December 16, 2025 • 5 mins
The Prime Minister makes his final appearance for 2025. He ponders the December Situation and Outlook for the Primary Industries (SOPI), the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), a surprise Christmas dinner guest and his Ag Person of the Year.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
For the final time in twenty twenty five, and we
do appreciate that he makes the effort on a weekly
basis to talk to rural New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher
Luxe and it's sort of a good news bad news
day when it comes to the acronyms from yesterday. Soapy
was good, HIIFU was bad? What do you want to
start with?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, well, listen, we can talk about both of them.
I mean, firstly, happy Christmas. We're getting to the end
of the year and I want to say thanks for
what you've been doing through the course of the year.
It's been brilliant. But I think the great story that
you heard yesterday was that our food and fiber sector
hit sixty two billion dollars and that's a record number
for New Zealand, and that's up thirteen percent over the
previous year. So you know, we really have been able
(00:40):
to fire up meat and well and horticulture and forestry
and dairy and all the component parts of our primary
industry sector. And that's a huge amount of effort gone
and from all your listeners, all your farmers, each and
every day. But you know, you've got some great organizations
that are out there in the world at the sharp
end of the spare making sure they get good returns
from you elanders and the farmer's back at home. So
(01:01):
I might have Whis be really proud about that look
on Haifu. Essentially, what that is about is that's Treasury
putting its full cast forward. They sort of anchor a
little bit more in the past, and what they've sort
of said is luck. There's actually some good things in there.
We think inflate. We think growth will be close to
three percent over the next four years. We think that
actually wages will grow faster than inflation. Inflation will stay low.
(01:24):
We have we had a small surplus plan for twenty
eight twenty nine that's now moved to a small deficits.
But having said that, it's on a big number and
it bounces around where the government stay committed to delivering
a surplus in that period of time. It's just a forecast.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Were two hundred and fifty four billion dollars of core
crown debt by twenty thirty. We're living beyond our means
in the still as here, the Duplessy Allen pointed out
to your Finance Minister Nikola Willis this morning a whole
lot of wasteful spending. And I can speak with some
experience from this. The winter energy payment.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, well that's a commitment that we made that we
would actually keep that in place, because if you are
a senior around the country, that is something that we've said,
look that's been put in place. That's become an entitlement. Essentially,
there's a lot of people that do really wely. I
appreciate you may not, but there will be others.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
But hang on, surely you can change your mind on this. Effectively,
National super is means tested because you pay at your
top marginal tax rates. So why not just use those
that calculation to say someone's earning two hundred grand, they
don't need the winter energy payment? Simple as well, here's
the deal.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Like I mean, the ive said to here a couple
of weeks ago. It's lovely, but the point is here,
there's not a fan of actually lifting the superannuation age
from sixty five to sixty seven. If you look out
into New Zealand's future, if you think about what's driving
ninety percent of our expenditure that is actually sitting in health,
it's sitting on welfare, its sitting in superannuation and one
(02:55):
of the simplest things you could do is lift the
superannuation age from sixty five to sixty seven. Average life
expectancy of a male in this country's moved four years
in the last twenty years when it was raised to
sixty five and all we're asking us to move to
two years with the UK, Canada and Australia ar.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I absolutely agree with you. But as long as as
long as Winston's drawing breath, that's not going to happen.
Let's just finish on a light tonight. I threw a
question at your PR staff yesterday. If you had to
invite one member from the other side of the house
to share some Christmas chair over Christmas dinner, who would
it be. You've just got to name one person.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Oh Goy. I disagree totally with his politics, but he
would be a live wire in terms of a dinner conversation.
It would be fun put it that way, because it
would be sporty. And that would be Willie Jackson. He's
someone that I've always sort of had a bit of
a wind up with and as I move around this
place and he's wound me up as well, So I
(03:49):
think he'd be good sport at the dinner, wouldn't agree
on much. We've a hell of a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Same with me. I used to listen to on the radio,
very entertaining. Okay, final question for twenty twenty five. Who
is your twenty twenty five hagg Person of the Year?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, that's that's a pretty brutal question, to be honest,
because there's a hell of a lot of people that
are involved in the sector that have done a brilliant
job making it all come together in the last two years.
If you really push me, I'd have to say, if
I look at Kiwi Fruit in particular, I think about
the work that Jason Tebrak is doing at Zesprey. He's
(04:24):
taken on as a new CEO. He's got a great team.
I watched them out there in the markets. Their markets
really well, and I think Thisesbury has been great. But
you know, equally, the fonterrast Retty is working very well.
I watch people like silver Fern and Farms just know
their consumer well in the US as well. Craig Piggott,
I've put them on my Prime Minister Science Technology Innovation
(04:44):
Council because I love what he's doing with Halter. So yeah,
Nathan guy has been outstanding as well. I mean, you
watch that guy when you're in China, you know, pushing
the case for red meat and telling our story better.
He's done a great job too, So there's a heat.
But if your push came to shove, i'd say vis
Brian and Jason.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Prime Minister Christopher Luxlan, thanks for your contribution throughout the year.
I know you went to bed this morning at one am,
you got up at four thirty am. No one can
accuse you of not working hard for the country. I
hope you get a break with your family and friends.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, well, there's a lot to do so and we've
got a great country, And I just want to say
thank you to you for the conversation each week. I've
enjoyed the benter but also more importing, thank you to
your listeners because I know how hard I've been working
as well. And this has been a tough time for
New Zealand. But I hope people have got a sense
that we we're through it. Now the exciting work begins
of how do we shape it so we genuinely set
(05:35):
the country up for great potential. But to everyone out there,
I just Jimmy. Trust you get some time with your
loved ones and time to refresh, recharge, have a genuine
break and getting up and get up for what will
be a big twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Six Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Take care
For the final time in twenty twenty five, and we
do appreciate that he makes the effort on a weekly
basis to talk to rural New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher
Luxe and it's sort of a good news bad news
day when it comes to the acronyms from yesterday. Soapy
was good, HIIFU was bad? What do you want to
start with?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, well, listen, we can talk about both of them.
I mean, firstly, happy Christmas. We're getting to the end
of the year and I want to say thanks for
what you've been doing through the course of the year.
It's been brilliant. But I think the great story that
you heard yesterday was that our food and fiber sector
hit sixty two billion dollars and that's a record number
for New Zealand, and that's up thirteen percent over the
previous year. So you know, we really have been able
(00:40):
to fire up meat and well and horticulture and forestry
and dairy and all the component parts of our primary
industry sector. And that's a huge amount of effort gone
and from all your listeners, all your farmers, each and
every day. But you know, you've got some great organizations
that are out there in the world at the sharp
end of the spare making sure they get good returns
from you elanders and the farmer's back at home. So
(01:01):
I might have Whis be really proud about that look
on Haifu. Essentially, what that is about is that's Treasury
putting its full cast forward. They sort of anchor a
little bit more in the past, and what they've sort
of said is luck. There's actually some good things in there.
We think inflate. We think growth will be close to
three percent over the next four years. We think that
actually wages will grow faster than inflation. Inflation will stay low.
(01:24):
We have we had a small surplus plan for twenty
eight twenty nine that's now moved to a small deficits.
But having said that, it's on a big number and
it bounces around where the government stay committed to delivering
a surplus in that period of time. It's just a forecast.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Were two hundred and fifty four billion dollars of core
crown debt by twenty thirty. We're living beyond our means
in the still as here, the Duplessy Allen pointed out
to your Finance Minister Nikola Willis this morning a whole
lot of wasteful spending. And I can speak with some
experience from this. The winter energy payment.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, well that's a commitment that we made that we
would actually keep that in place, because if you are
a senior around the country, that is something that we've said,
look that's been put in place. That's become an entitlement. Essentially,
there's a lot of people that do really wely. I
appreciate you may not, but there will be others.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
But hang on, surely you can change your mind on this. Effectively,
National super is means tested because you pay at your
top marginal tax rates. So why not just use those
that calculation to say someone's earning two hundred grand, they
don't need the winter energy payment? Simple as well, here's
the deal.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Like I mean, the ive said to here a couple
of weeks ago. It's lovely, but the point is here,
there's not a fan of actually lifting the superannuation age
from sixty five to sixty seven. If you look out
into New Zealand's future, if you think about what's driving
ninety percent of our expenditure that is actually sitting in health,
it's sitting on welfare, its sitting in superannuation and one
(02:55):
of the simplest things you could do is lift the
superannuation age from sixty five to sixty seven. Average life
expectancy of a male in this country's moved four years
in the last twenty years when it was raised to
sixty five and all we're asking us to move to
two years with the UK, Canada and Australia ar.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I absolutely agree with you. But as long as as
long as Winston's drawing breath, that's not going to happen.
Let's just finish on a light tonight. I threw a
question at your PR staff yesterday. If you had to
invite one member from the other side of the house
to share some Christmas chair over Christmas dinner, who would
it be. You've just got to name one person.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Oh Goy. I disagree totally with his politics, but he
would be a live wire in terms of a dinner conversation.
It would be fun put it that way, because it
would be sporty. And that would be Willie Jackson. He's
someone that I've always sort of had a bit of
a wind up with and as I move around this
place and he's wound me up as well, So I
(03:49):
think he'd be good sport at the dinner, wouldn't agree
on much. We've a hell of a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Same with me. I used to listen to on the radio,
very entertaining. Okay, final question for twenty twenty five. Who
is your twenty twenty five hagg Person of the Year?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, that's that's a pretty brutal question, to be honest,
because there's a hell of a lot of people that
are involved in the sector that have done a brilliant
job making it all come together in the last two years.
If you really push me, I'd have to say, if
I look at Kiwi Fruit in particular, I think about
the work that Jason Tebrak is doing at Zesprey. He's
(04:24):
taken on as a new CEO. He's got a great team.
I watched them out there in the markets. Their markets
really well, and I think Thisesbury has been great. But
you know, equally, the fonterrast Retty is working very well.
I watch people like silver Fern and Farms just know
their consumer well in the US as well. Craig Piggott,
I've put them on my Prime Minister Science Technology Innovation
(04:44):
Council because I love what he's doing with Halter. So yeah,
Nathan guy has been outstanding as well. I mean, you
watch that guy when you're in China, you know, pushing
the case for red meat and telling our story better.
He's done a great job too, So there's a heat.
But if your push came to shove, i'd say vis
Brian and Jason.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Prime Minister Christopher Luxlan, thanks for your contribution throughout the year.
I know you went to bed this morning at one am,
you got up at four thirty am. No one can
accuse you of not working hard for the country. I
hope you get a break with your family and friends.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, well, there's a lot to do so and we've
got a great country, And I just want to say
thank you to you for the conversation each week. I've
enjoyed the benter but also more importing, thank you to
your listeners because I know how hard I've been working
as well. And this has been a tough time for
New Zealand. But I hope people have got a sense
that we we're through it. Now the exciting work begins
of how do we shape it so we genuinely set
(05:35):
the country up for great potential. But to everyone out there,
I just Jimmy. Trust you get some time with your
loved ones and time to refresh, recharge, have a genuine
break and getting up and get up for what will
be a big twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Six Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Take care
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