ACT's Simon Court

This week News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston interviews ACT Party Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden , about how the first three months of assisted dying being an option for New Zealanders suffering with terminal illnesses has gone. They also touch on the second reading of the bill that would ban conversion therapy that took place in Parliament yesterday. 

Yesterday the government announced that face masks worn in the red setting must be medical, surgical or three-layer cloth masks rather than scarves, t-shirts or other face coverings. They are also expected to announce the next two phases of their Omicron response, including incorporating rapid antigen tests (RATs) more into New Zealand's testing strategy. 

News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to ACT Party Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden about the government's latest change to mask mandates under the red setting and bringing in the more regular use of RATs.

This week Zazi talks to Brooke about her favourite political moments of the year, goals for next year, as well as her plans for summer.

In the first half, Brooke discusses what she thinks were some political highlights of 2021 (so far). Brooke shares what she is most proud of, what she thinks were some highlights from the Government and the National Party, as well as if she believes ACT could have performed better in any areas, this year. 

In the second half, Zazi speaks to Brooke about her future goals for 2022, asking Brooke what she would like to see get tackled next year.

And finally, Zazi asks Brooke about her summer plans. Brooke tells Zazi what she is keen to do over the December and January period, whether she is wanting to leave Auckland after the city had more than a hundred days of lockdown, as well as if she is going to go to any summer festivals.

This week Zazi and Brooke talk about the subject of minimum wage increases and the new Workplace Vaccination Tool.

First off, the two talk about minimum wage increases. Zazi asks Brooke why ACT believes a moratorium should be put on minimum wages, if Brooke has sympathy for minimum wage workers, and whether she thinks businesses would stop failing if a moratoriuman were to be put in place. 

Then, Zazi speaks to Brooke about the new Workplace Vaccination Tool announced yesterday. Brooke shares if she thinks this will be a good guideline, if she thinks the Government have done a good job with guidance and advice, as well as if ACT are more on the side of blanket vaccine mandates or on the side of mandating vaccines for specific businesses and workplaces.