Mon 8 Dec 2025. Christmas Crackers, Party Politics, & Covid Whistleblowing

Counting down to Christmas it's not crackers that politicians are pulling on, but a power struggle nonetheless. Andrew Urquhart invites his guests to comment on the apparent tug-of-war between local and central government, the two major political parties, individual rights and the common good. Former MP Simon O'Connor joins Andrew Urquhart to analyse the peformance from the major contenders for next year's election; Political analyst Dr Bryce Edwards considers how regional councils could be affected by proposed law changes, and what that means for local democracy and community control; And Nathan Seiuli from civil liberties group PILLAR defines the fine line between someone who leaks data, and a whistleblower, as Brian Young faces ongoing legal action for publishing Health NZ/ Te Whatu Ora information about Covid vaccine deaths.  Text 8168, keyword "Comments", and visit www.thoughtsandcomments.co.nz for more content.Support Rhema: https://donate.rhemamedia.co.nz/?brand=rhema&utm_source=omnystudio&utm_medium=linkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.