March 8, 2025 • 10 mins
This week on the Sunday Panel, Newstalk ZB host Roman Travers and producer, journalist and commentator Irene Gardiner joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
NZ Super is set to undergo a tough period as the aging population grows. How can we address this problem? Should we raise the age?
Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr shocked the nation by resigning abruptly last week. What do we think caused this? What do we make of this?
Tinā is dominating the New Zealand box office - and it's had the third-biggest opening week for a New Zealand-made film ever. Have we seen it?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks AB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And it is time for our Sunday Session panel and
joining me Roman travers Us and the studio News TALKSB host.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Good morning, Oh, good morning to you, and.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
We have TV producer, journalist and commentator Irene Gardener. Good morning, Irene,
good morning. Good to have you both with us. Hey, look,
this morning we had a bit of a chat about
superannuation and it's something that we talk about all the time.
How can we with an aging population afford it better?
What is the best way to potentially, you know, handle
the pressure which is coming on it? And I suppose
(00:44):
the solution which has thrown out most often is that
we should rage the age of eligibility. But what if
there were different options? What if you got to sixty
five and you were still working earning a good income,
would you be happy to not uptake your pension or
would you be happy to receive a small non tech
(01:06):
grant and then have the rest of your income taxt
at a high rate? Like there's other ways that we
could do this romance. I mean, would you if you
were still working and earning at sixty five, would you
be taking the pension or would you be happy to
say I don't need it? Just to be clargate that
to somebody else.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Did you say aging or Asian population aging?
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Sorry, sorry, yeah, no, that's right. So the old age
pension was brought in an eighteen ninety eight and it
wasn't ubiquitous for everybody. Eighteen ninety eight. For those who
it was no, No, it wasn't. You had to be
sixty five, you had to meet special requirements criteria. It
was more like a welfare thing. Now it's kind of like, ah,
I deserve it. I've worked my whole life. I'm Bob Jones,
(01:45):
I've got twenty million. I think we're becoming quite selfish.
There's lists of that selfless attitude, and who doesn't want
more money?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I don't think we are. I think we've grown up
with it irene as being something that we all get
at sixty five. I think generation after generation has expected that,
and I think that sense of entitlement's grown a period
of time. To be honest with you, we do agree.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
I think that's right. I mean, I kind of see
where Remind's coming from, because it's there is a funny like,
I know, the minute you hit this topic on talk back,
it just goes crazy because people do sort of feel
a slight thing of But I paid tax all my life.
My time has now come, and it's not fair if
(02:29):
I'm penalized because I did better with my money than
someone else did. But I think we have to sort
of move off that mentality and look at it a
bit more in terms of what is actually sustainable for
the country that we live in. I'm very torn as
to what I mean. Something is going to have to
be done because it is going to become unsustainable. I think.
(02:51):
I mean, yes, we could just raise the age. That
might be the simplest thing, but then you're going to
have to have a lot of exceptions to that for
people who've done physical labor, wreck their bodies, you know,
different ethnicities, different life expectancy, et cetera. So maybe that's
not the best way. So then you get into we'll
do you just means tested. But I think this new
(03:11):
thing that's being suggested, is it Susan Susan stant John
if I got the right person where it's not quite
a means test, it's it's you get a tax free
but if you're paying. If you're earning a certain amount
of money that takes your text to a certain point,
then you get text highly and if you're not earning
terribly much, you probably won't hit that, and it's probably
(03:31):
worth keeping. The pension. Sounds quite good in theory, but
also sounds slightly complicated. But I don't think it's probably
something that's worth a bit more exploration because we are
going to have to find some sort of a solution because.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
The age thing is tricky. I think Irene is right.
Everybody's had different kinds of jobs, worked in different ways.
You know. I don't want to tell someone who's had
a manual job for you know, you know, fifty years
or forty years or something, you know, when your body
is a bit yeah, you know rooted that you've got
(04:05):
to keep working sixty seven. Yes, I'm kind of I
don't necessarily think we need to move the age. If
I was at sixty five and I was still earning
and I didn't need the pension, I probably wouldn't take it.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah. Well, see till Irene's point.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Would you not take it or would you give it
to someone of your choosing?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Well, would you trust yourself to use it better than
the government.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Well, iron your point, very good point. Your point is
a moot point, isn't it. We could be talking about
what is wealth forever? What qualifies as wealth? Everyone's perception
of wealth is Oh my god, things are so hard.
I had to sell one of the helicopters. That's not
a definition of poverty, is it.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Now?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
No government that I know has been brave enough to
make a change in this because A it makes way
too much sense. B They don't want to lose votes.
So therefore it's kicked down the road time and time again,
election after election.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
And how do you make it? How do you make
the judgment as to who's going to cop it? If
you ain't going to put it up to sixty seven,
who is in ten years and twenty years and thirty years,
which you know which generation is going to go into
copper And they're not going to like.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
It exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
It's a really tricky one.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
All right.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
But they're not going to like it if it runs
out completely. So we're going to have to do something.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Well, the decision may be made for us Adrian or
the Reserve Bank governor. He resigned suddenly on Wednesday. He
hasn't addressed the media, and reasons for his depart to
have have not been spelt out. And look, he is
our most senior civil servant. I think here the professional
thing to do is to offer the border explanation and
(05:34):
then the board can decide what they want to share.
So I don't think this resignations may be being handled
in the most professional way it could have been. Romanber.
A little part of me goes. I love the fact
that we're not getting all those lines like, oh, he's
leaving for family reasons, he's leaving for personal reasons, he's
living creative differences. It's creative differences, these kind of vague
(05:57):
sort of words that we throw around a resignation which
imply that something's happened, they're not happy. I like the
fact he's clearly just gone, I'm done. I'm fed up.
I've done this job through pretty tough times, and I
don't like the way things are going. I don't like
the way things potentially could come out of here and boom,
drop the mic and walked on out. I kind of
like it. I don't do we Yeah, sure, he maybe
(06:19):
needs to explain a little bit more to his bored,
but I think it's pretty self explanatory, do you know
what feeling?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Don't I do? And I don't really care. To be fair,
I don't really care. It's out of my wheelhouse. Someone
else will get the job. But I admire the fact
that he's done what he thought was best. What I
hate about the news in New Zealand and the world
is that we seem to think we need to know
everything about everybody's bowel movements, about how they bank, about
who they're dating or not dating, whether they're non binary,
(06:44):
homosexual or whatever. And I think, you know, ultimately he's
got his reasons. I don't care. Good luck to.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Him, all right.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
I don't think he does owe us an explanation. I
think in the end, it's his business.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I mean, I.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Suspect at some point in the future he will talk
about about it, but he probably wants the dust to
settle a little. I mean, it's pretty pretty evident that,
you know, his policies have not been perhaps universally loved
by current government, and that they probably want to go
in a slightly different direction. So yeah, good on him,
(07:26):
go and have a good life. You know, he's worked
incredibly hard. It's one of those jobs where you just
cannot please all the people all the time. I mean,
I could not tell you whether he's done a good
job or a bad one, because if I read ten
different economists, half of them will say he did and
half of them will say he didn't.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
So hey, yeah, wouldn't you like to see more control
over our banks than overly concerning ourselves with who's the
Reserve Bank? Government? How about a bit more control and
some more questions being asked about their ridiculous profits?
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Anyone, different topic, a different topic.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah. I would like to finish this panel by talking
about Tina New Zealand film The Gorgeous Film. It has
topped the box office this week. It has earned over
one million in its opening weekend. It ranks as the
third biggest opening week for a New Zealand film, behind
(08:21):
Hunt for the Wilder People and Soy Twos We'd Unfinished Business,
Irene the second one, which is really hugely exciting. I'm
going to ask you first, Roman, because I think I
know what Irene's going to say. Have you seen it?
Speaker 1 (08:39):
No?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I haven't, but on in my day last night people
were just raving about it.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
It's absolutely gorgeous I've I laughed out loud and I
cried a huge amount as well. It's just beautiful, Irene.
Have you seen it.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
I actually haven't been Muskingfest, but I will be going.
I'll probably going this week, and I'm so thrilled because
it is so tough to get cinema goers in the cinemas,
you know, to get people to go and see a
film in the cinema rather than just waiting for it
to be online. It's so tough post pandemic, particularly tough
(09:15):
for local and so to have a hit at this time,
it's really wonderful news. And it is intriguing how so
often our films in New Zealand have either Marii or
Pacifica themes and content. You know, it just obviously really
resonates here. So yeah, I'm just thrilled for the people
behind it and for the film question. It's really great news.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
You should go and see this film because it's a
great film. But Broman, do you make a point of
seeing Kiwi films?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I love seeing Kiwi films because that whole adage of
seeing more of New Zealand on a is so true.
We love seeing ourselves on the screen and I'm thrilled
that it's doing well. I get a bit sick of
the Hollywood format of movies. I love them all I do.
I love them, I love them, but I love to
see New Zealand films. I feel though to go to
the movies. To Irene's point, you almost need to be
(10:00):
the Reserve Bank governor to afford to go.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
It's not a cheap exercise, but it's so much better
than city on your couch and your underpants watching Netflix.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Look, let me just say, as somebody who goes to
the movies at all sorts of weird times of the
day and on different days, you can get some cheaper
tickets if you go. You know, if you've got one.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
Of these Tuesday morning shoes.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yeah, Roman, you're one of these people that work like me,
odd ours, weird hours. You know, you can go along anyway.
I think it's absolutely fantastic. Go and see the film,
and thank you so much, Iren Gunner and Romantic. Thank
you twenty six to twelve of you with news talks it.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Be for more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudken.
Listen live to News Talks it Be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks AB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And it is time for our Sunday Session panel and
joining me Roman travers Us and the studio News TALKSB host.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Good morning, Oh, good morning to you, and.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
We have TV producer, journalist and commentator Irene Gardener. Good morning, Irene,
good morning. Good to have you both with us. Hey, look,
this morning we had a bit of a chat about
superannuation and it's something that we talk about all the time.
How can we with an aging population afford it better?
What is the best way to potentially, you know, handle
the pressure which is coming on it? And I suppose
(00:44):
the solution which has thrown out most often is that
we should rage the age of eligibility. But what if
there were different options? What if you got to sixty
five and you were still working earning a good income,
would you be happy to not uptake your pension or
would you be happy to receive a small non tech
(01:06):
grant and then have the rest of your income taxt
at a high rate? Like there's other ways that we
could do this romance. I mean, would you if you
were still working and earning at sixty five, would you
be taking the pension or would you be happy to
say I don't need it? Just to be clargate that
to somebody else.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Did you say aging or Asian population aging?
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Sorry, sorry, yeah, no, that's right. So the old age
pension was brought in an eighteen ninety eight and it
wasn't ubiquitous for everybody. Eighteen ninety eight. For those who
it was no, No, it wasn't. You had to be
sixty five, you had to meet special requirements criteria. It
was more like a welfare thing. Now it's kind of like, ah,
I deserve it. I've worked my whole life. I'm Bob Jones,
(01:45):
I've got twenty million. I think we're becoming quite selfish.
There's lists of that selfless attitude, and who doesn't want
more money?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I don't think we are. I think we've grown up
with it irene as being something that we all get
at sixty five. I think generation after generation has expected that,
and I think that sense of entitlement's grown a period
of time. To be honest with you, we do agree.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
I think that's right. I mean, I kind of see
where Remind's coming from, because it's there is a funny like,
I know, the minute you hit this topic on talk back,
it just goes crazy because people do sort of feel
a slight thing of But I paid tax all my life.
My time has now come, and it's not fair if
(02:29):
I'm penalized because I did better with my money than
someone else did. But I think we have to sort
of move off that mentality and look at it a
bit more in terms of what is actually sustainable for
the country that we live in. I'm very torn as
to what I mean. Something is going to have to
be done because it is going to become unsustainable. I think.
(02:51):
I mean, yes, we could just raise the age. That
might be the simplest thing, but then you're going to
have to have a lot of exceptions to that for
people who've done physical labor, wreck their bodies, you know,
different ethnicities, different life expectancy, et cetera. So maybe that's
not the best way. So then you get into we'll
do you just means tested. But I think this new
(03:11):
thing that's being suggested, is it Susan Susan stant John
if I got the right person where it's not quite
a means test, it's it's you get a tax free
but if you're paying. If you're earning a certain amount
of money that takes your text to a certain point,
then you get text highly and if you're not earning
terribly much, you probably won't hit that, and it's probably
(03:31):
worth keeping. The pension. Sounds quite good in theory, but
also sounds slightly complicated. But I don't think it's probably
something that's worth a bit more exploration because we are
going to have to find some sort of a solution because.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
The age thing is tricky. I think Irene is right.
Everybody's had different kinds of jobs, worked in different ways.
You know. I don't want to tell someone who's had
a manual job for you know, you know, fifty years
or forty years or something, you know, when your body
is a bit yeah, you know rooted that you've got
(04:05):
to keep working sixty seven. Yes, I'm kind of I
don't necessarily think we need to move the age. If
I was at sixty five and I was still earning
and I didn't need the pension, I probably wouldn't take it.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah. Well, see till Irene's point.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Would you not take it or would you give it
to someone of your choosing?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Well, would you trust yourself to use it better than
the government.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Well, iron your point, very good point. Your point is
a moot point, isn't it. We could be talking about
what is wealth forever? What qualifies as wealth? Everyone's perception
of wealth is Oh my god, things are so hard.
I had to sell one of the helicopters. That's not
a definition of poverty, is it.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Now?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
No government that I know has been brave enough to
make a change in this because A it makes way
too much sense. B They don't want to lose votes.
So therefore it's kicked down the road time and time again,
election after election.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
And how do you make it? How do you make
the judgment as to who's going to cop it? If
you ain't going to put it up to sixty seven,
who is in ten years and twenty years and thirty years,
which you know which generation is going to go into
copper And they're not going to like.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
It exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
It's a really tricky one.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
All right.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
But they're not going to like it if it runs
out completely. So we're going to have to do something.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Well, the decision may be made for us Adrian or
the Reserve Bank governor. He resigned suddenly on Wednesday. He
hasn't addressed the media, and reasons for his depart to
have have not been spelt out. And look, he is
our most senior civil servant. I think here the professional
thing to do is to offer the border explanation and
(05:34):
then the board can decide what they want to share.
So I don't think this resignations may be being handled
in the most professional way it could have been. Romanber.
A little part of me goes. I love the fact
that we're not getting all those lines like, oh, he's
leaving for family reasons, he's leaving for personal reasons, he's
living creative differences. It's creative differences, these kind of vague
(05:57):
sort of words that we throw around a resignation which
imply that something's happened, they're not happy. I like the
fact he's clearly just gone, I'm done. I'm fed up.
I've done this job through pretty tough times, and I
don't like the way things are going. I don't like
the way things potentially could come out of here and boom,
drop the mic and walked on out. I kind of
like it. I don't do we Yeah, sure, he maybe
(06:19):
needs to explain a little bit more to his bored,
but I think it's pretty self explanatory, do you know
what feeling?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Don't I do? And I don't really care. To be fair,
I don't really care. It's out of my wheelhouse. Someone
else will get the job. But I admire the fact
that he's done what he thought was best. What I
hate about the news in New Zealand and the world
is that we seem to think we need to know
everything about everybody's bowel movements, about how they bank, about
who they're dating or not dating, whether they're non binary,
(06:44):
homosexual or whatever. And I think, you know, ultimately he's
got his reasons. I don't care. Good luck to.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Him, all right.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
I don't think he does owe us an explanation. I
think in the end, it's his business.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I mean, I.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Suspect at some point in the future he will talk
about about it, but he probably wants the dust to
settle a little. I mean, it's pretty pretty evident that,
you know, his policies have not been perhaps universally loved
by current government, and that they probably want to go
in a slightly different direction. So yeah, good on him,
(07:26):
go and have a good life. You know, he's worked
incredibly hard. It's one of those jobs where you just
cannot please all the people all the time. I mean,
I could not tell you whether he's done a good
job or a bad one, because if I read ten
different economists, half of them will say he did and
half of them will say he didn't.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
So hey, yeah, wouldn't you like to see more control
over our banks than overly concerning ourselves with who's the
Reserve Bank? Government? How about a bit more control and
some more questions being asked about their ridiculous profits?
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Anyone, different topic, a different topic.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah. I would like to finish this panel by talking
about Tina New Zealand film The Gorgeous Film. It has
topped the box office this week. It has earned over
one million in its opening weekend. It ranks as the
third biggest opening week for a New Zealand film, behind
(08:21):
Hunt for the Wilder People and Soy Twos We'd Unfinished Business,
Irene the second one, which is really hugely exciting. I'm
going to ask you first, Roman, because I think I
know what Irene's going to say. Have you seen it?
Speaker 1 (08:39):
No?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I haven't, but on in my day last night people
were just raving about it.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
It's absolutely gorgeous I've I laughed out loud and I
cried a huge amount as well. It's just beautiful, Irene.
Have you seen it.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
I actually haven't been Muskingfest, but I will be going.
I'll probably going this week, and I'm so thrilled because
it is so tough to get cinema goers in the cinemas,
you know, to get people to go and see a
film in the cinema rather than just waiting for it
to be online. It's so tough post pandemic, particularly tough
(09:15):
for local and so to have a hit at this time,
it's really wonderful news. And it is intriguing how so
often our films in New Zealand have either Marii or
Pacifica themes and content. You know, it just obviously really
resonates here. So yeah, I'm just thrilled for the people
behind it and for the film question. It's really great news.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
You should go and see this film because it's a
great film. But Broman, do you make a point of
seeing Kiwi films?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I love seeing Kiwi films because that whole adage of
seeing more of New Zealand on a is so true.
We love seeing ourselves on the screen and I'm thrilled
that it's doing well. I get a bit sick of
the Hollywood format of movies. I love them all I do.
I love them, I love them, but I love to
see New Zealand films. I feel though to go to
the movies. To Irene's point, you almost need to be
(10:00):
the Reserve Bank governor to afford to go.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
It's not a cheap exercise, but it's so much better
than city on your couch and your underpants watching Netflix.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Look, let me just say, as somebody who goes to
the movies at all sorts of weird times of the
day and on different days, you can get some cheaper
tickets if you go. You know, if you've got one.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
Of these Tuesday morning shoes.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yeah, Roman, you're one of these people that work like me,
odd ours, weird hours. You know, you can go along anyway.
I think it's absolutely fantastic. Go and see the film,
and thank you so much, Iren Gunner and Romantic. Thank
you twenty six to twelve of you with news talks it.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Be for more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudken.
Listen live to News Talks it Be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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