May 6, 2025 • 7 mins
The Prime Minister ponders the GDT Auction, falling livestock numbers, carbon farming loopholes, the windfall from FTAs, and whether Trump won the Canadian and Australian elections for the left.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wednesdays on the Country, the Prime Minister kicks of the show.
Great gdt auction overnight four point six percent whole milk
out of six point two percent. It's going to dig
us out of the economic mayre. But not Christopher Luxen
if we run out of dairy cows and sheep.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How are you, Jamie? Good to be with you?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Good to be with you?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
No, Look, it's a really great result.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
And I think what you're seeing is definitely agriculture is
leading Zealand and along with tourism actually out of the
slum that we've been in, which is great. Yeah, lots
some really promising signs there. And with respect to livestock numbers,
you know that is a function of some changing land utes.
You know, you've got I think a thirty two percent
growth in Key we fruit land in particular. And yes,
(00:45):
we're trying to deal with this issue of farmed forestry conversions.
And as you know, we announced our intentions in December
last year and actually that's the anchor date for things
of retrospective applied back to December last year and the
legislation we fully approved and in the how by the
end of this year.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
So that's good, you know, but.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I appreciate there are still some things and niggles for
people as we deal with that transition. But Tom maclay,
as you know, we've gone to the election with our
campaign and we've delivered it and it will be law
by the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Now. I caught up with Kate Ackland earlier this morning
in Brussels. She is urging you were beef and lamb.
New Zealand's urging you to close those carbon farming loopholes
before more damage is done. And I said to her,
you could drive a truck and trailer unit through some
of those loopholes at the moment. Prime Minister.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, but what we said is we're going to bring
the full farm to Forest Conversion span into law by
December as promised.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
We're doing that exactly as we said.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
That'll take effect from the date that we announced it,
which was the fourth of December last year, so that's
you know, and that law was clearly set out the
criteria people who actually were in the process of conversion
on that date, you know, whether you bought trees or
ordered trees, you know, it's unlikely to.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Meet that test. So I get it. There is a
you know we're in a.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Transition phase, but there's been no doubt from our government
we've got to shut it down. Been very clear about
the proposal to do that. But yes, I get you know,
as you work through your law and it goes through
the three readings and it goes out for submissions and then.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It comes back. You know, that's the process that we followed.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
But we have made this bell effective from the four
to December last year. There'll be people in transition in
the sector and transition, but we are closing those loopholes
on we will have this sort of properly.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
In the early two thousands, no doubt you were offshore
learning your craft in business, but we had literally a
white gold rush. We had a dairy boom. A lot
of people, myself included, would say we put dairy farms
where we shouldn't have put them and it went too quickly. Interestingly,
in the last decade we've lost thirteen percent nearly a
(02:41):
million dairy cattle. Now you're trying to double exports in
the next ten years, and I put it to you,
you can't do it without an increase in dairy income.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Well, no, absolutely, But the way that if you think
about what's happening versus even ten years ago though, Jamie,
you know, you go to Korea today and you'll see
a Fonterra ambient whipping cream, bee use boo, Korean bakers
and cake shops up and down the country, and that
is a huge opportunity.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
That is billions of dollars of value because.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
We're creating higher value products with higher margins and as
a result, that's what's driving demand from New Zealand products.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So it's not it is a volume.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
You know, we've got to make sure we've got the
right volume, and we're not turning as you know, with
the changes we've made around not putting egg into easy years,
disbanding Haywalk Econoa. We want to see agriculture pumping, but
the volume will be a consequence of what's needed to
meet the demand and also ultimately the products and the
extra added value products that can be created off dairy
that are where their high margin is, and particularly when
(03:37):
it's distributed not to consumers but to business to other businesses.
When you get ambient whipping cream, which is a unique
New Zealand innovation that no one else in the world
can do. Because of the research and development. It's been
applied to the dairy sector here being sold into Korean
bakers and there's a gazillion cake shops in that country
and similar products exist in other parkets around the world.
That that's where you want to be and so higher
(03:58):
value as well as it was kind of what we're
looking for.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I see the UK now has an FTA with India
after three years and talks are we fast forwarding ours?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Well, we've already started our full more negotiations as you know,
and we had our very first day of in person
meetings this week as well as we've had a series
of virtual meetings that started five days.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
After I left India. So you know, that's a good
sign that the UK. It's really good.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
It's a good intention for India that it wants to
do these deals, which is great.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
And as I said, there's.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Been really good intensity from both Tom McClay and Minister
Guyl who's the Trade minister in India, asked with sponsorship
from Prominise and Modia myself to get on and get
this done. So the negotiations are up and running and away,
which is which is really good.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I thought. The other good news that we had this.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Week as Todd talked about it on Monday, was you know,
we've had a billion dollars of extra value added into
the EU trade because of us bringing that EU f
t A forward a season and abled a whole bunch
of a fit to the country, which was great.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I think I think our exports up to the U
are sort of.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Up over twenty five twenty eight percent, and then you
know the UK FTA in the last twelve months, you know,
we had twenty one percent growth in exports into the
UK as well. So New Zealanders are finding where the
biggest payments and money and margin actually is in the
world and are directing their products to those places, which
is a good thing.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Who needs Trump and his tariffs? Say a final word
on the Canadian and Ossie elections, Trump won them for
the left.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
No, I disagree. Actually, if you look at the last week.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And I know, you know the promise Alban Easy really
well had a good chat with promise to Khane earlier
on the weekend as well, and Lawrence Wong the promise
of Singapore. So we went through an election and they
increased their popular vote as well. And it's not about
whether they're left or right it's actually about whether they're
good economic managers in very uncertain times, and the public
are sticking with incumbent governments. They're strong economic leadership in
(05:54):
these uncertain times.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And I have to tell you, as.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You know, people may criticize me for it, but I
just taught the economy ivery single day, have done from
day one, because that is the thing we'll hang on.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Prime Minister, you can't tell me that Trump didn't flip
the Canadian election.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
No, I think, well, there's different dynamics in each of
the country. When you've got someone threatening your sovereignty by
threatening to take you over as a state, when you've
got seventy five percent of your economy tied into the
US economy, yep, that's a factor in terms of the
US Canadian relationship and that local election.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
If you look at Australia.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
A different set of dynamics in play, And if you
look at Singapore, another different set of dynamics in play,
where essentially incumbent governments have gone for the best economic
leaders at this time given the uncertainty that exists. And
if you look at Mark Carney, who's taken over the
Liberal Party in Canada, Reserve Bank governor for Canada for
the UK, very very business literate globally, you know, very
(06:49):
well versed in global trade. He's a guy that I
know well and get on well with and that's great and.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
He's a good talk Hey, maybe you need Trump to
annex New Zealand about July or August of next year
or claim to want to do so. It could be
good for your re election chance.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
If I want the New Zealand people to know they've
got the right Prome minister or an economic team and
place to deal with what the Cundy We've got and
we've got a great future and we're going to navigate
our ship through those chopping waters incredibly well and we're
making progress which is great.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And Onston's happy to be the MP for two. Thanks
for your times.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Catch you next week, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Take you
Wednesdays on the Country, the Prime Minister kicks of the show.
Great gdt auction overnight four point six percent whole milk
out of six point two percent. It's going to dig
us out of the economic mayre. But not Christopher Luxen
if we run out of dairy cows and sheep.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How are you, Jamie? Good to be with you?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Good to be with you?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
No, Look, it's a really great result.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
And I think what you're seeing is definitely agriculture is
leading Zealand and along with tourism actually out of the
slum that we've been in, which is great. Yeah, lots
some really promising signs there. And with respect to livestock numbers,
you know that is a function of some changing land utes.
You know, you've got I think a thirty two percent
growth in Key we fruit land in particular. And yes,
(00:45):
we're trying to deal with this issue of farmed forestry conversions.
And as you know, we announced our intentions in December
last year and actually that's the anchor date for things
of retrospective applied back to December last year and the
legislation we fully approved and in the how by the
end of this year.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
So that's good, you know, but.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I appreciate there are still some things and niggles for
people as we deal with that transition. But Tom maclay,
as you know, we've gone to the election with our
campaign and we've delivered it and it will be law
by the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Now. I caught up with Kate Ackland earlier this morning
in Brussels. She is urging you were beef and lamb.
New Zealand's urging you to close those carbon farming loopholes
before more damage is done. And I said to her,
you could drive a truck and trailer unit through some
of those loopholes at the moment. Prime Minister.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, but what we said is we're going to bring
the full farm to Forest Conversion span into law by
December as promised.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
We're doing that exactly as we said.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
That'll take effect from the date that we announced it,
which was the fourth of December last year, so that's
you know, and that law was clearly set out the
criteria people who actually were in the process of conversion
on that date, you know, whether you bought trees or
ordered trees, you know, it's unlikely to.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Meet that test. So I get it. There is a
you know we're in a.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Transition phase, but there's been no doubt from our government
we've got to shut it down. Been very clear about
the proposal to do that. But yes, I get you know,
as you work through your law and it goes through
the three readings and it goes out for submissions and then.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It comes back. You know, that's the process that we followed.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
But we have made this bell effective from the four
to December last year. There'll be people in transition in
the sector and transition, but we are closing those loopholes
on we will have this sort of properly.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
In the early two thousands, no doubt you were offshore
learning your craft in business, but we had literally a
white gold rush. We had a dairy boom. A lot
of people, myself included, would say we put dairy farms
where we shouldn't have put them and it went too quickly. Interestingly,
in the last decade we've lost thirteen percent nearly a
(02:41):
million dairy cattle. Now you're trying to double exports in
the next ten years, and I put it to you,
you can't do it without an increase in dairy income.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Well, no, absolutely, But the way that if you think
about what's happening versus even ten years ago though, Jamie,
you know, you go to Korea today and you'll see
a Fonterra ambient whipping cream, bee use boo, Korean bakers
and cake shops up and down the country, and that
is a huge opportunity.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
That is billions of dollars of value because.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
We're creating higher value products with higher margins and as
a result, that's what's driving demand from New Zealand products.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So it's not it is a volume.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
You know, we've got to make sure we've got the
right volume, and we're not turning as you know, with
the changes we've made around not putting egg into easy years,
disbanding Haywalk Econoa. We want to see agriculture pumping, but
the volume will be a consequence of what's needed to
meet the demand and also ultimately the products and the
extra added value products that can be created off dairy
that are where their high margin is, and particularly when
(03:37):
it's distributed not to consumers but to business to other businesses.
When you get ambient whipping cream, which is a unique
New Zealand innovation that no one else in the world
can do. Because of the research and development. It's been
applied to the dairy sector here being sold into Korean
bakers and there's a gazillion cake shops in that country
and similar products exist in other parkets around the world.
That that's where you want to be and so higher
(03:58):
value as well as it was kind of what we're
looking for.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I see the UK now has an FTA with India
after three years and talks are we fast forwarding ours?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Well, we've already started our full more negotiations as you know,
and we had our very first day of in person
meetings this week as well as we've had a series
of virtual meetings that started five days.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
After I left India. So you know, that's a good
sign that the UK. It's really good.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
It's a good intention for India that it wants to
do these deals, which is great.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
And as I said, there's.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Been really good intensity from both Tom McClay and Minister
Guyl who's the Trade minister in India, asked with sponsorship
from Prominise and Modia myself to get on and get
this done. So the negotiations are up and running and away,
which is which is really good.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I thought. The other good news that we had this.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Week as Todd talked about it on Monday, was you know,
we've had a billion dollars of extra value added into
the EU trade because of us bringing that EU f
t A forward a season and abled a whole bunch
of a fit to the country, which was great.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I think I think our exports up to the U
are sort of.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Up over twenty five twenty eight percent, and then you
know the UK FTA in the last twelve months, you know,
we had twenty one percent growth in exports into the
UK as well. So New Zealanders are finding where the
biggest payments and money and margin actually is in the
world and are directing their products to those places, which
is a good thing.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Who needs Trump and his tariffs? Say a final word
on the Canadian and Ossie elections, Trump won them for
the left.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
No, I disagree. Actually, if you look at the last week.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And I know, you know the promise Alban Easy really
well had a good chat with promise to Khane earlier
on the weekend as well, and Lawrence Wong the promise
of Singapore. So we went through an election and they
increased their popular vote as well. And it's not about
whether they're left or right it's actually about whether they're
good economic managers in very uncertain times, and the public
are sticking with incumbent governments. They're strong economic leadership in
(05:54):
these uncertain times.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And I have to tell you, as.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You know, people may criticize me for it, but I
just taught the economy ivery single day, have done from
day one, because that is the thing we'll hang on.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Prime Minister, you can't tell me that Trump didn't flip
the Canadian election.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
No, I think, well, there's different dynamics in each of
the country. When you've got someone threatening your sovereignty by
threatening to take you over as a state, when you've
got seventy five percent of your economy tied into the
US economy, yep, that's a factor in terms of the
US Canadian relationship and that local election.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
If you look at Australia.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
A different set of dynamics in play, And if you
look at Singapore, another different set of dynamics in play,
where essentially incumbent governments have gone for the best economic
leaders at this time given the uncertainty that exists. And
if you look at Mark Carney, who's taken over the
Liberal Party in Canada, Reserve Bank governor for Canada for
the UK, very very business literate globally, you know, very
(06:49):
well versed in global trade. He's a guy that I
know well and get on well with and that's great and.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
He's a good talk Hey, maybe you need Trump to
annex New Zealand about July or August of next year
or claim to want to do so. It could be
good for your re election chance.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
If I want the New Zealand people to know they've
got the right Prome minister or an economic team and
place to deal with what the Cundy We've got and
we've got a great future and we're going to navigate
our ship through those chopping waters incredibly well and we're
making progress which is great.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And Onston's happy to be the MP for two. Thanks
for your times.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Catch you next week, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Take you
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