The first Politics Friday panel of 2026 has opened with a wide ranging and at times heated discussion, as Labour MP Reuben Davidson and National MP Hamish Campbell clashed over Christchurch’s wastewater stench, council spending, migration and the Indian free trade agreement.

The ongoing odour from the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant dominated the early part of the discussion, with Davidson describing the situation as unacceptable and long overdue for resolution.

“It’s totally unacceptable. It’s a real health risk for people who live in that area to be putting up with that smell,” Davidson said.

He said residents were unable to open windows, let children play outside or enjoy their homes, despite the original fire at the plant occurring in 2021.

“That fire was in 2021. That’s 5 years ago and now residents are being told they may have to wait a further 3 years. All of a sudden you’re saying this is a decade during which you have to put up with really foul stenches in your home and your community,” he said.

Campbell said wastewater treatment was a complex process and recent heavy rainfall had disrupted the balance of bacteria in the oxidation ponds.

“Sewage treatment is a very complicated process and a lot of this stems from the really heavy rains we’ve received over the last month or so,” Campbell said.

He said oxygen levels in the ponds had dropped, allowing odour producing bacteria to become more prominent.

“The council is now looking at all the ways possible to restore that balance. They’re even looking at using a jetboat to stir things up and get oxygen back into the system,” he said.

Davidson rejected technical explanations as missing the point for affected residents.

“People don’t care about the science behind what’s going on in those oxidation ponds. They want the smell gone from their community, from their school, from their home,” he said.

The discussion then shifted to calls for pay freezes for chief executives at council owned organisations, with Davidson arguing rising executive pay would place pressure on services if rates were capped.

“If wages continue to rise for CEOs and there’s a rates cap enforced by central government, what happens. We sell assets. We shut libraries. We close swimming pools so we can pay CEOs more,” he said.

Campbell pushed back, saying council owned companies were separate entities and returned significant profits to ratepayers.

“These companies return about $70 million each year to ratepayers. The CEO pay is for the boards of those companies to decide. What we need are CEOs who maximise returns for Christchurch,” he said.

Davidson said the scale of executive pay increases remained troubling.

“You’ve got CEOs taking home almost a million dollars and getting 20 percent pay increases over 4 years while some frontline staff aren’t even on the living wage,” he said.

Migration and the proposed Indian free trade agreement became the most contentious topic of the panel.

Campbell defended the agreement and dismissed claims raised by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

“Yes there are allocations for skilled migrants but they come out of our existing visa cap. They can work here for 3 years and then they have to go back,” Campbell said.

He said the agreement would deliver major economic benefits.

“Up to 95 percent of our exports will be tariff free into India. It’s a market of 1.4 billion people and it’s a huge opportunity for New Zealand exporters,” he said.

Davidson said public concern around migration could not be ignored and accused the coalition government of internal conflict.

“What we’re seeing is the conflict within this coalition government playing out publicly. The Prime Minister says one thing, the Foreign Affairs Minister says another, and it’s happening on social media,” he said.

He said many New Zealanders viewed the deal as an immigration policy rather than a trade agreement.

“All they hear is more students coming into low paid jobs, wages under pressure, and migration increasing. People have genuine concerns and Winston Peters has tapped into that,” Davidson said.

Davidson also criticised the speed of negotiations.

“When you’re as desperate as this government is to achieve something, you opt for the buy now option. You don’t take the time to negotiate the best possible deal,” he said.

Campbell rejected that claim.

“India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the previous government ignored them. We’ve gone out and got it done,” he said.

The panel closed with reflections on the departure of senior National figure Judith Collins.

Campbell praised her long career.

“She’s incredibly intelligent, quick witted, principled and pragmatic. People on both sides of the House will appreciate how much effort she’s put into New Zealand,” he said.

Davidson said Collins’ ability to master portfolios quickly stood out.

“She always got across her portfolios with huge depth very swiftly and prosecuted them strongly,” he said.

He added a lighter note.

“Ultimately her legacy might just be the eyebrows,” he said.

Politics Friday will continue weekly on Chris Lynch Media, bringing together MPs from across the political spectrum to debate the issues shaping Christchurch and New Zealand.