Full Show Podcast: 09 September 2026

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Pressing the newsmakers to get the real story. It's Andrew
Dickens on Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive. And One New Zealand, awarded
New Zealand's best mobile network. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Good afternoon to you. Back for a second time today.
Heather's a little bit poorly. I'm here until seven. Coming
up on the show, a review into alcohol laws wants
to cut red tape and make it easier to get
a licence. Now, is this good for hospo or is
it bad for community health? We'll have that story at five.
Public service workers have been on strike today. Did anyone notice?
What do they want? Was it just a stunt for

(00:33):
election year? Fleur Fitzsimons on this. And the UK, France
and Canada get tough on Israel. Australia likely to follow suit.
Should we be joining the opposition to what's happening on
the West Bank and in Gaza? We'll talk to Al Gillespie.
We'll get you right around the country, right around the
world as well. And you can have your say. by
sending me a text, and the number is 9292, small charge, apply.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Andrew Dickens.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
So, the One News Thomas Mead demolition derby this week
has been on the MSD. It's led their news right
the way through the week. Thomas has breathlessly reported, after
an inquiry through the Official Information Act revealed that there
were a number of rejections of special needs grants for
urgent and essential emergency costs, and that they were increasing,

(01:15):
and that more than 8,000 people were rejected on the
basis that food was non-essential. So the ministry has said
this was caused by an administrative error in which the
wrong option had been selected, but maintained that it did
not mean the underlying decision was incorrect. Now, I have
no idea what that means. Did they make a mistake

(01:36):
or were they not incorrect? I don't know, but whatever.
Thomas Mead has been hunting down anyone who will demand
that the MSD or the minister apologise. But the minister
and MSD are flatly refusing. And last night on the telly, frankly,
it got a bit farcical with the head of MSD
dancing on the head of a pin, refusing to say sorry.

(01:58):
It was a word salad. His mouth was flapping, but
nothing was being said. Now, look, I get why the
MSD don't like the bad press. I get that those
refusals affected only 0.094% of claimants, which is a small number. However,
it's still 8,000 people and 8,000 families who were affected

(02:21):
and were affected by not being able to get grants
to get food, a basic necessity. And those 8,000 over
six years, while a small minority, I think, deserve an apology.
The refusal by the minister and the department just perpetuates
a story that they are heartless and they just don't

(02:41):
care about the poor and the hungry. And that sort
of perception will last longer than any perception of ineptitude
that this case has created. And yes, it's all about ineptitude.
You can apologize for that while you're about it. Thank
you very much. Meanwhile, at the same time, the minister,
Louise Upston, pointed out that the MSD processes over 350,000

(03:03):
claims a year successfully. But Louise, that's the real shame. 6%
of New Zealanders need government help to afford food. And
that's nothing to be proud of. We're going to talk
to Fleur Fitzsimons about that a little bit later on,
just after five o'clock. We'll talk about her strike and

(03:25):
what it tried to achieve and whether it was a
political stunt. Right now, we've got some policy from Labour
and it's all about AI and they want to set
up an AI office. And it will be housed outside
the Department of Internal Affairs and there'll be a senior
minister in charge of AI. So the party's science, technology
and innovation spokesperson is a fellow called Ruben Davidson, who

(03:47):
joins you now. Hello, Ruben.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
Hi there, how are you doing?

Speaker 4 (03:49):
Very good.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
So if this comes to pass, you'll be a senior
minister with your own department.

Speaker 5 (03:54):
Oh, look, I mean, I don't know that it means
it'll be me, but it certainly identifies the need for
us to have a much higher level of government involvement
in the transformative technological revolution that is artificial intelligence.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
You like artificial intelligence?

Speaker 5 (04:14):
I think it provides us with a... a whole lot
of opportunity. And I think like all opportunities, there's a
level of risk. And I think it requires responsible governance.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
OK, so look, this is going to be an office
outside the Department of Internal Affairs. How much is that
going to cost?

Speaker 5 (04:31):
So it's about moving that into DPMC. So the plan
that we have is to do that within the baselines
that have already been committed to spend. And we think
we can do that. This is about changing the approach.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
OK, so let's look at this. It's a bit different
from the current government where there's a regulatory split between
the two sides. You want a direct government body, the
Office of AI, to draft the rules and safeguard creators' pay.
But the National and ACT, they view excessive rules as
an obstacle to productivity and economic growth. And don't they
have a point?

Speaker 5 (05:06):
I think what we've seen from the current coalition is
what started out as a light touch approach and they've
really done nothing since. AI has moved really quickly. The
rest of the world has moved to catch up. The
current government are still sitting on their hands and not
doing anything about addressing the very real risks.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Well, would your office of AI be any more efficient?

Speaker 6 (05:31):
Well, absolutely it would be.

Speaker 5 (05:33):
I mean, for a start, it's about making sure that
we've got that sitting within the Department of Prime Minister
and Cabinet. It would be about making sure that you
have a senior minister responsible for it. It would be
about identifying the opportunities and supporting those opportunities. It's a
really strong action plan that's based on lots of conversations

(05:54):
we've had with people across New Zealand. The current strategy
we're seeing from government seems to be based on a
couple of conversations they've had with big tech companies.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, but you know, all that consultation takes an awful
lot of time and slows things down. But let's talk
about the data centres, because the Greens want a complete
pause on building these things. You want them built, but
strictly taxed on resource usage. And National and ACT, they
want to clear the barriers to build them rapidly to
attract global tech investment. And again, don't they have a point?

Speaker 5 (06:23):
Look, I think what we need to do is make
sure that Yes, we're going to need data centres. They're
going to need to be the right data centres in
the right places. And really importantly, that can't be at
the expense of, you know, the power bills of everyday
New Zealanders who have been struggling with the rising cost
of living and a government that's not doing anything to
address that.

Speaker 7 (06:43):
OK.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
And by the way, are you going to sort out
whether you're going to call it data or data?

Speaker 5 (06:48):
I think we call it data in New Zealand, don't we?

Speaker 2 (06:50):
No, but we call it data in terms of proper pronunciation,
but that's another thing. Hey, this includes getting people more
schooled up on AI. Does that include politicians?

Speaker 8 (06:59):
Absolutely.

Speaker 5 (07:00):
I think.
All New Zealanders deserve the opportunity to learn and understand
as much about AI as they can. And that will
enable them to make the right kind of choices about
when it's safe to use it and when it's not
and what the risks are, but also what the opportunities are.
This is a transformative technology. The current government's approach is

(07:21):
actually robbing New Zealanders of the opportunity.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
At the same time, we don't want an anti-stake coming
in and stopping us from enjoying the new and very
rapid technological advances that are coming our way.

Speaker 5 (07:32):
But that's exactly what we're talking about. Our action plan
is about empowering New Zealanders to embrace the technology.

Speaker 8 (07:39):
It's not about.

Speaker 5 (07:40):
Making it harder. It's about making it easier for people
to understand and take advantage of it.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Reuben Davidson, I thank you for your time today.

Speaker 5 (07:47):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
It is a quarter after four. So Ali Williams has
posted on his LinkedIn that he's looking for a commissioner
to be in charge of netball. Remember, he wants to
do the new professional netball league. I'll run you through
what this job entails. Boy, it's a big job, and
I hope he's playing big money. And speaking of sport,
Darcy Watergrave is next.

Speaker 1 (08:09):
It's the Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive full show podcast on iHeartRadio,
powered by Newstalk ZV.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
So Tim's actually got in touch with me on the
text 9292 small charge applies, and he reckons that both
data and data are two different words. He reckons one's
before the information is entered into the computer, and the
other is when that computer spits it back out. I'm
not sure about that. I always understood that data was
the way that the Brits said it and the way
the people who invented the English language said it, and
data was the way the Americans said it. So for me,

(08:38):
being a Brit, essentially, because I was born there, I
prefer to say data. That said, sometimes I say data
and I start kicking myself. It's quite hard.

Speaker 10 (08:47):
So which way's what, though? Which one's the data, which
one's the data? Is the data the input and the
data the export?

Speaker 2 (08:52):
It's like tomato, tomato.

Speaker 10 (08:53):
I'm confused now.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Yeah, OK. It is 18 after 4. Guess who's here?

Speaker 1 (08:58):
Sport with Generate. For award-winning performances, generate kiwisaver.co.nz.

Speaker 2 (09:04):
Darty Watergrave.

Speaker 10 (09:05):
My partner lives in London. She's English. And every time
I say data, she tears.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Me into one.

Speaker 10 (09:10):
So I know where you're coming from there.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
There's a pronunciation guy, Daniel Jones. Also Reuters do one
as well. They all say data. Data. And everyone struggles
with it.

Speaker 10 (09:17):
Whatever.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
I just thought it was funny that the guy who
wants to run a data office was saying data the
whole time. So there we go. So Ali Williams, this
is a breaking story. So we've only just got it.
Wants to have a commissioner for Netball. And this person
is going to set all the strategic and commercial plan
on this format. set and maintain the franchise licensing processes,
lead the broadcast negotiations, try and get all the revenue

(09:40):
and develop, do all the workplace bargaining and all that.
This is a huge job.

Speaker 11 (09:45):
How much?

Speaker 2 (09:46):
Well, that's obviously not enough for you.

Speaker 12 (09:49):
Well, no, but also I don't have any experience as
a chief executive officer or a chief operating officer or
a chief commercial officer. So I was, I was, I
still am to a degree the chief executive officer of
Sports Talk between 7 and 8 p.m.

Speaker 10 (10:05):
On Tuesday to Friday. But I don't, I think I
get their benefits and perks.

Speaker 12 (10:10):
Inclusive workspace, care and appreciation, competitive salary, free drinks and
a fruit box. I'm stunned by the, I like, look,
good on them. They're obviously going to hit it hard.
They want to get somebody as a netball commissioner that
knows exactly what they're doing. They're very high powered. As
far as the money is concerned, I'm sure that's up

(10:30):
for negotiation because if they get a heavy hitter, they're
going to turn up. They won't be able to write
their own check, but they're going to say, well, if
you want me, it's going to cost you this much.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Well, this is right. But at the same time, Netball
New Zealand never found anyone who could do all that job.
So is there anyone in New Zealand that could actually
do that job?

Speaker 10 (10:45):
Maybe they'll find an American.

Speaker 12 (10:47):
Maybe the data they import will give them the information
they need.

Speaker 10 (10:51):
Well, I wish them the best. This is great. They're starting.

Speaker 12 (10:55):
It's a huge job to pick this up again. But
this is not Netball New Zealand. This is just this
individual competition. But I'm kind of interested in the finer
details of the competition, not who's going to be running it.

Speaker 13 (11:09):
No.

Speaker 12 (11:09):
I expect this person's going to end up having to
employ a media manager, so maybe there's a job for
me there. But finer details would be lovely, but all
in time, what they're doing is attempting to save netball
in that space, and you've got to commend them.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
Absolutely.

Speaker 12 (11:24):
I am a broadcaster, sports broadcaster, so I have a
fair dose of cynicism about me. I'll tend to look
under the carpet and go.

Speaker 10 (11:31):
What the hell is that?

Speaker 2 (11:33):
You'd be perfect.

Speaker 10 (11:34):
And then put the carpet down and go, I didn't
see that.

Speaker 7 (11:37):
So.

Speaker 12 (11:38):
I know everyone's very joyful about this, and it's great, netball,
brave new da-da-da-da-da, but just have a wee peek.

Speaker 10 (11:44):
Okay. Just have a wee peek.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
Apparently he's going to talk. Well, we've put in a
bid for him, so he may talk to us, but
I believe he wants to really talk about it in
a couple of weeks' time. This is up on LinkedIn.
If anybody's interested in the job, come and save netball. Meanwhile,
let's talk about something even more important. That's the Oise
squad out at 6 o'clock last night.

Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yes.

Speaker 12 (12:02):
Very, very important because there's a number of heavy hitters
have climbed back into the fold again. Plainly, Dallin Watani's
leg neck is still all broken up, so he's not there.
But Chan's nickel clock start, who's celebrating 150 games in
NRL play, he's filling in that number two jersey. We've
got Lekahala Seema back. He's only about 12, and this

(12:24):
is his 50th NRL game.

Speaker 10 (12:26):
It's stunning.

Speaker 12 (12:28):
What a weapon that bloke is. And still finding his
feet in the centre role. And he'll be sorely tested.

Speaker 14 (12:33):
Hmm.

Speaker 12 (12:34):
By what this team, the Dolphins, brings to the party.
So watching them. They're seven wins in a row, aren't they,
at this moment? Is it seven?

Speaker 10 (12:42):
It's 3v2.

Speaker 12 (12:43):
And I think you just bust out the back and
you just go, right, what have you got here and now?

Speaker 10 (12:47):
You've got to look forward.

Speaker 2 (12:49):
I would have liked to have seen 2v4 and 1v3,
just to be a bit fairer, but there we go.

Speaker 12 (12:55):
Well, it's not about fair. At the end of the day,
one team wins, and no one cares about the rest.
And we've got Wade Egan back. Kurt Cape will back
as well. Jackson Ford is back.

Speaker 10 (13:04):
This is huge.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
And Darcy Watergrave, back at seven tonight.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
Accountability. Analysis. Answers. Hear what matters. It's Andrew Dickens on
Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive.

Speaker 11 (13:19):
And One New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
Awarded New Zealand's best mobile network.

Speaker 4 (13:23):
Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
Jake writes to me and says, Hi, Andrew. Why should
Louise Upston apologise for the MSD cock-up? As reported, the
problem has existed for six years. Um, who was in
charge six years ago? And you're not alone, Jake. There's
a number of people doing that. But unfortunately, this is
the concept of ministerial responsibility. And sometimes Labour ministers have
apologised for cock-ups that started under national ministers. It's just

(13:46):
the way it's done. It's, you know, whosoever in charge
does the apology, if you think an apology is necessary,
which I think is, I think it is necessary. Somebody says, well,
it's 8,000 claims, but those guys are claiming multiple times.
And I do know that the average of claims dealt
with by MSD on the food is essential or non-essential

(14:07):
was about 4%. Okay, so maybe it's 2,000 people and
families who have made 8,000 claims. Whatever, they've still been
told quite a heavy, heavy thing when they're at their
lowest point. However, others have said the administrative error where
they say they put in the wrong code but it
was not incorrect suggests that they would have declined them

(14:29):
anyway because that's just what it is. So is that
what it is?

Speaker 5 (14:33):
Whatever.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
There we go.

Speaker 14 (14:35):
Meanwhile.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
Data, data. Somebody says, well, what do you say, gala
or gala? Well, in America, they talk about a gala
or performance. Yeah, I get that. But here, we say gala.
It's fair to say. Somebody says, if you're going to
say pronunciation, pronounce pronunciation correctly. But pronunciation is pronunciation, not pronunciation.
And I thought I did do it quickly, but there
we go. Somebody says it's data, not data. Same as

(15:02):
chance is not chance. And they think it's a New
Zealand thing. Speaking of a New Zealand thing, I'm a
New Zealander in my 70s. I've always said data because
the other way just sounds wrong. And it just seems
to be a new way of saying data or data.
But whatever. It's filled some time, has it not? Still
to come, we're talking to a US and Middle East
correspondent because it's kicked off again. Tankers have been bombed.

(15:26):
And Barry Soper is here to give us all the
data and a parliament. On Newstalk ZB, I'm Andrew Dickens.
And for Heather, just got a bit of the lurgy.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
Hear what matters. The facts over the noise. It's Andrew
Dickens on Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive. And One New Zealand, awarded
New Zealand's best mobile network. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
Good afternoon to you. I almost said good morning, but
that might be because I did do early edition this morning.
I've been here for a while. I'm Andrew Dickinson for Heather.
Heather's a bit poorly right now. We'll see how we go,
whether I'll be back on again tomorrow. And I've opened
a can of worms, and someone says data is the

(16:15):
plural of the Latin word datum, meaning fact. So you
do say data, but this text, this is Anne-Marie, says
the original pronunciation was data, and that continues in modern
Romance languages. And now she says, I loathe the U.S.
spelling and pronunciation where they say data. but I cannot
bring myself to mispronounce it as data. But there we go.

(16:39):
Someone else says, this is Fent reckons, it's like when
people say bin instead of bean. Yeah, I get that
as well. But at the same time, Rayleigh Ramsey and
I always get trouble whenever we say necessary. Everyone goes,
what is necessary? And you go, no, actually, it's necessary,
you know, but whatever. English, it's a very active language. Now,

(16:59):
we're going to get a new iPhone announcement tomorrow. It's
going to happen at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, so you
know that Glenn and Mike will be talking about this
ad nauseum. It will center on the iPhone 18 Pro,
the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple's first foldable iPhone,
which is reported to be called the iPhone Ultra. So

(17:19):
it folds like the Samsung. It folds. And a foldable
iPhone Ultra is expected to debut as Apple's most expensive
iPhone ever. And some reports are suggesting a price around
$ 2, 000 a pop. Four grand for a phone. I couldn't
be less excited. I have an iPhone 12 mini because

(17:41):
I don't like big phones. It's only got 64 gig
of memory. It's run out. I haven't been able to
put a new operating system in forever. But I just
want a phone that's a phone and fits into my pocket.
So there we go. It is 22 to 5.

Speaker 1 (17:55):
It's the World Wires on Newstalk's EpiDrive.

Speaker 15 (17:59):
All right.

Speaker 2 (17:59):
To America. And Donald Trump has made some pretty wild
claims about 9-11 25 years ago. He reckons he was
pulled out from ground zero on 9-11 in New York
by emergency responders.

Speaker 15 (18:11):
If you get two firemen, we thought it was coming
down on top of us and two firemen.

Speaker 10 (18:16):
Big, strong guys.

Speaker 15 (18:17):
And I'm not the smallest guy in the world. They
grabbed me under the arms and said, got to get
out of here. And they literally lifted me up. This
is not.

Speaker 8 (18:25):
Easy to do.

Speaker 11 (18:26):
I'm big.

Speaker 15 (18:28):
They lifted me up and they started running with me.
I said, fellas, I can run myself. But they were amazing,
but they thought it was coming down.

Speaker 14 (18:35):
It didn't come down, U.S.

Speaker 16 (18:36):
Steel.

Speaker 10 (18:37):
What a hero.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
What a great story. Unfortunately, it's not true because Donald
Trump was in his office at the time of the attack.
And how do we know? Well, he was interviewed by
the radio.

Speaker 17 (18:47):
Well, I have a window that looks directly at the
World Trade Center, and I saw this huge explosion.

Speaker 6 (18:53):
I was with a group of people, and I really.

Speaker 17 (18:56):
Couldn't even believe it.

Speaker 2 (18:57):
He was in his office looking out the window. He
was never at ground zero. So there we go. That's
Donald for you. The Donald we know and love. We
have had more updates from Nepal. The combined numbers on
both sides of the China-Nepal border are 1,400 dead and
5,845 still missing. And rescues are still being made. Here's
some Australians with an update.

Speaker 18 (19:17):
Another Australian has been found alive in Nepal two weeks
after the flash flooding tragedy. They were not in the
immediate disaster zone and did not require consular assistance. They
are the eighth Australian to be found alive, with 35
still missing. Rescue crews continue to focus on hydropower tunnel
projects as the death toll nears 1,400.

Speaker 2 (19:39):
And finally... Yeah, people snicker and chuckle at this, but
it's not good. French police are still searching for the
two thieves who stole... two paintings by renowned artist Renoir.
The theft was in Cagnes-sur-Mer, just along from Nice and
just before Antibes. It took place in a matter of

(19:59):
minutes shortly before the 6am local time. Mayor Brian Masson
said the duo appeared well-equipped and well-informed, so these guys
aren't first-timers, they're Art Heist pros, even though they stole
four items, but they dropped two in the gardens as
they were running away. Art Heist 101, don't drop the art. Now,
this marks the latest in a string of high-profile heists

(20:21):
targeting works of art and museum valuables. We know this.
Remember the daylight robbery of the crown jewels in the
Louvre of last year? Because it's freaking everybody out all
around the world. So if you pop into a local
museum and find yourself faced with tougher security than an airport, well,
you can blame the French. And don't we all?

Speaker 1 (20:38):
International Correspondence with NZI Insurance. Peace of mind for New
Zealand business.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
To the U.S. and Middle East we go with our
correspondent Gordon Robinson. Hello, Gordon Robeson. I should get your
pronunciation right. Is that correct, Gordon?

Speaker 13 (20:55):
Yes, that is correct.

Speaker 2 (20:56):
Robeson. Robeson. Lovely. Okay, the Middle East. It's ramped up.
We've got U.S. attacks on tankers.

Speaker 13 (21:03):
Yes, that's right. So it started, at least according to
the Americans, with the Iranians targeting an American warship, and
the U.S. responded by attacking several Iranian tankers. Now, this
wasn't in the Strait of Hormuz itself. It was at
a place called Karg Island, which is up in the
northern Gulf. It's Iran's main oil terminal. The Iranians then

(21:26):
responded by issuing threats against tanks moored in both Kuwait
and Bahrain. as well as American military bases in the region.
So after the big round of back and forth that
we saw about a week ago, it seems that we
are in the midst of yet another round of back
and forth between the Americans and the Iranians. And there's
just no sign that this cycle is going to end.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
And don't forget the Houthis. They're getting stuck in, too.

Speaker 5 (21:53):
Exactly.

Speaker 13 (21:53):
That's one of the most worrying aspects of what we're
seeing in the Middle East war at this point. The
Houthis in Yemen essentially opening a second front in the
war against Saudi Arabia. Now, for people whose Middle East
geography may require a little help, the Houthis in Yemen,
which is the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula... They

(22:15):
are a rebel group which, for more than a decade,
has controlled a significant portion of Yemen, including the capital, Sana'a.
They are allies of the Iranians. Some people would say
Iranian proxies. And they have been fighting with the Saudis
off and on, as I say, for more than a decade.

(22:36):
And that has really ramped up just in the last
couple of days. They launched significant attacks recently. on a
number of Saudi cities in the southwest of the country.
And they're essentially saying that if the Saudis don't play ball,
they will make it impossible for them to move things
up and down the Red Sea. That's important because One

(22:59):
of the things that has been making the world oil
market think that things might be okay is the Saudis'
ability to move oil out through pipelines so that they
can avoid the Gulf. But if that route for Saudi
oil becomes untenable, then you have a really problematic situation.

(23:22):
And again, these most recent attacks were a huge step
up on previous months, you're talking dozens, close to 100 wounded.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
And with all this around CAG, we're seeing $ 100 a barrel.
That's not good for the midterms. And meanwhile, Donald Trump's
having a quite unusual midterm convention in Dallas.

Speaker 13 (23:41):
That is correct.

Speaker 15 (23:42):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (23:43):
So for.

Speaker 13 (23:45):
Your listeners, American political parties traditionally hold conventions similar to
party conferences, not every year, only in presidential election years.
It is not unprecedented to hold a mini convention in
a midterm year. The Democrats did it a few times
in the 70s and 80s and then stopped because basically

(24:06):
they decided it was kind of a waste of money.
But Trump is doing this to rally the faithful. It's
going to be two days as opposed to the four
days that a traditional convention would be. It starts on Wednesday,
and all the reports that we have seen are that
it's going to be a big five-hour-a-night made-for-TV show. Trump

(24:30):
himself is going to speak both nights. So we will
see whether this— lights a fire under the Republican faithful.
It's notable that they are doing it in Texas because
Texas is the site of one of the most important
Senate races in the November midterm elections.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
Good stuff, Gordon Robertson. I thank you so much for
your time today, our U.S. and Middle East correspondent. There's
a bit of buzz about this around in America, too.
Reports originating from page six claim that Jimmy Kimmel Live,
the late night TV show, will end after the 26-27 season.
with Kimmel's contract reportedly not being extended. So he could
finish in May after a 24-year run. ABC, though, has

(25:10):
pushed back, saying it's inaccurate, but Page Six says no,
it ain't. And I got quite excited about that story,
but then I realised it's Jimmy Kimmel and not Jimmy Fallon.
If it was Jimmy Fallon, well, that'd be good news.
It's a quarter to five. Barry Soper is next.

Speaker 14 (25:27):
Barry's well.

Speaker 2 (25:33):
Hello, Barry.

Speaker 11 (25:34):
Good afternoon, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (25:35):
Heather is not.

Speaker 10 (25:36):
No, she's not.

Speaker 11 (25:37):
But I must say, I listened to your editorial at
the beginning, and I totally agree with you. I saw
the bureaucrat on television last night from MST. Now, they
made a mistake. That food is an essential part of
our life. But why couldn't they just say, look, sorry,
we got it wrong, and there were 8,000 people involved,

(25:59):
and they probably went hungry.

Speaker 2 (26:01):
Look, sorry.

Speaker 11 (26:02):
It's not hard to say.

Speaker 10 (26:03):
Sorry.

Speaker 2 (26:04):
And also, sorry for being so inept. That would be
nice as well. And we promise not to do it
again in the future.

Speaker 11 (26:08):
I think that would be probably taking it too far.
But anyway, there you go.

Speaker 2 (26:10):
So we're talking about this. This is our lead story.
And there was a review that came out about our
hospitality rules. And it says red tape for the hospitality
should actually be reduced. And that is the Act Party policy.
And they promised to do it.

Speaker 10 (26:21):
They did.

Speaker 11 (26:22):
And, you know... There was one aspect of the review
that really appealed to me, and it says everything about
bureaucracy in this country. It was from a food truck
business that considered setting up in Australia because the process
in New Zealand was so bureaucratic.

Speaker 10 (26:39):
Have a listen.

Speaker 11 (26:40):
Seymour said when the vendor explored the option with Australian regulators,
they were given one contact and a clear pathway to
set up the business there.

Speaker 10 (26:49):
Well, in New Zealand, they had to meet.

Speaker 11 (26:51):
13 officials from eight central and local government agencies. Now,
where would you sooner set up business under those circumstances?
And it did identify multiple problems that confront our hospitality industry.
And I've got to say, you don't see it much
at this time of an election cycle, but the Nats

(27:12):
and Act were at one when it came to regulatory relief.
for the hospitality sector. Tourism Minister Louise Upston, she turned
up at a Newmarket Auckland restaurant with the Regulation Minister,
ex-David Seymour. Here they are.

Speaker 19 (27:29):
Sometimes what happens is individual agencies don't appreciate what they're
doing is running counter to what another government department is doing.
So the Hospitality Action Plan brings it all together, gives visibility.
We're going to set some timelines of what we're going
to achieve so that the hospitality sector has got what

(27:50):
it needs to go and grow.

Speaker 20 (27:52):
And that's why, with Louise as our Minister of Hospitality
and Tourism, we're going to see a hospitality action plan that,
over the next year, is going to clear up so
many of the regulatory barriers that have been found by
the Ministry for Regulation. And together, we are going to
make it easier to do business.

Speaker 2 (28:10):
Question, why does it take a year? LAUGHTER Is there
too much regulation inside the Ministry of Regulation?

Speaker 10 (28:15):
Well, it's true.

Speaker 11 (28:16):
Well, you've got to have another report, don't you? I mean,
you can't do it this side of the election, but
at least those two were singing from the same hymn book,
so that was good.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
I woke up this morning and went, goodness me, the
United Kingdom have suddenly got a case of huge balls
because they were talking about ethnic cleansing in Gaza and
the West Bank and they were doing boycotts on Israel.
So what do you reckon?

Speaker 11 (28:35):
Well, they were doing boycotts on the settlements, the Israeli
settlements on the West Bank. the UK have been joined
by Canada and France. And Chris Hipkins has been saying
today that New Zealand's position on this is an embarrassment
to the country because what we've said through Winston Peters'
office is that we don't use trade measures to address

(29:00):
foreign policy issues, which they see this as being in
the book of. But our former Prime Minister, Helen Clark,
she's just returned from Gaza and she said, on TV3,
that essentially New Zealand must step up and voice its
concern at what Israel is now doing in the area.

Speaker 21 (29:19):
If you force Palestinians out of their villages and off
their land, you are in effect ethnically cleansing these areas
of Palestinians. It's a tough term, but how else do
you describe it? The aim seems to be to drive
them into the Palestinian towns and cities and to confine
them there. with, in effect, large parts of Palestinian territory

(29:44):
occupied by settlers. New Zealand signed up to a statement
with the European Commission and a number of other countries
in May against the increasing settlements. It's time to make
that statement again because Israel's government is very close to
letting a tender for construction of the settlement. And people
say it deals a terrible blow to the prospect of

(30:06):
a two-state solution.

Speaker 11 (30:08):
And that's what New Zealand has been always about. We
should have a two-state solution.

Speaker 2 (30:12):
I remember hearing the Prime Minister, Luxon, actually saying that.
We favour a two-state solution, therefore they don't back it
in some ways.

Speaker 11 (30:19):
And it's not hard to join in this sort of
thing because the fact is, that these are settlements in
the West Bank. It's not as though they're producing a
lot and it's not as though we're going to go
downhill economically if we ban any goods.

Speaker 10 (30:34):
From that area.

Speaker 2 (30:35):
It's symbolic, though. No, totally. And the Americans might go, well,
we don't trust them. But the difference here is that
UK and France and Canada... have gone in there first.

Speaker 11 (30:44):
Don't like the Americans at the moment either.

Speaker 10 (30:46):
No, you're right.

Speaker 2 (30:47):
And the Americans don't like them.

Speaker 11 (30:48):
Who knows? The Americans are all behind it.

Speaker 10 (30:50):
You're absolutely right.

Speaker 12 (30:51):
All right.

Speaker 2 (30:52):
Thank you so much, Barry. Give it up in regards
to Heather. It's coming up seven minutes to five.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
powered by Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 6 (31:06):
Fearless. Focused.

Speaker 1 (31:08):
Informed. It's the Mike Hosking Breakfast.

Speaker 22 (31:10):
Latest PISA results. These are 15-year-olds, 9th in reading, 10th
in science, 16th in math. That's above the OECD average.
Education Minister Erica Stamford's with us. So what's happening with
the disadvantaged students? They're improving materially?

Speaker 7 (31:23):
Well, look, they are. And to see these kids who
are in the bottom quartile, who have gained in science
a year, in maths... three terms, that is beyond what
we could have expected. If you look back to 2022
when we last did PISA, our attendance rate was about 39%
in 2026, in term tow, 64.3.

Speaker 22 (31:43):
Back tomorrow at 6am, the Mike Hosking Breakfast with Aveda,
Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (31:51):
Ended up talking about pronunciation for a while, you know
that's a hornet's nest to open up and somebody said,
I know you worked at Radio Scenic Land in Greymouth
back in the 80s and yes I did for my crimes.
And he said, what about the town of Kumara? But
then again, you've got the sweet potato, which is Kumara. Yeah,
true enough, true enough. But that again, and on the
West Coast, you've got the wonderful town of Kanieri. But

(32:12):
all the locals call it Canary. So what about that?
One is common usage. The other is the correct way
to say it. I don't know. As long as we
understand each other, that's a good thing. Hey, there's a
new campaign from Tourism New Zealand, by the way, called
Don't Be a Stranger. And its aim is to get
Kiwis to invite overseas friends and family to come to
New Zealand for the first time. Apparently, coming to see

(32:32):
friends and family make up about 30% of international arrivals
and contribute about $ 2. 5 billion a year to the economy.
So invite a friend. I lived overseas for three years.
I invited all my friends. I said, like, I came
halfway around the world to meet you and to see you.
You can do the same to me. And in the
last 30 years since I came back from overseas, the
number of people who have come to see me who

(32:54):
I thought were my friends, one.

Speaker 11 (32:57):
One.

Speaker 2 (32:57):
Because they all go, it's too far to come.

Speaker 10 (32:59):
All right.

Speaker 2 (33:00):
So it gets underway in Rio with the Brewers Association
in a few moments' time about the dropping of regulation
when it comes to hospitality laws. We've got Fleur Fitz-Timons
on the strike that happened today. Did you notice it?
We've got an interesting story about the number of fixed
speed cameras that are being vandalised, and that might be
because somebody thought it was a good idea to put
them on the ground. And we've got Al Gillespie, the

(33:22):
Waikato Uni international law expert on whether New Zealand should
join the UK, France and Canada and sanction... the West
Bank and the settlements in Israel. So it's a big
old show, and it starts right after news and sport,
which is next.

Speaker 1 (33:38):
The only drive show you can trust to ask the questions,
get the answers, find the facts, and give the analysis.
Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive with Andrew Dickens and One New Zealand.
Awarded New Zealand's Best Mobile Network.

Speaker 2 (33:54):
Newstalk ZB. Let's welcome on in. Heather's not overly well.
I'm Andrew Dickens. So here we go. The government's received
a review into our hospitality laws that's been welcomed by
Louise Upston and David Seymour. And it follows along closely
to what the proposed Act Party policies are. So they're
promising to make it easier to obtain and maintain alcohol
licences going forward. So the review says hospitality businesses have

(34:17):
to jump through hurdles and red tape to keep their
licences safe. and pay high fees for an industry that's
already struggling. Talk about this. We've got Executive Director of
the Brewers Association, Dylan Firth with me. Hello, Dylan.

Speaker 9 (34:29):
Good afternoon, Andrew.

Speaker 15 (34:30):
Right.

Speaker 2 (34:30):
So what will this mean? Is this just for hospitality
and restaurants, or will it mean a proliferation of bottelos?

Speaker 9 (34:38):
No, no, I think this is definitely focused on a
hospitality review, and that's the idea behind it. There's a
number of recommendations in the review that's come out today,
so we'll have to get our head around it fulsomely.
But I think there's some great stuff in there for
the industry to reduce some red tape and let them
get on with doing their business, which is looking after people.

Speaker 2 (34:55):
Well, what has been the challenge and the problems with
the current system and the current red tape?

Speaker 9 (35:01):
Yeah, look, I mean, the system was introduced in 2012, 2013,
when the licensing laws changed after quite some time. And
what happened is a lot of that was devolved to
local councils and district licensing committees. What we've seen is
we've seen inconsistency across the board between these and also resourcing.
So smaller councils will be taking longer. And, you know,
you've got some businesses waiting six months to get a license,
if not a year to get a renewal. And that's

(35:23):
just really difficult for business. You know, all these people
want to be doing is providing food and beverages to
their customers and their communities.

Speaker 2 (35:29):
But the review also says that if you cut some
of these costs and you cut the regulatory cost as well,
there will still have to be some regulation and that
cost will be borne by councils, meaning more costs for councils,
meaning higher rates.

Speaker 9 (35:44):
Well, look, I think there's actually still a fee element
to it. So, I mean, what happens at the moment
with any fees like building consensus, they're partially subsidised by councils.
And this is one of the things. The recommendations in
the report also look at merging some of the district
licensing committees or allowing councils to merge where finding efficiencies
will enable them to reduce some of their overheads. So actually,
I think there's cost savings to be had within this.

Speaker 2 (36:05):
The critics also say that cutting the red tape could
increase alcohol harm. What do you say to that?

Speaker 9 (36:11):
I don't think that's something at all. These are supervised environments.
All they're doing is going through a fee process here
or an application process. It's not necessarily going to change
how they serve or look after their customers. There's strong
rules around what you can and can't do in hospitality
venues with alcohol. I don't think this is going to
increase alcohol supply or increase harmful consumption. People are still

(36:32):
going out and having a beer and enjoying themselves. We've
got the lowest harmful consumption of alcohol in New Zealand
we've ever had. You know, things are heading in a
really good direction. This is just going to enable businesses
to get on with doing it.

Speaker 2 (36:42):
And will this affect the trusts, you know, like Southland,
like West Auckland and their operations?

Speaker 9 (36:48):
It shouldn't do. I mean, they go through licensing processes themselves,
so they've been using it, so it's very similar. We've
definitely seen on a wider aspect of things, businesses being
able to get through and do this will mean that
they can just focus on it. It doesn't matter whether
they're a trust or an individual cafe who's got a license,
whether they're a high street bar. It's going to allow
these people to just go, right, this is what we

(37:09):
want to do, look after our consumers.

Speaker 2 (37:10):
And do you reckon this is going to end up
with more hospitality outfits or it's going to mean that
the margins get better for current operators?

Speaker 9 (37:18):
Look, I don't think it's going to add some sort
of proliferation. If anything, we're seeing some of the biggest
cuts in hospitality we've ever seen. 3,000 venues stopped trading
in the last year, which is 40% up on the
last year. And that's due to the wider economic environment.
If there's some costs that can be reduced by those
businesses that are still around, that's great. We probably won't
see a huge amount more open. It just means those

(37:40):
who are there and want to be able to do
their business can.

Speaker 2 (37:43):
Dylan Firth, thank you for your time today, Executive Director
of the Brewers Association. It's 11 after five.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
Andrew Dickens.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
So 10,000 public servants downed their tools today. They were
demanding better pay. There were 5,000 from the Ministry of
Social Development, 2,700 from MBIE. Plus there was the Department
of Internal Affairs, NEMA and the Ministry of Ethnic Communities
and they're all rallying for their bargaining to be settled.
So joining me is the National Secretary of the Public
Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons.

Speaker 8 (38:11):
Hello.

Speaker 23 (38:12):
Good evening, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (38:13):
So all these bargaining deals, how much are they worth?

Speaker 23 (38:16):
Well, we're seeking pay increases that keep pace with the
cost of living facing these workers and their families. We've
seen the government respond to strike action in the health
and education sector, and we expect them to listen to
these 10,000 public servants too and come to the table
with a decent and fair offer.

Speaker 2 (38:32):
So 10,000 people striking, did anyone notice?

Speaker 23 (38:37):
Look, the strikes were relatively short and that was deliberate
to minimise disruption. But what we really want to see
and get across to the government is that these people
are important. Their work is important. Christopher Luxon said he
was elected on the basis of having a laser-like focus
on the cost of living. Well, this is the workforce
that his government's in charge of. We want to see

(38:59):
some of that laser-like focus on the cost of living
when it comes to these workers.

Speaker 2 (39:02):
So here's your double-edged sword, though. If the payroll bill
for all these public service workers gets bigger, then, of course,
to balance the budget, we're going to cut the numbers.
So is higher pay worth cuts to the number of
people employed in the public service?

Speaker 23 (39:18):
Well, we say it's about choices, and this government has
made choices to favour landlords and tobacco companies over our
health system and our public services and public servants. But actually,
what we're asking for is relativisation. modest increases to their pay.
We think if government are committed to resolving this dispute,
we can find a way forward. But so far, we're

(39:38):
just not getting that commitment from government and we're not
getting fair offers across the table. These public servants are reasonable.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
But the public service perception is not good. I mean,
people are saying, why should we pay people from MB
more when they can't finish an IT project? Why should
we pay people from the MSD more when they kick
8,000 people off their food grants?

Speaker 23 (39:57):
Well, what you're seeing when it comes to talking about
somewhere like MBIE is we're actually talking about immigration officers.
They make sure our borders are safe. MSD has been
impacted by cuts and actually we're going to see more
mistakes and problems in our public service. if this government's
agenda of dismissing public servants and cutting public services continues.

(40:17):
So unless we see a proper commitment from the government
to invest in not only these people and the work
that they do, but actually our public services across the board,
we're going to see more problems. That's a natural consequence
when you cut jobs.

Speaker 2 (40:30):
And you mentioned this government. I mean, would the strike
even happen if there was another government that was of
a colour that more public servants and yourself would actually
approve of? You know, is this actually an election stunt?

Speaker 23 (40:41):
No, the PSA has taken strike action under governments of
all colours. We have taken a lot more under this government.
We saw strike action in health, the Ministry of Education, Pharmac, ACC,
to name a few. But at the end of the day,
these industrial disputes get resolved. They get resolved when cool
heads prevail and when government empowers employers to come to
the bargaining table with a fair offer. And we're willing

(41:03):
to talk. We want to resolve these disputes and we
just need the government to send a message to employers
to do so.

Speaker 2 (41:09):
Fleur Fitzsimons, I thank you for your time today from
the Public Service Association, the National Secretary. I almost chuckled
in the middle of that interview because Graham texted me
and says the average productivity of New Zealand rose today
with the public servants being on strike. And did you
notice there was a marvellous non-answer in there? I said,
what would you rather have? If the payroll gets bigger,
then people are going to call for a cut in

(41:30):
the number of staff because we need to balance the budget.
Is higher pay worth bigger cuts to the public service?
And then she went waffling on about... tax stuff and
tobacco and never answered the question. Public servants, do you
want more pay? Then you'll probably end up with less
of you. Which one do you want? Feel free to
text me, 9292. News Talk CB, I've got a text

(41:53):
from Alan who says, Andrew, you missed a question with
Fleur Fitzsimons. did you ask how much are they looking for? Yes,
I did. That was the very first question I asked.
How much are you looking for? And she never answered that.
And they never will answer that because they know if
they say this is how much it's going to cost,
we're all going to get the heebie-jeebies and go, yeah, what?

Speaker 10 (42:11):
Yeah, what?

Speaker 2 (42:12):
They'll never tell you that. They'll never tell you exactly
how much they're looking for. It's just more. It's 18
after 5, so the country's 10 mobile speed camera trailers
have been vandalized at least 18 times in just one year.
Nearly two-thirds of that was graffiti, but the tires have

(42:32):
also been slashed. So NZTEA's head of driving regulation is
Chris Rodley, and Chris joins me now. Hello, Chris.

Speaker 17 (42:40):
G'day, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (42:40):
How's it going?

Speaker 11 (42:41):
Very good.

Speaker 2 (42:41):
So you're the dude who actually commissioned these and put
them out?

Speaker 17 (42:46):
That's right, yeah, we do that through a third-party contracted
business that deploys.

Speaker 6 (42:52):
Them, yeah.

Speaker 2 (42:52):
Every time these 10 mobile speed cameras get vandalised, how
much does that cost the taxpayer?

Speaker 17 (42:58):
We actually don't have the information, yeah. As I mentioned,
they're sort of operated through a private company, so the
contract covers the cost of repairs and the trailers themselves within.

Speaker 6 (43:12):
That, yeah.

Speaker 2 (43:13):
So this is going to affect the third-party contractors' margins then,
so they've already put that in in the procurement process,
you're saying?

Speaker 17 (43:21):
Already put it in in the procurement process, yeah.

Speaker 2 (43:24):
Did you catch the people who did the graffiti and
slashed the tyres? Have you got them on camera?

Speaker 17 (43:29):
Well, yeah, all of our trailers and the cars, the SUVs,
the mobile SUVs, had CCTV cameras, and so we record
all the incidents and report them and hand it over
to police, yeah.

Speaker 2 (43:41):
All right. Have the cameras been successful enough in raising
money to basically cover the maintenance of all the damage
and how much it costs in the procurement?

Speaker 17 (43:52):
So NZTA doesn't receive any of the infringement funds. So
the total value of infringements is about $ 5 million a month,
but it goes directly into government accounts. So NZTA doesn't
see that.

Speaker 2 (44:06):
So these 10 mobile speed camera trailers are a $ 5
billion business.

Speaker 13 (44:11):
You reckon?

Speaker 17 (44:12):
No, well, they generate $ 5 million in infringements. But for context,
they're deployed to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our
roads to make things safer, right? And a fatality in
New Zealand on the road is calculated about $ 15 million each.
And so across all road crashes, we're looking at about

(44:34):
$ 11 billion in New Zealand. So these mobile cameras, they're
doing their job.

Speaker 2 (44:42):
Okay, okay. Now, look, I hate to say this, but
when we first saw them, and by the way, these
trailers are freaking ugly, to be fair. But anyway, when
we first saw the trailers, everyone went, well, they're going
to get hit because the whole thing about speed cameras
were they were up a pole. And if they're up
a pole, they can't get up there and slash tires
and put graffiti on them. But they're sitting on the
side of the roads. You must have known that, you know,

(45:04):
people would have wanted to target them.

Speaker 17 (45:07):
Yeah, when the police put the fixed ones on the
poll many years ago up, they saw a similar trend
when they first went up around vandalism and the likes.
But I guess over time, people got used to them. So, yeah,
we're hoping for the same. It is a real nuisance
having the vandalism, but it's not affecting the deployment schedule

(45:28):
too much. They're usually out for a day or two.

Speaker 14 (45:31):
All right.

Speaker 2 (45:31):
So would you roll more of them out?

Speaker 17 (45:36):
Well, at the moment, we've got the 10 trailers, we've
got 35 SUVs and 106 fixed cameras. So at this stage,
I believe that's it for now. And yeah.

Speaker 10 (45:50):
G'day, Chris.

Speaker 2 (45:52):
Good luck in tidying up those cameras. And I thank
you for joining me. That's the NZTA's head of driving regulation,
Chris Rodley. I mean, they're just sitting there. They're unaccompanied.
And they're just sitting there snapping pictures and taking money
from people. Of course, people are going to vandalise these things.
If they're in an SUV, you can't do that because
they're mobile. If they're up a pole, it's a lot harder.
But whatever, whatever. I mean, who am I to use
common sense when we start talking about government regulations and policing?

(46:17):
It's 5.22.

Speaker 1 (46:26):
Digging deeper into the day's headlines, it's Andrew Dickens on
Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive and One New Zealand, awarded New Zealand's
best mobile network.

Speaker 10 (46:35):
Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
All right, yes, I'm Andrew Dickens in for Heather. Heather's
a bit poorly right now, so I got the call.
And yes, I did do early edition this morning. And yes,
I did get a phone call at about half past
eight saying, you want to double up, please? Anyway, so
this morning I was on and I was talking to
Mike Hosking. And we're coming up to the news at
6 o'clock. And he walks in and he says, oh, yeah, well,
of course, the Warriors have sold out. And he said that,

(47:00):
of course, because it seems likely that they're going to
go and play games at Eden Park. And so Mike Hossenquip,
of course, we'll talk about the Warriors who have sold out.

Speaker 10 (47:08):
I went, what?

Speaker 2 (47:09):
Now, hold on there a minute, buddy.

Speaker 10 (47:11):
Stop it.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
So the finals games, the future finals games being moved
to Eden Park, that has not been confirmed. But Volandis,
the chief honcho for the NRL, says, he's 90% certain
that the week three game will be on the move.
And the Warriors have no choice in the matter. Phil
Landis has that money tree firmly in his grasp. But
can we say, like Mike did, that the Warriors have

(47:34):
sold out and let their people down? No, because they
don't get the money from it. Now, I get that
Mount Smart is special. I also know that Mount Smart
is a dump in comparison to Eden Park. When are
they going to put a permanent... Southern Standard. That was
built for Ed Sheeran years ago. And it is just
a rickety piece of scaffolding that is either going to

(47:55):
fall down or it's going to fall down. I don't know.
When are they going to make Mount Smart worthy of
the Warriors? I don't know. Anyway, I understand Mount Smart.
I love it. And I've been going there for years.
But what really got me about yesterday is the number
of Warriors members who missed out. when the tickets sold
out in minutes. And we're talking about the faithful, people
who are not fair weather friends joining the party late,

(48:17):
who suddenly go, oh, they're successful. I want to go
along and be part of that Warriors thing. It looks
like a jolly lot of fun. Those people, no, we
don't want those. What we want is the real faithful,
the ones who are there through thick and thin, the
ones who have supported the club week after week and
year after year. And yesterday, their voices were loud because
they missed out on tickets. And this is the magic

(48:39):
of the Warriors. They're a great club. And what I
wish I said to Mike when he said the Warriors
have sold out, what I wish I'd said to him is, mate,
it's not the field, it's the fans. So if there's
going to be 50,000 odd, maybe 53,000 tickets sold, that's

(49:00):
28,000 more fans who are going to be able to
see the Warriors in this crucial game. And that's important.
It's about the fans. And remember, 55,000 fans against the
Dolphins and then whoever we play next will be a
mighty force. And the trick for the Warriors fans is
to pack out Eden Park and make it seem like

(49:21):
just as much of a cauldron as it does at
Mount Smart.

Speaker 10 (49:25):
It's up to you.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
You know, I've never seen Colin from Accounts, but it
ended yesterday, and I understand it was quite good. The
story of two deeply flawed but lovable strangers who are
brought together after an eccentric car accident leads them to
co-adopt a disabled dog named Colin. Never seen it. There
are three series. Producer Locke's never seen it either. Heather's
a huge fan. Oh, Producer Kevin hasn't seen it either.

(49:51):
It's on TVNZ +. Oh, sorry, Producer Kevin says, I've
seen it. I'm part of the club. Heather loves it.
Mike loves it. Kate loves it. Everyone loves it. Locke
and I haven't even started. It's free. It's on TVNZ +.
Did you like it? Was it good enough? Oh, producer
Kevin reckons the second to last episode was the best ever. Yeah,

(50:12):
I got to go. News and Sport is next. The
Huddle has Mark Sainsbury and Tim Wilson.

Speaker 1 (50:18):
The day's newsmakers talk to Andrew first. Andrew Dickens on
Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive. And One New Zealand awarded New Zealand's
best mobile network.

Speaker 10 (50:28):
Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 1 (50:28):
Welcome on in.

Speaker 23 (50:30):
Hope you're enjoying your Wednesday.

Speaker 7 (50:33):
I am in for Heather.

Speaker 10 (50:34):
Who's a bit poorly.

Speaker 2 (50:42):
Jonathan writes, the Warriors fans I've spoken to would much
rather have less tickets available and watch all their games
at the crappy home of Penrose Park because Eden Park
is rugby. Boy, how tribal is that? I thought Eden
Park is the New Zealand's national stadium. That's what they say.
And that's a stadium for whatever, whether it's rock and roll, rugby, football,
or perhaps league. But Greg says, finally, someone with brains

(51:06):
around the Warriors. Let's pack it out. 53,000 people in
that park. And up the waz. It's 23 to 6. Okay,
the UK government have announced some pretty major sanctions against
illegal Israeli settlements. It surprised me this morning. They talked
about it as ethnic cleansing. They've banned all trade with

(51:26):
the occupied West Bank and a ban on advertising real
estate built on stolen Palestinian land. France and Canada have
also signed on to the sanctions. Australia is currently abstaining,
but there's talk that they might actually join in. New
Zealand is also choosing to abstain. Al Gillespie is an
international law expert at the University of Waikato and joins
me now.

Speaker 6 (51:46):
Hello, Al.

Speaker 10 (51:47):
G'day, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
How extreme are these sanctions?

Speaker 24 (51:51):
They're an advanced step from where we were previously. The
way we were earlier was that there were sanctions on
individuals who were causing problems. Now, 12 countries in Europe
are sort of like saying it's not just the individuals,
it's also the goods and support for the settlements in
the occupied territories that we need to focus on.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
Why do you think we're choosing at the moment not
to do it here?

Speaker 24 (52:13):
Well, I think New Zealand has a slightly more conservative
view over Palestinian statehood. And the defense that we have
in New Zealand is that we are targeting those involved
with the most extreme violence. But we're now out of
step with like minded countries like Britain, like France, like Canada.
I imagine part of it's got to do with a
fear of what Mr. Trump would do if we joined
that list.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
Don't we have similar programs for Russian goods? So, you know,
are we actually being consistent in our foreign affairs policy?

Speaker 24 (52:40):
We have used trade sanctions in the past with apartheid
South Africa in the 1980s, and we have got trade
restrictions over Russia for its illegal invasion of Ukraine as well.
So it's not a legal question, it's a political question
of whether you want to have them or not.

Speaker 2 (52:54):
You mentioned that maybe we're just trying to keep Mr
Trump happy, but at the same time, aren't we risking
alienating our allies in Europe with whom we have a
free trade deal and a good relationship, and of course, Canada?

Speaker 24 (53:06):
And a number of the European countries also have gone
further in recognizing Palestinian statehood than we have. And so, yes,
it's a very difficult conversation. And many people would say,
if not now, then when? And so that's why a
lot of countries in Europe are now saying it's time
to do something more to try to force this peace process.
Because ultimately, you're only going to have peace in the
Middle East when you've got a two-state solution. And if

(53:27):
you don't do something more to stop the legal settlements,
then you're thwarting that effort.

Speaker 2 (53:32):
Now, I don't know how much trade we do with
the occupied West Bank, but I'm thinking not a lot.
And a ban on advertising real estate built on Palestinian land,
I'm thinking that not a lot. So surely these sanctions
are just for show.

Speaker 24 (53:44):
Symbolic. That's correct. I mean, there's very little trade in
this area between the occupied territories and New Zealand. But symbolically,
it matters a lot to say that we are acting
in a consistent way with the International Court of Justice,
because the ICJ said very clearly that third party states
should not aid or assist anything in the settlement. And
if we had prohibitions like what you're seeing in Europe,

(54:06):
we would be consistent with the ICJ.

Speaker 2 (54:08):
If you were foreign affairs minister, would you recommend joining
the UK and France and Canada?

Speaker 24 (54:15):
I think that's the correct position to be on right now.
I think the Europeans have this one right.

Speaker 2 (54:19):
All right, and I thank you for your time today,
Al Gillespie, international law expert. The time is now 20
to 6.

Speaker 1 (54:23):
The Huddle with New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty, a name
you can trust locally and globally.

Speaker 2 (54:30):
And joining us now is Tim Wilson from the Maxim
Institute and Mark Sainsbury, a broadcaster and the founder of
I Always Meant to Ask Gentlemen. Good evening to you.

Speaker 6 (54:39):
Good evening.

Speaker 17 (54:40):
Good evening.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
So what do you make of these sanctions from the
UK and France and Canada? And do you think, Tim,
that perhaps we've been a bit too quiet on the issue?

Speaker 6 (54:50):
No, I can hear the argument that it's quite distant
to us and we haven't recognised Palestinian statehood as other
countries have. This is what an independent foreign policy looks like.

Speaker 2 (55:05):
OK, Mark, is this independent foreign policy also looking a
bit wussy?

Speaker 16 (55:09):
Yeah, I think it is looking a bit wussy. Look,
it's such a sort of hot issue, the whole thing.
But we need to take a stand. And I agree
with Elle. We should be with our like-minded partners. If
we're not doing our fair of Trump, I think that's
a disgrace.

Speaker 2 (55:28):
OK, well, let's move on. We had the Brewers Association
on just after the five o'clock news because the reviews
come out and it suggests cutting the red tape for
alcohol licensing. And that's the Act policy and they're into it.
And Louise Upston is into it. Is this a good thing, Tim,
or will it cause more harm than good?

Speaker 6 (55:44):
No, I think it seems like a good thing in
the sense that the laws seem quite messy, having to
file again for the same organisation, et cetera, to the
same administrative body. And in terms of the harm, I
would submit that probably in terms of alcohol, as was
mentioned by the Brewers Association guy, those are... Licensed environments,

(56:09):
people are watching over, whereas when you're sitting at home
and you've got a 24-pack from the bottle store, it's
not quite the same environment. I've got to say, though,
I've got a question about the industry itself. So what
does the word gastro mean to you?

Speaker 2 (56:27):
Gastroenteritis.

Speaker 13 (56:29):
Exactly.

Speaker 6 (56:30):
Hands and knees. So why do they have gastropubs, guys?
What is going on? Gastronomic.

Speaker 2 (56:38):
Mark Sainsbury, I think the last time I socialized with
you was in the Kuja Lounge. So I do know
that you actually quite like a drink. What did you
make of the whole freeing up of the licensing laws?

Speaker 16 (56:48):
Well, I think you were on to it right at
the start, Angie, when you said, is it going to mean,
you know, how's it going to affect like the bottlos?
That's what I've got a real objection to, the proliferation
around the place. And there's been a campaign to try
and cut back on that and get more local bottlos.
interest in it, but the hospitality industry has done it,
especially down here in Wellington, has done it so hard.

(57:08):
And anything that can make things a bit easier, I think,
would help. And I agree that in some places, I
think it's Scotland, where it's actually cheaper to drink in
the pub than to take it home because it's a
better environment. Because they're saying, actually, when people go to
the pub... or a bar or wherever they're going, and
they're right, there is supervision, it is controlled, and you're

(57:29):
in a relatively safe environment. And you look at most
of the trouble you have is people not drinking on
licensed premises, but just getting preloading and getting out on
the street and that sort of thing. So, yeah, look,
let's try and do something to help hospo because they're
in desperate need of it right now. And the sort
of restrictions, I mean, the time it's taking to get
licenses renewed and stuff like that, that's not, no other

(57:51):
business would put up with that.

Speaker 14 (57:53):
There we go.

Speaker 6 (57:54):
Make pubs great again, or is that too triggering?

Speaker 2 (57:56):
No, it's great. And I do agree with it because then,
of course, you're surrounded by peers. Your behavior is a
lot better. You've got security there. I totally get that.
But here's the thing. We're all against– we don't like
the regulation. We don't like the bureaucracy. We don't like
things taking a long period of time. But as we
saw from the Auckland Council the other day, yesterday– when
they had the meeting about the fast track for the

(58:18):
real estate developments, they said, well, then you end up
with the Wild West and that people are actually going
too far. So what is the right balance of regulation
versus an easier way of doing business, Mark?

Speaker 8 (58:30):
Well, yeah, I mean, it's the timing. It's the delays.

Speaker 16 (58:34):
It's the length of time. The scrutiny shouldn't be any different.
Licensed premises should have to justify their renewal and the
fact they've been operating properly.

Speaker 8 (58:45):
But it's just the time. It's just ridiculous. It's constraining.

Speaker 2 (58:51):
And what about you, Tim? I know you're about freedom,
and I know you don't like regulation, but we do
need some regulation or else people take the mickey.

Speaker 1 (59:00):
Oh, I agree.

Speaker 6 (59:01):
And no one's saying, oh, there's no regulation. We're going
to completely change the environment. No, what they're saying is
if we can centralise it, simplify it, and favour the
licensed organisations who are trying to comply, then that seems reasonable.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
OK, we're going to talk actually in just a few moments'
time about regulation when we talk about AI, because the
Labour Party's come out with a new AI policy which
involves setting up a new department. Whereas, of course, National
and ACT believe it should be allowed to be free
and should be under the control of business. That is
next on The Huddle with Mark Sainsbury and Tim Wilson.
Here on Newstalk CB, it's 14 to 6.

Speaker 1 (59:38):
The Huddle with New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty, the only
truly global brand.

Speaker 2 (59:45):
All right, on The Huddle today, we have Mark Sainsbury,
we have Tim Wilson, and our next topic is about
the public service strike which happened today. Gentlemen, and we'll
start with Mark, any sympathy for the striking public service workers?

Speaker 5 (59:58):
I do have a bit.

Speaker 16 (59:59):
I mean, it's like, you know, turkeys aren't going to
vote for Christmas, are they? The public service has had
a bit of a hard time under this government. And
I think, as Fleurford Simons pointed out, they've protested and
they've gone on strike with governments of, you know, both
Labour-led and National-led. And if you were looking at a
pay rise that basically was eating away at, you know,

(01:00:20):
effectively a pay cut if it doesn't meet the CPI,
then you've got to do what you've got to do.

Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
Yeah, what do you think, Tim? Because these guys, a
lot of them, particularly MB, they're on $ 100, 000 average. They
actually get paid quite well. And I don't know about you,
but I can't remember the last time I had a
pay rise. So do you have any sympathy?

Speaker 17 (01:00:39):
Yeah, look, I.

Speaker 6 (01:00:40):
Do have sympathy, but having said that, let's think about
the context. So, like the public service in 2017 to 23,
it grew by 33%. Public servant numbers peaked.

Speaker 13 (01:00:49):
In 2024, 65,000 people.

Speaker 6 (01:00:50):
Since then, apparently, it's been slashed to the bone. The
number today is 64,500 people. So the notion that the
public service has somehow been under attack by this government,
I just don't buy it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:10):
No, no, they just moved around the dick chairs on
the Titanic, and I get that as well. But I
asked Fleur a particular question. If you're going to pay
people more, the public service more, and we only have
a limited amount of revenue, and the people want to
make sure that we cut our government spending, if we
end up paying those workers more, we're going to employ
less to them. And I asked her, what would you choose?

(01:01:31):
And she didn't answer. But that's a question for the ages,
isn't it, Mark?

Speaker 16 (01:01:36):
Yeah, look, it's inevitably, and I know certainly AI is
going to be one of the things as well. It's
going to have a massive, a massive impact. We're staring
that down as well. It's a bit like a catch-22,
isn't it? You ask for too much and they say
we can't afford it, so we'll give you the pay rise,
but we're going to sack 30% of you.

Speaker 15 (01:01:56):
Tim?

Speaker 6 (01:01:58):
But they haven't sacked 30% of them. They say they will.
They said they would last time. But anyway, I thought
it was interesting. Don't you believe them, Tim? Well, I
don't know. I just I tend to look to history
to give an example. Previous behavior is quite indicative of
future behavior. I thought there was when you asked her
that question to Andrew, she started talking about this government's been,

(01:02:21):
you know, been cajoled by tobacco. And suddenly it became political.
I was like, oh, wait a minute. Is there something
else happening here?

Speaker 2 (01:02:28):
Well, what do you reckon? Do you reckon this was
actually a political stunt with the election just around the corner,
November 7th?

Speaker 6 (01:02:34):
It may be something to galvanise their own workers, so
to speak. But there's also a fundamental difference, I think,
to people who are observing this, where it's like, nurses,
we want more money. Yeah, OK. Teachers, yeah, we like that. Bureaucrats, hmm.

Speaker 2 (01:02:50):
We're talking about bureaucrats, and you're the one who mentioned AI, Mark.
Labour's come out today and promised to set up an
AI regulator and a new AI department. So they're wanting
more public service workers.

Speaker 16 (01:03:02):
Look, I'm fascinated by the whole AI thing. I'm constantly
watching sort of YouTube. People are pining on what's going
to happen. And I still think that the feeling seems
to be there has to be something If we can't
control it, that's a worry, but there needs to be
some sort of regulation and oversight. How it's done, don't

(01:03:23):
ask me, but you look at this and think, we
talk about the Wild West, what's going to happen if
this thing goes unmanaged at all?

Speaker 6 (01:03:33):
This is terrible. Sandro and I think you're going to
agree with each other. Can we handle this, Andrew?

Speaker 7 (01:03:40):
No.

Speaker 2 (01:03:40):
And maybe I don't overly agree with you because Labour
wants that direct government body to draft rules and safeguard creators'
pay and create more bureaucracy. National and ACT view excessive
rules as an obstacle to productivity and economic growth. And
we just talked about cutting away those rules and those
barriers with the hospitality laws. So why shouldn't we allow
AI to carry on and and make its own future.

Speaker 6 (01:04:01):
Well, I would submit that AI is fundamentally different Those
other issues. To booze. AI is different. Like, for example,
booze was going to take over the world, but it's
actually in recession now. So that's what's happening there. What
Labour's actually recommending is a body of AI oversight within DPMC,

(01:04:25):
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. And that was actually
suggested in a 2023 Maxim paper. about artificial intelligence and government.
So I'm for it because this has been described as
a new industrial revolution. You would think you would want
some people overseeing what's happening and not a Wild West.

Speaker 2 (01:04:45):
Well, there you go. Tim Wilson agrees with the Labour
Party and a Maxim report. And Labour agrees with the
Maxim report. Isn't that a wonderful win-win situation? For Tim
Wilson from the Maxim Institute and Mark Sainsbury, I thank
you both, gentlemen.

Speaker 1 (01:04:59):
powered by Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (01:05:06):
So Newstalk ZB, and we hate regulation, don't we? We
hate the bureaucracy. We hate how long it takes to
do anything in this country. And so we've come up
with a whole lot of rules under this term to
make things more efficient. But then now people are starting
to complain about it. And the one I'm talking about
here is the fast track regime. People are getting upset
about it. Word on the street is that legal action
is coming for a number of the proposals, the real

(01:05:28):
estate proposals currently before the committee looking for fast track approval.
And then there was that fiery Auckland Council meeting yesterday
full of anger at residential fast track developers. Wayne Brown
has vowed to be a thorn in the side of subdivisions.
looking to circumvent the council. And they're considering telling Fast
Track developers and future residents, we're not going to provide
or fund basic services to them. And what I think

(01:05:50):
is the problem here is that Fast Track, Fast Track
was designed to speed up the process of getting consents,
but not to supplant the regulations currently in place about
how to build a suburb, about how to build a building. Now,
I don't know if I'm right or wrong, which is
why we're going to be talking to Richard Hill's who

(01:06:12):
is the Auckland councillor, next hour, about this thing. Why
did the council get so uptight about the fast track
regime as it pertains to subdivisions and urban developments in
the Auckland region? And is it because they think that
developers are trying to run a fast one, you know?
The developers are pushing the boundaries for a quick buck

(01:06:35):
and building a bad suburb or a bad building or
a bad development. So Richard Hills is my very special
guest right after news and sport here on Newstalk ZB,
which is next.

Speaker 1 (01:07:09):
Where business meets insight the business hour with andrew dickens
and maz insurance and investments your futures in good hands
news talks at bay.

Speaker 2 (01:07:21):
It's good evening to you and welcome to the program.
I'm Andrew Dickens and for Heather Dupree C. Allen and
it's time to talk business and first let's talk about
Fast Track. There's a bit of Fast Track fury amongst
Auckland councillors which has led them to taking a stand
against developers at a meeting yesterday. They have voted unanimously
to look at ways to tell those planning to build

(01:07:42):
residential properties that they aren't wanted. So Council Planning Committee
Chair is Richard Hills and joins me now. Hello Richard.

Speaker 6 (01:07:50):
Good evening. How's it going? Very good.

Speaker 2 (01:07:51):
It's a pretty hot topic. And the real problem there
is fast track, isn't it?

Speaker 8 (01:07:57):
Yeah, we've had a lot of unanticipated development for some
time with these private plan changes outside of our, I guess,
our plan, outside our council plans, which are putting a
lot of pressure already on communities and our budgets. But
the fast tracks really take it to another level. in
areas that we don't have any plans for housing ever

(01:08:19):
and some areas that are out in the 2050s. So
it means that we don't have the budget and also
the stresses on the roads, the highways and the current
council assets are quite extreme.

Speaker 2 (01:08:31):
Yeah, well, see, my argument has been, and I put
it today a number of times, Fast Track is designed
to get through the consenting process, but it's not there
to kazump the planning that's already been done.

Speaker 8 (01:08:44):
It does gazump all the planning rules, so it's designed
to go through fast but without a lot of considerations
and to kind of gazump all councils' development plans and
all the other budgets and things we have in place.
So they even gazump... Waka Kotahi NZTA's own planning regime
as well. So what we decided yesterday was to put

(01:09:06):
forward two investigations to come back to the October meeting
to either charge the developers as much as we can
or the future residents of those areas targeted rates or
because rates capping won't probably allow us to charge some
of those targeted rates, we may look at restricting or
stopping council services such as animal management, noise control, buses,

(01:09:31):
stormwater management, basically all the things that every Aucklander is
paying for but the developments don't pay for.

Speaker 2 (01:09:40):
So what sort of legal advice have you obtained regarding
this punishment?

Speaker 8 (01:09:46):
We have had some independent advice already saying that we
can withhold some services or we have some funding tools
to put in place. But because the fast track is
consented all in one go, so different to a plan
change where it's consented over time, we can put infrastructure
in our plans and then charge DC, so development contributions.

(01:10:07):
We can only really charge the base level, so around
$ 20, 000 per dwelling unit. whereas places like Drury are about 64,000.
Parts of the northwest where we have got in our
plans are up to 70,000, and that pays for some,
not all, of the infrastructure. But because these are further away,
the services are stretched, but also the infrastructure isn't going
to be there, and all of us will end up

(01:10:30):
paying for that infrastructure if.

Speaker 15 (01:10:31):
We allow it.

Speaker 2 (01:10:31):
And how many fast-track developments are causing you problems?

Speaker 8 (01:10:35):
So at the moment, there's two major ones, about 5,000 dwellings,
but there's quite a number... in place. But altogether, the
unanticipated development, either being approved or being approved, hits us
about 50,000 planned or proposed dwellings, which we reckon will
cost us up to $ 5 billion as a city with

(01:10:56):
almost no way to pay for it.

Speaker 2 (01:10:58):
OK, so obviously we've got Delmore. Obviously, we've got problems
in Queenstown. I've got people from Queenstown saying we've got
some pretty dodgy fast track developments coming down here as well.
But we've also got things like Devon Lanes, which is
in Devonport. where they're wanting to put eight-storey buildings in,
the plan currently says four, and the people there, their
problem is not necessarily with redevelopment of Devonport, it's with

(01:11:18):
the fast-track process itself. Would you agree?

Speaker 8 (01:11:22):
Yeah, so it does usurp any kind of rights for
people to submit, as we have put our feedback in.
in on all of these fast tracks, and generally it's
pretty much ignored. So, you know, concerns. There might be
some things we like in some of the developments, but
some things we have concerns. But because the fast track
legislation is so narrow on what it can consider and

(01:11:44):
what it can require, largely the panels just wade them through. Yes,
there's lots of conditions put in place, but many of
them are not the types of conditions we would put
on them if we had those in place.

Speaker 2 (01:11:57):
Now, there's quite a few critics saying, oh, it's just
the lefties having a wah-wah. But when you get Councillor
and former National Minister Morris Williamson saying the tide's turning
against fast-track development, you've got to listen to that.

Speaker 8 (01:12:08):
Yeah, it was unanimous about yesterday, which I was quite
happy with. I know there would have been a few voices,
but myself and the mayor have been going on about
this for some time. We were very loud about this.
We oppose the fast track for any residential, just because
it's not the right way to plan a city. We
understand for infrastructure, for renewable energy, things like that, if
you can move those through quicker and get... you know,

(01:12:29):
the cost down for all New Zealanders, that's great. But
for residential, you're looking at, you know, some developments just
out in the middle of nowhere. They might provide their
private systems, but largely those private systems, if they fail
or if there's an issue with them, will end up
all of us paying for that cleanup or paying for
the for the infrastructure in the future. So future generations

(01:12:51):
are not going to thank us for this regime either.

Speaker 2 (01:12:53):
Now, it's all very well actually throwing your toys out
of the cot and actually blaming and penalising the developers
and the future residents. But are you also talking to
the government about the way they've structured fast-track development and
are you pressuring them for a change and are they
listening and will anything happen?

Speaker 5 (01:13:10):
Yes.

Speaker 8 (01:13:11):
I mean, it's a shame that I feel like we
didn't get listened to through the process before because all
of these things we laid out very clearly earlier in
our submissions and in our conversations, they are now realising
some of the errors of their ways. And we have
had some good conversations with Minister Bishop, and he's also
said there'll be ways that we can apply development contributions

(01:13:31):
going forward. We're yet to find out if we can
possibly do it retrospectively. It's very hard to do that,
so they'll have to be pretty prescript in any law
change that's coming in the next few weeks or months
or days that will allow us to retrospectively charge these
higher development contribution charges, or if we're able to carve

(01:13:52):
out areas for targeted rates under the rates cap regime.
Because at the moment, the rates cap regime proposes that
we can't even use targeted rates where the community supports it,
or if we're trying to get new areas supporting infrastructure
and services on board, which will just mean we end
up cutting services for everyone.

Speaker 2 (01:14:11):
And people wonder why Wayne Brown rails against Wellington, falling
around with Auckland's business the whole time. But there you go, Richard.
I thank you so much for your time today, Richard Hills.
He's the Auckland councillor, but of course he's also the
council planning committee chair. And so he's representing the unanimous
view of the entire council, including Morris Williamson. Righto, to

(01:14:32):
the numbers. So the NZX-50 is up 0.19% today. The
ASX-50 out of Australia is flat so far. A barrel
of Brent crude costs US $ 95. That is up from yesterday.
And of course, remember, the states are having bombing tankers
around Karg Island. And one New Zealand dollar is worth
US $ 59. 81 Australian cents, 50 Euro cents, 43 UK

(01:14:53):
pence and 90 yen. Andrew Dickens. All right, a little
bit of show business news for you. Gary Oldman reckons
the new James Bond has been chosen. He's hoping it's
his Slow Horses co-star Jack Loudon, who plays River Cartwright
in Slow Horses, a series I have seen. Not Colin

(01:15:14):
from Accounts, but I've seen Slow Horses. Now, here's the
thing about Jack for me. He is Scottish. That fits.
He is action ready. But somehow I just think he
looks a little bit too clean cut to play Bond.
I need a rugged Bond now. Daniel Craig has ruined me.
In more show business news, Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics
is 74 today. Hugh Grant. Hugh Grant is 66. And

(01:15:37):
Tom Jones has been fired by the TV at the
age of 86, which he says is the problem. I've
got more details for you on that later in the show.
Here on Newstalk ZB. Righto, we all have those days
when we're busy or our energy is low, and the
last thing you want to do is spend an hour
in the kitchen cooking from scratch. And this is where
Woolworths comes in with some fantastic dinner solutions to take

(01:15:59):
the pressure off your evening. So if you're cooking for one,
they've got these 350 gram ready meals, real game changer.
And they do rich restaurant style flavors like butter chicken,
authentic Thai green curry and creamy macaroni cheese. I'm hungry already.
And they're brilliant to keep in the fridge for those
nights when you just want a fast, delicious meal and
you don't want the mess and you can get three

(01:16:19):
for 20 bucks, which is a fantastic deal. And if
you're feeling or feeding hungry, a bigger household, Woolworths have
the family lasagna. It's a total crowd pleaser. It's super tasty.
It makes dinner so easy. And to make things even smoother,
you can use a Woolworths 60-minute express pickup. Just place
your order online, pop by your local store, while you're

(01:16:40):
on your way home, and you're sorted. So make your
next dinner easy. Head to Woolworths today. All right, let's
go to Milford Asset Management. And welcome to the program,
Jeremy Hutt. And hello, Jeremy.

Speaker 16 (01:16:54):
Hi, Andrew.

Speaker 6 (01:16:55):
How are you doing?

Speaker 10 (01:16:55):
Very good.

Speaker 2 (01:16:56):
Let's talk about KMD Brands. These are the guys who
own Kathmandu and Rip Curl. They've been in the news
this week. What's happening?

Speaker 3 (01:17:04):
Yeah, KMD Brands. And as you mentioned, owners of very
well-known retail brands, Kathmandu and Rip Curl, but they have
had a brutal 12 months or so on the share market.
But this week has been a little bit more positive
with the share price up 17% or so. And this
has been driven by news that a very well-known company
Surf retail entrepreneur Josh Rudd has bought a significant 6%

(01:17:28):
shareholding in the business. This was released publicly yesterday.

Speaker 8 (01:17:33):
Now, this doesn't mean there's going to be a.

Speaker 3 (01:17:34):
Full takeover happening, but he is a successful Australian retailer.
He's operated in that surf and street segment. And in fact, Mr.
Rudd's original business, Gander, was also founded in Torquay, Victoria,
which is the same place where Rip Curl is from, too.
So you can probably say he knows the business very,

(01:17:54):
very well. And I'm sure he's going to have some
good tips to share to improve that KMD business.

Speaker 2 (01:17:59):
But like Adidas and Puma came out of the same
German city as well. And here's the thing. The KMD
bands board are listening because they have already signaled they're
going to do a strategic review of the business.

Speaker 3 (01:18:11):
Yeah, I mean, the share price and operational performance of
KMD has been pretty disappointing for shareholders over a number
of years. And this was exacerbated furthermore this year with
an emergency capital raise that they did. So shareholders got
diluted even more. But there has been a bit of
change in place. There's a new chair called Philip Bowman,
who's well regarded. And he pretty much straight away signaled

(01:18:35):
a strategic review to try and deliver some better value
for shareholders. And You know, those brands, Kathmandu and Ripcule,
they're pretty well known, especially in Australia and New Zealand.
They've even got a global presence. So I think given
the depressed share price, you know, there is potential for
a bit of value unlock here if they get some
transactions going.

Speaker 2 (01:18:53):
Yeah, the share price is already up 17% today, so
you have to wonder just how much upside. But their
earnings have been improving.

Speaker 3 (01:19:02):
Yeah, I mean, the management team recently upgraded their earnings
in July, upgraded their forecast. And this will be in
the range of double what last year's earnings were, albeit
they were coming off a very low base. But some
confidence there from the company that they're calling the bottom
in the earnings after a sliding few years. The equity

(01:19:24):
raise has taken a lot of pressure off the business operationally.
And there have been a few rumors flying in the
financial press of a lot of interest in that Rip
Curl business in particular. And then also an important point
in that last trading update, the New Zealand side of
the business has been performing better than Australia. So, you know,

(01:19:46):
perhaps some of that cyclical recovery coming through. So, you know,
a bit more interest happening in the KMD brands coming up.

Speaker 2 (01:19:53):
Good stuff, Jeremy Hutton. I thank you so very, very much.
Jeremy Hutton is from Milford Asset Management, and this is
Newstalk ZMB. So what's going down with Tom Jones, the
Welsh sex god? Magnificent voice, incredible performer, the best soul
voice you'd have to say out of the UK. I mean,
he's a soul voice out of Wales. What the hay? Well,

(01:20:15):
he's had a bit of a setback. More on that next.

Speaker 1 (01:20:18):
It's the Heather Dupercy Allen Drive full show podcast on iHeartRadio,
powered by Newstalk ZB. Crunching the numbers and getting the results.
It's Andrew Dickens on the Business Hour with Maz Insurance
and Investments, your futures in good hands.

Speaker 4 (01:20:36):
Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (01:20:36):
It's like having a thousand producers doing this show because
Mike's come in and produced the show. Could you please
tell Andrew that Heather promised on her show last night
that she and Newstalk ZB would stop blaming Wellington for
the decisions made by the government? We Wellingtonians could do
without the constant negativity being attributed to us simply because
of where we happen to live and where the Parliament

(01:20:58):
happens to be. OK, Mike, I didn't know that, and
I'm sorry. Wellington's just a shorthand. You're quite right. We're
talking about central government. Wellington's lovely. I used to live there.
You can't beat it on a good day.

Speaker 1 (01:21:08):
There's no business like show business.

Speaker 2 (01:21:13):
All right, sir. I'm sorry, Sir Tom. This is Sir
Tom Jones. Sir, he's been booted from The Voice UK.
He's been a judge on that programme since 2012. He
is 86 years old. The studio has deemed him an
insurance risk because... He's 86 years old. So he's upset,

(01:21:36):
posted a statement lashing out. According to Sir Tom, the
decision to let him go was made a while ago,
but he only just found out. And fellow judge Will.i.am
posted a heartfelt crying emoji under the announcement. He could
have used English. Tom, it's grumpy that the producers have
chalked his firing up to a refresh of the show.
Considering the only thing fresh is him getting the sack, well,

(01:21:59):
he's not happy about that. Apparently they offered him a
reduced role to make appearances here and there, but nothing consistent.
He says it's inappropriate to fire someone good at their job,
even if they are 86. And here's the thing, is
Tom Jones still good? I think he is. What we
are playing right now is Tom Jones singing on the
last season of The Voice, because they all have to

(01:22:21):
prove their chops. He's singing the Leonard Cohen classic Tower
of Song. You tell me, is this man past it?

Speaker 1 (01:22:30):
In the tower of the storm.

Speaker 25 (01:22:32):
I see you standing on the other side. I don't know.

Speaker 14 (01:22:42):
How the river got so wide. And I loved you baby.
Way back when.

Speaker 2 (01:22:52):
And all the bridges. Getting some reaction. Muzz reckons Tom
Jones is too old, Dickens. He's not relevant anymore. You
older generation have to realise when it's time to hang
up the boots, so to speak. Let the younger, more
relevant generation come in. Oh, rubbish, Muzz. Quality is forever.
Are you going to tell Mick Jagger to retire? I
don't think so.

Speaker 1 (01:23:16):
Whether it's macro, micro, or just plain economics, it's all
on The Business Hour. With Andrew Dickens and Maz Insurance
and Investments, your future's in good hands. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 14 (01:23:28):
Oh, here we go.

Speaker 2 (01:23:38):
Tom Jones fan club's up in arms. Greg says, only
watch The Voice because of Tom Jones. He was The Voice.
Ask Will.i.am. Ask Olly Moores. Ask Meghan Trainor. Oh my God,
insurance issues. What next? It's ageism, you know. And another person,
who is this Bill, says, wow, hearing that clip, Tom
can sing a whole lot better than probably anyone else
on the show. Certainly better than Will.i.am who can't sing.

(01:23:59):
He needs a machine. He needs an auto-tune to sing.
Tom can sing. Tom can still sing at the age
of 86.

Speaker 15 (01:24:04):
Anyway.

Speaker 2 (01:24:06):
He's certainly much better than Elton John. He can sing
better than Paul McCartney, I'll say it. Can't sing as
well as Mick Jagger, but there we go. Bill, by
the way, recently saw Iggy Pop and Joan Jett and
he's seen Split Ends and he says old people can sing.
And you don't ignore old people. That's ageism. And old
people have things to contribute. There's an article by Hannah
McQueen in the Herald today about how Some people perceive

(01:24:28):
that after they get past the age of 50, they're
becoming invisible. They don't want to quit their jobs because
they might not get a job because some 30-year-old boss
won't hire them. Well, you're missing out because the old
people is where it's at, like me. Someone says, geez, Andrew,
about time one of your radio hosts did a truck
driver shift. Well done you. That's because I did early
edition this morning and now. And look, don't you worry,

(01:24:49):
we all work hard. Paul Holmes did TV show and
a radio show. Mike Hosking, TV show, radio show. Mike
Hosking did early edition and his breakfast show for six
months before Ryan came to join us. Ryan currently does
a radio show, then he does a TV show. We
know how to work. Someone else says, Andrew, I hope
Marcus Lush isn't poorly tonight or you may literally be

(01:25:10):
having to burn the candle at both ends. So do I, frankly.

Speaker 1 (01:25:14):
Andrew Dickens.

Speaker 2 (01:25:16):
23 minutes to 7. ACC, oh, it's time to welcome
Janae Tim Straney to the programme. Hello, Janaye.

Speaker 6 (01:25:23):
G'day, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (01:25:24):
OK, so we're going to talk about the ACC Minister,
Scott Simpson, who's trumpeting a crackdown on fraud. He reckons
the number of investigations by ACC went up 12-fold. So
tell me the story.

Speaker 6 (01:25:36):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 26 (01:25:36):
Look, Scott Simpson's office got in touch with me, very
pleased that the number of Fraud investigations, ACC did increased
12-fold between 2023 and 2025. So I thought, well, that
sounds good. How many investigations are they doing? And it
turns out they're only doing, they did 24 in 2025.

(01:25:57):
So 12-fold from a very small number of two. Now, look,
I guess the government is happy about that, even though
it's a tiny number in my view, because ACC, the
scheme is massive. ACC receives 2 million claims a year,

(01:26:21):
and that's costing us all a lot. Arguably, a portion
of the 2 million claims are fraudulent, or people pushing
the envelope saying, oh, I've got a tennis injury, when
actually they don't. And yes, ACC investigates. Now, the number
of fraud investigations is what the Minister was happy about,

(01:26:44):
even though it only got to 24 in 2025. But
another detail that it sort of failed to mention was
that the number of fraud interventions ACC did. So that's
intervening before they do a full-blown investigation. That actually halved

(01:27:05):
over that two-year period.

Speaker 6 (01:27:07):
So, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:27:08):
Now, Janaye, come on, come on, you're really throwing them
under the bus here. But remember, in the eight months
to the end of August this year, they've launched 38
investigations just to August. That's up from 24. They're getting better,
sort of.

Speaker 26 (01:27:21):
Yeah, that's right. So, I mean, that's what they're trying
to say. The government's trying to get ACC to cut
its costs because they've been soaring. And in fairness, they
really do have a massive impact on the government's books.
So they're trying to crack down. They're pleased the investigations
are going up, but the interventions have gone down. So
that's intervening at a lower level. So in 2025, they

(01:27:41):
only made 500 interventions. So to be fair, they're trying
to promote the fact ACC is doing a good job.
It's hard to know from these numbers whether they actually are.
I'll just give you another statistic here. The number of prosecutions,
so that's taking someone to court, initiated in 2025, that
was only three.

Speaker 8 (01:28:03):
For fraud.

Speaker 14 (01:28:04):
Right.

Speaker 1 (01:28:05):
Three.

Speaker 26 (01:28:05):
So just think, two million claims, really, are the only
three that are done for fraud.

Speaker 2 (01:28:09):
Well, people will get up in arms, but then at
the same time, how many times have they claimed physio
for a sports injury when all they did was step
off the curb? I mean, it's rampant throughout our society.
So many people do it. But here's the thing. After
all this, what is ACC saying?

Speaker 26 (01:28:27):
Well, ACC is really trying to say that they're trying
to intervene early. So they're trying to intervene before they
open an intervention case and before they go and do
a full-blown investigation once or prosecution. So they're saying they're
working with the IRD. They'll track you down if you're
taking the mickey. And they're also strengthening their frontline teams

(01:28:50):
to try to pick up on fraud. So ACC sounds
like They are trying to do something. You know, they
are really coming under pressure from the government because the
cost is rising at quite the rate. I suppose we're
going to need a bit more time to get some
more figures. But just if you look at Inland Revenue
and Ministry of Social Development, which are a bit different, but,

(01:29:14):
you know, maybe comparisons, they do quite a lot more prosecutions.
So in 2025, they did 45 and 30 that they completed.
So that's a lot more than the three that ACC completed.

Speaker 2 (01:29:28):
Janaye, very good work. And we thank you for that.
And thank you for joining us tonight. That is Janaye Timshaney,
New Zealand Herald's Wellington Business Editor. So here's the thing.
What was Scott Simpson saying? The number of investigations by
ACC went up 12-fold. And everyone goes, oh, wow! But
that was going up from 2 to 24. And then
you go, well, not so much. And then people say

(01:29:51):
you can't trust the media. You cannot trust politicians. They
are putting spin on everything. And thankfully, we have people
like Janae that looks at the actual numbers and catches
the trick. Scott Simpson, what are you doing? It is
18 minutes to 7.

Speaker 1 (01:30:16):
Everything from SMEs to the big corporates. The Business Hour
with Andrew Dickens and Maz Insurance and Investments. Your futures
in good hands. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (01:30:28):
We've got a treat coming up for you at the
end of the show. If you like Tom Jones, you're
going to love what we're going to play. It's a
quarter to seven and right now we welcome to the
program Gavin Gray from the UK. Hello, Gavin.

Speaker 4 (01:30:38):
Hi there, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (01:30:40):
So it's a bit shocking, really, this morning to wake
up to the news that the UK Parliament was criticising
Israel for ethnic cleansing. And we haven't heard that out
of a UK Parliament ever, I think. And also launching
sanctions on the West Bank and real estate deal. So
pretty strong stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:31:02):
Yes, I don't think relations between the UK and Israel
have been this low for many, many decades. So it
all started off with a series of sanctions that the
UK launched under its new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband. That's
an import ban on goods from illegal settlements like dates
and grapes and things like that. A comprehensive sanctions regime

(01:31:24):
against specific companies and individuals who provide services like construction
and infrastructure for the settlement expansion. An advertising ban on
promoting illegal Israeli settlements and a ban on arms sales
and other exports that contribute to the occupation. Israel hit
back and said, right, well, we've announced four other measures

(01:31:44):
now against the UK, including the closure of the local
embassy or the office there. in Jerusalem and some other
measures as well. And the UK Foreign Secretary now this
morning doing the rounds of our media just on TV,
now live, and saying that, look, the two-state solution, the

(01:32:09):
prospect of any two-state solution is being destroyed by Israel.
And the particular intention to build on a new settlement,
E1 as it's called, would completely divide the area that
the Palestinians say is theirs. and under international law is theirs.
And this intention to build right in the middle is

(01:32:30):
going to cut them off from East Jerusalem, which is where,
of course, they want their capital to be. So he's
on TV. He said he's a proud British Jew himself.
He's very aware of the scourge of anti-Semitism, that the
language he's used to describe Israel, turning a blind eye
to the violence against the settlers and the Palestinians, rather,
in the settlement, is quite extraordinary.

Speaker 2 (01:32:51):
I heard someone say that would never have happened under Sakiastana.
But it is now happening under Andy Burnham. And the
question is, do the UK people, do they support this?
Is there support for taking such a strong stand?

Speaker 4 (01:33:04):
Well, I think a lot of people are. It's particularly
an age-related thing. A lot of younger people under the
age of about 35 are very, very supportive of the
UK being much, much tougher with Israel and demanding that
the US do the same. However, others looking at trade,
looking at the economy, looking at the bigger picture, one
might argue, saying that perhaps he's gone too far here.

Speaker 16 (01:33:26):
You're right.

Speaker 4 (01:33:27):
You would never get this language under our former prime minister,
who is, of course, a solicitor, a barrister sort of effort.
And that would never come out. But they are being
much tougher about this. And it's interesting politically. And of course,
we're talking lives being lost in the settlement here. But
politically here in the UK, I think this may draw

(01:33:48):
some people, disaffected Labour voters who were starting to vote green.
The Green Party seems to be less about the environment
at the moment and much more about banging the drum
for the people of Gaza and for others. So, yeah,
it's going to be interesting that.

Speaker 12 (01:34:04):
Snap.

Speaker 2 (01:34:05):
Our greens are just the same. Don't you worry about that. Now,
let's talk about President Donald Trump, whose ambition seems to
know no ends, and now he's upset Iceland.

Speaker 1 (01:34:15):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (01:34:16):
So we've had, of course, the Gulf of Mexico relabeled
as the Gulf of America. Then we had Lake Ontario
relabeled as the Lake America. And then he posted an
image on Truth Social showing the U.S., Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico,
Central America, and the Caribbean as covered in stars and stripes. Well,
of course, in amongst those are other independent countries, Canada. Greenland,

(01:34:40):
he's talked about, of course, about, hey, I would need
to take it over. The Caribbean. But new to this
is Iceland, which hasn't really been mentioned. And so Iceland,
an independent country with very, very many wealthy minerals and
really an amazing country born of volcanic eruption, has summoned

(01:35:01):
the U.S. ambassador to saying that the post was completely inappropriate.
Trump's territorial ambitions have really constantly strained relationships lately with
neighboring countries. including that push to acquire Greenland and calls
to make Canada the America's 51st state. Interestingly, the map
did not include a caption and preceded a flurry of

(01:35:24):
posts of maps renaming the U.S. state of New Mexico
as a new America. And so it goes. Iceland, very
proud nation. And I can see them taking great umbrage
at this latest post. No kidding.

Speaker 2 (01:35:36):
Does Donald Trump realise that New York is actually named
after a city in the UK? Is he going to
want to change that as well?

Speaker 8 (01:35:42):
You know?

Speaker 1 (01:35:43):
Probably.

Speaker 13 (01:35:44):
Probably.

Speaker 2 (01:35:44):
Now, big talk this morning amongst our breakfast show host
who has a child who lives in the UK and
the child was stuck in a plane for four hours.
You've had thousands, hundreds of thousands of airline passengers disrupted
by problems with the air traffic control system. Where's that at?

Speaker 1 (01:36:04):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (01:36:04):
Well, I'm afraid it's fixed. But the problem, the disruption,
will carry on through today. And the reason is the skies,
particularly around Heathrow Airport, the biggest airport here in the UK,
just to the west of London, are very, very congested.
So when a slight glitch happens, the knock-on effect is massive.
And that's what happened yesterday. There was a problem with

(01:36:24):
the air traffic control service. There was a computer problem.

Speaker 13 (01:36:28):
It was fixed.

Speaker 4 (01:36:29):
However, up to 1,000 flights were canceled, and Ryanair reported
a massive problem with cancellations. And some of its passengers
facing delays of up to eight hours, some stuck on
the tarmac, some stuck in the airports. Yeah, it's been really,
really bad. And I'm afraid it's going to carry on

(01:36:51):
into today, Andrew. And so consequently, anyone flying into or
out of the UK, particularly this morning about now, could
face a few issues.

Speaker 2 (01:36:59):
Gavin, thank you so much for your time this evening
and joining us. And that is Gavin Gray out of
the UK. And it's coming up eight minutes to seven.
News Talks, I want to go home. I'm feeling a
bit tired. I've done two shifts today. Now, the deal
with doing the two shifts today is that if Ryan's
feeling a bit sick tomorrow morning, I ain't doing early
edition because you have to get up at three o'clock
in the morning to do that. And I'm here at

(01:37:19):
seven o'clock. So no. So someone else is going to
do that or Ryan's going to be back. Is Heather
going to be back tomorrow?

Speaker 11 (01:37:25):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:37:25):
We'll find out tomorrow. Anyway, I'm going home. And so,
and of course, our normal technical producer is away at
a rave or whatever he does these days. So producer
Locke is our music meister today. What are we going
to go out with?

Speaker 11 (01:37:39):
Look.

Speaker 27 (01:37:39):
We are listening to some Stevie Wonder because he's just
announced that he's doing a tour for his 50th anniversary
of the brilliant album Songs in the Key of Love.
This tour is only in the States, so don't get
your hypes up over here. But honestly, who's not going
to take an excuse to play a bit of Stevie Wonder?

Speaker 10 (01:37:57):
I mean, this guy's brilliant.

Speaker 2 (01:37:59):
And I saw Stevie when he came to New Zealand
and he played at the Victor Arena and he started
off with a harmonica and he did some John Coltrane.
And I went, hold on, that's not Stevie. He's doing
Jon Contrain. That's how good this man is. But if
he was Tom Jones, everyone would say, go away, mate,
you're not relevant. Wouldn't you, Muz?

Speaker 27 (01:38:16):
Careful, let's not start too many fights with the audience.

Speaker 2 (01:38:19):
What's the track we're playing? Sir Duke.

Speaker 27 (01:38:21):
This is Sir Duke.

Speaker 2 (01:38:23):
Thank you so much, Locke. Great choice. Great, great album.
Producer Kevin, thank you so much for your work today.
And Producer Sam, who's already buggered off, thank you so
much for whatever you did, and I may or may
not see you tomorrow.

Speaker 5 (01:38:35):
Bye-bye.

Speaker 2 (01:38:35):
Here's to Stevie.

Speaker 25 (01:38:36):
And with a voice like Dallas ringing out, there's no
way the band could lose.

(01:38:58):

You can.

Speaker 10 (01:39:16):
Feel it all over.

Speaker 25 (01:39:20):
You can feel it all over. You can feel it
all over. I love her. Let's go!

Speaker 1 (01:40:53):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
News Talk ZB from 4 p.m. weekdays or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.

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