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The Good Oil

The Good Oil

By: Cam Slater
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Political and news commentary with a New Zealand flavour hosted by New Zealand's multi award-winning number podcaster and blogger. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners. Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.2025 The Good Oil Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Episode 36 - Alan Roth-Snir

    Episode 36 - Alan Roth-Snir
    Jun 22 2026

    Welcome to Episode 36 of The Good Oil Podcast. Cam Slater sits down with Alon Roth, Israel's Ambassador to New Zealand, for a candid and insightful conversation.

    Born in Haifa in 1961, Ambassador Roth shares his journey from engineering studies and IDF service to a 40-year diplomatic career spanning Cameroon, the European Union, Jordan, London, Norway, Iceland, and now New Zealand.

    The discussion covers the transformative Abraham Accords, the psychological toll of decades of rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, the barbarity of the October 7 massacre, and the failure of much of the Western media — including in New Zealand — to present the full picture. Roth addresses double standards, antisemitism, and the resilience of Israeli society.

    They also explore Israel's extraordinary innovation in water management, agriculture, health tech, and high-tech, and the potential for deeper cooperation with New Zealand and Pacific nations like Fiji through knowledge-sharing rather than aid dependency.

    A must-listen for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Israel, the Middle East, and why a positive agenda of cooperation offers the best path forward.

    • 00:00 – Cigar review: Leaf by Oscar Valladares 10th Anniversary Crayola Toro
    • 01:12 – Welcome and introduction of Ambassador Alon Roth
    • 02:17 – Roth's background: Born Haifa 1961, family, moving around Israel, IDF infantry officer
    • 04:46 – Entering the Foreign Ministry in 1986/87
    • 05:13 – Postings: Cameroon (most meaningful – aid & cooperation), EU/Brussels/Strasbourg, Jordan (peace experience), London, Norway/Iceland, now NZ (first Pacific posting)
    • 09:07 – Impressions of New Zealand after 18 months
    • 10:44 – Retirement plans and family
    • 11:55 – Abraham Accords, direct flights, new Middle East cooperation (trend vs point)
    • 16:10 – Hamas miscalculation on Oct 7; Abraham Accords held
    • 19:30 – Living under rocket fire for 20 years; Iron Dome; sheltered rooms
    • 23:13 – Psychological burden on Israelis, personal stories as a father
    • 26:26 – Kibbutz residents who helped Gazans but were massacred/kidnapped on Oct 7
    • 29:57 – No Gazans helped hostages; comparison to WWII resistance
    • 32:16 – Denials of atrocities; Hamas bodycam footage; double standards
    • 36:24 – Media bias in NZ; disregarding Israeli evidence
    • 41:58 – Antisemitism, Christchurch Call hypocrisy (Israel excluded)
    • 46:38 – Historical antisemitism and current trends
    • 58:59 – UNRWA, incitement in textbooks
    • 01:00:40 – Arab Israelis in society; no apartheid (judges, doctors, cafes in Jaffa)
    • 01:07:46 – Israeli innovation (water recycling, drip irrigation, desalination, medical tech)
    • 01:14:35 – Potential for NZ-Israel cooperation in tech & youth innovation
    • 01:18:02 – Opportunities in the Pacific (Fiji embassy, water-from-air, expertise transfer)
    • 01:27:05 – Fiji connection via peacekeeping and Christian affinity
    • 01:35:44 – Diversity in Israeli society (Orthodox & gay beaches side-by-side, melting pot)
    • 01:37:49 – Closing: Positive agenda of cooperation

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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Episode 35 - Marewa Glover

    Episode 35 - Marewa Glover
    Jun 8 2026

    Professor Marewa Glover joins Cam Slater to expose the India-NZ Free Trade Agreement as colonisation by stealth. They break down weaponised racism smears, Auckland’s rapid demographic shifts, youth joblessness, incompatible values, and why Kiwis must protect their culture. Hard-hitting truth on bureaucracy, public health grift, and nicotine pouches. Episode 35 of The Good Oil Podcast.

    Key Moments & Timings (hh:mm:ss)
    00:00:03 – 00:01:40: Intro, theme, and cigar review (CLE Aura Classic Natural Toro)
    00:01:40 – 00:03:30: Welcome to Episode 35 with Professor Marewa Glover + submission on India FTA
    00:03:30 – 00:08:00: Racism redefined – biological inferiority vs weaponised smears to silence concerns
    00:08:00 – 00:13:30: Auckland’s visible changes, ethnic enclaves, and the fear of being “overrun”
    00:13:30 – 00:20:00: Three forms of colonisation (force, treaty, stealth) – FTA as stealth invasion
    00:20:00 – 00:28:00: Bureaucratic sabotage, fifth columnists, and public health lobby attacks
    00:28:00 – 00:35:00: Europe/UK warnings, rapid social change causing anxiety and loss of belonging
    00:35:00 – 00:42:00: Kiwi youth locked out of jobs, minimum-wage migrants, broken social contract
    00:42:00 – 00:50:00: Ethnic clustering (Long Bay, Dominion Rd), pace of change too fast for communities
    00:50:00 – 01:00:00: Incompatible values – child marriage stats (222 million girls in India), caste, low law compliance
    01:00:00 – 01:10:00: High-trust NZ vs competitive cultures, building code/bypass examples, Japan model
    01:10:00 – 01:25:00: Political infiltration risks, pro-rata immigration limits, protecting Kiwi culture
    01:25:00 – 01:35:00: Nicotine pouches/snus discussion, tobacco control failures and grift
    01:35:00 – 01:55:00: Call to wake up & speak up, final thoughts, outro


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    1 hr and 55 mins
  • Episode 34 - Billy Brown

    Episode 34 - Billy Brown
    Jun 1 2026
    Billy Brown is a Māori/Moriori man from North Canterbury who left school at 13 with dyslexia and built himself from the ground up on work ethic and accountability. He argues that New Zealand is a genuine meritocracy — not a racist country — and that the biggest thing holding Māori back in 2026 isn't colonisation, it's the victim politics of Te Pāti Māori. He calls out iwi elites extracting hundreds of millions in "taniwha tax" from mining and infrastructure projects as extortion, and argues National and Labour are functionally identical managers of managed decline. He backs NZ First as the only real alternative. On the economy, Brown wants New Zealand to dig: coal, oil, gas, rare earths. He calls out Green hypocrisy on electrification — you can't power everything while blocking every dam and mine — and points to the Think Big era as proof that long-term infrastructure investment works. He's scathing about the red tape strangling construction and the political class of career politicians who've never used their hands. The conversation ranges wide: New Zealand needs a bigger Pacific footprint or China fills the vacuum; Bainimarama's Fiji has lessons for us on constitutional reform and one-nation politics; the civil service blob is the real government and changing the party in power changes nothing until ministers are willing to appoint and sack their own people. On COVID, another inquiry won't get anywhere — the system prevents it. He closes with a simple pitch: voters are sick of being lied to. Any politician promising to fix New Zealand in three years is lying. The honest message is we're fixing it for our grandkids, not ourselves. Plain speakers, not riddle speakers. CHAPTER TIMINGS 00:02:00 Prosperous NZ = good for Maori 00:03:14 Background — dyslexia, left school at 13 00:04:29 Upbringing in Kaiapoi 00:05:31 His father's work ethic 00:07:25 The only person who will save you is yourself 00:08:52 Free speech — it's not 2020 anymore 00:09:22 Racist abuse from Maori toward Maori 00:11:22 Is NZ racist? Two Maori Deputy PMs 00:12:39 The only thing holding Maori back is themselves 00:13:02 Te Pāti Maori's victim business model 00:15:02 Leadership is sitting at the table 00:15:45 The Treaty — three articles, no principles 00:16:58 Property rights vs holding NZ to ransom 00:17:16 The taniwha tax — $350M, $150M, $100M 00:18:46 Billy T. James was ahead of his time 00:20:07 Ngai Tahu — settlement should draw a line 00:21:14 Santana mine — opposed only when demands weren't met 00:23:09 If it's so tapu why is it $150M? 00:24:01 Extortion is extortion 00:25:01 Better model: royalties, equity, labour hire 00:25:43 Sea Lord — are Maori on the boats? 00:26:41 Iwi corporates — no long-term people plan 00:28:09 Hapu farm — gates used as hangi pits 00:30:51 Moriori — not Maori, completely different 00:31:45 1835 — stolen ship, genocide at the Chathams 00:33:05 Rewriting Moriori history 00:33:22 Maori are not indigenous 00:34:26 Cultural evolution — can't be stuck 00:37:12 We're just Kiwis 00:37:20 Coming back after COVID — a divided country 00:39:22 National and Labour — a tissue's worth of difference 00:40:07 Labour has abused Maori votes for 100 years 00:41:02 Ardern split the country 00:41:39 Why Billy backed NZ First 00:41:54 NZF at 20% changes everything 00:42:25 National's hatred of Peters — 30 years in the DNA 00:42:51 National manages the decline, nothing more 00:43:15 Dig the coal 00:43:36 Waitaha Dam — the treaty or the frog? 00:47:58 Electrify everything, build nothing — Green hypocrisy 00:48:28 EVs — expensive, grid can't cope 00:49:47 NI-SI cable at capacity — $2B to fix 00:50:19 EVs export our problems overseas 00:50:55 Ditch net zero — dig oil, gas, rare earths 00:51:16 Real wins: clean water, ban microplastics 00:52:05 Lake Rotorua nitrates — a fixable problem 00:53:14 Not feeling good. Feeling smug. 00:53:27 Who votes Green? 00:53:48 NZ was an economic powerhouse in the 50s 00:55:08 Kiwi innovation killed by red tape 00:55:26 Road cones — 15% of a tender is compliance 00:56:36 Whangaparaoa tollway: 6 years for 5km 00:57:05 Otiha Valley busway — moved the bottleneck 4km 00:58:32 Think 12-24 years, not election cycles 00:59:06 Think Big — all opposed, all essential 00:59:41 Without Think Big: $10 a litre 01:00:31 NZ's Pacific footprint — stop lecturing 01:01:01 China filling the vacuum 01:03:29 Bainimarama — NZ boycotted, China moved in 01:06:28 Fiji's income: remittances and UN soldiers 01:15:06 One nation, one people 01:16:40 Frank's downfall — AG corruption 01:18:55 Should NZ become a republic? 01:19:42 The treaty blocks a republic 01:20:21 Bill of Rights should be primary legislation 01:21:01 Another COVID inquiry won't get anywhere 01:21:47 River of filth — we remember 01:22:00 We're changing managers, not government 01:22:44 The blob in action: the vape ban 01:25:08 Drain the swamp or nothing changes 01:25:54 Ministers need to ...
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    1 hr and 42 mins
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