The Front Bench - October 12th 2020

Election 2023: The Front Bench

There are just five days to go until Election Day, and things are heating up on the campaign trail!
Tune in today for the final Front Bench - Heather du Plessis-Allan, Barry Soper, Trish Sherson and Chris Carter thrash out the big political issues in the lead up to Vote 2020. There is no holding back, no topic off limits, and no rules in this rapid-fire, highly opinionated election podcast.
In today's topics, National has gone hard on the possibility of a wealth tax under a Labour-Green Government. Labour continues to say it is not going to happen, but Greens co-leader James Shaw says let's wait until after the election. Who should voters believe? Does it come down to whether or not we believe the Greens will just roll over in order to be in Government?
It appears National's position is dire. They are struggling in the popularity column, with a drop in the last Colmar Brunton poll. Add to that the controversy surrounding the Ponsonby walkabout and the Denise Lee email that was leaked, to name a few. How much of it is leader Judith Collins' fault? Is this as bad as it gets for her chances on Saturday?
New Zealand has just signed the first deal with a pharmaceutical company for a Covid-19 vaccine. The deal will give us access to 1.5 million vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech, but it is an apparent move away from simply relying on the UN backed Covax-facility. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said in the past she is opposed to vaccine nationalism, but are we not doing exactly the same now? Does anybody think we shouldn't make our own deals - even at the expense of poorer countries?

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