Vacuum in the Pacific and Lies on the Billboards (Live at WORD Christchurch)
About this episode
The episode discusses the geopolitical situation in the Pacific and the integrity of election campaigns in New Zealand.
Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson , Cross Party Lines takes to the stage at The Piano in Christchurch for a sold out live episode that opens with a tribute to the resilience of Cantabrians and closes with a plea to get on the electoral roll before 25 October. In between: the Pacific being carved up by superpowers, an election campaign built on little lies and big lies, and the strategic questions nobody in Wellington wants to answer. All thanks to Frank Risk Management - The 100% Kiwi Owned Insurance Brokerage. In this episode: * The Pacific — neglected, militarised and handed to China on a plate — Phil’s account of the Pacific Island Forum in Palau is forensic and sobering. Five leaders stayed away — all from countries with close Chinese ties — in what Phil reads as geostrategic interference turning a forum for Pacific solidarity into a proxy battleground between Washington and Beijing. The Cook Islands leveraged China against the United States and got $100 million for a port on Penrhyn — an island of a few hundred people with a deep harbour that can take warships. Chris and Phil agree on the diagnosis: for generations New Zealand neglected the islands, failed to build the…
People in this episode
Hosts: Phil Goff, Chris Finlayson
Topics covered
- Pacific geopolitics
- election campaign lies
- New Zealand foreign policy
- China influence
- political accountability
Keywords
- Pacific Islands
- China
- New Zealand politics
- election lies
- geostrategic interference
- ACT party
- political attribution
Sponsors
Frank Risk Management
Mentioned in this episode
Places: New Zealand, Cook Islands, Palau, Samoa, Christchurch, Washington, Beijing, The Piano
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