Episode Description
Hosted by Sam Collins with Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines unpacks the week in New Zealand politics from both sides of the aisle - minus the noise. Each episode tackles three or four stories shaping the country, with insider context you won’t get from the daily outrage cycle.
In Episode 2:
* “Move-on” powers & homelessness - What Minister Paul Goldsmith’s proposal actually does, why Housing First and wraparound support work, and how to balance individual rights with community safety without just shifting people to other suburbs.
* Climate law rewrites - The government’s changes to the Climate Change Response Act, and what that means for bi-partisan policy, our climate response, insurance and NZ’s trade credibility.
* The US “blue swing” - What recent Democratic wins signal about cost-of-living politics vs. populism—and the takeaways for New Zealand’s centre-left and centre-right.
Bonus episode in your feed today: “Australia’s Forgotten Constitutional Coup” — Gough Whitlam’s 1975 dismissal and NZ’s 1984 near-miss (Muldoon, Sir David Beattie) — what conventions do (and don’t) protect.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit crosspartylines.substack.com
