Empty Seats, Dirty Work and Blue Waves

Hosted by **Phil Goff** and **Chris Finlayson**, **Cross Party Lines** returns to dissect party launches, Nicky Hager’s latest book, the US midterms and the Xi-Trump summit that produced two pandas and precisely nothing else. Proudly supported by our Foundational Partner Frank Risk Management - the 100% Kiwi owned insurance brokerage. **In this episode:** \* **Party launches: Labour’s energy versus National’s empty seats** — Phil went to one launch and won’t make you guess which one. Audrey Young’s verdict — Labour had it all over National for sheer impact, with new policy, a new attitude and a better speech — saves Phil from being dismissed as a party hack, though he notes Hipkins’ language at the lectern raised eyebrows. Chris channels John Key’s campaign gospel: repeat, repeat, repeat, don’t deviate, don’t embellish. \* **Nicky Hager’s Dirty Works — useful journalism or a pop gun?** — Phil delivers an even-handed assessment of Hager’s career: Hollow Men and Dirty Politics were game, set and match — documentary proof of collusion with the Exclusive Brethren and the weaponisation of the OIA and the SIS. Dirty Work, both agree, is not a smoking gun — but the documented links between the Taxpayers Union, tobacco industry funding, and the orchestrated amplification of anti-Māori sentiment are not nothing, and Chris expresses a fervent hope that Hager’s next book is about New Zealand First. \* **US midterms: Kansas wobbling, Texas flipping and Trump’s Faustian reckoning** — Chris has been doing his homework and the picture is striking. Kansas — reliably Republican for a century — is in play. Texas, which Trump won by 13.6 points, has the Democrat ahead. Iowa farmers, hammered by tariffs and diesel costs, are reconsidering. Phil lays out the arithmetic: Democrats need four Senate seats to take the chamber; the House is almost certainly gone; and if both flip, Trump faces impeachment proceedings in his final two years while the courts continue finding his executive orders unconstitutional. Chris’s verdict on the moral of the story: if you make a Faustian deal with someone like Trump, 2026 is the year you’re held to account. *Cross Party Lines exists to lift political literacy and create space for calm, good-faith political conversation. New episodes every Tuesday. If you value thoughtful debate, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might too.* *📋 Election day is 7 November. Make sure you’re on the roll.* This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit crosspartylines.substack.com