Amanda Gillies

speaker

2,688 appearances 50 recordings 4 series first heard Apr 2026 last heard 4d ago

Amanda Gillies’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 50 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 12.

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The Detail · Election 2026 - The disproportionate staying power of the rural vote · 21 Jun 2026 podcast

Hi, I'm Amanda Gillies and today on The Detail, the fight for the rural vote.

That's long been woven into our political DNA, but does the rural vote still have influence and relevance today?

Well, if the recent field days were anything to go by, the answer is absolutely.

Politicians have been out and about wooing potential voters at the annual field days in Hamilton.

Politicians from all sides of the political spectrum are still recovering from shaking hands, clutching spades and admiring tractors at the packed out event.

And for the next four or so months, they will eagerly crisscross rural roads, don gumboots, attend AMP shows, and court the farming vote with an intensity that often seems, well, out of proportion to the sector's size.

And this begs the question, why does rural New Zealand still punch well above its weight politically when farming is no longer considered to be the backbone of our economy?

That was firstly Sunday Star Times senior journalist Stuart Soman-Lund and then Otago University sociology professor Hugh Campbell.

Now he specialises in agriculture and food.

Today I sit down with the both of them to talk about the importance of the rural vote.

I do start with Hugh and the economic relevance of farming in New Zealand.

Well, this is what brings me to why are our politicians so desperate and chasing so hard the rural vote?

Fair.

Also, I find it interesting that New Zealand First is now, you know, jumping over ACT as almost being the second most popular with the rural voters.

What are you putting that down to, Hugh?

One of the big things that they all seem to be divided on, and this is the Coalition Party, is the Paris Climate Agreement.

I mean, there is real conflicting responses at the moment.

Can you talk us through what are their stances and really how problematic it could be?

So how problematic is that for Luxon or do you think that will appeal to the rural community?

And boy, have politicians been eagerly courting that farming vote this month.

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