I was lucky enough to attend the live show of Cross Party Lines, the podcast created by former labour leader and later mayor of Auckland Phil Goff and former cabinet minister/ attorney-general Chris Finlayson. It was a packed-out crowd in the Philip Carter family concert hall at The Piano with a very responsive crowd when certain issues were discussed.
The podcast began with Phil Goff acknowledging the recovery of Christchurch since the earthquakes as well the resilience of its residents with Chris Finlayson adding that we should “finish the bloody cathedral already.”
The talk went quickly into its two main topics: the developments in the Pacific forum and the greater Pacific region with particular attention paid to the subject of climate change. And the general election that you may or may not have heard is happening this year.
I won't go into the full discussion, that can be found by listening to the podcast proper but both speakers spoke at length about the destabilizing effect China and America have on the Pacific region particularly with regards to climate change and how the changes occurring are going to affect us in the Pacific before anywhere else and discussed how overseas influence has been growing in Pacific nations.
The second half of the podcast is given over to discussing the general election. As former members of parliament themselves Goff and Finlayson did their best to not let their biases come through although there was the odd barbed remark thrown in for entertainment value. Both agreed that the rise of populism and the effects it is having on elections is a concern and they lamented the fact that there is too little accountability when it comes to making sure the information on billboards is accurate, or at least as accurate as opposing parties' claims about each other can be.
On the whole, the podcast was very informative and entertaining to listen to. Goff and Finlayson fall into their roles well, Goff as the bluff, plain speaking man of the land who discussed sport and the new stadium at length and Finlayson as the more reserved and refined “culture vulture” as he described himself who says less but delivers cleverer and slightly more acerbic witticisms.
I would happily recommend giving it a listen on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.
Tom, Tūranga
More from Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson
- Housing in metropolitan areas by Phil Goff
- Books by Chris Finlayson
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- Our WORD Christchurch 2026 page: Picks of the festivals, reportage and more!
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