Jim Bolger, Prime Minister from 1990 - 1997, talks about his 90th birthday, his health, and what he thinks of politics today. Video / Mark Mitchell
Jim Bolger undergoes dialysis four times daily after his kidneys failed a year ago.
He criticises David Seymour’s approach to Māori policy and advises him to support the Prime Minister.
Bolger advocates raising the superannuation age to 70, citing increased life expectancy.
Jim Bolger is typically stoic about having to have dialysis four times a day after his kidneys failed a year ago.
“It’s not very good, but the alternative is worse,” says the former Prime Minister.
It’s a DIY thing. Every month, a bloke arrives at the front door of hishouse in Waikanae with a supply of life-sustaining bags for the next four weeks.
Bolger hooks himself up to the first bag at 9am then twice more before finishing about 9pm. He doesn’t know what is in the bag, but it takes the place of his kidney and purifies his blood. It takes up to 45 minutes for each session.
He has some cause for optimism. He got chatting to the delivery guy recently, who told him he had been delivering to the same person for 10 years.
And Bolger himself comes from strong stock. He is turning 90 on Saturday, and is one of five siblings, all of whom are still alive. So, what is his secret to a long life?
“Pick your parents and get the right genes. Remember my mother lived to 104, so with modern medicine, I should make 110.”
Bolger and his wife, Joan, who turned 84 this month, will be hosting a birthday celebration on Saturday, although he prefers to call it a gathering, rather than a party.
A glass of Bushmills Irish whiskey will be allowed.
“We’ll share some stories and make some up,” he says.
The Bolger clan, including most of the couple’s nine kids, Dan, Paul, Brian, Stephen, Bernadette, Fiona, Rachael, Matt and Aidan, will be there on Saturday.
Dan and Bernadette are senior public servants, Brian and Aidan are in London, Fiona and Rachael are teaching, Matt is with Fonterra, Stephen is on the farm and Paul is in Rome, where his wife is the ambassador.
The dialysis means that Bolger is largely house-bound, but the world comes to Waikanae through CNN or the BBC.
Jim Bolger and wife Joan Bolger, who turned 84 earlier this month. Photo / Mark Mitchell
And when you’ve spent seven years as Prime Minister – including such events as attending Nelson Mandela’s inauguration and hosting him in New Zealand – you are never short of an opinion.
He described US President Donald Trump as “an idiot”.
“What in God’s name did America think they were voting for?”
“How arrogant can you be that you get Ramaphosa from South Africa there, and you have a slide machine to show him all the things he is doing wrong. This is your visitor.”
(BBC Verify has fact-checked Trump’s claims including sourcing a photo in an article claiming to show graves of white farmers as actually being from a Reuters clip about women in Democratic Republic of Congo being killed, proving that white crosses claiming to be graves of farmers on either side of a road were in fact placed there as a protest, and providing official statistics stating that of the more than 26,000 murders in South Africa last year, eight were of farmers.)
Bolger believes Winston Peters is doing a good job as Foreign Minister, saying the right things at the right time.
“I was pleased to see the other day Winston came out and supported a group of other leaders telling Israel to back off ... Starving kids to death – how barbaric can you get?”
Peters was Deputy Prime Minister to Bolger for the first year of the first MMP Government, a coalition between Bolger’s National Party and Peters’ New Zealand First.
Peters’ last day as Deputy Prime Minister to Christopher Luxon is Saturday. He hands the baton to fellow Coalition partner and Act leader David Seymour for the second half of the parliamentary term.
Jim Bolger last week in his favourite spot in the lounge of his Waikanae home. Photo / Mark Mitchell
So does Bolger have any advice for Seymour?
“Keep out of the road of the Prime Minister and let the Prime Minister get on with the job, and just remind himself he is not Prime Minister.
“His risk will be he wants to be Prime Minister ... that’s Luxon’s responsibility.
“Deputy Prime Minister should not be a high-profile role and wasn’t in my day and shouldn’t be now. It’s a support role.”
Bolger, who led New Zealand through the first big Treaty of Waitangi settlements in the 1990s, is clearly unimpressed with Seymour and what he sees as an unnecessary focus on Māori policy.
“We have one party in Government called the Act Party and their leader Seymour, who seems determined to be anti-Māori, and I’ve no idea what their ambition is,” Bolger claimed.
Bolger said he was not sure if the aim was to gain the support of racists, which he estimated to be about 10% of New Zealanders.
“But he always seems to have a sharp edge when he’s dealing with Māori issues.”
We love the talents of Māori rugby players in the All Blacks, but we should love their talents in every other field as well.
Bolger wouldn’t offer a judgment as to whether race relations were better or worse than they had been when co-governance was causing concern a few years ago.
“But I think the Prime Minister, the leader of by far the largest party, should be much firmer in pushing Seymour back. He shouldn’t just sit there and take it.
“He should actually speak up and tell him to shut up.”
Asked about what he would like New Zealand to be like in 2040, the 200th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi, he said it was accepted as the foundation document of New Zealand as an agreement between the tribes and the settlers “to work together, to be together, to share together”.
“And I think the main thing is to share together. In that respect, we have to improve the outcomes for Māori education, and we can have an in-depth debate and discussion on why Māori do less well in education than non-Māori.
“But it happens, and we’ve got to change that.
“It needs leadership from the top, and that’s from the Prime Minister and others in senior positions, so that we just accept what I said.
“We’re here together. We’re not going away, and we can work very, very well together. We love the talents of Māori rugby players in the All Blacks, but we should love their talents in every other field as well.”
Bolger doesn’t usually watch Question Time in Parliament, but he watched Nicola Willis deliver the Budget, and it largely met with his approval.
The one glaring policy that stood out that needed attention was superannuation.
Bolger’s Government raised the age of eligibility from 60 to 65 over a 10-year period, and with so many people living so much longer, he said it had to be lifted to 70 and start soon.
“That’s not a complex issue, and most New Zealanders understand it.
“Get on with it.”
David Seymour responds to Bolger’s criticism: “I remember Jim being Prime Minister when I was in primary school. My grandparents liked him. I understand he’s been unwell, and I wish him all the best. “That said, I’m sorry to hear he’s joined the uninformed chorus. People often say things about me, but when I challenge them - what have I ever said or done that’s anti-Māori? They never deal in facts. I certainly hope I make it to Jim’s ripe age, and if I do, I hope I’m not too worried about what some young whippersnapper is said to think or not think.”
