The Big Show With James Harrison of the Trust NZ Party

0:00Mike Minogue:The Hauraki Big Show with Jace, Mike and Keyzie. Tune in weekdays at four on Radio Hauraki.

0:07Keyzie:Now one of the cardinal rules of the big show is we don't do politics, do we fellas? No. We steer well, well clear of it. But we've been intrigued with the elections coming up, with a party that sort of burst onto the scene really called Trust New Zealand. And we've got one of their candidates in here because we've been quite fascinated off-air by their policies, which, you know, you could view as quite revolutionary. And we've got James Harrison from Trust New Zealand in with us. G'day, James. How are you going? Oh, well, I'm tickety-boo and Fanny McAdams. I'm fantastic. Thank you. Great stuff.

0:43James, tell us a bit about your policies you've got here, mate, because we've seen a bit of them online, all that sort of carry on, and I think we can all agree that whatever's sort of happening at the moment, it's not really working. Oh, God. I think a little bit of radical thinking is required, and it seems like you guys are sort of chasing that idea. Absolutely. Radical thinking is sort of the cornerstone of any New Zealand, what do you say, innovation. And I think that we are innovative, true fact. So we do have two cornerstone policies. Me and my co-chair, Harriet, we came up with them together one late night over a bit of soju.

1:21Oh, the soju. Yeah, nice. But we've got two main policies that we think will hit deep into the heart of New Zealand. These two policies are such as follows. Number one, anyone who is under 30, we deeply encourage you to not vote, to unenroll in fact. So if there's anyone out there listening today who's maybe a little bit too young, doesn't quite have a closed frenulum or whatever you call it, maybe just unenroll from voting. So what is the story there? Because obviously that's going to rankle a few people. Young people have sort of an inclination to get offended easily, I think you would say. So what's sort of the thinking behind that?

2:00You say don't vote if you're under 30. How do you come to that? Well, I read a statistic that in your lifetime, you've only got 20 opportunities to vote. That's a true fact. True fact. Only 20 opportunities to vote in your lifetime. Yes. And so many young people are on track just to not use any of those. And I say, why stop there? Just continue not voting. and it's because you're not really, you don't get it, do you?

2:24Keyzie:I'm sure we were all young once. Well, that's right. I mean, I remember me in my 20s. It would have been a pointless vote from my point of view because I didn't know what the hell was going on. Well, that's often the thing, isn't it? And it's strange that, I mean, even Socrates said that democracy is a sort of a wasted pursuit because the uneducated get the same amount of votes as the educated or somebody who's spent their whole lives investigating something, they both get a vote, and how can that be fair? Completely what you just said. Yes. Absolutely. Yes. Socrates. One of the other things, one of the policies I see there, and I think I'm right in saying this, James.

3:06Keyzie:Go on. If you own two homes, you get two votes. Oh, that's our second cornerstone policy. Yeah, that's great stuff. So it's just simple math, really. If you get one house, you get one vote. If you have two houses, you get two votes. Does that keep going? Up to however many. We haven't really put a capstone on it yet. Right. How many houses have you got, James? I prefer not to talk about my personal life on the radio. Let's keep it professional, gentlemen. Ah, damn. 60.

3:36So that being the case then, what I sort of, you know, people will say, well, that's ridiculous. But what I like about that as a policy is it actually encourages people to work hard so that they can get a home so that then they've got the opportunity to vote. At the moment, there's no real motivation. There's nothing driving people to actually get out there, work hard, buy a house so that they can vote, because you get that for free. You feel like you might be a two ticks orange kind of guy. Well, I don't know, man. I mean, this is the thing, right? It does make sense when you look closely at it.

4:08The scape of New Zealand politics today is a dangerous, deadly environment, and you've got to work hard for what you want. It's always been the Kiwi way. Yes, mate.

4:17Keyzie:Yeah. Now, listen, another policy, which I think is really interesting because a lot of our listeners actually are renters. Oh. And I see one of your policies is if you put nails in the wall or scuff the floors, you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Is that something you're obviously quite passionate about? Now, I do have to come clean. Normally, I'm not allowed out the house without Tevin, my wonderful, wonderful head of staff or whatever he does to sort of control the narrative, but I'll have a go at talking to that. Listen, if you have scuffed your house or done a little doo-doo or, I don't know, done something terrible inside of it, I think it's bloody fair that you pay back what you did.

5:00Don't you think? Yeah, well, absolutely.

5:02Mike Minogue:But it's full extent of the law, surely, James. It's a bit full on. Jail time, is that what you're suggesting? I think we should bring back flinging. Flinging? What's flinging? It's when you fling someone as far as they'll possibly go. So you just throw them? I think so. You toss them. Sort of, you know, slingshots. Build a giant one of those and get fired for how much money. Each dollar of damage is equal to a metre. And would you be personally tossing these people? Oh, no, I don't have the upper body strength, mate. Ah, that's good stuff. The Horaki Big Show, weekdays from four on Radio Horaki.

5:36Mike Minogue:You know how good the Horaki Big Show podcast is? Yeah, I love those fellas. Backbone. Yeah, backbone. You get it. You've got to get around the live radio show. Oh, yeah, when's that? Four to seven weekdays on Radio Hauraki and iHeartRadio. Backbone. Ho, ho. Nice. The Hauraki Big Show Podcast.

5:59Keyzie:We've got politician James Harrison from the new party that's out there at the moment, Trust New Zealand. Perfect. Can I say that the sense I'm getting from your party, James, is kind of no-nonsense. old school kind of thinking. Yes, we brook no nonsense and we love schools. Old schools in particular.

6:21Mike Minogue:Yes. James, one of your sort of policies here is that you're promising a 100 % fuel rebate for those over 60. Absolutely. Which is great. It's fantastic. But 100 % fuel tax for those under 30. Do you think that goes far enough? That's a good question. Like it's a bold plan. Under 30s won't be interested in that. Well, under 30, have you ever heard, maybe you've heard the phrase respect your elders. Ever heard of that? Yes, I have, James. I think this society needs to respect their elders much more, and we're missing just a great section of support from the youngsters. So all these young people who are getting out of there and really sticking it to themselves and really contributing and all that jazz, I think that they should just really stuck in.

7:03Maybe we bump it up to 200 on both ends. Yeah, well, why not? That is an interesting thing. I guess a fuel rebate and attack sort of leads into your policies around the environment as well. Oh, don't get me started. It's a bit of a hot topic at the moment, isn't it? Hot like climate change. Thank you. But your policy is no environmental action needed. Don't fight the future. That's right. It's sort of like a boat rising on the sea levels as they rise. Just don't fight it. Swim with it. Float with it. You're not right, just let it happen. Yes. Well, as you say here in your policy, sorry, James.

7:41No, please. Let the rain come. Yes. Those who count will float to the top. Completely right. Yes. It's all about the people who have the ability to swim. Yes. Or jet skis. Yes, thank you.

7:54Mike Minogue:What about Jase here? He can't swim, James.

7:56Keyzie:Well, I can dog paddle, Kesey. He can doggy paddle. And I can float like a starfish on my back. Do you have access to a sailboat? No, I don't. Speedboat. Funnily enough, but I was suggesting to the fellas a couple of days ago that we all invest in a yacht that we could, you know, the big show. Just go and visit the bays around the Hauraki Gulf there. Sounds like a fantastic investment if you ask me. James, do you have a yacht? I do not want to talk about my personal life. I could not make that clearer. Some things are off the record, yes. Okay. How are you and your party? Because, you know, one of the big catchphrases at the moment is affordability.

8:33Keyzie:Oh, God. You know what I mean? and people go into the supermarket and they're going, jeez, a block of cheeses,$18? Are you kidding me? I mean, what's your thoughts on that sort of stuff? Well, I mean, I don't do the shopping myself. It's hard to comment. Honestly, I don't really know how bad it could be. Yeah. What is the price of a banana these days? Well, that's often the question that they ask politicians, isn't it, to see if they're out of touch or not. Well. You know, how much is a litre of milk? How much is a loaf of bread? I definitely touch. Yeah, well, that's the thing. But for you, you don't apologise for the fact that you've never had any idea about that.

9:09Look, at the end of the day, food's food, and you're going to get it. So that's it. I like it.

9:14Mike Minogue:James, just before we let you go, mate, do you have any skeletons in your closet that the audience needs to know about? Yes, I do. I had two skeletons that I used for a Halloween party this October. Oh, my God. I really go with ghosts, witches, or skeletons. I really believe in the classic. I think Halloween needs to get back to the basics. In fact, you're getting a live exclusive one. New party policy, Halloween back to basics. Everyone is ghosts, skeletons or witches. Yeah, great stuff. Brilliant. Before you go, man, a final message to any potential voters out there. If you're under 30, unenroll.

9:48Your vote's not worth it, you don't get it. If you're over 30, two ticks orange and go me and everyone else in the party.

9:57Keyzie:Well, James Harrison from Trust New Zealand, we appreciate your time, mate. All the best for the election. Oh, thanks so much for having me on Radio Herricky. It's great to be here, great to be alive, and I love New Zealand.