Josie was The Huddle on Newstalk ZB to discuss the Leader o the Opposition's State of the Nation speech, pay for local councillors, and move along orders for rough sleepers.

Josie was interviewed on Newstalk ZB about her work, politics and commentary.

On a radio slot the other day I was asked what New Zealand’s national dish is. Pies and chips? Cheese so bland they have to stick bits of fruit in it to convince shoppers it’s fancy? White bread sandwiches stuffed with grated rubber and carrot? Nah. We all know that authentic Kiwi kai is spag bol, KFC and nachos.

Then I got to asking myself, what is our national architecture? Grey boxes. In our main streets our national style is ugly cheap advertising signage cluttered with phone numbers that no one, in the history of advertising, has ever rung.

Imagine any situation - having a feed, driving a car, greeting friends. Picture a stereotypical Aussie, Frenchman, American or Italian. Their art, what they would wear and eat, how they would behave. Do you think we have an identity as distinctive?


Read Josie's column in The Post.

We used to talk about the Davos set. We need a new name for the circuit of political figures, tech bros, media glamour hunters, artists, authors and billionaires that scratch each other’s backs: The Epstein Set.

We call this the cockroach theory. There is never just one. Just as the exposure of Jimmy Saville and Rolf Harris revealed a network of pigs at the BBC, and the errant priest was not a single bad apple in the church, we can be sure that Epstein is not unique.

When you have an enormously powerful global network of entitlement, you will have more. Many more. We know the cost of calling out entitlement is high and the benefits for those who play along are glamour, fame, wealth and power. Speaking out means ejection from the network, giving up your privilege, the deals, the celebrity invites, the networks that smooth the way to the next yacht, island, invite, pay-off.

The point of the network is to sustain privilege so people go along with it. If they went along with Epstein they are going along with others.

The Epstein files show we have created a world in which fabulously wealthy and powerful people have unlimited power to sustain their own clique.

We can see now what they do with that power.

Read Josie's column in The Post.