# Beijing, Buried Emails and Telling America Where to Go

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cross-party-lines-7562106/beijing-buried-emails-and-telling-america-where-to-go
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cross-party-lines-7562106/beijing-buried-emails-and-telling-america-where-to-go.md
Podcast: [Cross Party Lines](https://stenobird.com/podcast/cross-party-lines-7562106)
Published: 2026-06-08T16:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://crosspartylines.substack.com/p/beijing-buried-emails-and-telling
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/201118226/bdb6980a51442b1ab258e644a5f8c609.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/cross-party-lines-7562106/episodes/beijing-buried-emails-and-telling-america-where-to-go
Duration seconds: 3082

## Resource

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson , Cross Party Lines welcomes Phil back from China with a packed episode that moves from the streets of Beijing to the corridors of Parliament — and closes with a sharp verdict on American politicians who can’t stop telling other countries what to do. Thanks to our foundational partner, Frank Risk Management , the 100% Kiwi owned insurance brokerage. In this episode: * Phil’s China dispatch — infrastructure, trade and a more controlling Beijing — Phil’s first China visit in nine years left him genuinely impressed and genuinely concerned in equal measure. The infrastructure shames us and the air in Beijing is so clean it’s unrecognisable from the smog-choked city he visited in the 2000s. * Lobbying, Gmail accounts and the OIA that disappeared — Emails sent to the Prime Minister’s principal policy advisor’s private Gmail account — from Fonterra in June 2024 and Z Energy in July 2024, both lobbying on the Mike Smith climate litigation — were never disclosed under OIA requests. Phil is unambiguous: two separate incidents, two private email accounts, no disclosure. This was not a stuff-up. Chris thinks it was probably cock-up rather than conspiracy, but agrees the Official Information Act needs teeth. * Hegseth, Vance and the Americans who won’t stay in their lane — Pete Hegseth managed to enrage most of Western Europe with an immigration rant at D-Day commemorations. JD Vance tried to weaponise the killing of an 18-year-old student by a British-born Sikh to score points about mass migration. Phil’s response is the most direct of the episode: New Zealand has nothing to apologise for, the Yanks were late for both world wars, and Mike Moore’s line captures it perfectly — we might do anything you ask, we won’t do anything you tell us. Wid…

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