November 10, 2025 • 7 mins
The Prime Minister has indicated trade talks with India are progressing well - and speculation claims both nations could have a trade deal by next year.
Trade Minister Todd McClay has been hosting Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Auckland for a fifth round of talks on a trade deal.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis won't disclose too much, but she says good progress is being made.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News talks'b Follow this
and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio with.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Us now as Nikolaulus the Finance Minister, Hi, Nikola Hi? Ever,
are we going to get an FTA with India in
the first half of next year?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I am not going to get cut across the trade
ministers negotiating timeline, but they are pushing very hard and
there has been a heck of a lot of work
happening and they're making good progress.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Okay, what are we going to do about these bank profits?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Well, look, as I've said in the past, there's no
silver bullet to this one. Actually what you want is
a more competitive banking sector, so that the banks are
offering better products and services at better prices to New Zealanders.
Because I think actually a lot of people get it.
It's okay for business to make a profit. But normally,
(01:00):
if you're seeing profits of this level, you'd expect there
to have been a breakthrough new innovation or an incredible
new technology that they're brought market, or a huge number
of new customers have come on board. But none of
that's the case here, and I found it reassuring this
morning to even hear Mike Hosking acknowledge that maybe I've
got a point that more competition is needed, and so
(01:21):
that's why we've been progressing these detailed regulatory reforms that
the Commerce Commission proposed. None of it is going to
fix it overnight, but it's really important that we get
the settings right so that people can come and eat
the lunch of the big guys. They can come in
and cut away at their business because they're big profits.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Okay, so some of the problems and you've identified this
yourself as the capital requirements in the proposals that you're
looking at at the moment, do either of them reduce
how much capital they currently have to hold.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Well, at the moment, they are going to have to
ramp up how much capital they hold into the future.
So the proposals that the Reserve Bank is consulting on
would ease that ramp up. So they would do that
in different ways. They would change the nature of the
capital that they need to hold, and they would make
New Zealand more aligned with other countries we like to
(02:14):
compare ourselves with, but.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Aligning ourselves of the Australians because apparently the Australian banks
have to hold less capital than we're requiring New Zealand
banks to hold.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
That is correct, and that's partly because when international observers
look at New Zealand versus Australia, they think that New
Zealand is a riskier banking market, and therefore our banks
should be required to hold more capital so that the
tax payer doesn't end up having to fund a bailout. Now,
there are arguments around how close we should be to Australia,
(02:42):
and that's part of what the Reserve Bank is consulting on.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Do you think the Reserve Bank should consider dropping the
level because the only consideration the moment, from the sounds
of things, is increasing it.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Well, I think that the Reserve Bank should ensure that
banks are holding the minimum level of capital required for
the system to be stable. And that's a balance that's subjective,
isn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I mean that is subjective because Adrian wanted us to
hold a whole lot more capital than we are. If
you're not prepared to say yourself, now, Nichola, if you're
not prepared to say that it should go backwards, then
what you're accepting is we will always play more on
mortgages than the Australians do.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I'm accepting my role, Heather, which is under the way
our legislation works, the Reserve Bank is responsible for prudential
regulation making and decision making about where these rules sit.
What our legislation requires and what I, as the Minister
require is that they do what's needed for financial stability.
What I changed was I said to them, I also
(03:39):
want you to actually think about competition. And my remit
to them is really specific in asking them to think
a lot more about that and efficiency, and I think
that's partly what prompted them to review this. In the
absence of me being Minister, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't
be reviewing it at all.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Hey, do you know when the Maui gasfield is closing?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
No? I do not.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Nobody's told you decender next year.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
No, I haven't been advised of that. Actually, don't take
part in kebnet decisions relating to that in adherence with
the case.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Oh of course, because you've got some disclaimers.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
There under that.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Luck, we have Cabinet Office rules and I apply them
in this case.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I hadn't thought about it that. Are you worried about
this though? If the Mali gas field closes and their
method ex closes, that's a big loss, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Well, this was a huge motivator behind the government's energy reforms,
is that we're looking ahead to a future where we
need to make sure we can keep the lights on,
and in the absence of being able to have guess
and coal, you've got a big problem. So that's why
Huntley now has a big coal mountain outside it, because
actually you need something to spark the lights on, and
(04:50):
you need to make sure that that electricity is increasingly affordable,
not unaffordable.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Hey, listen on the Cox, the leader of the opposition
set there, says this needs to basically be handled by
their prime minister and our prime ministers sitting down with
each other. We prepared to do that.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Well, those discussions are ongoing. I think there's been some
reporting sort of suggesting that they're on ice. That's not
the case that I understand. There's still constructive discussions happening
between the two governments. And we are still continuing a
lot of assistance to the Cook Islands, about thirty five
million in direct support for Cook Island projects. What's on
pause is the direct budget payments. It's a reluctant decision
(05:28):
and we are continuing to progress those discussions and we'll
obviously do that through all the appropriate channels.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Okay, and what about the Prime Minister, because it seems
like it's a Mark Brown v Winnie Pee thing.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Well, I don't see it that way. I actually think
it goes to the trust between the Cook Islands and
New Zealand and everybody and everybody. Yeah, I don't Well, no,
obviously Cook Island does get along very well. No, it's
a Cook Island's government issue in which they broke down
(06:02):
the level of trust between the governments and that has
been damaged because of the way they behaved in relations
to the security agreement with China. And that is a
policy issue rather than a personal issue.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Okay, when are you going to announce what assets you
want to sell after the next election.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Well, we've ruled out asset sales during this term of
government as a consequence of our coalition agreements. However, the
National Party will bring its own policies to the next
election Campaigny.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So is it just going to be announcing the election campaign,
is it?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well, we continue to do the work that's necessary to
make sure we're managing our balance sheet of assets much
much better than has been the case in the past.
There tends to be a lot of focus on the
commercial assets, but let's remember we've also got hundreds of
billions of dollars worth of social assets, hospitals, schools, roads,
and our government and the National Party are very committed
(06:55):
to building more of those to allow for a growing population,
and so the question becomes, how do you fund those responsibly?
How do you make sure you can build the roads
and schools and the hospitals.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Such a simple question, Nicola, was such a simple question.
You're talking, well, I'm friendly. I'm friendly on this. I
think we need to sell assets. You know you can.
You can just answer the question as much.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
But you understand where I'm coming from, which is I've
got a carlos.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Agree and you've got to sell me your lines.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So that's pretty simple. And so when I'm talking to
you as the Finance minister, I have to abide by
my carlos are otherwise I don't get the votes to
do what we need to do.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Thank you, Nicola, look after yourself. We're talking to you
next week. Nicholavella's Finance Minister for.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
More from News Talk st B. Listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News talks'b Follow this
and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio with.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Us now as Nikolaulus the Finance Minister, Hi, Nikola Hi? Ever,
are we going to get an FTA with India in
the first half of next year?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I am not going to get cut across the trade
ministers negotiating timeline, but they are pushing very hard and
there has been a heck of a lot of work
happening and they're making good progress.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Okay, what are we going to do about these bank profits?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Well, look, as I've said in the past, there's no
silver bullet to this one. Actually what you want is
a more competitive banking sector, so that the banks are
offering better products and services at better prices to New Zealanders.
Because I think actually a lot of people get it.
It's okay for business to make a profit. But normally,
(01:00):
if you're seeing profits of this level, you'd expect there
to have been a breakthrough new innovation or an incredible
new technology that they're brought market, or a huge number
of new customers have come on board. But none of
that's the case here, and I found it reassuring this
morning to even hear Mike Hosking acknowledge that maybe I've
got a point that more competition is needed, and so
(01:21):
that's why we've been progressing these detailed regulatory reforms that
the Commerce Commission proposed. None of it is going to
fix it overnight, but it's really important that we get
the settings right so that people can come and eat
the lunch of the big guys. They can come in
and cut away at their business because they're big profits.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Okay, so some of the problems and you've identified this
yourself as the capital requirements in the proposals that you're
looking at at the moment, do either of them reduce
how much capital they currently have to hold.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Well, at the moment, they are going to have to
ramp up how much capital they hold into the future.
So the proposals that the Reserve Bank is consulting on
would ease that ramp up. So they would do that
in different ways. They would change the nature of the
capital that they need to hold, and they would make
New Zealand more aligned with other countries we like to
(02:14):
compare ourselves with, but.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Aligning ourselves of the Australians because apparently the Australian banks
have to hold less capital than we're requiring New Zealand
banks to hold.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
That is correct, and that's partly because when international observers
look at New Zealand versus Australia, they think that New
Zealand is a riskier banking market, and therefore our banks
should be required to hold more capital so that the
tax payer doesn't end up having to fund a bailout. Now,
there are arguments around how close we should be to Australia,
(02:42):
and that's part of what the Reserve Bank is consulting on.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Do you think the Reserve Bank should consider dropping the
level because the only consideration the moment, from the sounds
of things, is increasing it.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Well, I think that the Reserve Bank should ensure that
banks are holding the minimum level of capital required for
the system to be stable. And that's a balance that's subjective,
isn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I mean that is subjective because Adrian wanted us to
hold a whole lot more capital than we are. If
you're not prepared to say yourself, now, Nichola, if you're
not prepared to say that it should go backwards, then
what you're accepting is we will always play more on
mortgages than the Australians do.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I'm accepting my role, Heather, which is under the way
our legislation works, the Reserve Bank is responsible for prudential
regulation making and decision making about where these rules sit.
What our legislation requires and what I, as the Minister
require is that they do what's needed for financial stability.
What I changed was I said to them, I also
(03:39):
want you to actually think about competition. And my remit
to them is really specific in asking them to think
a lot more about that and efficiency, and I think
that's partly what prompted them to review this. In the
absence of me being Minister, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't
be reviewing it at all.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Hey, do you know when the Maui gasfield is closing?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
No? I do not.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Nobody's told you decender next year.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
No, I haven't been advised of that. Actually, don't take
part in kebnet decisions relating to that in adherence with
the case.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Oh of course, because you've got some disclaimers.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
There under that.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Luck, we have Cabinet Office rules and I apply them
in this case.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I hadn't thought about it that. Are you worried about
this though? If the Mali gas field closes and their
method ex closes, that's a big loss, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Well, this was a huge motivator behind the government's energy reforms,
is that we're looking ahead to a future where we
need to make sure we can keep the lights on,
and in the absence of being able to have guess
and coal, you've got a big problem. So that's why
Huntley now has a big coal mountain outside it, because
actually you need something to spark the lights on, and
(04:50):
you need to make sure that that electricity is increasingly affordable,
not unaffordable.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Hey, listen on the Cox, the leader of the opposition
set there, says this needs to basically be handled by
their prime minister and our prime ministers sitting down with
each other. We prepared to do that.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Well, those discussions are ongoing. I think there's been some
reporting sort of suggesting that they're on ice. That's not
the case that I understand. There's still constructive discussions happening
between the two governments. And we are still continuing a
lot of assistance to the Cook Islands, about thirty five
million in direct support for Cook Island projects. What's on
pause is the direct budget payments. It's a reluctant decision
(05:28):
and we are continuing to progress those discussions and we'll
obviously do that through all the appropriate channels.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Okay, and what about the Prime Minister, because it seems
like it's a Mark Brown v Winnie Pee thing.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Well, I don't see it that way. I actually think
it goes to the trust between the Cook Islands and
New Zealand and everybody and everybody. Yeah, I don't Well, no,
obviously Cook Island does get along very well. No, it's
a Cook Island's government issue in which they broke down
(06:02):
the level of trust between the governments and that has
been damaged because of the way they behaved in relations
to the security agreement with China. And that is a
policy issue rather than a personal issue.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Okay, when are you going to announce what assets you
want to sell after the next election.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Well, we've ruled out asset sales during this term of
government as a consequence of our coalition agreements. However, the
National Party will bring its own policies to the next
election Campaigny.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So is it just going to be announcing the election campaign,
is it?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well, we continue to do the work that's necessary to
make sure we're managing our balance sheet of assets much
much better than has been the case in the past.
There tends to be a lot of focus on the
commercial assets, but let's remember we've also got hundreds of
billions of dollars worth of social assets, hospitals, schools, roads,
and our government and the National Party are very committed
(06:55):
to building more of those to allow for a growing population,
and so the question becomes, how do you fund those responsibly?
How do you make sure you can build the roads
and schools and the hospitals.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Such a simple question, Nicola, was such a simple question.
You're talking, well, I'm friendly. I'm friendly on this. I
think we need to sell assets. You know you can.
You can just answer the question as much.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
But you understand where I'm coming from, which is I've
got a carlos.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Agree and you've got to sell me your lines.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So that's pretty simple. And so when I'm talking to
you as the Finance minister, I have to abide by
my carlos are otherwise I don't get the votes to
do what we need to do.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Thank you, Nicola, look after yourself. We're talking to you
next week. Nicholavella's Finance Minister for.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
More from News Talk st B. Listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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