Interest rates are down, inflation is down and the weather is getting warmer - so is Wellington finally through the worst of its economic slump? There are differing opinions.
Also, a Crown observer has been installed at Wellington City Council. What difference will this make and will it improve council engagement with businesses?
To answer those questions and more, Commercial property investor and owner of JJ Murphys and The Grand Clem Griffiths, and JLL commercial real estate agent Jim Wana joined Nick Mills for the Business Panel.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from news Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Said b.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You're inside word on all things business in the Capitol
with Quinovc, better systems, better reporting, better call, quinnobeck, Oh
eight hundred, quinnovec.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Let's get down. Let's get down, mona. You've had a million.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Joining us for our business panel this morning. There's commercial
property and hospitality investor Clem Griffiths. That I pronounced your
name right, Clem, because my producer tells me I can't
pronounce his name and it's the same as yours.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Have I got it right?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
You have?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Why does he tell me I'll get it wrong with
the time.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Because you don't speak Welsh?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Okay, is it a Welsh name?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
It is?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Okay. Welcome by the way, Clem. And J L L
commercial real estate agent and one time big time softball
player Jimmy One. Good morning Jimmy, and congratulations on your award.
Can you tell our listeners what actually you've got? You've
just been named in a hall of fame or something.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Oh yeah, that was from my time. Well, thank you
Nick for having me on. That was from a time
of playing softball in America where I went from eighty
seven through to the early nineties playing over there for
American club teams, went to college there, and then it's
for the IC Hall of Fame, so big tournament every year,
fifty two club teams and we all playing that tournament.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh congratulations on that, well done. I mean, it's amazing
to give you an honor like that for someone that's
performed at that level. Let's start this morning. I'll let
our listeners get to know a little bit about it. Clem,
give us some thirty seconds or forty seconds. I know
you from here two thousand. You started as a hairdresser,
as a character hairdresser where everyone knew your name, and
(01:49):
you were a bit of a movie star hairdresser, and
you went on to own half of Wellington.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
That's not great, correct.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
We started our headdressing salons about oh god, how long ago?
Was I forty something years ago? And we started with
hair two thousand and then we progressed through who Courtney,
through Lampton Key and Willis Street, and we went from
a medium end of the market and targeted all the
office buildings and the embassies. Then the one of the
(02:16):
last ones, we put the diplomat into the James Cock Hotel,
which was a winner for us because we picked up
all the embassy business.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
And then developed from there.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
And in the end, I sort of, as I was
slowly getting out of it, I put my best hairdresses
into the salons and virtually gave them to them so
they could get a.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Future in life. And you went into property, and then
I went into property.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And the interesting thing is, even in your later parts
of your life, you still did one morning a week
at some so all your old clients could go get
their haircut by you.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Is that right? On?
Speaker 5 (02:43):
My over I couldn't get rid of them. They just
plased to ring me out and say come and clem.
So in the end it started with one and ended
up with about ten on a Tuesday on the tuesdays
to come in and oh god, it was great.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Could you still cut my hair nowt Yeah, sure could you?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
It was not much cut.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
That's pretty Rudi. It is starting the right way, isn't it.
Jimmy Watter, tell us a bit about you. I mean,
obviously a lot of people who wanting to know you
from your pro house as a picture, big giant picture
you were. You were a big man for a picture.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Where you're not small, mate.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Well, I mean that in a nice way way.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
No, no, no, Well, I wasn't a finished pitcher.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Put it that way. I was more of a dominating picture.
Born in Palms North, grew up in Linton Military Camp,
Parmi Boys High. Parents, got transferred to Trentam had a
couple of years of up college, which I struggled with
being a co ed school, and played rugby and softball,
and then made a junior team on the nine Ins
(03:38):
and his z in for a World Champs at fifteen sixteen.
We won that and Fargo, North Dakota, and then left school,
went and played softball in eighty eight eighty seven and
spent about twelve years doing that in America. Came back,
set up subway and Wellington had about five of those
in the end. And then after subway ten years of that,
(03:59):
I was like.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Now what.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
And I had a few residential properties and like tinkering
of property and got into commercial real estate. I've been
doing that for nineteen years.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Great, let's we'll be talking about that as we go
through the hour. Let's start with the hikoy, large hikoy
protesting the Treaty's principal bill is making its way to
Wellington is expected to fill the streets tomorrow. Cleam, you've
got hospitality businesses, You've got tenants that have hospitality business
you have tenants that have all sorts of businesses. What
(04:29):
do you make of it? What do you feel?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well?
Speaker 5 (04:32):
I think they I think it's the right that they
want to. We can't stop the marching. But I think
that Seymour probably jumped the bullet a gate. He sort
of talked over it with a coalition what was happening.
Because they've got themselves at their arms when they're going
to come. But what do I think? I think I
think it's going to happen, and I hope, just hope
there's not going to be too much disruption. I know
(04:54):
that New World enformed in a concern because we've got
a lot of embassy cars that park in one of
our buildings there, so they've got a particular way they've
kind of come in and have to go out. I
think that we'll probably close a couple of our venue
while it's on, just to have the safety of my staff.
But I and they've been pretty good so far. I
think if it's handled right, they'll be okay.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt that there's not
going to be any trouble unless someone writings them up,
because I mean they've been blooming perfect, smiley, happy, Jimmy Wheer,
They've been going through their thing, and they've got the
right to have, like Clem says, their protest. What are
you are your staff asking for the day or for you?
What is it business as usual for your real estate
company tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Or what do you do?
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Well? Yeah, I mean you know you have to sort
of see how it goes to a degree because but
it's rumored to be thirty thousand plus at does.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
He call tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Are you going on the heaquit?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
No, I've got actually got my mother who's I've got
to pick up. She's in care, she's got dementia, and
she's got an appointment at Welling's in hospital, which took
us a long time to get. So that's at eleven am.
And I suspect there will be issues trying to get
you've gone on it otherwise potentially, But I mean, and
everyone's got the right to protest, you know, So it's
(06:05):
got big implications.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
David sim was a brave man, shall we say, So.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Let's let's let's generalize it out of it. I mean,
this is not the first rodeo for Wellington businesses, is it.
We had the you know, the parliamentary one. We I mean,
we just get we just have to put up with protest.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
It's part of where we live, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Well, I think you know the governments here. I they're
going to protest against anyone's going to be right here,
isn't it to a degree?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Clem?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (06:29):
Well, yeah, I'm agreeing with But I'm just thinking that
depends as long as there's not too much disruption down
by Parliament Light last time and some of the businesses
aren't affected and tore it in Moleswear Street and the
bottom part of Lampton Key. Depends how they react. Yesterday
I came through the VP in Wakefield sorry yet Wakefield
(06:50):
Street into the VP service station and there was about
four car loads with people hanging out windows with flags
and everything, and they're actually driving in and out and
around the car parks. So that's not a good start.
But if it's controlled, it'll be okay. As as you said,
can't you can't stop them protesting.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
And potentially there's some money in it for us. I mean,
and Jimmy, if you still own subways around Warrington. I
mean people they're gonna have to eat.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, yeah, they're gonna have to eat.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
I mean I've heard of some business has already mentioned
and he's got businesses right there, but even further afield
or that closing tomorrow because they just don't want to
be you know, want to be a part of it
and deal with it.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
You know, well, Nick, you will get you will get
the hangers on that want to cause a bit of strife,
and that's what they're worried about. And I know they're
going to have a pretty large police contingent there, but
thirty to thirty five thousand people, I mean, it's a
hell of a lot of people. And we saw what
happened in the last problem down at the Parliament.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Here, but that was that was them living there and
staying there. I mean, that's completely different to me.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
These these are going to be that's going to be
not They will be there for a while tomorrow, don't worry.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
We'll put in context. That's an all black game or
a major concert in terms of the numbers. Right, So
it's a lot of people and that part of the town.
As we know, there's issues with now you know, cycle
ways and different gettings and get onto that, so it's
going to be congested anyway, it always is.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
We know things have been really tough for wanting to
property market, the retail and hospitality. But with inflation, interest
rates now coming down, are we I'll start with you
on this one claim, are we starting to see some
sort of revival? Do you feel that the city's getting better?
Speaker 5 (08:20):
Yeah, I don't know, but I've just been talking to
be in Z and they're predicting a point five on
the twenty seventh of this month, and they're predicting another
point five in February next year. So with that announcement
coming out from the B and Z, it means it's
going to bring a bit more confidence into the market.
But the problem is at the moment the damage has
(08:42):
been done because the retailers are suffering because how the
workers are staying at home and the other problem is
there's no parking now for the workers to come back
into the city, so the retailers are suffering again.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
So and then of.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Course the office towers are suffering and the landlords that
own the buildings can't afford to pay the outgoings because
there's no tenants in the building. The tenants don't want
to be in the buildings. And as a personal friend
of mine, st brang me this morning from Alaska who's
got lots of property in Willingth and he said, Clem,
it's just finding it really very hard to get commercial
(09:17):
tenants for these big buildings and.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Jimmy One, and that's your business. That's your business getting
those people.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Absolutely, And I think Clem hit it right on the head.
The big word he used right there was confidence and
everyone has lacked confidence. And it talked about survived till
twenty five. We've had interest rates increases, We've had rates increases,
insurance premiums, all those sorts of things. We've had recessions
and none of that's conducing to the business. And then
on top of that, you've got all these council decisions
(09:43):
again which aren't conducid to business. Is so, but I
do think that things are changing even through that. You know,
we've brought the likes of JD. Sports Lego, Tommy Hillfiguer,
Calvin Klein, relocated Cotton One from Cuba Street to Lampton Key.
So there are things that happening and you just have
to navigate your way through all of this. It's not easy. Yeah,
(10:04):
you're right, Jim.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
And the thing is getting back to we're talking about
the old COCKOLDI and Stones building and you've done a
great job there. But the thing is the people have
got to come at They've got to be able to
park your cars somewhere to be able to go shopping.
And if you haven't got the parks, the people aren't
going to come from nowhere and talking to a lot
of people I know their wives and that they go
out to the hunter Shop now.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
A Pertony because you know that yourself correct or the subject.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
But if we want to get it back like it
used to be years ago with the Diic Kirk's that
sort of image, the Stuart Dawson's all those sort of places,
Sports Tstoll all Latin Willa Street, we've got to we've
got to do something to bring the Lampton Key where
people want to.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Go and shop. If you go from from from.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
What is it Cambridge Terrace to the railway station, there's
forty six shops empty in the Strait Nile there.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
So we've got to bring You've got to.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Okay, So I get that, Clem. But I also was
in back House and Terriers on Saturday morning. Now, Michelle Backhouse.
They've done a wonderful job there. I don't know whether
you've seen the new shop, but it's in Allen Street,
used to be Tom Thumb Chinese restaurant. And it's a
big space and it's a beautiful shot and it's a
various right, it's a positive vibe to go in there,
(11:14):
and she's telling you that everything's okay and it's all better,
and she's investing, and you know, Willis Bonder investing.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Everyone's investing, and there's always winners and losers, all right.
I mean we've seen a number of bakeries close down,
but behind that there's a number of new, cutting edge,
cool bakeries coming through Volco. You know Tahoa, which is
Jamie Williams. He's bringing out a bakery as well. So
you know, things regenerate. We've hit the bottom in terms
(11:41):
of rents, all of it, and the cycle. You know,
we go through cycles where rents go up and all
the rest of it. So a lot of that stuff
is reset and there's new businesses coming on board. Yes,
it's been hard, but you know, we live to see
another day and carry on.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Clem, have we I going to ask you this question
because this is something that a couple of people have
suggested me, and I've said that on the show myself
as well. Are we just seeing it clean out? Recessions
hit the bottom ones, don't they? We started at the
bottom and work its way up a recession. Are we
seeing a few bakeries and places close down that we're past?
The US by date weren't as good as the other operators,
and we're just seeing, as Jimmy says, are recycling of
(12:18):
it and starting again.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
Well, I have to disagree with Jimmy there on the
bakery thing, because Bordat, for an example, was a well
known and great bakery business in Wellington and they had
three shops and they've closed down.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Formedon.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
If you had been down there, and Jim, I'm sure
Jim's seen it, you couldn't get down There was cones everywhere,
and all those businesses suffered. Now it went on for
so long that I'm sure enough they've gone now most
of them. But those businesses suffered in that time and
they had to close. I'm not disagreeing with that. Though
at least down by thirty or forty percent exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Absolutely, so, have we hit rock bottom? That's what I'm
trying to get to and think that's what our listeners
want to know.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
I don't know. I don't think we have.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
I think that the way these bicycle lanes have gone in,
they're just going to force more businesses to close. And
you can see it happening all the time. Well that's
the thing though, claim I think personally, I think we
have hit bottom. But however, it'll become precinct to precinct
because what you've seen in Thornton is an example of
what they want to do elsewhere, So it should be
the example of not what to do. Courtney Place is
(13:14):
an example needs upgrading.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
What do you say to those people? If he doesn't,
what do you say to those people?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Well, it doesn't need all that work that they were
talking about doing. Lamb thin ke Hey's not broken, so
you don't have to fix it.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Leave it alone, exactly right.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Courtney Place needs money reinvigorated into it. But I'm not
I'm not convinced on some of the works that they're
talking about. Okay, Well, because you're you're an operator there right.
I've worked on different projects and different things right there,
So yes, we need to put money into it. But
are we putting money into the right areas? And I
think that's the big question.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
Jim, you're right. But let's go to Courtney Place. You've
got the entertainment center on one side of the road.
You've got the little businesses and takeaway bars on the
other side of the road at night time. We've got
to bring Courtney Place back to what it was where
people want to go there, not where the parents are
scared to send their children.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
They're going in town, they think, shuit are they going
to be all right?
Speaker 5 (14:06):
Like that girl about six months ago they found in
the doorway raped and all that, and no one knew
who did it. So the thing about it is and
Nick Scott businesses down there, we've got to.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Bring it like they've gotten Valley.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
We've got to have a vet closed doorf area at
night where they just and they have security watching it.
People can come and feel safe and entertain themselves and
have part of Allen Street where they ubers can come
in the back, let the buses and that come up
one side, and have all that entertainment area right through
and have an entry stamp like they do overseas on
their hands so when they go through, if they go
(14:36):
up to a bar, the security looks at them on
the door. Yep, you can come in. But anyone that hasn't,
they've got to do something clean.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
There's a couple of people texting in to ask what
businesses you've own on Courtney Place around hospitality.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Business in Wellington.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
We own the Grand ABV in Courtney Place for the
ABV rooftop bar. As you know, it's won quite a
few awards for its rooftop. We've got JJ Murphy's in
them all, which is a little little to choose.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Little I know, I know, and it does extremely well,
so we're lucky we haven't suffered in this.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
We've got Chapman Taylor.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
We've opened in Molesbroth Street, the little old English house
opposite the police headquarters. We're doing the one in moles
and Gun Street, the old brothel, the Mayfair, which.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Knows it's taken about twenty years to do that.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
No, no made.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
It was the strength and the piles, the piles. The
piles had to go down in an astronomical depth because
it used to be the old stream from Brooklyn.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Yeah, ran through the years. Few of the piles are
down twenty three meters, no exaggeration. That's what we had
to get to hit hard rock.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Can I go back to Molesworth because you said you
owned Chapman Taylor, very well respected cafe up there. One
impacts of things like the Molesworth Street and cycle Lane
and the works on Thorn and Key had to directly
to your business. I know of a dentist that leases
or few and has had all sorts of issues.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
Yeah she has. She's poor, ladies. She spent nine hundred
thousand dollars on a fit out. She's got a great
business and she came to us desperately the other day
and she said, Clem, we need four car parks.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Can you give us to them? Get us for them?
And we have.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
We've managed to get them for us. So somewhere her
patients when they come can park. But it's not just that,
it's all the other little businesses in Moleswear Street that
are suffering. But the lanes, they what they need to
do and it's probably too late at the moment. They
need to have a tierway zone. So in the morning
from six o'clock till nine o'clock nobody can park there
(16:40):
and the whole thing. And then from nine o'clock onwards
until four o'clock in the afternoon, the couriers and the
delivery people.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Can park there.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
And then after that from four to six in the
afternoon it's you no one can park at all. You
want that period in the middle between nine o'clock in
the morning and four in the afternoon where people can
do deliveries, people can stop and go. People that are
live in North there's seven apartment buildings there and there's
nowhere no one can get an uber or taxi unless
(17:07):
they go into the New World car park and they
meet them there.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
So what Clem's had on their neck is that, you know,
we in Wellington was constrained by a hills and sea
limited geography. But yet we're trying to ram all these
things into a certain amount of space and it doesn't work.
So we need to be smarter about those and have
dynamic lanes, et cetera, so that your cycles going at
this time, then they become car parking another time because
when your cyclist, lad you come in, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
In the afternoon.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Clem hit me with this yesterday Saturday, I was talking
to somebody and they said, I hear Clem Griffiths's on
your show. Why didn't you ask him if he would
run for mayor? We've just seen it in America, an
elderly man take the world by storm. Could you be
the perfect person to be mayor Wellington?
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Trump to Trump's done a great job what he's done
in America over nine He's given confidence to the market.
The share market boomed, everything went up. Something has to
happen won in the mayoral situation. I think that the
party that's in at the moment is completely lost direction.
Would I I don't know. I'd have to sit and
(18:16):
think about it. Everybody's asking me this question.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Arlington great again?
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Make Wellington the best little capital city in the world
like it used to be called.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Now.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
I mean, you've got to come out. You've got to
say yes or no. You can't just on the fence.
You've never been a fed citter in all our lives.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I haven't.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
But there's a lot of thought to go into this,
and you've got to be confident that you can turn
the city around.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Will be a great legacy for you, Clem.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
It would be i'd have you beside me, Jim, you
might need my hand.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
The votes culturally sensitive.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
So it's definitely not a known it's maybe a yes.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I'm not saying what it is at the moment. Now
I can't.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
I can't comment on that, Nick, but I can you
give me the problem to me this question all I'm
all I am, and Nick at the moment is very
very very passionate about getting this little city back to
what it was before and getting confidence in the market
where where housewives and that will go shopping and feel
that they're not being intimidated.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
You're saying this is down to leadership, then here we go. Man, No,
it's not, Well, well it is.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
I want you to promise.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
I want you to promise me that if you do
go for me, that you'll announce it on my show
because I'm the one that first brought it up.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Absolutely, are not the first one that's brought it up.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Well, I brought it up on radio. I haven't heard
it being mentioned in media before. We got the biggest
audience and we're ready to we're ready to launch it.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Suan asked me the other day about that.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
You know, we talked we're talking about audience.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
I love it. I love it about it. Where do
we go from here? And that we're just where do
you go?
Speaker 3 (19:45):
I don't know you're you're the guy that's doing the pitch.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
Well, I'd like to I'd like to hit the very
first problem that was that hip Wellington and that's the
Island Bay Parade. And I don't know a lot of
people out there will go, oh yeah, they're still going
on about that, But if they don't live there and
haven't been there and seen the situations out there. That
is the widest boulevard in Wellington they have Now there's
forty five percent of the people that live in that
are are old Italian families that have been there for
(20:09):
years and years. Now they've put this walkway into this
bicycle way, and now they've actually taken the old plastic
dividers and now they've put permanent gardens there and rock
in concrete. Now, these elderly people, when they have their
families come to visit, no where to park whatsoever. So
anybody that gets into power has got to remove all
(20:31):
those ballards overnight, bring the parking back in, have a
seven set, a seven hundred centimeters strip, for the bikes
to go down, not all these boulevards and all that
and these pipes sticking up and let Alan and Bay
become what it used to be with the person said
to me other day, I sed to love taking my
father in law down to the little Italian cafe there
(20:52):
in Island Bay and on a Saturday, and then go
down to the Italian ships down in the little bay
there and look at it.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
It's like a good description of what you're going to
deliver as mere clam.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Yeah, definitely is Griffith for me. I love it. Jimmy,
I want to start with you on this because there's
been a lot of talk about commercial real estate at
the moment deals. How is the industry generally? Then I
want to ask you another question.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Oh look, it's been no secret, I would say from
my own perspective, it's I've been nineteen years. It's been
the toughest year in nineteen years, and you know, everyone
talks about survived to twenty five, but everyone's found it tough.
So even the deals are being you know, usually everyone
feels good about a deal, but you sort of grinding
to the bottom on all the deals and they've been biased.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Are you talking by its remorse and and all.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
The rest of it, you know, and it's like a
you know, if you're selling or leasing, and it's like
the lands, you know, unwillingly accepting because you know you've
got to get to a point where he's got to
lease it up right. And that's particularly in the retail.
It's the forefront of everything. You don't see, you know,
no one sees what's in an office. Now you see
what's on the street though, So.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Jimmy, I'm going to ask you because you'll know, and
I've got to We've got some media releases on it
that nothing's been signed off on reading yet. I mean,
that's probably one of the biggest pieces of dirt in
a long long time in the city. You would know
what's going on there. I hear there's a couple of
people really really keen give us, give our listeners the
absolute latest and what's on happening and reading and then
I'm going to come to you, Clem, to ask you
(22:17):
what you think should happen there.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
We've already said this, we're both arguing over it.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
It's about fifteen thousand meters of flat land and Wellington,
so it is the largest commercially developable site. It's in
the market currently. We have a number of parties engaged
on it and we're looking to get it done this year.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Wellingtonians not all, but is there some Wellingtonians naturally? Well,
he's not going to tell you who clean of course,
you know you know a couple of.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Nice whole place right.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
So clem, what would you do there?
Speaker 5 (22:49):
First thing I do, which I've gone to myself in
New Zealand and it's worked. I'd do bop retail, which
will bring the confidence and it will bring a lot
of people into that part of town. I'd put two
stories of car parking on the top and get some
good retailers on the bottom. That would attract people. I
think that's the best thing. I think that's the best you.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Could have turned your foot. You've got people ringing up
trying to invest in it.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Now, No, that's mere. That's Jim Milana telling me to
shut up.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
But I reckon that it would bring a good group
of people into one into Pesh from big suburbs and
that around.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
And so what are you talking about putting a warehouse
in there? Talking about it?
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Brisk goes on there, there's a number of international tenants
and lots of tenants around that would make that work.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
It would great And are they interested?
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Of course there would be.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Yes, we're through this whole scenario. We've got tenants we've
spoken to, so we know we can.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Fill it supermarket.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
That's a possibility. Yea.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
So the whole thing has as you say, car parking out,
you know, all of that stuff. But it then creates
that scenario whereby as you said before, people are going
to Queen's Gate, right they are, So you can bring
it all back into the city because you've got the camp.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
You do that, can you is it possible to bring
all that stuff back into.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
They're already here in the city. They're going all the
way out from here to go out there the shop.
But the only ring thing I disagree with Gym on
there is I wouldn't put a Superman, and you've already
got one down the road the New World. I'd bring
other retailers that are going to drag people and are
complimentary to each other. You know, your your bed, bath
and beyond just your rep case, just super those sort
of things. That sort of thing. A kmart would be, oh,
(24:21):
there's no this one out the hut but that sort
of market where you've got a mixture of people wanting
to go from one shop to the other.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Well, it's well known. It's well known that shop in town, right.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, there's there's lots of different angles for it.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
But I think what you're talking about, yes, some specialty
as well, car parking and potentially some residential on one
of the sites, particularly Tory Street, because you know you
could do it there. So there's lots of different angles.
But let's let's be on.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
You think a deal will be done by the end
of the year. We're in November.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
That's the goal.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
The reality is nick that it's if you're going to
build something there and to its full scale, you're probably
talking half a billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Yeah, there is no but to these big people.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, I mean, Jim, let's get it right.
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Silly Bay was was half a billion dollars anyway, So
you're talking about it's not going to be that it
Well no, But what I'm saying to you is what
they're doing, what they're doing in Courtney Place, this is
the betterment of the city. All we have to do
is we've got to bring the city.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I think the thing the first thing you do is
you get the current building back and operating.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Oh you're currently You're not pulling it down.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
I don't think that's the preferred view of people. Right, Well,
you get that back, open, back operating, because that was
the hub of Courtney Place.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Wow, right, I thought there.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
I reckon you pedestrianized from Wiley Malons to the public
corner and that becomes like Bell Street in New Orleans
and it becomes party central. Right, And this comes into
what you're talking about people coming in and coming out.
You provide a safe place for patrons to go to.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
Jim, what you've got to do is and next down
there with his venue. Now you've got to bring security
and safety to people that go down there and shop. Correct,
and now in the mornings and you know yourself and
as well in the doorways all the way down there.
I know the council is trying to do something about it,
but you can't have all these people living in the
doorways overnight.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
And it's got to end.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
Well, coun it's a good change, it they because they
actually own the land, don't they.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Okay, let's move on from reading. Jim's told us live
on radio that he hopes the deal will be done
by the end of the year, which is pretty damn exciting.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
I mean, you know, we can get that done and
we can move on and then we can get the
leasing it up and get some activity back in Wellington.
So that's one thing back in the Wellington region.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Right.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Well, if you and Clem do a deal on the
way down on the left, I want to cut out
of it because I put you together, so I want
at least a free lunch out about it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And I know who wants it to buy it.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Of course, we both know who wants to buy it,
and he's got and he's cashed up and he's catched up.
Let's remember that Crown Observer. I said when Lindsey Mackenzie
was well, we're actually when the Crown Observer was announced,
I said, it was a dark day for Wellington. Now,
I got a lot of really good, well known business
people in Wellington that didn't like me saying that. They
said that they think it's great news because we have
(26:59):
got someone looking over the council and keeping an eye
on them all, the Crown Observer. And I'll start with you, Clem,
make any difference whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, it will, of course it will the Nick. I
don't know why he's saying that.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Well, I think, do you want to live in do
you want to live in? Do you want to live
in a city that's got a Crown observer.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
In front of the moment we need it? Nick?
Speaker 5 (27:17):
This morning it was announced in the paper that they're
going to pull down in the botanical gardens. We now
but going to a house which people love it. It's
been there for years. Why pull it down now? This
guy and there now.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Will probably be able to put the brakes on that.
That's the whole idea of it. He's an observer, but
he can speak. A commissioner would have been the right
person to be in there. But they haven't put a
commissioner on. But if they let that go in the
botanical gardens, that is criminal. The other thing is you
can't get to the botanical gardens anymore now because they
put the bloody bikeplanes in there.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
I don't think it's.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Enough, Nick, You don't think it's enoughing You think it
should have gone to a manager.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
No, I hope ye, Commissionately, I think it should have
gone beyond that, because we're beyond all of these discussions.
You think, yeah, absolutely, I think that it's that bad
because we're not doing the things we need to be doing.
We're not fixing the pipes, we're not taking care of
things that we're not growing businesses right, so all of
those things aren't helping us. We're just going to have
clem said before somebody else comes in, probably going to
(28:12):
rip all these things out so that you can therefore
fix the pipes, get business generated. I mean, we're getting
rid of car parks to put in I don't know,
parklets or something they call it. Are you losing income?
Speaker 3 (28:22):
We can so can this Lindsey Mackenzie do enough in
two days a week? Is my next question to both
of you.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Depends where the meetings are, don't it. Yeah, Well, if
she turns up.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
Yeah, or you're working from home, I don't think so.
If it were me and you're going, I can understand
why they went observer. They went with a soft touch,
and I think that's an issue for our country.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Full stop.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
We're soft do I reckon you? Rich should run for.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Me, and the relative is he should be in at
least four days a week up until Christmas.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah, I agree?
Speaker 5 (28:47):
You know, okay that these that these water pipes breaking
all around the city.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
I mean you see it all the time.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
The money that's gone into the spike lane should have
been put into the infrastructure of the pipe.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Well, well, you don't build a house by putting up
the house without putting down the foundations first, do you exactly?
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I want to quickly ask you guys before we go
to what you do with some very special rights into town.
How big a deal claim? I'll start with you as
the events at sky Stadium, you know the big We've
just had Coldplay and Auckland just absolutely smash it out
of the park, make everyone a lot of money. We
haven't even got anything booked at sky Stadium coming up.
How important is this to Wellington?
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I think it's a major important.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
When you talk if ick in just two seconds, Dunedin
has got a roof on it, christ Church is going
to have a roof on their stadium. Auckland's building a
roof on theirs. Wellington has got no roof. It was
quoted ninety million dollars to do it. If we had that,
we didn't get events coming to the city because we've
got windy at Rainy City and we just need that
sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Don't you reckon?
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Absolutely I mean the feof Walk Cup was worth twenty
three minutes twenty four million dollars to US. Wales worth
about thirty million dollars a year to US. So if
that's the investment, you know, if you draw significant events,
you're going to get your money back.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
So claim have you a mayor of Wellington, you put
a roof on SI Stadium.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Definitely put a roof on it. Well.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
So well, the thing is, if you think about the
different cities, it's a million dollar to set up Eaton
Park for a concert. That's just to get it ready. Yeah, okay,
so that's Live Nation doing that. They don't run three shows.
When the stuffs arrives here in aeroplanes, it's already here.
It's just truck from the next one while we're on
the North Island. Otherwise you're trucking it all the way
down to Dunedin and then cross Roads right, Okay, so
(30:22):
we're already here. Infrastructure wise, we're fantastic, easy to get
to hotels, all the rest of it. You know it
doesn't have a hotel.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Okay. Now, this is the most important part of the
show for me. Clem Griffith, someone really special that you
haven't seen for many many years. Comes into Wellington at
eleven o'clock in the morning and you're picking them up.
They haven't been to Wellington for twenty or thirty years,
or never been to Wellington before, and you really want
to show off your city that you're mayor of or
want to be mayor of. What would you do with them?
Speaker 4 (30:50):
Take them straight up to Mount Victoria. Gives them a
beautiful view over all the city.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I think Mount Victoria is the best.
Speaker 5 (30:57):
Would be the best thing to take a tourist to
and show them over the city. What do you reckon, Jim,
That's a good spot, Clem. I live in the East Side,
so I always go around the bays because I love
going around the bays and seeing the water. I love
the water. And then I would probably go to Prefab
and if it's November, I'll probably take into the Banksy
thing and go there and maybe even the QT for
(31:20):
a NEGRONI and I like art.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
So isn't it Hasn't it changed things for you though?
When you want to drive. I used to pick up
import basketball players from the airport and drive them around
Evans Bay and Oriental Bay and bring them into the city.
It's changed that's that's now not I don't even go there.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
Yeah, I mean I go, you know, I drive in,
I go past kerry Ellen Point and then pass all
the cones and all the rest of it. But I
still like looking out over the bay. And and that's
why I think you should fix the band Retunda. It's
a Wellington definitely, you know.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Yeah, but I hear that's I hear that's very close
to being done.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
There's something close than the winds and that's a no
brainer to me. That's our playground, the waterfront, you know,
and there are lots of good things around Wellington to
see and do.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Clem Griffith and Jimmy one, I appreciate you taking times
out of your very very busy schedule. I'm waiting and
baited breath for the phone call from Clem saying, hey.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
I've decided campaign managing it now.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Yeah. I can't do that with my official capacity, but
I could definitely put them in touch with some really
good people that you know can imagine it. Oh well,
you know, people, dreams are often tomorrow's reality.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
For me with the existing counsel at the moment, well
that would.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Change, would happen.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It's all about leadership, Clem, change would happen about leadership?
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Yeah, see you a longship, it's about having.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Some you knows, something has to be done drastically, seriously.
We can all laugh and joke, but this is actually
in a dire straight house city and we've got all
the tourist ships arriving shortly. Imagine what's going to happen
when they start walkming down them.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
Well, Clem, you've seen it happen, So you don't think
that you're past it or not. You know, you've just
seen it happen on the world stage. Let's make Wellington
great again with Clem Griffith.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd Be Wellington from nine am week days,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from news Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Said b.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You're inside word on all things business in the Capitol
with Quinovc, better systems, better reporting, better call, quinnobeck, Oh
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
Let's get down. Let's get down, mona. You've had a million.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Joining us for our business panel this morning. There's commercial
property and hospitality investor Clem Griffiths. That I pronounced your
name right, Clem, because my producer tells me I can't
pronounce his name and it's the same as yours.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Have I got it right?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
You have?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Why does he tell me I'll get it wrong with
the time.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Because you don't speak Welsh?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Okay, is it a Welsh name?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
It is?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Okay. Welcome by the way, Clem. And J L L
commercial real estate agent and one time big time softball
player Jimmy One. Good morning Jimmy, and congratulations on your award.
Can you tell our listeners what actually you've got? You've
just been named in a hall of fame or something.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Oh yeah, that was from my time. Well, thank you
Nick for having me on. That was from a time
of playing softball in America where I went from eighty
seven through to the early nineties playing over there for
American club teams, went to college there, and then it's
for the IC Hall of Fame, so big tournament every year,
fifty two club teams and we all playing that tournament.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh congratulations on that, well done. I mean, it's amazing
to give you an honor like that for someone that's
performed at that level. Let's start this morning. I'll let
our listeners get to know a little bit about it. Clem,
give us some thirty seconds or forty seconds. I know
you from here two thousand. You started as a hairdresser,
as a character hairdresser where everyone knew your name, and
(01:49):
you were a bit of a movie star hairdresser, and
you went on to own half of Wellington.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
That's not great, correct.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
We started our headdressing salons about oh god, how long ago?
Was I forty something years ago? And we started with
hair two thousand and then we progressed through who Courtney,
through Lampton Key and Willis Street, and we went from
a medium end of the market and targeted all the
office buildings and the embassies. Then the one of the
(02:16):
last ones, we put the diplomat into the James Cock Hotel,
which was a winner for us because we picked up
all the embassy business.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
And then developed from there.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
And in the end, I sort of, as I was
slowly getting out of it, I put my best hairdresses
into the salons and virtually gave them to them so
they could get a.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Future in life. And you went into property, and then
I went into property.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And the interesting thing is, even in your later parts
of your life, you still did one morning a week
at some so all your old clients could go get
their haircut by you.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Is that right? On?
Speaker 5 (02:43):
My over I couldn't get rid of them. They just
plased to ring me out and say come and clem.
So in the end it started with one and ended
up with about ten on a Tuesday on the tuesdays
to come in and oh god, it was great.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Could you still cut my hair nowt Yeah, sure could you?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
It was not much cut.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
That's pretty Rudi. It is starting the right way, isn't it.
Jimmy Watter, tell us a bit about you. I mean,
obviously a lot of people who wanting to know you
from your pro house as a picture, big giant picture
you were. You were a big man for a picture.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Where you're not small, mate.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Well, I mean that in a nice way way.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
No, no, no, Well, I wasn't a finished pitcher.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Put it that way. I was more of a dominating picture.
Born in Palms North, grew up in Linton Military Camp,
Parmi Boys High. Parents, got transferred to Trentam had a
couple of years of up college, which I struggled with
being a co ed school, and played rugby and softball,
and then made a junior team on the nine Ins
(03:38):
and his z in for a World Champs at fifteen sixteen.
We won that and Fargo, North Dakota, and then left school,
went and played softball in eighty eight eighty seven and
spent about twelve years doing that in America. Came back,
set up subway and Wellington had about five of those
in the end. And then after subway ten years of that,
(03:59):
I was like.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Now what.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
And I had a few residential properties and like tinkering
of property and got into commercial real estate. I've been
doing that for nineteen years.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Great, let's we'll be talking about that as we go
through the hour. Let's start with the hikoy, large hikoy
protesting the Treaty's principal bill is making its way to
Wellington is expected to fill the streets tomorrow. Cleam, you've
got hospitality businesses, You've got tenants that have hospitality business
you have tenants that have all sorts of businesses. What
(04:29):
do you make of it? What do you feel?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well?
Speaker 5 (04:32):
I think they I think it's the right that they
want to. We can't stop the marching. But I think
that Seymour probably jumped the bullet a gate. He sort
of talked over it with a coalition what was happening.
Because they've got themselves at their arms when they're going
to come. But what do I think? I think I
think it's going to happen, and I hope, just hope
there's not going to be too much disruption. I know
(04:54):
that New World enformed in a concern because we've got
a lot of embassy cars that park in one of
our buildings there, so they've got a particular way they've
kind of come in and have to go out. I
think that we'll probably close a couple of our venue
while it's on, just to have the safety of my staff.
But I and they've been pretty good so far. I
think if it's handled right, they'll be okay.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt that there's not
going to be any trouble unless someone writings them up,
because I mean they've been blooming perfect, smiley, happy, Jimmy Wheer,
They've been going through their thing, and they've got the
right to have, like Clem says, their protest. What are
you are your staff asking for the day or for you?
What is it business as usual for your real estate
company tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Or what do you do?
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Well? Yeah, I mean you know you have to sort
of see how it goes to a degree because but
it's rumored to be thirty thousand plus at does.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
He call tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Are you going on the heaquit?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
No, I've got actually got my mother who's I've got
to pick up. She's in care, she's got dementia, and
she's got an appointment at Welling's in hospital, which took
us a long time to get. So that's at eleven am.
And I suspect there will be issues trying to get
you've gone on it otherwise potentially, But I mean, and
everyone's got the right to protest, you know, So it's
(06:05):
got big implications.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
David sim was a brave man, shall we say, So.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Let's let's let's generalize it out of it. I mean,
this is not the first rodeo for Wellington businesses, is it.
We had the you know, the parliamentary one. We I mean,
we just get we just have to put up with protest.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
It's part of where we live, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Well, I think you know the governments here. I they're
going to protest against anyone's going to be right here,
isn't it to a degree?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Clem?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (06:29):
Well, yeah, I'm agreeing with But I'm just thinking that
depends as long as there's not too much disruption down
by Parliament Light last time and some of the businesses
aren't affected and tore it in Moleswear Street and the
bottom part of Lampton Key. Depends how they react. Yesterday
I came through the VP in Wakefield sorry yet Wakefield
(06:50):
Street into the VP service station and there was about
four car loads with people hanging out windows with flags
and everything, and they're actually driving in and out and
around the car parks. So that's not a good start.
But if it's controlled, it'll be okay. As as you said,
can't you can't stop them protesting.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
And potentially there's some money in it for us. I mean,
and Jimmy, if you still own subways around Warrington. I
mean people they're gonna have to eat.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, yeah, they're gonna have to eat.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
I mean I've heard of some business has already mentioned
and he's got businesses right there, but even further afield
or that closing tomorrow because they just don't want to
be you know, want to be a part of it
and deal with it.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
You know, well, Nick, you will get you will get
the hangers on that want to cause a bit of strife,
and that's what they're worried about. And I know they're
going to have a pretty large police contingent there, but
thirty to thirty five thousand people, I mean, it's a
hell of a lot of people. And we saw what
happened in the last problem down at the Parliament.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Here, but that was that was them living there and
staying there. I mean, that's completely different to me.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
These these are going to be that's going to be
not They will be there for a while tomorrow, don't worry.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
We'll put in context. That's an all black game or
a major concert in terms of the numbers. Right, So
it's a lot of people and that part of the town.
As we know, there's issues with now you know, cycle
ways and different gettings and get onto that, so it's
going to be congested anyway, it always is.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
We know things have been really tough for wanting to
property market, the retail and hospitality. But with inflation, interest
rates now coming down, are we I'll start with you
on this one claim, are we starting to see some
sort of revival? Do you feel that the city's getting better?
Speaker 5 (08:20):
Yeah, I don't know, but I've just been talking to
be in Z and they're predicting a point five on
the twenty seventh of this month, and they're predicting another
point five in February next year. So with that announcement
coming out from the B and Z, it means it's
going to bring a bit more confidence into the market.
But the problem is at the moment the damage has
(08:42):
been done because the retailers are suffering because how the
workers are staying at home and the other problem is
there's no parking now for the workers to come back
into the city, so the retailers are suffering again.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
So and then of.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Course the office towers are suffering and the landlords that
own the buildings can't afford to pay the outgoings because
there's no tenants in the building. The tenants don't want
to be in the buildings. And as a personal friend
of mine, st brang me this morning from Alaska who's
got lots of property in Willingth and he said, Clem,
it's just finding it really very hard to get commercial
(09:17):
tenants for these big buildings and.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Jimmy One, and that's your business. That's your business getting
those people.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Absolutely, And I think Clem hit it right on the head.
The big word he used right there was confidence and
everyone has lacked confidence. And it talked about survived till
twenty five. We've had interest rates increases, We've had rates increases,
insurance premiums, all those sorts of things. We've had recessions
and none of that's conducing to the business. And then
on top of that, you've got all these council decisions
(09:43):
again which aren't conducid to business. Is so, but I
do think that things are changing even through that. You know,
we've brought the likes of JD. Sports Lego, Tommy Hillfiguer,
Calvin Klein, relocated Cotton One from Cuba Street to Lampton Key.
So there are things that happening and you just have
to navigate your way through all of this. It's not easy. Yeah,
(10:04):
you're right, Jim.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
And the thing is getting back to we're talking about
the old COCKOLDI and Stones building and you've done a
great job there. But the thing is the people have
got to come at They've got to be able to
park your cars somewhere to be able to go shopping.
And if you haven't got the parks, the people aren't
going to come from nowhere and talking to a lot
of people I know their wives and that they go
out to the hunter Shop now.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
A Pertony because you know that yourself correct or the subject.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
But if we want to get it back like it
used to be years ago with the Diic Kirk's that
sort of image, the Stuart Dawson's all those sort of places,
Sports Tstoll all Latin Willa Street, we've got to we've
got to do something to bring the Lampton Key where
people want to.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Go and shop. If you go from from from.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
What is it Cambridge Terrace to the railway station, there's
forty six shops empty in the Strait Nile there.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
So we've got to bring You've got to.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Okay, So I get that, Clem. But I also was
in back House and Terriers on Saturday morning. Now, Michelle Backhouse.
They've done a wonderful job there. I don't know whether
you've seen the new shop, but it's in Allen Street,
used to be Tom Thumb Chinese restaurant. And it's a
big space and it's a beautiful shot and it's a
various right, it's a positive vibe to go in there,
(11:14):
and she's telling you that everything's okay and it's all better,
and she's investing, and you know, Willis Bonder investing.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Everyone's investing, and there's always winners and losers, all right.
I mean we've seen a number of bakeries close down,
but behind that there's a number of new, cutting edge,
cool bakeries coming through Volco. You know Tahoa, which is
Jamie Williams. He's bringing out a bakery as well. So
you know, things regenerate. We've hit the bottom in terms
(11:41):
of rents, all of it, and the cycle. You know,
we go through cycles where rents go up and all
the rest of it. So a lot of that stuff
is reset and there's new businesses coming on board. Yes,
it's been hard, but you know, we live to see
another day and carry on.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Clem, have we I going to ask you this question
because this is something that a couple of people have
suggested me, and I've said that on the show myself
as well. Are we just seeing it clean out? Recessions
hit the bottom ones, don't they? We started at the
bottom and work its way up a recession. Are we
seeing a few bakeries and places close down that we're past?
The US by date weren't as good as the other operators,
and we're just seeing, as Jimmy says, are recycling of
(12:18):
it and starting again.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
Well, I have to disagree with Jimmy there on the
bakery thing, because Bordat, for an example, was a well
known and great bakery business in Wellington and they had
three shops and they've closed down.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Formedon.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
If you had been down there, and Jim, I'm sure
Jim's seen it, you couldn't get down There was cones everywhere,
and all those businesses suffered. Now it went on for
so long that I'm sure enough they've gone now most
of them. But those businesses suffered in that time and
they had to close. I'm not disagreeing with that. Though
at least down by thirty or forty percent exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Absolutely, so, have we hit rock bottom? That's what I'm
trying to get to and think that's what our listeners
want to know.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
I don't know. I don't think we have.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
I think that the way these bicycle lanes have gone in,
they're just going to force more businesses to close. And
you can see it happening all the time. Well that's
the thing though, claim I think personally, I think we
have hit bottom. But however, it'll become precinct to precinct
because what you've seen in Thornton is an example of
what they want to do elsewhere, So it should be
the example of not what to do. Courtney Place is
(13:14):
an example needs upgrading.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
What do you say to those people? If he doesn't,
what do you say to those people?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Well, it doesn't need all that work that they were
talking about doing. Lamb thin ke Hey's not broken, so
you don't have to fix it.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Leave it alone, exactly right.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Courtney Place needs money reinvigorated into it. But I'm not
I'm not convinced on some of the works that they're
talking about. Okay, Well, because you're you're an operator there right.
I've worked on different projects and different things right there,
So yes, we need to put money into it. But
are we putting money into the right areas? And I
think that's the big question.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
Jim, you're right. But let's go to Courtney Place. You've
got the entertainment center on one side of the road.
You've got the little businesses and takeaway bars on the
other side of the road at night time. We've got
to bring Courtney Place back to what it was where
people want to go there, not where the parents are
scared to send their children.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
They're going in town, they think, shuit are they going
to be all right?
Speaker 5 (14:06):
Like that girl about six months ago they found in
the doorway raped and all that, and no one knew
who did it. So the thing about it is and
Nick Scott businesses down there, we've got to.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Bring it like they've gotten Valley.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
We've got to have a vet closed doorf area at
night where they just and they have security watching it.
People can come and feel safe and entertain themselves and
have part of Allen Street where they ubers can come
in the back, let the buses and that come up
one side, and have all that entertainment area right through
and have an entry stamp like they do overseas on
their hands so when they go through, if they go
(14:36):
up to a bar, the security looks at them on
the door. Yep, you can come in. But anyone that hasn't,
they've got to do something clean.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
There's a couple of people texting in to ask what
businesses you've own on Courtney Place around hospitality.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Business in Wellington.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
We own the Grand ABV in Courtney Place for the
ABV rooftop bar. As you know, it's won quite a
few awards for its rooftop. We've got JJ Murphy's in
them all, which is a little little to choose.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Little I know, I know, and it does extremely well,
so we're lucky we haven't suffered in this.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
We've got Chapman Taylor.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
We've opened in Molesbroth Street, the little old English house
opposite the police headquarters. We're doing the one in moles
and Gun Street, the old brothel, the Mayfair, which.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Knows it's taken about twenty years to do that.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
No, no made.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
It was the strength and the piles, the piles. The
piles had to go down in an astronomical depth because
it used to be the old stream from Brooklyn.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Yeah, ran through the years. Few of the piles are
down twenty three meters, no exaggeration. That's what we had
to get to hit hard rock.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Can I go back to Molesworth because you said you
owned Chapman Taylor, very well respected cafe up there. One
impacts of things like the Molesworth Street and cycle Lane
and the works on Thorn and Key had to directly
to your business. I know of a dentist that leases
or few and has had all sorts of issues.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
Yeah she has. She's poor, ladies. She spent nine hundred
thousand dollars on a fit out. She's got a great
business and she came to us desperately the other day
and she said, Clem, we need four car parks.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Can you give us to them? Get us for them?
And we have.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
We've managed to get them for us. So somewhere her
patients when they come can park. But it's not just that,
it's all the other little businesses in Moleswear Street that
are suffering. But the lanes, they what they need to
do and it's probably too late at the moment. They
need to have a tierway zone. So in the morning
from six o'clock till nine o'clock nobody can park there
(16:40):
and the whole thing. And then from nine o'clock onwards
until four o'clock in the afternoon, the couriers and the
delivery people.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Can park there.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
And then after that from four to six in the
afternoon it's you no one can park at all. You
want that period in the middle between nine o'clock in
the morning and four in the afternoon where people can
do deliveries, people can stop and go. People that are
live in North there's seven apartment buildings there and there's
nowhere no one can get an uber or taxi unless
(17:07):
they go into the New World car park and they
meet them there.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
So what Clem's had on their neck is that, you know,
we in Wellington was constrained by a hills and sea
limited geography. But yet we're trying to ram all these
things into a certain amount of space and it doesn't work.
So we need to be smarter about those and have
dynamic lanes, et cetera, so that your cycles going at
this time, then they become car parking another time because
when your cyclist, lad you come in, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
In the afternoon.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Clem hit me with this yesterday Saturday, I was talking
to somebody and they said, I hear Clem Griffiths's on
your show. Why didn't you ask him if he would
run for mayor? We've just seen it in America, an
elderly man take the world by storm. Could you be
the perfect person to be mayor Wellington?
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Trump to Trump's done a great job what he's done
in America over nine He's given confidence to the market.
The share market boomed, everything went up. Something has to
happen won in the mayoral situation. I think that the
party that's in at the moment is completely lost direction.
Would I I don't know. I'd have to sit and
(18:16):
think about it. Everybody's asking me this question.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Arlington great again?
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Make Wellington the best little capital city in the world
like it used to be called.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Now.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
I mean, you've got to come out. You've got to
say yes or no. You can't just on the fence.
You've never been a fed citter in all our lives.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I haven't.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
But there's a lot of thought to go into this,
and you've got to be confident that you can turn
the city around.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Will be a great legacy for you, Clem.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
It would be i'd have you beside me, Jim, you
might need my hand.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
The votes culturally sensitive.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
So it's definitely not a known it's maybe a yes.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I'm not saying what it is at the moment. Now
I can't.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
I can't comment on that, Nick, but I can you
give me the problem to me this question all I'm
all I am, and Nick at the moment is very
very very passionate about getting this little city back to
what it was before and getting confidence in the market
where where housewives and that will go shopping and feel
that they're not being intimidated.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
You're saying this is down to leadership, then here we go. Man, No,
it's not, Well, well it is.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
I want you to promise.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
I want you to promise me that if you do
go for me, that you'll announce it on my show
because I'm the one that first brought it up.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Absolutely, are not the first one that's brought it up.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Well, I brought it up on radio. I haven't heard
it being mentioned in media before. We got the biggest
audience and we're ready to we're ready to launch it.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Suan asked me the other day about that.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
You know, we talked we're talking about audience.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
I love it. I love it about it. Where do
we go from here? And that we're just where do
you go?
Speaker 3 (19:45):
I don't know you're you're the guy that's doing the pitch.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
Well, I'd like to I'd like to hit the very
first problem that was that hip Wellington and that's the
Island Bay Parade. And I don't know a lot of
people out there will go, oh yeah, they're still going
on about that, But if they don't live there and
haven't been there and seen the situations out there. That
is the widest boulevard in Wellington they have Now there's
forty five percent of the people that live in that
are are old Italian families that have been there for
(20:09):
years and years. Now they've put this walkway into this
bicycle way, and now they've actually taken the old plastic
dividers and now they've put permanent gardens there and rock
in concrete. Now, these elderly people, when they have their
families come to visit, no where to park whatsoever. So
anybody that gets into power has got to remove all
(20:31):
those ballards overnight, bring the parking back in, have a
seven set, a seven hundred centimeters strip, for the bikes
to go down, not all these boulevards and all that
and these pipes sticking up and let Alan and Bay
become what it used to be with the person said
to me other day, I sed to love taking my
father in law down to the little Italian cafe there
(20:52):
in Island Bay and on a Saturday, and then go
down to the Italian ships down in the little bay
there and look at it.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
It's like a good description of what you're going to
deliver as mere clam.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Yeah, definitely is Griffith for me. I love it. Jimmy,
I want to start with you on this because there's
been a lot of talk about commercial real estate at
the moment deals. How is the industry generally? Then I
want to ask you another question.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Oh look, it's been no secret, I would say from
my own perspective, it's I've been nineteen years. It's been
the toughest year in nineteen years, and you know, everyone
talks about survived to twenty five, but everyone's found it tough.
So even the deals are being you know, usually everyone
feels good about a deal, but you sort of grinding
to the bottom on all the deals and they've been biased.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Are you talking by its remorse and and all.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
The rest of it, you know, and it's like a
you know, if you're selling or leasing, and it's like
the lands, you know, unwillingly accepting because you know you've
got to get to a point where he's got to
lease it up right. And that's particularly in the retail.
It's the forefront of everything. You don't see, you know,
no one sees what's in an office. Now you see
what's on the street though, So.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Jimmy, I'm going to ask you because you'll know, and
I've got to We've got some media releases on it
that nothing's been signed off on reading yet. I mean,
that's probably one of the biggest pieces of dirt in
a long long time in the city. You would know
what's going on there. I hear there's a couple of
people really really keen give us, give our listeners the
absolute latest and what's on happening and reading and then
I'm going to come to you, Clem, to ask you
(22:17):
what you think should happen there.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
We've already said this, we're both arguing over it.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
It's about fifteen thousand meters of flat land and Wellington,
so it is the largest commercially developable site. It's in
the market currently. We have a number of parties engaged
on it and we're looking to get it done this year.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Wellingtonians not all, but is there some Wellingtonians naturally? Well,
he's not going to tell you who clean of course,
you know you know a couple of.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Nice whole place right.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
So clem, what would you do there?
Speaker 5 (22:49):
First thing I do, which I've gone to myself in
New Zealand and it's worked. I'd do bop retail, which
will bring the confidence and it will bring a lot
of people into that part of town. I'd put two
stories of car parking on the top and get some
good retailers on the bottom. That would attract people. I
think that's the best thing. I think that's the best you.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Could have turned your foot. You've got people ringing up
trying to invest in it.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Now, No, that's mere. That's Jim Milana telling me to
shut up.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
But I reckon that it would bring a good group
of people into one into Pesh from big suburbs and
that around.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
And so what are you talking about putting a warehouse
in there? Talking about it?
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Brisk goes on there, there's a number of international tenants
and lots of tenants around that would make that work.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
It would great And are they interested?
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Of course there would be.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Yes, we're through this whole scenario. We've got tenants we've
spoken to, so we know we can.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Fill it supermarket.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
That's a possibility. Yea.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
So the whole thing has as you say, car parking out,
you know, all of that stuff. But it then creates
that scenario whereby as you said before, people are going
to Queen's Gate, right they are, So you can bring
it all back into the city because you've got the camp.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
You do that, can you is it possible to bring
all that stuff back into.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
They're already here in the city. They're going all the
way out from here to go out there the shop.
But the only ring thing I disagree with Gym on
there is I wouldn't put a Superman, and you've already
got one down the road the New World. I'd bring
other retailers that are going to drag people and are
complimentary to each other. You know, your your bed, bath
and beyond just your rep case, just super those sort
of things. That sort of thing. A kmart would be, oh,
(24:21):
there's no this one out the hut but that sort
of market where you've got a mixture of people wanting
to go from one shop to the other.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Well, it's well known. It's well known that shop in town, right.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, there's there's lots of different angles for it.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
But I think what you're talking about, yes, some specialty
as well, car parking and potentially some residential on one
of the sites, particularly Tory Street, because you know you
could do it there. So there's lots of different angles.
But let's let's be on.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
You think a deal will be done by the end
of the year. We're in November.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
That's the goal.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
The reality is nick that it's if you're going to
build something there and to its full scale, you're probably
talking half a billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Yeah, there is no but to these big people.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, I mean, Jim, let's get it right.
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Silly Bay was was half a billion dollars anyway, So
you're talking about it's not going to be that it
Well no, But what I'm saying to you is what
they're doing, what they're doing in Courtney Place, this is
the betterment of the city. All we have to do
is we've got to bring the city.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I think the thing the first thing you do is
you get the current building back and operating.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Oh you're currently You're not pulling it down.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
I don't think that's the preferred view of people. Right, Well,
you get that back, open, back operating, because that was
the hub of Courtney Place.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Wow, right, I thought there.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
I reckon you pedestrianized from Wiley Malons to the public
corner and that becomes like Bell Street in New Orleans
and it becomes party central. Right, And this comes into
what you're talking about people coming in and coming out.
You provide a safe place for patrons to go to.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
Jim, what you've got to do is and next down
there with his venue. Now you've got to bring security
and safety to people that go down there and shop. Correct,
and now in the mornings and you know yourself and
as well in the doorways all the way down there.
I know the council is trying to do something about it,
but you can't have all these people living in the
doorways overnight.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
And it's got to end.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
Well, coun it's a good change, it they because they
actually own the land, don't they.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Okay, let's move on from reading. Jim's told us live
on radio that he hopes the deal will be done
by the end of the year, which is pretty damn exciting.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
I mean, you know, we can get that done and
we can move on and then we can get the
leasing it up and get some activity back in Wellington.
So that's one thing back in the Wellington region.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Right.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Well, if you and Clem do a deal on the
way down on the left, I want to cut out
of it because I put you together, so I want
at least a free lunch out about it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And I know who wants it to buy it.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Of course, we both know who wants to buy it,
and he's got and he's cashed up and he's catched up.
Let's remember that Crown Observer. I said when Lindsey Mackenzie
was well, we're actually when the Crown Observer was announced,
I said, it was a dark day for Wellington. Now,
I got a lot of really good, well known business
people in Wellington that didn't like me saying that. They
said that they think it's great news because we have
(26:59):
got someone looking over the council and keeping an eye
on them all, the Crown Observer. And I'll start with you, Clem,
make any difference whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, it will, of course it will the Nick. I
don't know why he's saying that.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Well, I think, do you want to live in do
you want to live in? Do you want to live
in a city that's got a Crown observer.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
In front of the moment we need it? Nick?
Speaker 5 (27:17):
This morning it was announced in the paper that they're
going to pull down in the botanical gardens. We now
but going to a house which people love it. It's
been there for years. Why pull it down now? This
guy and there now.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Will probably be able to put the brakes on that.
That's the whole idea of it. He's an observer, but
he can speak. A commissioner would have been the right
person to be in there. But they haven't put a
commissioner on. But if they let that go in the
botanical gardens, that is criminal. The other thing is you
can't get to the botanical gardens anymore now because they
put the bloody bikeplanes in there.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
I don't think it's.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Enough, Nick, You don't think it's enoughing You think it
should have gone to a manager.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
No, I hope ye, Commissionately, I think it should have
gone beyond that, because we're beyond all of these discussions.
You think, yeah, absolutely, I think that it's that bad
because we're not doing the things we need to be doing.
We're not fixing the pipes, we're not taking care of
things that we're not growing businesses right, so all of
those things aren't helping us. We're just going to have
clem said before somebody else comes in, probably going to
(28:12):
rip all these things out so that you can therefore
fix the pipes, get business generated. I mean, we're getting
rid of car parks to put in I don't know,
parklets or something they call it. Are you losing income?
Speaker 3 (28:22):
We can so can this Lindsey Mackenzie do enough in
two days a week? Is my next question to both
of you.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Depends where the meetings are, don't it. Yeah, Well, if
she turns up.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
Yeah, or you're working from home, I don't think so.
If it were me and you're going, I can understand
why they went observer. They went with a soft touch,
and I think that's an issue for our country.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Full stop.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
We're soft do I reckon you? Rich should run for.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Me, and the relative is he should be in at
least four days a week up until Christmas.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah, I agree?
Speaker 5 (28:47):
You know, okay that these that these water pipes breaking
all around the city.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
I mean you see it all the time.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
The money that's gone into the spike lane should have
been put into the infrastructure of the pipe.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Well, well, you don't build a house by putting up
the house without putting down the foundations first, do you exactly?
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I want to quickly ask you guys before we go
to what you do with some very special rights into town.
How big a deal claim? I'll start with you as
the events at sky Stadium, you know the big We've
just had Coldplay and Auckland just absolutely smash it out
of the park, make everyone a lot of money. We
haven't even got anything booked at sky Stadium coming up.
How important is this to Wellington?
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I think it's a major important.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
When you talk if ick in just two seconds, Dunedin
has got a roof on it, christ Church is going
to have a roof on their stadium. Auckland's building a
roof on theirs. Wellington has got no roof. It was
quoted ninety million dollars to do it. If we had that,
we didn't get events coming to the city because we've
got windy at Rainy City and we just need that
sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Don't you reckon?
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Absolutely I mean the feof Walk Cup was worth twenty
three minutes twenty four million dollars to US. Wales worth
about thirty million dollars a year to US. So if
that's the investment, you know, if you draw significant events,
you're going to get your money back.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
So claim have you a mayor of Wellington, you put
a roof on SI Stadium.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Definitely put a roof on it. Well.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
So well, the thing is, if you think about the
different cities, it's a million dollar to set up Eaton
Park for a concert. That's just to get it ready. Yeah, okay,
so that's Live Nation doing that. They don't run three shows.
When the stuffs arrives here in aeroplanes, it's already here.
It's just truck from the next one while we're on
the North Island. Otherwise you're trucking it all the way
down to Dunedin and then cross Roads right, Okay, so
(30:22):
we're already here. Infrastructure wise, we're fantastic, easy to get
to hotels, all the rest of it. You know it
doesn't have a hotel.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Okay. Now, this is the most important part of the
show for me. Clem Griffith, someone really special that you
haven't seen for many many years. Comes into Wellington at
eleven o'clock in the morning and you're picking them up.
They haven't been to Wellington for twenty or thirty years,
or never been to Wellington before, and you really want
to show off your city that you're mayor of or
want to be mayor of. What would you do with them?
Speaker 4 (30:50):
Take them straight up to Mount Victoria. Gives them a
beautiful view over all the city.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I think Mount Victoria is the best.
Speaker 5 (30:57):
Would be the best thing to take a tourist to
and show them over the city. What do you reckon, Jim,
That's a good spot, Clem. I live in the East Side,
so I always go around the bays because I love
going around the bays and seeing the water. I love
the water. And then I would probably go to Prefab
and if it's November, I'll probably take into the Banksy
thing and go there and maybe even the QT for
(31:20):
a NEGRONI and I like art.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
So isn't it Hasn't it changed things for you though?
When you want to drive. I used to pick up
import basketball players from the airport and drive them around
Evans Bay and Oriental Bay and bring them into the city.
It's changed that's that's now not I don't even go there.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
Yeah, I mean I go, you know, I drive in,
I go past kerry Ellen Point and then pass all
the cones and all the rest of it. But I
still like looking out over the bay. And and that's
why I think you should fix the band Retunda. It's
a Wellington definitely, you know.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Yeah, but I hear that's I hear that's very close
to being done.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
There's something close than the winds and that's a no
brainer to me. That's our playground, the waterfront, you know,
and there are lots of good things around Wellington to
see and do.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Clem Griffith and Jimmy one, I appreciate you taking times
out of your very very busy schedule. I'm waiting and
baited breath for the phone call from Clem saying, hey.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
I've decided campaign managing it now.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Yeah. I can't do that with my official capacity, but
I could definitely put them in touch with some really
good people that you know can imagine it. Oh well,
you know, people, dreams are often tomorrow's reality.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
For me with the existing counsel at the moment, well
that would.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Change, would happen.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It's all about leadership, Clem, change would happen about leadership?
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Yeah, see you a longship, it's about having.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Some you knows, something has to be done drastically, seriously.
We can all laugh and joke, but this is actually
in a dire straight house city and we've got all
the tourist ships arriving shortly. Imagine what's going to happen
when they start walkming down them.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
Well, Clem, you've seen it happen, So you don't think
that you're past it or not. You know, you've just
seen it happen on the world stage. Let's make Wellington
great again with Clem Griffith.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd Be Wellington from nine am week days,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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