enemy number one

13 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: There's nothing so useful as the common old plastic bag.

The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister David Clark. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Ardern would have wanted better first week back

10 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: More allegations plague top cop Wally Haumaha inquiry.

NZ First leader Winston Peters during his post-Cabinet press conference at Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Robbing Peters to pay Paula

9 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It hardly seems fair on the long suffering taxpayer.

Don Brash is unhappy about Massey's decison. Photo / Duncan Brown.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Massey ridiculous to ban Don Brash from speaking

8 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Are we becoming a bunch of easily offended milk sops in this country?

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: 'Trade for All' agenda another announcement without substance

7 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It's a bit like putting the produce laden cart before the lumbering Clydesdale.

NEW ZEALAND

The documentary that reveals NZ's horrible truths

6 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: The power of peer pressure should never be underestimated.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford with their daughter Neve. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Political media respect boundaries

3 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Over the years political families have been off limits.

Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford face the media with their newborn girl Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford. Photo / Greg Bowker

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: PM Ardern takes over

2 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

If a crystal ball had predicted this a year ago it would have shattered at the thought.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Wally Haumaha affair has been a mess from the start

1 Aug, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Let's hope inquiry outcome isn't as confusing and muddy as the process.

National Party leader Simon Bridges arrives for the 82nd National Party Conference. Photo / Dean Purcell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Simon Bridges becoming the invisible man

31 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: National leader had his chance but failed to take it.

Henry Soper, son of Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper on son's stabbing: Justice rarely goes the way you expect

30 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Being more than an observer of justice was an interesting exercise.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Waka-jumping bill shows it's really Winston wielding the power

27 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

The Greens will be bitterly unhappy that their MPs are supporting the waka-jumping law.

National leader Simon Bridges. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: National's grandstanding on Medicinal cannabis bill is shameful

26 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

The cynicism of National knows no bounds on this one.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: This Govt is right to stand up to Aussies

24 Jul, 2018 6:28pm
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Their Home Affairs Minister seems to have little respect for this country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump gave a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. Photo / AP

WORLD

Barry Soper: It's not what Trump said, but what he meant

23 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Sanders must lose sleep thinking about how to interpret what Trump meant.

The writer gets Nelson Mandela's autograph on the first day of his Presidency after the Jim Bolger meeting in 1994.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: How I met Nelson Mandela

20 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It was the biggest privilege that I've had in my time in this business.

U.S. President Donald Trump, (left), and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Trump's loose lips brings the US to its knees

19 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Putin keeps strong denial that he ever interfered with US election.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with her artwork.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: What Jacinda Ardern's artwork says about her

18 Jul, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Circles we're told, depicted in this way, represent need to find unity and peace.

National Party leader Simon Bridges speaking at a public meeting. Photo / Warren Buckland

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Simon Bridges squares up to his biggest problem

17 Jul, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: With the last poll putting him at nine per cent he knows he has cause for worry.

Health Minister David Clark fronts on nurses pay negotiations and strikes. Photo / Claire Trevett

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Clark saga shows Government's lack of transparency

16 Jul, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: If this Government wants to be taken seriously it's got to be transparent.

Biodegradables in our oceans can last for decades. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Not hard to be cynical about recycling

13 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

How do we know that rubbish is recycled?

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: China and U.S trade war coming to a head

12 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

The stakes here are enormous.

Defence Minister Ron Mark announcing the government's decision to purchase 4 Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft during the post-Cabinet press conference. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Why is it NZ First MPs are the ones splashing the cash?

11 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Government departments split into the haves and have nots.

Julie Bishop with Winston Peters. Photo / Nick Reed

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Aussies ugly underbelly of friendship we once had

9 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Long gone are the days when we affectionately looked across the ditch.

Winston Peters has suffered more personal vitriolic abuse than anyone in politics.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Think this is Winston's last term as an MP? Think again

6 Jul, 2018 6:11am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Winston Peters has suffered more personal vitriolic abuse than anyone.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford's opening of the door to affordable home ownership was little more than a public relations exercise.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: KiwiBuild's looking more like middle-class welfare

5 Jul, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: 'National's making hay while the building blocks are being put in place.'

New Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha. Photo / John Stone

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Top cop Wally Haumaha's past comes back to haunt him

4 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: In NZ, it's more like three degrees of separation.

Jacinda Ardern speaks about her families package. Photo / via video

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Baby bonus breeds welfare dependency

3 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It's long been said welfare for the sake of it entrenches the poverty cycle.

It's already hitting the Government where it really hurts. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Impatient unions flex their muscles with strike talk

29 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: It's already hitting the Government where it really hurts.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters during his weekly post-Cabinet press conference at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Like him or not, Winston deserves some respect

27 Jun, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: One of his biggest challenges was always going to be his relationship with media.

David Seymour's dance of the 'constipated peacock' is over - now back to politics.

ENTERTAINMENT

Soper: David Seymour's dance of the constipated peacock is over

26 Jun, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Like Rodney Hide before him, the Act leader's dance foray ends in ignominy.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford with their baby girl, Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford before leaving Auckland City Hospital.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Baby Neve helps put NZ on the map

25 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Hopefully those who haven't heard of NZ will have consulted Google by now.

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) is the only other world leader have had a child while in office. File photo from 1993. Photo / Getty

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: It's a girl - gees there's some miserable buggers out there

22 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Of course a PM giving birth in office is a story - that's gone round the world.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Trump's an easy man to disagree with

21 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Outbursts give the impression the tongue's in gear well before the brain's connected.

Whether there'll now be an appetite from foreigners to invest is debatable. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: A collective case of amnesia on a foreign buyer 'ban'

20 Jun, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Ban foreign buyers was pre-election catch-cry of Labour supported by NZ First.

Nursing is not a job that most of us would have the care or patience to do.

NEW ZEALAND

Barry Soper: Nurses deserve a generous settlement

19 Jun, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Nursing is not a job that most of us would have the care or patience to do.

The Singapore summit between Donald Trump and Kim Yong Un was big news in Japan. Photo / AP

WORLD

Soper: Getting rid of nukes is one thing

14 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Getting rid of North Korea's nukes is one thing. Getting rid of the gulags is the test

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greet each other with the American and North Korean flags as a backdrop at the Capella resort in Singapore. Photo / AP

WORLD

Soper: Devil in detail as Trump and Kim sign historic deal

13 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

On the diplomatic front it was a doozie for detente.

The Trump-Kim Jong Un summit in Singapore is big news throughout Asia. Photo / AP

WORLD

Barry Soper: The egos have landed in Singapore

12 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: The one thing Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un have in common is their egos

After all the bluster Donald Trump's diplomacy skills are about to be tested.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper at the summit: Can Trump's walk match his talk?

11 Jun, 2018 6:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: After all the bluster Trump's diplomacy skills are about to be tested.

Act Party leader and Epsom MP David Seymour. Photo / Andrew Warner.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Why David Seymour has a point about state housing

8 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: Housing NZ's zero tolerance policy has become a policy of appeasement.

NEW ZEALAND

Soper: Easy for new Government to blame the last

7 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

COMMENT: How long can you go on blaming the last administration?