 With your help, we can continue to fight for freedom. This is not possible without your generosity. Join our quest for the truth and our freedom. Simply visit www.realitycheck.radio forward slash donate to make a difference today. Now it's time for Cams Buddies. This week, we'll find out what they think about Grant Robertson bailing out from Parliament and it seems he's found another trough to snuffle at. Vice-Chancellor at the University of Otago. Like Jacinda Ardern, he's bailed out after wrecking the joint. My producer has them all lined up and ready to go. Let's see what Cams Buddies think about Grant Robertson. Welcome to Cams Buddies, Lindley. Good to have you back. Hi, Cam. Are you well? Oh, yes. Box of birds. I've just finished an interview with Gary Moeller talking about my health. So, you know... Oh, well, you'll be right. That's right. Gary's looking after that very well. And, you know, we had a good old chat. Everybody's going to enjoy listening to that. Well, are you getting all your minerals tested? Yes, yes. I've done a test and that's what we discussed. We had all the results of that. And there's some, let's say deficiencies in... But Gary's on top of that and we're working on supplements and proteins and all sorts of things. But anyway, we're here to talk about Grant Robertson tonight and how he's gone from one amply provided trough that has seen him expand himself quite substantially and cruised off into another trough at the University of Otago. What do you think about that? Well, I think it's funny you have said that because, well, first and foremost, he could not be my worst subject and all will be revealed shortly. But my friend, the first thing she said was he's just exchanging one trough for another. Dead right. Snuffling at the trough. Like a little grunter pig. Snuffling, yes. And as you know, I've said to you before that I have done caricatures in the past. Well, the sight of him, you know, it's almost irresistible for the pencil, isn't it? Oh, I think you better send one to me, Linley. We'll publish it on the RCR website and get people to see that caricature. I'm sure Marie Buskie wouldn't mind to see a caricature of Grant Robertson. But what is it with these politicians? What is it with politicians? They never, you know, like Ardern, they caused untold misery and the economy destroyed New Zealand society and then they swan off to multimillion-dollar or at least hundreds of thousands of dollars salaried jobs that have been arranged for them. They never get to suffer any consequences. And we've got Grant Robertson doing the same. I know, and my word for that is the untouchables. They're absolutely untouchable. They can wreak havoc on everything and anything, trample all over the people with no remorse whatsoever, and they just go on to greater things. It's incredible, isn't it? I mean, you know, Trevor Mallard ended up as an ambassador to Ireland. Now we've got Jacinda Ardern, who's got this, you know, swanky jobs, you know, and a big knighthood. Now we've got Grant Robertson doing this job, and it's amazing. I mean, he would have to be the worst finance minister in living history. And he's going to be in charge of a university that is already substantially in debt. It's incredible, really. Well, it's the bull in the China shop. And of course, that's my question, you know. So is he the right person for the job we have to ask, don't we? And the vice chancellor, Professor Helen Nicholson, in outlining the perilous financial state of the university last May, she said, quote, it's panic stations. I forecast that hundreds of staff will be leaving in the next 18 months. Yeah, well, that's the same, isn't it? I mean, Otago University is $203 million in debt. And now they think the guy who took government debt from $5 billion to $93 billion with nothing to show for it's their man. It's incredible. Yes. It is incredible. But he's really proud of what he's done. And he's really proud of one achievement, which absolutely fascinates me. He's really proud that he is the first, now, what is it? The first open, gay deputy prime minister. What do you do? I couldn't give two hoots about his sexual orientation or whatever he gets up to behind closed doors. I want to know if a person's got the merit for the job. Well, he doesn't, clearly. I mean, he's now got a job. He's now got a job where he'll be earning more than the prime minister. He's reached a pinnacle in his career. And so therefore, he can only go downhill after he wrecks another institution. Yes. But I suppose it's a good thing because he might wreck it fairly fast. It does look like it's dying a long death, doesn't it? He might wreck it really fast. It would be like humane euthanasia for pets, you know? I mean, the thing is, he's likely to make them even more woke than they are. And we all know what happens when you go woke. You get broke. Go woke, go broke. Yeah. No, I just think it's absolutely, it's beyond belief. Yeah, I suppose you've got one part right, though, in his job title. It's the vice part, isn't it? Oh, well, that's true. That's true. Because look, he's got no remorse. He's got no remorse for inflation being at a 32-year high when he left. He's got no remorse for a soaring cost of living crisis. And there were, at times, up to 600,000 people a month who relied on food charities. He's got no remorse for that. And he doesn't look like he's Mr. Meal. No, he's a salad dodger. He certainly is. Yeah, I mean, Chris Hopkins is very skinny. And he's very skinny because Grant Robertson got all the sausage rolls. Oh, is that what happened? Well, you'd have to say that was the case, wouldn't you, given the state of Grant Robertson? I mean, we're not allowed to talk about fat ladies, right? But we can talk about fat men. Will I do? My mother always used to tell me off when I wrote something about it. It's not over till the fat lady sings, and she'd say, but that's sexist. So I used to change it. So it's not all over until the fat man sings. No, well, you see, I'm the opposite of that scale. I'm tall and lean, and all my life, even now, when people should know better, I get skinny shamed. I do. And I've been, yes, I've been called all sorts of things because they think they've got free license to do it. They think it's all right to tell people how skinny they are. I've been told, you know, if I stood sideways on, I wouldn't cast a shadow. And I'd make a good pull-through for a gun. And do I eat anything? And at least you know what a pull-through is, though. At least you know what a pull-through is. Well, that's true. Yeah, that's a bonus. Well, I thought it was Daniel Boone's. Hello? Yeah, no, I think that's right. I mean, you know what a pull-through is, so that's good. Yeah, well, you know, I read Daniel Boone books, you know. I know about those guns. You sound like a stand-up lady. Lately, you really are. Well, all of them make me stronger. Anyway, while I was waiting for you to come on the call, I've just written a very short little letter to Grant Roberts. Oh, good. Are you going to read it out? Could I read that out? Absolutely, go for it. It's a little bit shocking, so brace yourself. So I've said here, he said, quote, I don't regret saving lives and livelihoods during COVID, and I'm most proud of that. And I'm saying, well, Grant, if you're listening, you might like to know that due to your mod's policy of postponing surgery to support empty beds in hospitals, my spouse is now lying in the Belkin Cemetery. That's his current address. A simple gallbladder operation left months too late, and he died in hospital six days afterwards. Like you, Grant, he gave everything he had, but there was no way back for him, unlike you. And no, he never got a cent from you for it, but you remain proud. And I think that sums them up. They are so distanced from reality, that he could stand up there and say he's saved lives and he's proud of it. I know. It's appalling, and it's very brave of you to read that out, and I feel your pain. Well, it just has to be addressed because there are thousands of people the same. There are people who missed cancer treatments, who couldn't get scans and all sorts of things, and they're not here now either. No, it's awful. And there's people now that are suffering the consequences of their awful mandates as well, and nobody's prepared to address it. And we all know people like your husband or friends or family that have got appalling health outcomes, including death, and these politicians sit there and say how proud they are. You know, they're actually criminals. Exactly. I've read Jacinda Ardern's talk about Grant Robinson that she's put on, I think it's on Facebook or something, one of those things, but she's, you know, so sickly going on about how marvelous they all are and everything. I mean, they are totally removed from reality. And he says that his toughest time was during the protest. Well, it wasn't tough for him. You know, he had all the comfort of either home or parliament buildings, and he could sit up there and look down on those people. That wasn't tough. He had all those strapping policemen in their uniforms that he could watch all day long. Hmm. He would have enjoyed that. You know, I just find them, I don't know what the other buddies will think, but I just find this absolutely beyond belief. Well, I mean, your views were rather personal and very strong, and, you know, the listeners out there could hear that emotion. They could hear the emotion in my voice. Um, you know, I'm touched that you read that out. Well, I think it has to be said, I've been waiting for a long time to be able to say that. Well, I'm very happy to have given you that opportunity, Lindy. Good. All right, I better let you go so you can gather yourself together, and I need to do the same before the next call. That was very emotional. Oh, well, it's real. It's reality. It's reality. We're on reality check radio. This is something that's real. Yeah, that's perfect, and that's what we're here for, and it's important that these politicians know this, and I'm going to get the producer to trim out your little letter, and I'm going to get it sent to Grant Robertson, and we'll see. Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, well, make sure he can hear it. He needs to hear it. And I'll even try and get a little shareable of that so we can put that on Facebook and Twitter and things like that, because I think these politicians need to know what the effects of their decisions were and the very personal harms that were caused by their actions. They do, and thank you for that. You're most welcome, Lindy, and we'll talk again next week. OK, thanks, Ken. Thanks. See you later. Bye-bye. Good afternoon, Paul. Welcome to Cam's Buddies. Good afternoon, Ken. How are you? Fantastic. So how about that Grant Robertson, eh? He's quit Parliament and decided to go and get a job where he's paid more than the Prime Minister to run a university that is $203 million in debt. Well, he knows a little bit about debt, so maybe that's one of his characteristics that they were looking for. But what I think is interesting is wasn't that one of the jobs that Chris Hipkins was saying a bit earlier was they were watching it because the play was too high and it was way outside the scale? And I think if I remember rightly, they were over half a million dollars wages for such a position back in 2017. Yeah, it's $600,000. It's more than the Prime Minister. Yeah, I mean, first off, if you can get them, they're pretty good, and I know that those universities seem pretty woke, so that they would like someone like the finance minister of Labour, or the finance spokesman for Labour, because Labour kind of leaned down those ways, but it doesn't sound at all like jobs for the boys, so that's good. He's got some skills, as you say, and debt. Now, Otago University's kind of small bear for him, $203 million in debt. Grant Robertson took government debt from $5 billion to $93 billion with nothing to show for it, and they've decided he's their man. So I guess we're going to see Otago University's debt try and get at least close to $1 billion in short order. Well, I'm looking, I'm thinking, how many students, I think they have something like 20,000 students and over 400 staff, 4,000 staff. I've got huge amounts of staff there, so I'm not at all surprised that they've got that sort of debt. These sort of things, I just look in there, I shake my head really, and is that an appointment that was happening prior to the new government, or did the new government sanction this? Well, the university is responsible for their own hiring, but it's interesting you raise those numbers. I've just had a quick look of that. You'll find these mildly amusing. Academic staff at University of Otago, 1,744, and there's 2,246 of them as administrative staff. So they've got more administrative staff than they have academic staff, but you're right, it's about 4,000 staff and about 21,000 students. Yeah, because I remember thinking those numbers way back were just at odds with things. And I was thinking it was 4,000, but it was fighting it. I was thinking it's just ridiculous, it's 1 in 5. So there's 25 students who've got a staff member thinking, no, I won't be there. I must have made a mistake by 10, so that's why I'm thinking 400. But the 4,000 staff, I mean, there must be something there that you could call to try and save a dollar if you're a volunteer. But you could probably employ more staff as well if you want to see how much you can blow the dead out by. Well, I mean, that's ridiculous. There will be courses at Otago University that are of no use to man or beast, and they could probably save a lot of money by culling those. But I think it looks like the University of Otago is a make-work scheme for failed people in any other job, and they end up being teachers or supporting the teachers. Exactly. And I think it was a target specialty. Was it the dentistry there? Was it medical people there? I think it might have been medical people that come out of that Otago University. Yeah, I think it's both dentists and medical school. Yeah, well, I'm not sure that they get many graduates through because if you try and get an appointment at the doctor these days, you can't get in the next day or two. It's in the next week or two or three. And so then whatever ailment you have has either healed itself or it's killing you. So look, and I think there's something amiss if there's one in four, so one admin for every four or five students. And then at the end of it, there's no doctors that are around to help the general public anyway. It seems ludicrous. It seems a ludicrous amount of money. I'm just looking up the stats. The budget is $756 million per annum, $756 million. It seems a lot of that's a lot of. Well, you need to save much to actually get the thing back in the right color of the ledger. But it depends on whether they've got a policy to try and see how much they can spend and blow the budget out by or have a deficit by. And it does that money to begin to account the return on investment of an asset. In other words, the price of the land and buildings I've got there, someone has ownership of that. And that's worth a lot of money as well. Because I look at many of these places and I think that they don't live in the land of reality financially, even in their financials because they've got a whole lot of free stuff like the land, the buildings, whatever. And then they put a number in for them and put it in on one hand and take it out on the other. So it's really not the number. So often these things, when I look at the finances of any of the educational facilities that I've looked at in the past, it's quite hard to read the numbers because they... Well, they don't make things from a business perspective, do they, at all? No, not at all. And also, one of the things that many government funding like would be likely to be in the university, and I'm not talking about the extra students fees, but if the government is funding any of this, they want the money to be spent on the students in the year that it was given. So that they like to know that if they gave a million dollars that a million dollars was spent on those students that it was lined up for, so you can't make a profit. But a 200 million deficit, not too many of us want those in our business. Having said that, with a $750,000 income, that's not inconsequential either. And who knows, I wouldn't have thought Grant's the man for the job to be fair. I think you could find better people out of PWC or any of these other reasonably sized accounting firms that would put your arm off to get a position that pays in the order of north of half a million. Yeah, I think Grant will sit there and go, oh, $203 million debt, let me add it. We'll see how big that we can get that number. All right, Paul. Yeah, that's nothing. Yeah, that's nothing. I'll show you debt. It's amazing, isn't it? They never suffer any consequences. Anyway, Paul, I better go to Jack. He's waiting on the line, so I will say goodbye to you until next week, and we'll speak again. Bye for now. Hello, Jack. Welcome to Cam's Buddies. Thank you, Cam. Hello. So, Grant Robertson, eh? I'm sorry about last week. This week, not approved. That's all right. You're an elderly man. You've got to have your rest every now and then. Don't let it happen again. Hey, I'm up with the elbow. It will never happen again. So, Grant Robertson, he's gone from one trough to the next. He's now scored himself a job that pays higher than the prime minister. And he's gone to a university that's $203 million in debt, or that he probably thinks that's chump change, really. And Otago University thinks he's the man for the job. What do you think? I think he is the man for the job. I think he was the man for the job in the last Labour government. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by idiots, just the name of a few, Phil Twyford, Anaya Mahuta, Kamal Sepoloni, Willie Jackson. I need to go on. I reckon he was fantastic. He's steered a great chip. And you know what was best about him? He was always positive, unlike our current two, that are totally negative, which is really, really getting the country down. The prime minister, for example, has just come out with the most negative load of bull, ever, and the whole country's going, oh, oh, we're doomed. He was like that in New Zealand, of course. Yeah, the thing is with Grant Robertson is that he could act with glee when you're pushing the cash printers out the window and spraying vast swathes of cash into the economy, causing massive inflation. And of course, you can be gleeful when you're doing that. Well, you may say that, but he navigated us through a very tough time and say what you like. The Otago University people are not stupid. I mean, I believe that he has to be a doctor to be in that position. He's not a doctor, but he met the requirements. They know that he's a brilliant guy. Well, we'll have to beg to differ on that, but I guess that's why we have Camus Buddies so people can ring in and say cockamamie things and the listeners will then write in and say, what sort of drugs is Jack taking? But that's fine. That's all good. Yeah, lots of them. You can cut me off now if you like. No, why would I do that? I enjoy talking to you, Jack. Yeah, no, I've got a lot of time for him. Well, Grant Robertson said that he's especially proud of the work that he did during COVID and he found that the time of the protest at Wellington was his most challenging time. Now, you've sort of covered off his COVID work, but what about that comment about the Wellington protest? Well, forget all that. Imagine sort of being the Minister of Finance surrounded by a bunch of idiots in your own party and then the Greens would top it off. I mean, to come through, I'm trying to appease everybody slightly and keep the ship running steadily. That's no mean feat. I reckon he did a great job personally. You may recall last year, you said, who would I have in a forthcoming election or parliament? And I think at that time, I said, well, look at Nicola Willis, what the hell does she know? And she has proven to be... I agree with you on that. Yeah, she knows nothing. Yeah, totally agree with you on that. But I would have thought Michael Cullen was a better finance minister than Grant Robertson all day long. Well, okay, he was good too, very good. But you see, on the Rob Moldoon fan, there that goes against the Green Business. And he and Grant Robertson was compared with him today on the news. Well, the thing with Rob Moldoon is he actually built things that we're using today to... The funny thing is, is that the very people who opposed Rob Moldoon, the values type people, the greenie type people, the left wing, they opposed all of the things like Think Big. And it's all of those projects that are powering their smug mobiles, their little electric cars that they drive around and they're all funded by the power from those Think Big projects. As I've said to you before, when I was an engineer on the Manapuri Power Project, it broke my heart and they didn't complete it. Yeah. The biggest project of the slope in the world, cut short by greenies voting against it at the last moment. It's probably some... Probably some rare water snail that needed to be moved to a different lake. People that have been to Australia lots of times that have never once ever been to Manapuri. It's a beautiful place. I spent a couple of years there. Oh, you know all about the mosquitoes then? Yep. I grew to love them. That was the only way you could cook. Well, they're big enough to eat, aren't they? They're just like small chickens, really. Yeah. If there was one exposed part of your body, you were covered head to foot, you thought, but then there'd be this black fur sitting with somebody that, oh, another unexposed part. All right. So you're a big fan of Grant Robertson. You think he deserves that job? That's your opinion? Yep. Do you think that they're chancellors and others that are targeting university are stupid? Yeah, I do, actually. But then I have an extreme disdain for academics in general. So maybe it's pathological with me. I just don't like them. And anything they do, I don't like either. Yeah. Well, I'm having trouble. I said I'm going to be a hypocrite and kind of agree with you. All right, Jack, on that note, we'll say goodbye for tonight and we'll talk again next week. Cheers. Thank you. Welcome to Cams Buddies, Jimmy. Good to have you back on the show. G'day, Cams. How are you this week? Perfect. We're good. Yeah, always good. Good. So how about Robbo, eh? What? Grant Robertson's got himself a call for a new job. What do you think about that? I think it's a troffer going from one big trough to another big trough, mate. It's like big squealing in July. Can you imagine? Can't you squeal like a little pee? He's gone to a six, allegedly $630,000 salary. There's more than the prime minister. For someone who's failed and being voted out to be awarded that job as a non-professor, is just such a trough. It just looks like Ardern, isn't it? Bolting after wrecking the joint, going to a cushy number with no consequences for your actions at all. Not even a second of not earning any money. No, and they've both gone to work universities. It's just terrible. It doesn't have any scruples, these people. Well, what about the situation of Otage University there? 203 million people there. 203 million plus in debt. And they've decided that the guy who increased our debt in New Zealand from $5 billion to $93 billion is the man for them. Well, that's what I was going to say. I think that that's going to be as undoing, because he will have to make cuts there. The university isn't the New Zealand Treasury. It doesn't have the funding. It just can't borrow. You will have to make some cuts. He doesn't have the government printing presses anymore to vomit vast swathes of cash. He doesn't have the taxpayers in New Zealand backing his big decisions. And so he will have to make cuts. They will have to chop. And how's he going to do that? He doesn't know how to do that. So for three years, you'll be going to the government for a bailout, you think? I don't think it will take that long. And also, he was given the job without being a professor. It's astonishing, isn't it? They've shortcutted it for him. It has to have been a cushy shoulder tap deal, isn't it? Were they advertising? Was he the best candidate? Who were the other candidates? Why won't they tell us that? If they said there was a field of 57 eminently qualified people, they weren't, you know, we like Robbo, so we're choosing him. That's what it looks like to me. Well, that's what it is, isn't it? There's just no doubt about it. I mean, it's just all too... You know, by not standing in a central wing and seeing when you're going to chuck it in, he would have known about this and been waiting for a long time for this just to pop up. That's what these list troffers do, isn't it? It's just proves that they're all troffers. They honestly are. Now, this week with Luxon cutting on Welfare has been good. Good to see the squealing out there. There'll be lots of squealing. Lots of squealing. The news media will go and find some little activists, people who will be a little bit sad that they might have to go and get a job. But how can they morally say that they should just be able to sit there and get paid by our taxpayers and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it? How do they explain that away, Camp? Um... It's called sanctimony. You know, I just... I've been seeing the outcries against Luxon and saying that he just doesn't know and disconnected from the reality, but it's like some people have been on the job seeker for 13 years and they're able to work and they just don't want... Maybe they think it's like hide-and-seek and they're taking the hide part literally and not doing the seeking part. I don't know, but it's like, thank God the adults are back in charge. So, yeah. So anyway, that's my thoughts on old grant, mate. If Hipkins goes, Labour's got no... What experience have they got, isn't it? Their talent, Paul, is shallow as a birdbath in summer. Oh, no, Willie Jackson would be the most experienced just about, wouldn't he? I hope he gets... That would be awesome if he was the leader. That would be amazing. It would make my day. It would make my day. He probably wouldn't like to... Wouldn't like me to share my text messages with him. It might become embarrassing. Oh, Willie's got a... I don't like his politics, but he's got a certain appeal time. He's a bloody funny bugger, eh? I like his front. He's unashamed about what he's about. And I kind of like that in politicians that they're comfortable in their own skin. He gives as good as he gets. He tends not to get too precious about things. He gives people a fair go. He just wants his own trough. But when he hit his radio show, and you still don't want to share it with me. I did. He was... He was bloody funny. He'd give callers heaps of... Give them heaps. I always thought he did a reasonable job and he always gave me a fair... a fair suck of the sav, so to speak. And I enjoyed... You must say, oh, Cameron's okay. He's okay. Yeah. I mean, I like Willie. You've got to take the rough with the tumble. And, you know, he's not too bad. I actually quite like Willie. I think he's racist. But I'm entitled to say that. You know, so... Yeah, I hope he does step up. I mean, there's nobody else in Labour that's any good. I mean, they're all just a bunch of... Well, thank you. What's your thoughts on Meccanulty? I think he's dodgier than a two-bob watch. Is it South Declared Socialist? Yeah. He'd be a Chardonnay socialist for sure. He'd be a Chardonnay socialist for sure. But they all are. Yeah. They... Yeah, well, he's chattered as a Meccalite. So once it goes, which is, you know, it's actually coming around, then... How does Labour rebuild from this? You know... Well, every political party has to do this. The National had to go through it. You know, there'll be a few coups. There'll be a few spills. There'll be, you know, a few people who make stuff-ups. It's all entertaining, and it just makes great radio for me. So, you know, I don't actually want them to get themselves sorted out. I want to see carnage. And, you know, I want to see... Politics is a blood sport, and I want to see lots of blood. Yeah, well, you did right. But I always believe that governments always need opposition and the decent opposition. That's not... That's the whole point of it. And Hopkins is useless at opposition. And, you know, we don't want Lux and getting too big, you know? We want them to keep thinking hard about his decisions. Yeah. Anyway, Grant's gone. That's another win. It is. It is another win. It'll be fantastic that he's gone. Hopefully, he won't make any more pronouncements like Helen Clark does or Jacinda Ardern does. She just disappears. We never hear from him again. And he just sits down there and sits down there in Otago in Dunedin in the depths of winter eating pies and sausage rolls. OK, Cam. Thanks, mate. All right, mate. Thanks for your call. And we'll talk next week. Welcome to Cam's Buddies, Miles. Pleased to have you back on the show. Good afternoon, Cam. It's great to be back. How are we today? Yeah, good, mate. Good, mate. Everything's good. Every day above ground's a good day. Excellent. So, Grant Robertson has quit Parliament and he's got himself a job that pays more than the Prime Minister. What are your thoughts on that? Are we referring to Grant Robertson in the role of Vice Chancellor at Otago University by chance? We are. That's the very one. And is this trough so deep and wide that you could lose half of the poor people of South Auckland in it? Probably. It's not quite as deep and as wide as the trough he's been supping from. Certainly he doesn't have the ability to line up cash printing machines outside windows and spray for the next quantities of New Zealand dollars into the economy. But this is what I can't work out miles, right? And I've just put the same question to each of the buddies. I said, you know, Otago University is $203 million in debt. They have 4,000 staff for 21,000 students and of those 4,000 staff are actually teaching and the rest are administration staff. And they have an annual revenue of $750 million. So they've decided to pick the guy that took New Zealand's debt from $5 billion to $93 billion and they're going to pay more than the Prime Minister gets. Look, I think it's a fantastic idea. Look at it this way. The Vice-Chancellor, I have to be humble here and I have submitted to the Scourge of Google and I have asked Google, what are the duties of a Vice-Chancellor? And it came up with leadership management and development of the University and realisation of its strategic plan. Now I thought this was quite interesting so I decided what are the qualities of a good Vice-Chancellor? Because of the topic of conversation, I think all of us have strong opinions about Grant Robinson and I thought I would just tell you what Mr Google says. Well, apparently the qualities of a good Vice-Chancellor are exceptional ability across a wide range of working situations together with the requisite degree of authority, integrity, financial property, commercial acumen and intellect. And I thought well there's a big fat raspberry blowing there isn't there? Sure is. He's got none of those skills at all. So I began to reflect on Targo University and its debt and its amount of staff and I thought maybe it's not a university. Maybe it's actually a Labour Party nursery and maybe we are through all our generous donations as taxpayers are funding future Labour Party MPs and activists. And I thought to myself hmm maybe that's why Grant Robinson has gone down to Otago University. Maybe recruitment of Labour members in Otago has fallen off significantly and he needs to correct that. Maybe it is but I certainly can't see him, well I wish him all is all the best but really I mean it sounds to me like Otago University is in a precarious situation and I'd just like to say the requisite degree of authority, integrity financial property and commercial acumen and intellect well I can tell you that if they're looking for that I don't think that Grant Robinson would be the correct person for the job. Yeah I mean Jack doesn't agree with you he thinks he's wonderful but you know Jack took the vaccine so you know that kind of sees everything but I'm sure he's wonderful but at what? Tell me at what he's wonderful? That's the thing because you know the way I'm looking at it from I think he's the worst finance minister we've had in living memory and that's taking that's really challenging Sir Robert Muldoon for that title but I think Robertson easily beats him in that regard. One wonders about Otago University one wonders whether it's a fixed term contract with Robertson I doubt it but think of it this way what sort of wreckage of Otago University as it is now and let's be honest Otago University's financial status now is what I would describe as grim I mean it's hanging on by its teeth and we're seeing a whole lot of pro-vax nutters come out of Otago not to mention the anti-smoking nutters that come out of Otago all of these types of activism really I mean Otago University is staggering I think and people are asking the question why should I go to Otago and I don't think Grant Robertson will have the answer to that question No I don't think he will at all I don't think he's got any answers for anything other than I'm sure we could increase our borrowings Look there's no doubt that Otago has been a stellar institution in the past but sadly I have to say that the respect I have for the academic system these days is beyond low I'm very very disappointed with what the universities are getting up to and I'm beginning to think that they have lost the plot and have become left-wing propaganda organs I think that happened quite some time ago Miles Maybe you're right I'm not known for people on universities but you know in my day Otago University and going down to Otago was the making of many young people and certainly doctors from Otago University were well respected and looked up to in any country in the world and I could say that of a number of courses but I'm beginning to seriously wonder about Otago University these days and seriously Grant Robertson I believe will not inspire confidence in the largely conservative catchment that Otago University services I would tend to agree with you on that and I think he's not qualified in even the remotest sense for the job and a job for the boys it's who you know not what you know but on the plus side we never have to see him bloviating in the parliament ever again Thank goodness for that and on a personal note Dunedin is quite a cold city in the winter and for me personally I can't stand the winters in Dunedin but I just wonder how long Grant Robertson will stand them or maybe he'll have six months off every year in a sunny climb Well I'm sure at $630,000 or whatever it is he'll be spending a lot of time in tropical Good Lord did you just say $630,000 Yeah he gets paid more than the Prime Minister $630,000 Good Lord I think I'm going to have to have a glass of wine in the sit down No thank you better You may as well get back into that now I didn't realise there was so much That's laughable I'm sorry That's laughable Yep $630,000 that's what the Vice-Chancellor of Otago University University $203 million in debt 4,000 staff for 21,000 students That's what you get paid The poor schmucks That's all I can say Totally Anyway Miles as your thoughts on Grant Robertson and hopefully whatever more convivial topic to talk about next week Yes Thank you very much Cam and we'll see you next week Okay thanks Miles Wow Wasn't Linley's letter to Grant Robertson certainly cracked me and I might have even had a little tear coming out of my eyes they're leaking for sure I'm so blessed to have such a great bunch of mates and Linley is the new buddy and it's amazing the things she comes up with They're all so wise and speak common sense except maybe Jack's been on the source not sure I'll check Tell us your thoughts on Cam's buddies by emailing inbox at realitycheck.radio or text to 2057 Thanks for tuning in to RCR Reality Check Radio Do you like what you're listening to or dislike what you're listening to Either way we want to hear from you Get in touch with us now You can text us with your message to 2057 That's 2057 Or email us at inbox at realitycheck.radio We'd love to hear from you Thank you