On this week's episode of Taxpayer Talk, Jordan sat down to talk with current Nelson Mayor and former National Party Minister, Nick Smith.

First elected as a Member of Parliament in 1990, Nick Smith would remain an MP for over three decades. Nick would serve across a number of portfolios, including as Minister of Education, Local Government, and Housing. He was elected as Nelson's Mayor in 2022, and now chairs LGNZ's Electoral Reform Group.

With Wellington and Hastings councils in the news over the last few weeks, and the local elections looming next year, Nick joins us to talk local government.

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On this week's Taxpayer Talk, ACT MP Simon Court -  Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Infrastructure and Minister Responsible for RMA reform - joins Jordan Williams to talk about the Government's plans for RMA reform.

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Ewen McQueen, author of One Sun in the Sky, joins us on Taxpayer Talk to discuss the Treaty of Waitangi, including questions around the ceding of sovereignty by Maori, interpretations of the treaty, and the politics now surrounding the treaty today. 

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This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, Suze Redmayne.

Suze was elected as the MP for Rangitikei at the 2023 General Election. Suze and her husband run an award winning farm and sell their lamb under their own brands. Suze shares her life story, what drew her to politics and what she hopes to achieve during her time in Parliament. Also discussed is a number of member's bill ideas Suze is considering and what the role of government should be in the economy.

Suze's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Suze on Facebook here.

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 David Buckingham is a Queenstown-based employment relations consultant. He was the supporter who first uncovered the extraordinary behaviour of IRD leaking personal information to social media companies. Jordan sat down with him to talk about what he found, how, and what it means for your data.

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This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, David MacLeod.

David is the MP for New Plymouth and was elected at the 2023 general election. He spent 22 years on Taranaki Regional Council, including 15 years as the Chair. He has also been a director on some significant organisations including Port Taranaki, Fonterra and Predator Free 2050. Early in his career, David was an electrician and eventually took over the company he worked for and grew it to more than 100 tradespeople.

In the podcast, we explore what drives David, why he wanted to become an MP, and what he hopes to achieve during his time in Parliament.

David's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow David on Facebook here.

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This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with New Zealand First MP, Jamie Arbuckle.

Jamie was elected on the New Zealand First List at the 2023 General Election. Jamie also remains a current Marlborough district councillor, a role he has held for fourteen years. Jamie has a horticultural background and spent many of his early years in and around the fruit industry. In the podcast, Jamie discusses why he wanted to be an MP, what drew him to New Zealand First, and some of the areas of law he would like to see change in New Zealand.

Jamie's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Jamie on Facebook here.

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This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, Rima Nakhle.

Rima was elected as the MP for Takanini at the 2023 Election. She was born in Australia where she graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Laws and was admitted to practice in New Zealand in 2014. Rima shares her journey into New Zealand politics and discusses her proud Lebanese ancestry, and her role in running a successful emergency and transitional housing service.

Rima's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Rima on Facebook here.

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This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Grant McCallum.

Grant was elected as the MP for Northland at the 2023 General Election. Grant is a farmer and has been involved with the National Party's environmental group, the Blue Greens, and also with Federated Farmers.

In this podcast, Grant and Connor discuss his upbringing, life before being an MP and touch on his political philosophy.

Grant's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Grant on Facebook here.

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If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

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This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with ACT Party MP, Dr Parmjeet Parmar.

Parmjeet has a PHD in Biological Sciences, is a businesswoman and former broadcaster and was also formerly a National Party MP from 2014 to 2020. In 2023 she ran for ACT at the general election and was successfully elected to Parliament.

In this podcast we discuss Dr Parmar's upbringing and background before politics, why she changed her political allegiance and her excellent member's bill that would require unions to collect their own fees rather than the status quo which forces employers to it on the unions' behalf.

Follow Parmjeet on Facebook here.

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If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected]

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