The Good Oil

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...

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...

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 hundred...

Cam Slater finally sits down with legendary political journalist Barry Soper for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation about Barry’s new book, the 12 Prime Ministers he’s covered, and what politics really looks like from the inside. Barry opens up about the catastrophic loss of his personal archives (a staff member “tidied” several thousand pages of notes going back to Roger Douglas) and ho...

Cam welcomes Tameem Barakat, founder of The Centrist, for a deep and personal conversation. The episode opens with the ritual humidor check — this week featuring the La Ora Family Creed Foete Sol Toro from Canteros.nz — before Tameem tells his story. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Tameem has Egyptian and Italian-Jewish heritage. His parents married in 1960s London when class and education matte...

Buckle up for a no-holds-barred chat with Elliot Ikilei from Hobson's Pledge. We dive into his wild ride from a chaotic upbringing – solo parents on both sides, teenage drugs, booze, and rebellion – to finding faith at 25 and turning it all around through youth work. Elliot pulls no punches on the bad cases that broke him, the wins that fueled him, and why Hobson's Pledge is battling what he calls...

Cam sits down with the man causing absolute chaos in Māori social media circles — the guy they call Shubz. After years of watching his people get failed by the very organisations claiming to represent them, Shubz decided enough was enough. What started as live streams on TikTok has turned into a full-frontal assault on iwi elites, unaccountable millions in Treaty settlements, and the “you’re not M...

The Tyrannosaurus Machine: Nathan Smith on Cancellation, Media Lies, and the "Shadow Map" of Power Former journalist and political insider Nathan Smith joins Cam Slater to pull back the curtain on how the machinery of power actually works. From the "Tyrannosaurus" media narrative that fuels public cancellations to the concept of "Love Speech"—the unregulated PR manipulation that runs our newsfeeds...

In this episode of The Good Oil, Cam Slater sits down with former National MP Alfred Ngaro. This isn't a standard political interview; it's an autopsy of the modern New Zealand political machine. Ngaro provides a rare insider's perspective on the shift from the "Old School" politics of John Key and Winston Peters to the "Managerial" era of Christopher Luxon and the "Performative" era of Jacinda Ar...

In Episode 27 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam chats with social commentator Eeryk McRae. Passionate, articulate, and politically sharp, Eeryk tackles government overreach, the rise of young voices in online political discourse, and the state of modern debate. He’s critical of the left without drifting to the far-right, bringing a fair, intelligent perspective to a fast-moving conversation that covers...

In Episode 26 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam gets to know Nathan Seuli of PILLAR: Protecting Individual Life, Liberty, And Rights. Nathan is a Christian advocate for free speech, civil liberties, and rights to privacy, and a strong believer in a public square that is moderate, reasonable, and transparent. He unpacks why values matter, what is at stake when they are weakened, and why defending them m...

In Episode 25 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam talks with “silent protestor” Lucy Rogers. She’s a criminal defence lawyer and Free Speech Union member, who was arrested at a November 2023 anti-Israel protest. An investigation later found the arrest was unlawful, and Lucy is now taking legal action.  She recounts what happened and why her case matters, as a warning about policing, protest rights, and f...

In Episode 24 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with New Zealand internet pioneer Seeby Woodhouse. The Orcon founder turned Voyager boss says he’s got a busy mind, and the conversation moves fast, from hard-earned founder lessons, to a full-tilt look at what’s coming next. Seeby admits “the world is a scary place”, then dives into power, privacy, security, and the next generation of AI agents...

In Episode 23 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with Hugh Devereux-Mack, public spokesperson for the Council of Licensed Firearm Owners. As New Zealand debates the next stage of gun reforms, the conversation turns sharp. Hugh argues licensed owners are too often blamed, and pushes back hard. Media-seasoned, intelligent and mission-focused. He and Cam don’t dodge the tough questions for gun ow...

In Episode 22 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with veteran left-winger, political strategist, and unapologetic straight-talker Matt McCarten. And things get heated fast. In one of Cam’s most explosive conversations yet, Matt fires off blistering allegations about Labour MP Willie Jackson, the Jackson whānau’s influence, and the power dynamics surrounding the Manukau Urban Māori Authority (M...

In Episode 21 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with road-safety crusader, Better Roads founder and accidental folk hero Geoff Upson. Geoff has spent years waging a one-man war on crumbling roads, bureaucratic inertia, and the maddening gap between what officials promise and what actually gets fixed. He’s famous for spray-painting giant phalluses around Auckland potholes when the council woul...

In Episode 20 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with Free Speech Union CEO Jillaine Heather, a forthright voice in New Zealand’s free-expression battles. After two decades working overseas, she returned home to a country she’s increasingly disappointed in: more anxious, more censorious, and edging toward the same pitfalls she’s seen swallow other Western nations. Jillaine unpacks regulatory o...

In Episode 19 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam chats with citizen journalist and media identity Simon Anderson, also known as SimonTV. From livestreaming protests to challenging mainstream narratives, Simon has built a loyal following by showing what others won’t. He shares his journey to becoming a frontline storyteller, why he mistrusts legacy media and why he thinks police corruption is rampant. It...

In Episode 18 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with former National MP, and political fire-brand, Jami-Lee Ross. In an emotional discussion, he opens up about his rise through local and national politics, the explosive fallout with his party and its leader, and the controversies that reshaped his career. Jami-Lee also reflects on life after Parliament, from fringe politics to business ventur...

In Episode 17 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam shares a smoke with the man known as “The Cigar Merchant”, Grant Ovenden. For more than 30 years, Grant has been importing premium brands and building Canteros into one of New Zealand’s most respected tobacconists. He talks about the hurdles of running a cigar business in a tightly regulated industry, busts a few myths about smoking, and makes the case fo...

In Episode 16 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with experienced international consultant and social commentator, Kathryn Ennis-Carter. She argues that good governance and accountability are critical as the next election approaches, warning how governments, academics, and media shape and control public opinion. Kathryn also explores the geopolitical chessboard, outlining the nations now in th...

In Episode 15 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down EXCLUSIVELY with New Zealand barrister Brian Henry. He takes an unflinching look at his legal battles, including the explosive Gloriavale case. Brian isn’t just taking on the secretive religious community, he’s staring down the government itself. This is more than a courtroom fight. It’s a reckoning. He exposes a system that looked the other way...

In Episode 14 of The Good Oil Podcast, Jane Greensmith shares her story with Cam about how a routine plan to remove native trees turned into a public firestorm. She and her husband thought clearing their Titirangi property would be simple. They were wrong. What happened next sparked outrage, headlines, and a 10-year battle with neighbours and protesters they never saw coming. Hosted by Simplecast,...

In episode 13 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with Jordan Williams: lawyer, political commentator, and Executive Director of the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. As you’d expect, he’s one of the sharpest minds in the country when it comes to government accountability. He’s made a career out of asking uncomfortable questions and demanding straight answers. Never shy of a fight, he’s a lightning...

In episode 12 of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam has an honest discussion with Kiwi-Indian entrepreneur, and former ACT Party electoral candidate, Ash Parmar. Ash speaks candidly about politics, immigration, crime, culture, and common sense. A firm believer in hard work, personal responsibility and traditional values, Ash is giving everyday people a voice in the national conversation. His views are raw,...