Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

This time yesterday I was talking about the disconnect between Wellington and Auckland and how much of an echo chamber it is; how out of touch they are. I referenced the way Ashley Bloomfield had dismissively written off the red light as no big deal. He seemed dismissive and over it, and just a few hours later we learned why.  He’s going. And who can blame him? I get it. Who wouldn't be over it by now? For a while now we’ve been saying how tired he looked, how sick of the politics he looked, and maybe he’s figured out he just doesn’t need all that stress anymore. That explains why he may’ve been so dismissive. What a relentless couple of years working that closely and that intensely with the Labour party for that long, that would surely take its toll on anyone.  He was quick to rule out any future in politics when asked and that’s completely understandable. If you think about his role, as a public servant, he was never supposed to get that politicised anyway, but the past two years of such a close working rel