Full Show Podcast: 11 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.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yes, afternoon and welcome to the program. Heather's feeling a
bit poorly again, and to be fair, I'm not feeling
so flash either, but here I am and here we
are till seven. And today on the program, it's battle
of the immigration policies today with Winston Peters wanting a
$ 20, 000 cap on permanent residence, and he also wants to
have the portfolio. And we're going to ask the current
minister about that. What's happening to zoos and museums in

(00:37):
this country? The co-chair of Rana Park tells us why
they need $ 4 million now or risk facing closure. and
a retired New York fire chief who dug through the
rubble on 9-11, but today is in New Zealand, on
how he thinks America will feel when they commemorate this
date tomorrow. We'll have that. We'll have correspondents from around

(00:58):
the world and news as it breaks. And you can
have your say by texting me. Small charge replies. The
number is 9292. It's a massive weekend, obviously with sport,
and I'll tell you more about what we're doing about
sport a little bit later on in the program. But look,
it's also a massive weekend for Auckland as the much-awaited

(01:20):
CRL rail link finally opens to the public. And there
is excitement. So $ 5. 5 billion and 10 years of chaos
have come to this. And the question will be asked,
was it all worth it? Well, firstly... I have to say,
it never needed to be so expensive because it never
needed to be this late. The idea of this sort

(01:43):
of link between Auckland and Morningside first muted in 1912.
And again in 1918. And then they actually did a
plan in 1923. Then Robbie thought about it, Davmar Robinson
thought about it in the 70s. But it wasn't until
2003 that we pulled our finger out and started doing
something about it. Imagine if we built it back in 1920.

(02:06):
Imagine if we built it back in 1930, when Australia
built their underground and they built their harbour bridge. But no,
we were afraid of it. So we started. If only
we'd had the courage of our convictions back then when
it was cheaper and easier. So that's one thing. And
it's not like we've always been this timid and overly cautious.
The construction of the central motorway system, affectionately known as

(02:29):
the Spaghetti Junction, that began in the 60s. And then that,
you think you had disruption for the CRL, for the
spaghetti junction, for the car. They had to eradicate a
complete inner city suburb. But, you know, these days we
lose our heads over a couple of inner city streets,
a few barbershops and a couple of traffic cones. My

(02:50):
own memories of the debate are full of toxic misinformation.
And can I say on all the radio stations and
from a lot of the politicians, people were calling it
a loop. It's never been a loop. It's a link.
It's a through link. People were saying, well, it's a loop.
What about the Simpsons monorail? What about the Sydney monorail?
It was never like that. It was a link. It

(03:12):
linked two unjoined systems of a railway we'd already invested in.
And those lies made a lot of the conversation very fraught.
But there we go. It's happened. It's done. Thank God
for that. And now it's finished. People will be demanding
a revolution. It will not be a revolution. It's an evolution,

(03:34):
not a revolution. But it is the single biggest step
we had to take to enable our biggest city to
grow bigger. And it's what we needed to do to
show we're not afraid of growth. That we're not the
timid New Zealanders that Christopher Luxon has so often accused

(03:54):
of us and our business of being. Yeah, so it's
all about sport today. Guess who we're talking to after
5.30 today? Sean Fitzpatrick, the captain. And I know we've
heard a bit from him over the last month, but
have we heard from him in London? That's right, ladies

(04:17):
and gentlemen. He's not in Baltimore. He's in London. Does
that throw aspersions on the quality and the importance of
the game coming up? Well, I'll let you decide. I'll
ask Sean after 5.30. But right now, how about Toru Harris?
Toru Harris... The Warriors captain, the former Warriors captain, is
now in Hawke's Bay. And when the game happens against

(04:38):
the Dolphins, he'll be out there trying to sell houses.
This is one of their greatest challenges in their 31-year history,
but this legend of the game will be selling houses.
The matchup against the Dolphins is at Mount Smart. It's
sold out. It's the opening game of the NRL weekends,
and Tohu Harris will not be there. Tohu, how dare you?

Speaker 4 (04:59):
You can't make them all, but I'll be there in spirit.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Because of your real estate job.

Speaker 5 (05:06):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
So got to be able to pay the bills and
put food on the table. So we're busy working.

Speaker 3 (05:14):
I hope you're doing well. I hope you're doing well.
Lots of reports of real estate agents struggling right now,
having to do side hustles to make ends meet. So
I wish that you do sell a house, but I
can bet your boots that you will not be wearing
Warriors gear on the day of the game.

Speaker 6 (05:27):
Will you?

Speaker 4 (05:29):
Well, I could make an exception. I'm sure I won't
be the only one.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
Okay. What do you think of the Dolphins?

Speaker 4 (05:39):
They're a great side. They've always had the talent. Year
on year, they've got talent right throughout their squad. But
what we've seen from them this year is a bit
more consistency and consistency Only the consistent sides that can
play well week in, week out, generally you'll see them
in the top four, and that's where we see the Dolphins.

(06:01):
So it's definitely going to be a challenge. They know
how to score points, but from what we've seen from
the Warriors this year and how they've defended, I'm quietly confident.

Speaker 3 (06:13):
Well, here's the thing, and we've always talked about this,
it's the last half of the season that's the most important.
And when you start putting together wins towards the last
half and building momentum towards the final series, then you
can start talking about rocking and rolling. And here's the
problem with the Dolphins. What have they done? Six, seven
wins on the trot coming here with a head of steam.

Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah, absolutely. They're coming in with some momentum, but so
are the Warriors. And you can't put a price on
playing in front of that Mount Smart crowd either. It's
like a second leg or third leg. It's incredible that
the support that that the Warriors have had since we've
got back from COVID, but just seems to just keep

(06:55):
getting better and better.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
Meanwhile, the Warriors have a head of steam as well.
And even though everything sometimes seems to be against them,
they've managed to come up with the goods every time.
What sets this Warriors team apart from all the other
Warriors teams you've either been part of or watched?

Speaker 4 (07:13):
Just the mixture of talent and I guess how connected
they are. Like everyone, it doesn't matter whether it's big
or small, they all celebrate each other. All these young
guys have taken the next step in their careers and
they're just getting better and better and it's all come together.
They've got strong leaders and they've got a strong core

(07:36):
group of players that play week in, week out and
they all care about each other. That's been the biggest
sort of change and it's genuine. They enjoy each other.
And they just work hard for each other.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
Isn't that amazing? You were part of the old boys
weekend the other weekend as well. I mean, how good
was that? Everyone coming together, mentoring the new side as well.
We've got the new haka that's part of the team
as well. Everything, you know, that's just amazing. You're quite right.
They're all supporting each other. And Webby, I mean, he's
obviously the coach of the year of the entire league.
I mean, there are good players in every team. in

(08:11):
this competition. But at the end of the day, it's
the top three inches and it's the heart. And you're
saying that the Warriors have that.

Speaker 4 (08:19):
Yeah, absolutely. Um, like every, like you mentioned, every team
has those top end players, but it's whether, uh, your
whole team. So from one to 30, because it's such
a long season, you need to use a lot of,
a lot of players. And if everyone's on the same page,
everyone puts everything into their performance, into preparing, um, You

(08:42):
tend to get success, and that's what we've seen from
teams like the Warriors. The Panthers have been doing it
for years now. Roosters, the same thing. They've got the
top-end talent, but the core group of players that make
up that squad, everyone's just taken their game to a
new level.

Speaker 3 (08:58):
I've got my betting app up right now. So what
do you say? Obviously, I'm going to say Warriors because
I feel you're going to have to say that or
else you'll never be welcome back in the club. So
it's going to be Warriors. So what does it buy?
Is it $ 13 million?

Speaker 4 (09:10):
Yeah, I'm going to say Warriors 13 plus.

Speaker 7 (09:14):
Oh, really?

Speaker 3 (09:15):
I love your work and I hope you sell lots
of houses, ladies and gentlemen. Tohu Harris, former Warriors captain, legend,
real estate operator in Hawke's Bay. If you see him
on the street, say hello, shake his hand and for
God's sake, buy a house from the man. It is
17 minutes after four and more sport coming with Jason Pine.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
It's the Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive full show podcast on iHeartRadio,
powered by Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (09:41):
Newstalk ZB. It is 19 after 4.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
Sport with Generate. Putting performance first. Generatekiwisaver.co.nz.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
Jason Pine.

Speaker 8 (09:53):
Hello, Andrew.

Speaker 3 (09:54):
Tohu Harris reckons the Warriors by 13. I heard that.

Speaker 8 (09:58):
I heard that.

Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yep.

Speaker 9 (09:59):
Yep.

Speaker 8 (10:00):
A confident front-footing.

Speaker 10 (10:03):
Bet, or I don't think he's placing a bet, but
certainly a prediction, by the great man Tohu Harris. I
think it'll be a bit tighter than that. The Dolphins
are a good team, Andrew. I don't want to put
a dampener on any of this, but they've won their
last seven matches in a row. Yes, the Warriors have
won their last six. Games between these two are usually tight.
Two points the margin in both of the games this season.

(10:25):
The other thing I picked up on, and this is
completely irrelevant really, but they've played each other eight times
and it's gone back and forth. Warriors, Dolphins, Warriors, Dolphins, Warriors, Dolphins, Warriors, Dolphins.
So that trend, if it continues tomorrow night, we'll see
the Warriors through.

Speaker 5 (10:39):
All right.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
Okay. Well, because you've done the count back, have you?
And so now it's our turn.

Speaker 1 (10:43):
It is.

Speaker 10 (10:44):
It's our turn on the on the sawtooth method of
predicting sporting results.

Speaker 3 (10:49):
High science. I had no idea. That's fantastic. How important
the home crowd?

Speaker 10 (10:55):
Huge, massive. And it will be a massive crowd. You know,
it's called home advantage for a reason. And this is
why the Warriors have been so keen to have this
game at Go Media Stadium rather than Eden Park. We
know that if they make the qualifying final in a
couple of weeks, that'll be at Eden Park.

Speaker 8 (11:09):
I think that's been pretty Yeah, pretty clearly telegraphed.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
This is what I really want to ask you. Don't
you have home advantage at Eden Park as well? I
know that there's some people, the tribal people who say,
and that's rugby, that's rugby. But we've played what? We've
played football. We've played football on that more than adequately.
We've had rock concerts on that. It's not an only
football thing. It's a stadium in Auckland full of Warriors fans.
There's home advantage at Eden Park, isn't there?

Speaker 10 (11:32):
There is, there is, but it won't feel like home
to the Warriors. I know this might sound a bit silly,
but when you go to Go Media Stadium as Warriors player,
you know exactly where to go. You know how to
get there. You know the stairs to go down. You
know where the changing rooms are. You know what it's
going to feel like when you walk out. Eden Park
will be as unfamiliar to the Warriors as it is
to whoever visits Eden Park if this comes to pass.

Speaker 8 (11:53):
It won't feel like they're at home.

Speaker 10 (11:55):
It'd be like, I don't know, it'd be like driving
all the way to Auckland with a police car behind you.

Speaker 8 (12:01):
That's what it'll be like. Just a little bit uncomfortable.

Speaker 3 (12:04):
OK, we've done enough Warriors. Let's talk about the All Blacks.
Fourth test against South Africa. We had the team named
and there's Mollinger. In there, there's a whole lot of
youngies and newies in the pack. And here's the thing,
Rassi isn't changing his team at all.

Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (12:21):
He's taken the opposite view, hasn't he? And some of
this is injury enforced by Dave Rennie. He doesn't have Jacobson,
Savia or Tupai. He doesn't have Fabian Holland either, it
turns out. He's been ill since arriving in the US.
So he's had to shuffle his deck. Muang is the
big talking point at 10, although that was clearly telegraphed.
Dave Rennie said we were always going to do that.

(12:43):
I don't know, there was just so much emotional and
physical energy expended by the All Blacks and probably the
Springboks last week for the third test in South Africa, Andrew.
You know, there was three tests over there. That was
the decider of those three. This has always felt like
a bit of a commercial bolt-on in Baltimore, but... It's
the South Africans. I know, exactly that. And if South

(13:04):
Africa were to win, that's three straight losses. And that
hasn't happened since 2022. Razor never lost three in a row.
And it's part of the nation's championship, right? And so
the points all count. We're doing quite well right now.
And the game at Twickenham, when this all happens, when
this runs out, you want a money spinner? That'll be
your money spinner. And also, I mean, it's the secondary to.

Speaker 3 (13:24):
The World Cup.

Speaker 8 (13:25):
Plus, it's the All Blacks.

Speaker 10 (13:26):
Let's just win the game of rugby. Every time they play,
they should win the game in the eyes of many.

Speaker 3 (13:31):
Very good. Piney, have a great weekend on the radio.
That is Mr. Jason Pine broadcasting Legion 12 to 3 Saturday, Sunday.
It is 4.23.

Speaker 1 (13:42):
Accountability. Analysis. Answers. Hear what matters. It's Andrew Dickens on
Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive. And One New Zealand. Awarded New Zealand's
best mobile network. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (13:55):
4.26 here. Heather just needs some time just to get
rid of the leggy. It's just lurking, so that's why
she's not here today. So I turned up for work
about 20 minutes before four. And the reason I did
that was I was already booked, and I was booked
actually to do an election debate on the North Shore.
You're hearing about an election debate in front of Grey
Power on the North Shore? That was me who was

(14:16):
the moderator. Can I say? We had none of the
leer-ups that happened in Dunedin with the big hairy network.
We had nobody getting out of control. My crowd control
was awesome. I had one guy getting a bit lippy.
I told him to sit, sit, like he was a dog.
And you know what? He did. Good dog. Good dog.
Winston was there. Chloe was there. We had Kulai Wong

(14:37):
there as well. We had Shannon Halbert from Northcote. We
had Dan Bedouin from Northcote and Karen Chua from ACT.
Winston was talking about.

Speaker 4 (14:46):
Super.

Speaker 3 (14:48):
He says that he will never raise super. He doesn't
believe there's a super crisis. He says we spend on
super round about 5%. Whereas other countries are on 9
and 10. He says there is no crisis. Don't believe
everybody else. What do you think?

Speaker 11 (15:03):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
He also thinks we should only have 20,000 permanent residents
cap on that. And he also thinks he should be
the Minister of Immigration. This is why we're talking to
Erica Stamford in half an hour.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
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 3 (15:38):
Welcome back. Yes, Heather just couldn't quite make it today,
so Andrew Dickens is here with 20 minutes warning. I've
been working over the course of the afternoon hosting an
election debate and Winston Peters was there and he says
there is no super crisis. Super takes up 5% of
our GDP and many other nations are on 9, 10
and 11%. Don't let the others scare you into a crisis.

(15:59):
I asked the question, is it a crisis? Bob says
they put super in with health and education and that
makes 30% of GDP. But super is in fact only 5%
of GDP. Good to hear you on. Thank you so much, Bob.
Carol reckons that if Winston Peters doesn't think there is
a crisis with super, then why is he trying to
stop permanent residents from getting in? That's kind of fair point,

(16:19):
but I think Winston there is virtue signaling, trying to
be like reform in the UK, trying to be like
one nation and the battle against migration. But as Mr.
Hosking pointed out this morning, that's a battle that we
don't have here. We don't have the illegal migration and
immigration that they have in those countries and the crises
that they have in those countries. So I just think
he's just staking away a place on the ground, and

(16:41):
Murray reckons, I think the interest we pay each year
on the accumulated debt is creating the super crisis. Fascinating.
Talking to Erica Stamford after five, Barry Soper at a
quarter two on the big battle of immigration policies. It's
23 to five.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
It's the World Wires on Newstalk's EpiDrive.

Speaker 3 (17:01):
Have you heard about the documentary about Elon Musk? It's
four hours long. It's directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney. Well,
Elon Musk has threatened legal action... Over that documentary, he
says it's defamatory. Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, sent Gibney a
letter saying the project did not begin as an inquiry.

(17:22):
It began with a conclusion. Musk's ex-partner, Ashley St. Clair,
spoke in the documentary. She's the one who didn't take
the 40 million hush money. Here's a quick snippet.

Speaker 12 (17:33):
He makes a conscious choice to not put himself in
other people's shoes because he does have the capacity to
do it when he needs to. You know, he often,
both privately and publicly speaks about his childhood. However, I
can guarantee you that there's many people in this room
who probably had traumatic, maybe even horrific childhoods. And I
don't see any of you trying to take over the world.

(17:55):
I think he's made a lot of bad choices. I
think there are good qualities in him. And I have
to think that because I hope that my son got
every single one of the good ones.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
OK, then, right to the Middle East. And the Houthis
have seized a key port on the Red Sea as
the Iran war expands. They've seized the port of Mokka.
And witnesses say the rebels were chanting death to America
and death to Israel. Good times.

Speaker 7 (18:20):
Well, the reports have been confirmed. The city has officially
fallen to the Ansar Allah Houthis, the city and its
strategic coastline port, the port of Al-Muqa. And not only that,
there are now more advancements south of the city of Al-Muqa.
The Ansar Allah Houthis are now only 50 miles away

(18:41):
from Bab al-Mandab, and they are looking to advance.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
And here's another strait you have to learn. You've learnt
the Strait of Hormuz. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the
Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is the entrance to the Red Sea.
So if the Houthis control that, then the war will
definitely escalate. And finally.

Speaker 13 (18:58):
Do you think Mrs Parker Bowles was a factor in
the breakdown of your marriage?

Speaker 14 (19:03):
Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so
it was a bit crowded.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
You remember that? That was part of the documentary with
Prince Charles. And the day that that documentary played on
the telly, Princess Diana went out for a function. And
she wore what has become known as the revenge dress. Well,
the revenge dress has gone up for auction in New York.

(19:27):
Sotheby's are running the auction. They say Princess Diana turned
the dress into one of the most powerful messages she
ever made during one of the most scrutinized and emotionally
charged episodes of her life. It's a beautiful dress and
she looked amazing in it. It's fair to say. You
want the revenge dress of Diana? $ 250, 000 US. So if
you won the lottery, is that something you would buy?

(19:49):
Would you wear it? might be a bit much if
you wore it into.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Work international correspondence with nzi insurance peace of mind for
new zealand.

Speaker 3 (19:58):
Business to america we go and jam mitchison good afternoon
to you hey good afternoon andrew Tomorrow for you, it's 9-11.
Today for us, it's 9-11. And in fact, our talkback
has been ringing with stories and memories of that day
25 years ago. So, so horrific. And it's incredible to
me that you're still learning about stuff from that day

(20:21):
a quarter of a century ago.

Speaker 14 (20:22):
Well, we are.

Speaker 15 (20:26):
On the other side of the coin, we've only got
about 10%, well, I guess 10% of adults today that
were born after 9-11. 9-11, according to a new poll,
and they're between 18 and 24. And a majority of
them are now learning about 9-11 in class or through
school assignments. And what is, I think, a little different
about this and what more people are paying attention to

(20:48):
on the 25th anniversary is that the growing number of
parents who weren't around for that day, they were not
old enough to be aware. We've got teachers that are
trying to oversimplify, I think, what happened. And And history
classes over here in junior high and high school just
aren't as prevalent as they are in other countries. So
you're lucky to make it through World War II or
maybe the Vietnam War, let alone 9-11.

Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah. And when I mentioned what they're learning now, we're
starting to hear about the health effects from all the dust.

Speaker 16 (21:19):
Well, we are.

Speaker 15 (21:19):
I mean, they've just had a report on tonight about
a firefighter, a first responder, who within a week of
9-11 volunteered to go down there and help and now
has dementia, which they have linked to that event. He
can remember the days that led up to that and
then afterwards and What he did, but his memory over

(21:43):
the last few years has just gone. So it's your health,
it's your lungs, it's your memory, it's your eyesight, it's
your breathing. It's just, you know, so many things that
they continue to find, not to mention they're still identifying
body parts that they're finding in the area too.

Speaker 6 (21:59):
Amazing.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
Okay, a number of conspiracy theories around 9-11 as well,
like who actually brought down the buildings, and I always
found those to be horrific, but conspiracy theories are a thing,
and now we've got some around Charlie Kirk's assassination.

Speaker 15 (22:13):
Well, yeah, Kirk was shot a year ago, and they
held a vigil for him tonight on the campus where
that happened, and experts are saying that these theories are
probably going to continue for a long time to come.
I mean, You've got the organization Turning Point USA that
started online watch lists of professors on the U.S. who

(22:37):
they claim were advancing this leftist propaganda. I mean, there's
been death threats and rape threats and, you know, why
he was killed or why he wasn't either.

Speaker 6 (22:46):
Why?

Speaker 15 (22:47):
Some people said he really wasn't killed. You know, there's
some people that said, well, that wasn't really him. But
a lot of this had to do with the partisan
politics I think we have over here on the right
and the left. And there's very little middle ground about
Kirk and his organization. But much of it was fueled
by hearsay and Internet rumors. And you know about that, too,
which many people, as we know, just take as truth
over here.

Speaker 12 (23:07):
All right.

Speaker 3 (23:08):
And finally, the news this morning was about Mr.

Speaker 5 (23:11):
Mr.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
Trump, the president of the United States of America, thinking
that suddenly he was Oprah Winfrey. And he says, everybody
in America, look under your chair. There's five thousand dollars
there for you.

Speaker 15 (23:20):
Well, and here's the caveat, though. This is if Republicans
win the midterms. And I mean, I want to back
up just a little bit here. First question is, how
can the government how would they be able to afford
to pay two hundred seventy million Americans five thousand dollars each?
That would cost the government. One point three five trillion dollars.
And we have to remember, under our federal law over here,

(23:43):
if you offer or you make a payment to try
to get somebody out there to vote or withhold their
vote or vote against a candidate, that's a criminal offense
punished by a fine or up to a year in
prison or both. So why he is saying that nobody knows.
Could this happen? It is very, very unlikely.

Speaker 9 (23:59):
Come on.

Speaker 3 (23:59):
He's done this two times before. What did he say?

Speaker 16 (24:02):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (24:03):
$ 2, 000 from the tariffs right at the beginning. He said
it was going to be $ 5, 000. He never pays. I mean,
are you going to be sucked in three times in
a row?

Speaker 9 (24:13):
No, no.

Speaker 15 (24:14):
I mean, I'm still– I was going to use that
money to catch an Air New Zealand flight from San
Francisco down to your way.

Speaker 3 (24:20):
But, you know, that check still hasn't arrived. No kidding.
No kidding. Dan Mitchison, thank you for your time.

Speaker 6 (24:24):
16 to 5.

Speaker 3 (24:24):
Dickens. More overseas news, and you may or may not
have seen this. I ended up seeing it. What am
I looking at? Oh, my God, what am I looking at?
An Australian lawyer became an online sensation because he accidentally
took a Zoom meeting into the bathroom without turning off
his camera. They were calling about budget matters. He placed
his laptop on the floor. Then we watched him lift

(24:47):
the toilet seat, and he began using the toilet, And
of course, he had no idea everyone was watching him. Meanwhile,
everyone's going, your camera's on, your camera's on. He has
not been named. I reckon name and shame. It could
actually be a claim to fame. It is a quarter
to five. Barry Soper on the whole immigration thing next.

(25:14):
All right, joining me now is Barry Soper. Hello, Barry.

Speaker 11 (25:16):
Good afternoon, Andrew.

Speaker 3 (25:17):
Winston wants a 20,000 cap and he also wants to
be the minister. What do you reckon?

Speaker 11 (25:22):
Yeah, well, look, I don't think you'll get time being
the minister and prime minister. That's the common feeling that
what may happen if New Zealand First polls the way
many are saying it may poll this election. But look,
immigration minister, he's welcome to it. Look, we don't have
the same immigration problems that others have. Like Australia, like Britain,

(25:45):
we don't see boat people, although Australia's not seeing them now,
but we don't see the boat people arriving like they do.
We don't have the same immigration issues in this country. Winston,
every election makes this an issue.

Speaker 3 (25:59):
It's popular. It's branding. It's branding. Of course it is.
Dare I say it, it's virtue signaling.

Speaker 9 (26:04):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (26:05):
And, of course, Winston Peters was at an election debate today,
which was hosted by a marvellous emcee. And when I
came into work, I was horrified to find that, in fact,
it was streamed and you were watching me and the team.

Speaker 11 (26:17):
I was watching it. And I found it really interesting
because all the parties were there. with the exception of
the Māori Party. They were invited, but they didn't reply.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
But they don't care because they don't want anyone to
vote for them.

Speaker 11 (26:32):
Well, no, that's true. So, yeah, Winston was there. He
was banging on about superannuation.

Speaker 4 (26:38):
Look, there's nothing wrong with it.

Speaker 11 (26:40):
It can continue the way it always has. It was interesting,
the minor parties, though, I think... Tax became, I don't
know whether you thought that, but tax became the overriding theme.
Those on the left of the political spectrum with the Greens'
Chloe Swarbrick telling us how she sees it.

Speaker 17 (26:58):
Since the 1980s, successive governments have tied us to an
economic model that has meant a small few are able
to get richer and richer while corporate profits skyrocket and
regular hardworking New Zealanders fall further and further behind and
our natural environment is expected to pay the price. Our
Greens tax policy will see the top 0.3% pay their

(27:21):
fair share, which to us looks like just 2.5% on
tax of individual net wealth above $ 10 million, excluding the
family home, which will allow us to cut income taxes
for 96% of New Zealanders. My hope this election is
that New Zealanders look each other in the eye and

(27:42):
have what might be quite hard conversations.

Speaker 11 (27:46):
Yeah, and I've got to say, singing from the same
hymn sheet was the Opportunity Party leader, Kule Wong. She
was speaking the same language.

Speaker 18 (27:54):
It's really important for us when we look at our
tax system and introducing any new taxes that it is
a balance. We are introducing a land tax but also
alleviating pressure through the citizens' income. It's about shifting the
tax burden off work so people keep more of the
money that they earn. and onto assets, namely property, which
have been historically undertaxed in New Zealand. We're not standing

(28:14):
here saying that we have every perfect answer, but I
want to have, as Chloe has mentioned, a grown-up conversation
about tax, because I am really worried for my kids'
future and the kind of economic settings that we're setting
them up for.

Speaker 3 (28:28):
Both of them kind of said bit by bit, change
bit by bit, rather than some rapid change that's going
to freak everybody out.

Speaker 11 (28:34):
Yes, but I don't know whether it went through your
mind at the time, but those two, of course, are
at odds with Labour, who says the government led by
it will only have one tax. That's the capital gains tax.
The taxes they're talking about won't take place.

Speaker 3 (28:49):
And yes, it was Shannon Halbert who was there and
he was defending that. And of course, Dan Bedouin was saying,
nine new taxes, nine new taxes. And we go, one
new tax. And then I like the Winston Peters line
about national labour. And he said, tweedle-dee or tweedle-dum, or
you've got to choose between Coke and Pepsi, pointing out
how similar they are. Can I ask you, lastly, 9-11,

(29:11):
where were you?

Speaker 11 (29:14):
Well, I, in fact, was called in the early hours
of the morning And the call came from a friend
of mine who was a banker down in the financial district, which,
of course, is where the Twin Towers are, or were.
And he said, Barry, Barry, switch on your television. And
I said, Ian, it's 2 o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 4 (29:33):
He said, switch it on. You won't believe what's happened.

Speaker 11 (29:36):
He saw the first plane go in, and then when
I switched it on, I saw the second plane go in.
And I turned the lights on in the house. And
lo and behold, a person who lives just down the
street was the man who was to become the Attorney General,
Chris Finlayson, tapped on the door. We were sitting there
watching it when my two boys got up and said,

(29:57):
what's going on here, Dad? Very hard to explain to
kids that people are as bad as what these ones
were in the world. But we all remember it.

Speaker 12 (30:06):
Don't we?

Speaker 3 (30:07):
Yeah, but some people actually point out that that was CNN.
That was the making of CNN. And 25 years ago,
we didn't have the instant news. We didn't have the internet.
We didn't have all that sort of stuff. And so
probably Chris Finlayson came around and said, who's got CNN?
I haven't got CNN. Barry will have CNN. We're going
to Barry's place.

Speaker 8 (30:23):
Let's go to Barry's place.

Speaker 9 (30:24):
It's probably true, Andrew, yeah.

Speaker 3 (30:26):
OK. Thank you so much. Have yourself a great weekend.
And please, look after Heather. Well, I'm talking to you
later anyway. Oh, that's true as well. But still, look
after Heather, please, because these late call-ups are killing me.

Speaker 9 (30:36):
OK.

Speaker 1 (30:49):
So we've got a new MB report.

Speaker 19 (30:54):
It shows renewables hit a June quarter record. We're at 92%
of all electricity produced. The real key, of course, is
the wholesale prices. They're down 66% on the same time
last year. Shane Jones, Associate Minister of Energy, back with us.

Speaker 20 (31:05):
We are always going to generate a lot of our
electricity from hydro. And this particular three-month period is a
positive development.

Speaker 19 (31:14):
Until you start to see it retail, it's not working
for you.

Speaker 9 (31:16):
Is it?

Speaker 20 (31:17):
Yeah, but the reality is most of us are on contracts.
Those contracts have quite some way to expire. Look no
further than the super profits of our gen tailors.

Speaker 19 (31:26):
Back Monday from 6am, the Mike Hosking Breakfast with Range Rover,
Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (31:32):
So 9.11, I was asleep. Then I got a phone
call from Jason Winstanley, who's now the big boss here,
but at the time he was the big boss of
the station I worked at, Classic Hits, and it's like
1.30 in the morning. And he phones up and he says, Dickens,
turn the TV on. And I said to him, piss off.

Speaker 4 (31:49):
I'm asleep.

Speaker 3 (31:49):
So I hung up the phone and went back to sleep.
And later, my brother phones from New Orleans. Andrew, it's Pete.
I'm in New Orleans. I'm OK. I went, why did
you tell me that? I'm very happy you're OK. I'm
trying to sleep. I've got a breakfast show to do.
Maybe something's happening. And then I turned on the telly
and I saw it happening. And I got in the

(32:10):
car and I rushed to work. And we started doing
rolling reports all the way through. And I remember just
the shock of, well, first of all, you know, just
how weird it was that the whole world was waking
up and looking at this. But I also, the shock
of seeing what would happen and the instant realization that
it's not just going to be something that happens today.
This is going to be something that resonates through history.
And here we are 25 years later. And we heard

(32:32):
on the talk back this afternoon, the number of guys
saying it affected their business forever. Tourism, all sorts of stuff. Trade.
It was such a big thing. Today it's 9-11 in
New Zealand. Tomorrow it's 9-11 in America, and there will
be commemorations, and they will be very moving. Erica Stamford's
our next guest right after the news and sport, which
is next. And after 5.30, Sean Fitzpatrick on a certain

(32:54):
game of rugby.

Speaker 1 (33:15):
Pressing the newsmakers to get the real story. It's Andrew
Dickens on Heather Duplessy, Alan Drive. And One New Zealand,
awarded New Zealand's best mobile network. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (33:27):
Afternoon, thank you for joining the program. Well, big debates
around immigration today.

Speaker 15 (33:31):
Why?

Speaker 3 (33:31):
It's because the Association of Migration and Investment Conference is
going on right now and the politicians are turning up
and they're saying their thoughts and they're telling us their policy.

Speaker 6 (33:40):
Labour.

Speaker 3 (33:41):
Wants to focus on migrant exploitation and better integration of
the migrants who come here. New Zealand First have come
out swinging, calling for a 10-year welfare ban for non-citizens,
a referendum to cap visa numbers at 20,000, and the
immigration portfolio has to go to a New Zealand First person,
presumably Winston, if the right wins the election and they're

(34:03):
part of the coalition. So joining us now to talk
about this is the person who currently has the job,
Immigration Minister Erica Stamford.

Speaker 16 (34:09):
Hello, Erica. Hello.

Speaker 14 (34:11):
How are you?

Speaker 2 (34:11):
Very good.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
Was there anything in those policies that you would consider?

Speaker 14 (34:17):
There's a few things in there that, you know, relatively
good ideas, but for the most part, it's just this
usual thing that happens with immigration right before an election,
this massive swing of ideas, you know, from huge restrictions
on the one hand with ACT and New Zealand First
and that same group and even Labour a little bit,
right through to this liberalisation where the Greens are going,

(34:39):
any health condition you have, don't worry about.

Speaker 6 (34:41):
It, come on in.

Speaker 21 (34:42):
And so.

Speaker 14 (34:44):
You know, we're just a bit more pragmatic. We've done
a huge amount of good work in the last three
years to get things under control because we did inherit
an absolute mess with immigration running at.

Speaker 3 (34:55):
$ 134, 000. So what's your vision for immigration policy for the
next three years?

Speaker 14 (34:59):
We're going to be putting out our policy not all
on the same day with the other parties, which has
been quite useful. It's coming. But what you can expect
from us is more of the same that you've seen
in the last three years. We realise you've got a
couple of things to do. You've got to balance out
putting New Zealanders first for jobs while making sure that
employers can get access to the skills and talent that
they need when they're unable to access a Kiwi. But

(35:22):
a lot more prioritising. pragmatic and sensible and in the
centre rather than these two swings from highly restrictive to
highly liberal.

Speaker 3 (35:28):
So this is the time when everyone says their policies
and their policies never get watered down. But here's the thing.
ACT got some big stuff on the treaty through at
the last coalition negotiations. So won't you have to bow
to some of Winston's policies if you want to govern?

Speaker 14 (35:43):
Well, there are some questions that need to be asked
around those policies. on resident class visas, first thing I
would ask is, well, who are you capping? Because 11,000
people a year come in because they're marrying a Kiwi.
You've got another 10,000 people coming in who are on
the straight to residence green list pathway. That's our nurses,

(36:04):
our teachers, our doctors, our engineers. And then there's another
8,000 skilled. You've got 3,000 work to residence. That's our
ECE teachers. You've got the Pacific Access category. You've got
the AIP, the Golden Visa people. That's 2,500. When you
start to add all that up, the question for Winston is,
Who are you saying no to? Are you going to
say no to a Kiwi who's just fallen in love

(36:24):
with a German? I'm sorry, we've reached our cap.

Speaker 3 (36:26):
You have to sit in a queue.

Speaker 14 (36:27):
For the next 10 years. It's just, we have to
ask some serious questions about what you mean about restricting things.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
What's your thoughts on this? Because Winston seems to think
that the only way you can get super, the only
way you should be able to get benefits, and in fact,
the only way you should be able to get the
vote is if you are a citizen of this country.
And speaking as someone who is a permanent resident and
is not yet a citizen and hasn't been bothered to
spend the $ 641 to get the pass bill and do
that sort of thing, he's saying to me as a

(36:55):
50-year taxpayer that I'm not entitled to any of these
other benefits, even though I have significantly contributed. Do you
have to be a citizen to be a New Zealander?

Speaker 14 (37:07):
Well, that's a very good question, and we haven't said
that before. I think we're talking about restricting voting right
through to being a citizen as well. One of the
distinct advantages we have as a country is our permanent
resident visa. There aren't other countries who have something similar
to us. And it is a real attraction. It means
that we can get the best of the best and

(37:29):
foot it against countries like Australia and Canada and the
UK because of that status. And you do have people
who have been here for most of their lives on
a permanent resident visa like yourself who have contributed significantly.
that we're now going to turn around and say, well, sorry,
you can't access a whole lot of things and you
can't vote. And essentially having a second class, you know,

(37:50):
tiered citizenship, you know, you're a citizen or you're a
person that we'd love your contribution, thank you, but you
can't have these benefits. So I think we need to
think really carefully before we start knee-jerking these policies, which
can be, you know, it's all very well to say
them at election time, but we need to think carefully
about them before we go around, you know, promising them.

Speaker 3 (38:11):
Erica, thank you for your time today and up the waz.

Speaker 14 (38:14):
Up the waz, thank you.

Speaker 3 (38:16):
It's 12 after five.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
Andrew Dickens.

Speaker 3 (38:19):
Okay, we've got troubles at a zoo. And the zoo
is a Rana Wildlife Park. And it's been a fixture
for nearly 50 years, but they just can't make the money.
There's a warning it will run out of cash reserves
in about six months. Now, look, they're not alone. MOTAT,
the museum in Auckland, is also desperately needing $ 16 million.
There's something about museums and zoos that they haven't been
making money lately. So I'm joined now by Orana Park's

(38:42):
Trust Board co-chair. It's afternoon to Dr. Ken Hooey. Hello, Ken.

Speaker 5 (38:47):
Yeah, hi, Andrew. Great to be on the show.

Speaker 3 (38:49):
How much do you need?

Speaker 5 (38:51):
In the immediate short term this financial year, around $ 4 million.

Speaker 3 (38:55):
If you don't get it, when do you close?

Speaker 5 (38:57):
We're going to get it, so we're not talking closure.

Speaker 2 (39:00):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (39:03):
How many lions have you got?

Speaker 5 (39:06):
Well, at the moment, we've got three or four lines.
They're getting quite old. We're looking at getting new ones.
And once we've secured this finance for the current financial
year and looking at the model that you've just talked
about going forward, then we will secure new lines.

Speaker 3 (39:21):
OK, but the market is saying we don't care about
your lines. We don't want to come. And they're saying
the same thing to Motet. There seems to be a
move away from this when everything's online. So what is
the problem with zoos? Wellington Zoo has the same problem.
What is the problem about attracting paying customers?

Speaker 5 (39:38):
The funny thing is, Andrew, we can actually attract paying customers.
So our visitation grew in the last financial year substantially.
That's a really good thing. And we see that probably
increasing going forward as we build new attractions and the like.
The difficulty with the model that pretty much all of
the large zoos, and there are other entities like that

(39:59):
as well that you describe, is that they're becoming more
and more expensive to run on. I'll just give you
a couple of quick examples. So in order for us
to sustain our accreditation, and we have to do that
to have the animals... For animal welfare reasons and staff
safety reasons, we've had to add seven new trained animal staff.

(40:21):
We've had to add two new vet nurses. And on
top of that, electricity's gone up, as you know, fuel
prices have gone up. All of these things just keep
going up and they've added to the point where even
though we're increasing visitor numbers, under the current model, we
cannot fund that deficit. So we need to have a
new model. Some of the zoos already have it. Wellington,

(40:42):
Auckland and Hamilton are either part owned or owned or
controlled by their councils. We're standalone. The model just isn't working.

Speaker 12 (40:51):
All right.

Speaker 3 (40:51):
Well, look, I wish you the best of luck. If
somebody wants to donate, have you got a website?

Speaker 5 (40:56):
Yeah, we've got a Rana Park website and we've got
a Give-A-Little website that went open today. And we're looking
for small Give-A-Littles and as big as you like.

Speaker 3 (41:06):
Good stuff.

Speaker 9 (41:07):
Dr.

Speaker 3 (41:07):
Ken Huey from Rana Park Zoo. And I wonder why
we aren't sending more kids from schools to zoos and
to motet and to museums as well as part of
an education. A lot of people are now texting me saying,
don't be so tight. Just play the 641 and become
a citizen. And pay the bloody money. Get the citizenship.
But Jake says, having paid taxes in New Zealand most

(41:29):
of your life, you should be entitled to super. Look,
I have never calculated how much money I've paid in
tax over the last 50 years, ever since my first
paycheck when I paid tax, which was at the age
of 14. I am now 63 years of age. But
I think I've pretty much paid my debts and dues
to this country. And I don't see why I should
be asked for another $ 641. If you're trying to tell

(41:52):
me I'm less New Zealand with my mother's side going
back six generations, well, you tell it to my face
and not anonymously on a text. I am a New Zealander.
And I want my super. And it's 516. Now, on
a serious note, instead of me just thumping the table,
can I just say, because everyone's saying, just pay the

(42:12):
641 bucks, you tight ass. I just don't agree with
the citizenship thing being the qualifier. I believe in the
taxpaying thing. So I can get it that you have
to have been a taxpayer for at least 10 years
before you were allowed to qualify to then go for
the super. And I get that. And that will get
around a lot of their problems. But forcing me, or
more importantly, I'm saying this as an indicator for people

(42:35):
from Holland, from the Netherlands. Because if they get their
citizenship here, they lose their citizenship here. In the Netherlands.
And I put this to Winston Peters today at that debate.
And he said, well, that's not my problem. That's Holland's problem.
Join the club. Be one of us. But, you know,
if you've paid tax for 50 years, surely you are

(42:56):
one of us. OK, we've got firefighters in Auckland today
from the New York City Fire Department. They flew out
to New Zealand to do the Sky Tower walk that
happened today. And the walk is on this day to
commemorate the 343 firefighters who were killed on September the 11th, 2001.
That's 25 years ago today, but really it's tomorrow because

(43:19):
of the time difference. The Auckland Sky Tower, by the way,
1,100 stairs, half of what the New York firefighters had
to climb. One of those firefighters who've come out for
the event is Dave Morkel, who is a retired New
York Fire Department battalion chief. He was at Ground Zero. Dave,
welcome to the program and thank you so much for
your service.

Speaker 16 (43:39):
Oh, thank you very much for having me. It's an
honor to be asked to talk.

Speaker 3 (43:43):
Tell me about the day.

Speaker 16 (43:44):
Oh, it's such a great day. They do such a great,
great job.

Speaker 3 (43:52):
Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave, we've got limited time. I
was actually thinking, I was thinking more about the day
25 years ago.

Speaker 16 (43:59):
Oh, 25 years ago. Thank you very much for clarifying that. Yeah,
it was a tough day.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
It was.

Speaker 16 (44:06):
You know, it was life-changing. It changed how we do things.
It changed our lives. It affected us. You know, we
lost a lot of people, and the fire department was...
You know, you get up in the morning and think
that this is what the day is going to be,
and it changes.

Speaker 6 (44:25):
And....

Speaker 16 (44:26):
It was something we've never experienced before and hopefully never
have to experience again. And it made us realize that
even as big as we are, we can't do it
by ourselves.

Speaker 3 (44:39):
No, of course not. And what was the feeling of
disbelief and shock and horror when you actually came to
the site and actually saw the rubble and realized the
loss of life? I mean, how does that affect a
person on the moment? Do you burst into tears? Do
you feel sick to your stomach?

Speaker 8 (44:53):
What happened?

Speaker 3 (44:54):
Or does the adrenaline take over? And you go, I'm
in there to help my guys who are stuck in there.

Speaker 8 (44:59):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 16 (45:00):
No, it's about adrenaline. It's about, you know, we have
a job to do. We pledge to protect lives and,
you know, protect property, save lives. We just went in
to do our job. As we were traveling down, you
would have some anger. You would be, you know, like,
this is crazy. But as soon as we got there,
it was crazy. Work is on. This is what we

(45:20):
have to do. We have to save as many people
as we can. We have to do everything we can
to get those people out and to move on and
do this job. There's not a fire department in the
world that will pull up to a fire and say, yeah,
this is too big, we've got to go home and
let the fire burn. We will answer the phone and

(45:42):
we will... we'll solve the problem every time.

Speaker 3 (45:45):
It's 25 years ago. Now there are, there are people
there who weren't even born when it happened. And, you know,
always these memories fade a little bit, but is the
real horror and also the real consequences of nine 11
still well alive in America, 25 years later.

Speaker 16 (46:01):
Well, I think that for us, it's, it's not the horror,
it's the memory. It's the, um, the legacy that has
changed the fire department. Um, And it's always a reminder,
you know, on August 31st, if it's a beautiful, clear,
sunny day, it'll be nothing to me. But on September 1st,

(46:21):
when it's a clear, sunny day, my heart rates up,
my blood pressure is a little bit higher. And then
on September 12th, it's like a weight has come off.

Speaker 3 (46:31):
How's your health? Because there's been a lot of stories,
particularly over this past week, about the long-term health effects
of the dust and the damage, and you were right
in there sucking it up. So how's your health?

Speaker 16 (46:42):
Yeah, so far, so good. Some minor stuff, nothing big.
I feel blessed. We've lost 450 to 500 more members
since then through World Trade Center illnesses. It was nasty.
but for me, I'm still good. Mentally and physically, I've

(47:06):
processed a lot of stuff.

Speaker 3 (47:07):
People are saying I was a bit rude putting you
back on track earlier in the interview.

Speaker 16 (47:14):
No, no, I appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (47:18):
How was your day today?

Speaker 16 (47:22):
It was cathartic. It was spiritual. It was a great
remembrance of Um, I've had a couple interviews. I've talked
to different people. In fact, my niece was a reporter
in Texas. She reached out to me. She wanted to
do an interview that brought some tears to my eyes
that she wanted to talk to me. Uh, you know,

(47:44):
and even as you feel those things that make you
well up, um, it's, it's natural, it's normal. And it
makes you realize that yes, you are. Okay.

Speaker 3 (47:56):
Dave, Thank you for coming down. Thank you for your
service 25 years ago. Thank you for joining me on
the program today.

Speaker 1 (48:03):
It's the Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive full show podcast on iHeartRadio,
powered by Newstalk ZB. 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, Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (48:21):
Got another text. More to the point, Andrew. Why haven't
you become a citizen? It's because I'm obviously on my
tight ass. 641 bucks. Actually, that's not it alone. The
fact of the matter is to get your New Zealand
citizenship when you were born in Britain like I was
63 years ago, came out here when I was two.

(48:41):
To do it, I have to go through all the
paperwork and I have to find my original birth certificate.
By the way, photocopies don't count. I have to find
a piece of paper that's 63 years old that I
knew was in a blue expander file, and I have
looked for it multiple times, and I cannot find the
blue expander file, and I cannot find the birth certificate. Therefore,
I have to apply to the UK to get another

(49:01):
birth certificate. You get a post-it out here, and I've
been a taxpayer for 50 years. George Fitzpatrick's next.

Speaker 1 (49:12):
The day's newsmakers talk to Andrew first. Andrew Dickens on
Heather Duplessy-Allen Drive. And One New Zealand awarded New Zealand.
best mobile network. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (49:22):
It ain't like I can make this kind of mess
all by myself.

Speaker 19 (49:27):
Don't act like you ain't helped me pull that bottle.

Speaker 8 (49:30):
Off the shelf.

Speaker 2 (49:33):
Good evening to you.

Speaker 3 (49:34):
I'm Andrew Dickinson for Heather, who's feeling a bit poorly,
but I'm sure she's going to be 100% by Monday.
So here we go. Sunday, 9am. We've got a game
of football, rugby football, and it's a big one too.
And it's, you know, number one and number two. The
All Blacks against the Springboks and it's happening in Baltimore
and there's a full house there, 70,000 people. And the

(49:56):
team was named this morning by Dave Rennie. Richie Maunga
has come back at first five. instead of Ruben Love,
but he says Ruben Love's not done anything wrong, but,
you know, it's Richie. Cody Taylor's come back at hooker,
even though he couldn't even make the 23 for the
last test, but they needed a captain, and he's going
to be the captain. He'll be back doing the hucker
instead of Quintupia. And they're just two big talking points

(50:18):
from the All Blacks lineup for the fourth test. So
let's talk about this. A man from the Front Rower
Club who can tell us about the pack, Sean Fitzpatrick,
joins us this time from London.

Speaker 6 (50:27):
Hello, Sean.

Speaker 9 (50:28):
Hello, Sean.

Speaker 14 (50:29):
Good morning, Andrew.

Speaker 6 (50:31):
Good evening, your time.

Speaker 3 (50:32):
It's good evening. I thought, oh, goodness me, he's back
in London. Because, of course, we got used to seeing
you on the telly and holding the flag and all
that sort of thing. So the junket ran out and
it didn't do the fourth game.

Speaker 6 (50:44):
You're back in London, which is good. And looking forward
to the test on Saturday night in Baltimore. which, you know,
after a fantastic three games in South Africa, which, you know,
could have gone either way, so, you know, it'd be
nice to be able to draw the series, which would
be a lot better feeling.

Speaker 3 (51:04):
Is it a commercial bolt-on or is this a real
game in your eyes?

Speaker 6 (51:07):
Oh, it's definitely a real game, Andrew, but yes, commercially it's,
It's viable, and it's also in terms of 31, 2031,
when the World Cup's going to America, it's helping promote
that for world rugby.

Speaker 3 (51:24):
All right, we got beaten up, it's fair to say.
The South Africans got beaten up too. They made two changes,
but they've pretty much got the same team. But we've
had some wholesale changes with Richie and Cody, and of
course Rico Iwani and Bowden Barrett, both coming back into
the starting 23. So should we be a bit worried
that we've got some newbies up against a very settled
side in South Africa?

Speaker 6 (51:45):
I think Dave Rennie said, you know, in terms of Molanga,
for example, that was planned. Ruben Loves had an outstanding tour.
He's played a lot of rugby. But Molanga gives us
a bit of calmness. Obviously, a huge experience for us.
And the other changes, you know, we're thinking about next

(52:07):
year in Australia in terms of the World Cup. We've
built amazing depth throughout this tour. And this team is
a reflection of that, along with, obviously, the injuries that
caused a number of these changes. But I'm really pleased
for Cody Taylor. He's been a great stalwart of the
All Blacks, a huge experience, and that's what's going to
be needed. As we saw in the three tests, the

(52:29):
experience factor is crucial in those key moments.

Speaker 3 (52:34):
Of course, people who say it's just a commercial bolt
on are not remembering the nation's championship. And this is
points for the nation's championship. And that final will be
held at Trickerton. And that's going to be even more massive,
90,000 people there. I mean, it's going to be absolutely
huge and a financial windfall. So how important is the
nation's championship these days in the thinking of a side?

Speaker 6 (52:55):
Well, what I think this Greatest Rivalry Tour has done, Andrew,
is it's created a meaningful game, a meaningful tour, which
people have just... The way that they have loved what
they've been seeing and the viewing numbers are huge. And
the Nations Championship has done exactly that. Up here in
the summer, for three weeks in a row, three Saturdays,

(53:19):
people were just engrossed in watching the rugby. And now
we're all looking forward to the autumn in November for
those three Saturdays. to see who makes the final at
Twickenham on the final Saturday of November. So just go
back to what I said, meaningful rugby encourages people to
watch it and enjoy it.

Speaker 3 (53:38):
Yeah, absolutely. So you've got to make a pick. Who's
going to win? Would you like to put points on it?
Would you like to put money on it?

Speaker 6 (53:46):
Well, as I said, I'd love to. Those three tests
in South Africa were lost at key moments. The South
Africans definitely got better. I thought they were definitely the
best team at F & B Stadium last week. But
I think what Dave Rennie's done is he's created depth.
They're definitely going in the right direction. And I know
for a fact that they'd rather draw the series than

(54:09):
lose 3-1, which has got a real... Not a great
feel about it, but I'm really pleased with where they're going.
And this team that's playing on Saturday is a quality team.
Let's see Rick Iwani back on the bench, see Brady
Barrett on the bench, you know, so Titi on the bench.
We've got a real impact off the bench, which is

(54:30):
going to be vital.

Speaker 3 (54:31):
Great stuff. Sean, it's been lovely hearing you over the
last month back on the New Zealand Airwaves and your
opinions are very valued. And thank you for taking time
out for us. It must be early in the morning
for you in London. Thank you once again, and have
yourself a great weekend. It is 19 to 6.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
The Friday Sports Huddle with New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty,
a name you can trust locally and globally.

Speaker 3 (54:53):
All right, it's time for the Sports Huddle, and on
the huddle today we've got Andrew Gordy, sports commentator, and
Nathan Lim, sports journalist and podcast host. Gentlemen, good evening.

Speaker 6 (55:10):
Good evening, Chiefs.

Speaker 3 (55:12):
Nathan, have you lost your mind? I understand you've actually
applied for the Netball CEO role. Have you seen the
job description? Have you seen how much work this is?
And why would you want this? It's going to take
your life away.

Speaker 2 (55:25):
Yeah, it popped up on my social media this morning, Andrew,
and it's just open on LinkedIn so anyone can apply.
So I thought, right, stop it. I'm going to have
a pop. So I went through to see what the
application process is like. And it's got a very sort
of stirring job description about bringing netball forward into a
new era and providing a pathway for the young girls

(55:47):
who are growing up playing to know that they can
go through and play professionally in New Zealand and also
about bringing players back from overseas. So that's really, really fantastic.
I did have a little giggle at the job benefits
and perks listed there, which include, quote, fruit box. Three drinks,
I'm hoping they're beers, and care and appreciation.

Speaker 16 (56:09):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (56:10):
So I'm really looking forward to that. But you're also
going to have to negotiate all the broadcast rights. You're
also going to have to negotiate all the contracts for
all the players, all the commercial direction of the entire thing.
Netball New Zealand's never found someone who's good enough at
doing all those things, and yet here you are, Nathan Lim,
thinking you can.

Speaker 9 (56:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (56:30):
Oh, she'll be right, I'll have a plop. Yeah, no,
they definitely need to bring someone in who can manage
all that fluidly. I'm voting for Simon Peterson, who's turned
things around at Rowing New Zealand, he's been with Track
Cycling New Zealand, sort of proven track record of pulling
sports out of crises in sports leadership. So potential candidate.

(56:51):
But yeah, I've thrown my hat in the ring. I've
got AI to pump out a CV.

Speaker 3 (56:56):
Oh, you cheat.

Speaker 2 (56:57):
Which has made me look really professional, even though I've
only worked about two jobs in my life. So there
wasn't much to go on.

Speaker 3 (57:04):
Andrew, exactly right. Andrew, I looked at the job description.
I presume you have as well. Can we find, I mean,
they mentioned Mr. Peterson, but can we really find someone
with all the skills that Ali wants?

Speaker 13 (57:18):
Well, if they're offering free drinks, I mean, the world's
their oyster, isn't it? But look, if there's one thing
I can say about Nathan, he's very, very passionate about netball.

Speaker 2 (57:26):
That counts for a lot.

Speaker 13 (57:28):
And look, I can't speak to his ability to close
commercial or broadcast deals, but if there's one thing that
a netball administration needs in this country, it's someone with
a strong social media game who can do great floating
head TikToks. So I think Nathan is probably the man.

Speaker 4 (57:43):
For the job, wouldn't you agree?

Speaker 3 (57:44):
Okay. Okay, that's enough. I'm going to put him on pause.
And I'm going to put him on pause and we're
going to come back after the break and we're going
to talk really real stuff rather than this Walter Mitty
fantasy of Nathan Lim. We're going to talk about Richie Molanga.
We're going to talk about the All Blacks and we're
going to talk about Steve Hansen. We're going to talk
about the Warriors and all sorts.

Speaker 1 (58:03):
The Friday Sports Huddle with New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty.
The only truly global brand.

Speaker 3 (58:10):
All right, John, the huddle today, Andrew Gordy and also
Nathan Lim, dreamer. And let's get on to the big story,
and that is the rugby, 9 a.m. our time Sunday morning,
All Blacks versus Springboks out of Baltimore. And the first
thing I want to talk about is their captain, Cody Andrew,
who couldn't even make the starting 23. I got a
text already through from Bill who reckons that Cody is

(58:34):
off form and too small for the Africans, and so
are our props. Has Cody only been brought back for
his captaincy and not for the fact that he's the
best player for the job?

Speaker 13 (58:44):
Yeah, I'm not going to speak ill of Cody Taylor
because he's been a fantastic servant of the Crusaders and
All Blacks rugby for a very, very long time. And
he's still an excellent player. Having said that, I do
have a bit of an issue with a player being
named as captain of the All Blacks. if they are
not commanding a starting position in the first 15. I

(59:05):
personally would have probably preferred to see the captaincy for
this game go to someone like Geordie Barrett. Again, have
to stress, nothing against Cody, but it doesn't sit right
with me. The captaincy of the All Blacks should sit
with someone who commands their position.

Speaker 3 (59:17):
Like who?

Speaker 16 (59:19):
Geordie Barrett.

Speaker 3 (59:21):
Nathan, what do you reckon about Cody?

Speaker 2 (59:23):
No, I'm quite happy with Cody Taylor being The skipper
for this test, I think, you know, it doesn't take
much to see the kind of mana that he commands
within the group, you know, leading the haka and obviously
being around for well over 100 tests, you know. And
there has been a little bit of criticism about the
number of changes, particularly in the forward pack. You know,

(59:45):
I think it was five personnel changes total. And when
you are struggling to get parity with the South African
set piece, Are those changes going to help? I actually
don't have a problem with them purely because of the
players they bring back in. As I said, Taylor over
100 tests. Ethan De Groot coming back from concussion, and
he would have been the starting prop if not for that.
Ethan Blackadder at seven who played the house down against

(01:00:06):
the Lions. I would have loved to see him in
the third test. Now we're going to get an opportunity
for that. And Peter Larkai, who's been great at eight.
So I actually don't have a problem with too many
of these changes. Rico Ioane coming onto the bench, particularly
excited to see as well. So no, I'm quite happy
with the sides.

Speaker 3 (01:00:22):
Okay, okay. Well, here's another one. Sean Fitzpatrick, by the way,
supported Cody. He thought that was a good thing, but
Goose reckons that Sean's gone soft in the head, and
he said that Barrett and Iwani are a couple of
has-beens that give no impact of any sort, and they're
only holding out better players, and then Goose goes all in, mates.
He says this is the weakest 23 Rennie has poorly named, Nathan.

Speaker 14 (01:00:45):
Goose.

Speaker 4 (01:00:46):
Goose.

Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
Who's Goose?

Speaker 3 (01:00:48):
Goose is Goose, mate. Goose is the audience. What do
you say to Goose?

Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Goose, mate.

Speaker 2 (01:00:52):
Goose is a loser. What's Goose got going on? I
don't understand. Where does that come from? No, I'm not
having any of that. We're not giving that oxygen.

Speaker 3 (01:01:01):
All right, what do you reckon, Andrew?

Speaker 13 (01:01:04):
Look, I think Goose has come in pretty hot there
on a Friday afternoon, and so maybe just might want
to cuddle off for a second. One thing I probably
would say, though, is I do think it's a really
important game for Boat and Barris. That might be stating
the obvious, given that, you know, for example, Richie Mwanga
is back.

Speaker 2 (01:01:19):
Ruben Love has been playing.

Speaker 13 (01:01:22):
Damian McKenzie brings sort of the same utility value really
as Bowdoin Barrett. And we've certainly been given the impression
that he is somewhat on the outer. So it feels
like when he gets his opportunity in Baltimore this weekend,
I feel like it's a big opportunity for him to
really just remind everyone what his experience in particular can

(01:01:43):
bring in important moments against important teams.

Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
All right, Nathan, Warriors, what do you reckon? Yeah, nervous.

Speaker 9 (01:01:51):
I'm nervous.

Speaker 2 (01:01:52):
I'm quietly confident, but nervous purely because the Dolphins and
the Warriors have played it one another eight times. They've
won four each. The two games they played this year
were both decided by two points. They have alternated winners
over the last... Eight games, neither side has managed to
win two in a row. And they are absolutely devastating
down the edges, which is where the Warriors have had

(01:02:14):
defensive deficiencies over the last few weeks. So they really
do need to tighten up on those areas. I think
the game is going to be one. by possession and
penalty count. I don't think territory will play as much
of a role just because the Dolphins can strike from anywhere.
But if the Warriors win the middle, James Sturgeon-Harris, Wade Egan,
Dimitri Waimonga, punching holes up the middle, just keeping that
Dolphins defence on the back foot, that's going to lay

(01:02:35):
the platform for Tamati Martin, Chanel Harris to beat up
the rain bombs down on the Dolphins 20, and the
Warriors can get up and compete in the end.

Speaker 3 (01:02:41):
Nathan, why are you playing for netball CEO? You should
be going for rugby league CEO. That was a very
good answer. Andrew Gordy, how are you feeling about the Warriors?

Speaker 2 (01:02:50):
I'm feeling confident, to be honest.

Speaker 13 (01:02:52):
I've just got a real feeling about this weekend because...
The Dolphins are one of the teams that no one
wants to play in this final series. And everything that
Nathan has just said is absolutely bang on. But I
just have a feeling that the Warriors are going to
make the most of the crowd that is obviously going
to be on their side at Mount Smart Stadium this weekend.

(01:03:13):
They have a number of players returning. I think this
side is looking brilliant. And I feel like this is
a real opportunity to lay an important marker there. as
they begin this final series for what hopefully lies ahead.
So now I'm picking them to win.

Speaker 3 (01:03:26):
I like you, Andrew. You should apply for netball CEO.
You're quite good. Andrew Gordy, Nathan Lim, I thank you
for your time.

Speaker 1 (01:03:32):
Goose is not happy with Nathan Lim. He said, who's
that loser calling me a loser?

Speaker 3 (01:03:47):
Goose, if you give me an email after the show,
I might send you Nathan Lim's phone number and you
guys can become best friends. However, Goose, bad news. Someone says, Dickens,
Goose is spot on. Bodie Barrett, it's time to go
for Bodie. He's well past his use-by date. What did

(01:04:07):
I call him last night? The world's most expensive water boy.
But he's got a big smile on his face and
he's got something to prove and apparently he's training up great. So,
go goose, says Dean. So, there we go. You know
what I woke up to this morning? The news that
Seleni Vineyards and the winery is about to rip up
their vines and lay off their people. And I thought,

(01:04:29):
here's another blow for the east of New Zealand. I mean,
so many vines have been ripped up. And I always
thought that viticulture was, you know, the future. That here
we go. There were so many people wanting wine. And
we made such... good wine, that this was something to
really invest in. But all of a sudden, it's hit
a bit of a roadblock. And I understand it's because
the whole world is not drinking as much wine as

(01:04:49):
it used to. It's not drinking as much alcohol as
it used to. And all of a sudden, it's a problem.
But the first thing I thought of was that region,
because the whole regions, and I'm talking Hawke's Bay and Gisborne,
those regions are being hit. They're being pummeled right now.
Waddy's and McCain's, In Gisborne, I mean, these are businesses

(01:05:09):
that those places were absolutely dependent on. They were their
rock solid. They were their dairy farming. And they were
so very, very important to their carrying on. And I
was worried about it. So I'm very happy to come
into work today and find that I'm going to be
talking to Wendy Scullum. Now, Wendy is the Hastings mayor.
And we're going to talk about what's happening to Selenium.
But even more so, what's going to happen to the

(01:05:31):
Hawke's Bay region? What's going to happen to the Gisborne
region as well with all these players pulling out? Are
these industries we can support? Should the government be involved?
And or is it time to diversify? I think it's
quite a moment in New Zealand's history. And it's happening
right now. Wendy is right after the news at six.
Barry Soper reviews a political week and a whole heap more.

(01:05:53):
But news and sport is next here on Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 22 (01:06:04):
Come on, baby.

Speaker 1 (01:06:28):
Where business meets insight. The Business Hour with Andrew Dickens
and Maz Insurance and Investments. Your futures in good hands.

Speaker 9 (01:06:38):
News Talk ZB. Evening to you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:41):
On the way, we're talking to Barry Silver about the
week in politics, including some pretty amazing comments about tax
by Willie Jackson. Later, some show business news. We're going
to go to Asia as well. Gavin Gray out of
the UK.

Speaker 10 (01:06:54):
But first.

Speaker 3 (01:06:54):
A winery that's been a very stunning part of the
Hawke's Bay landscape for almost three decades is closing. This
is Seleni. Started by Sir Ian Avery back in the day.
Their owner, Booster Wine Group, is keeping the brand, but
they're moving Seleni to, sorry, Graham Avery, not Ian Avery.
Ian Avery was from the Commonwealth Games. You're quite right.

(01:07:15):
So anyway, they're keeping the brand, but they're moving its
winemaking operations to Marlborough and Tasman. This is a real
blow for the region. Hastings Mayor Wendy Sholem joins me now. Hello, Wendy.

Speaker 23 (01:07:26):
Hi, how are you going?

Speaker 3 (01:07:27):
Good. What the hell happened?

Speaker 23 (01:07:30):
Well, first of all, greetings from one of only 12
official great wine capitals in the world, and we are
mourning the loss of an amazing winery here. As you say,
after almost 30 years, it is incredibly disappointing for Hawke's Bay,
and particularly all those who are going to be affected
in terms of direct job losses, but also that ripple

(01:07:50):
effect through our economy.

Speaker 3 (01:07:52):
Yeah, well, they're not the first. This is what I'm
so concerned about. Viticulture has been hit and there are
grapes going out all over New Zealand right now. So
how is this industry being impacted?

Speaker 23 (01:08:02):
We're seeing huge global pressures, as you've identified. But here
in Hawke's Bay as well, what we're seeing is a
really uncomfortable sequence of losses in terms of value-add productive capability.
And that's the thing that we're really focused on at
the moment. As you identified earlier, we've had a pattern
forming here where we've had the Watties frozen food line

(01:08:25):
closed earlier in the year, McCain's has announced their closure,
and now we're seeing these impacts in the wine industry. Now,
they've got different pressures, and they are very different businesses,
so I don't want to pretend there's one simple cause,
but they do have something really important in common, which
is basically Hawke's Bay grows extraordinary produce, and in each

(01:08:48):
case we're seeing pressure on the ability to process it
an add value add here. And so for us, it
really reinforces a huge amount of work that myself and
Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Will Foley have been doing and
pushing since the McCain closure. Because McCain's was never about
just one factory, it exposed much bigger questions about the

(01:09:10):
future of processing, manufacturing and value-add production in Hawke's Bay and,
in fact, New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (01:09:16):
So is this food industry able to be saved or
is it a dead duck? And therefore, because this is
impacting your entire region and employment, therefore, do you need
to diversify into new areas? And therefore, has the government
deigned to be involved with this?

Speaker 23 (01:09:36):
Yeah, look, you're highlighting really important points there, which is,
of course, business always needs to look at diversification, needs
to respond to market demand. And we're seeing, particularly in
the wine industry, some clear signals around demand and oversupply.
But in terms of the wider issue of, as I said,
that processing, manufacturing and value add, what we're seeing is

(01:09:57):
there is absolutely a way of recovering this. And we've
been working really hard alongside growers that have already been affected,
even outside of the wine industry, because it is critical
that we do things now so that the equipment, skills,
the supply chains that could potentially leave the region, all
of that are incredibly difficult to get back later. And

(01:10:20):
so that's why our work following McCain's closure announcement has
been much wider and with government about what it's going
to take to keep producing, processing and value add here.

Speaker 3 (01:10:32):
Well, here's the thing. You're identifying the problem and we
all want the solution. So what will it take? What
can you do?

Speaker 23 (01:10:39):
Well, here's the thing, particularly with the McCain situation, we've
got growers who have got ideas. What they're looking for
is support, not financial support to save them. That's not
what we're asking. Government should never save an individual company.
What we're asking is recognition of the pattern and working

(01:11:00):
with regions and growers who are prepared to invest capital
in before that productive capability disappears. So they are in
the industry. They are understanding the pressures. They see where
diversification can be in place. What we're asking for is
government to work alongside and help bring that together. We
should be enablers in this.

Speaker 3 (01:11:20):
Yeah, but then people start saying, well, there's a bit
of corporate welfare happening right there. You've got to stand
on your own two feet according to market pressures.

Speaker 23 (01:11:27):
And that's definitely why the growers and us are not
asking that this go into individual companies. This is about
understanding the whole sector. How do we save a major
employment sector? And it's not just in Hawke's Bay. As
you've identified, we're seeing it in Gisborne, but we're actually
seeing these processing and manufacturing pressures across the country. This

(01:11:49):
is not something we can ignore. There is a very
real pattern that's surfacing.

Speaker 3 (01:11:55):
Well said. Now, look, last time I was in Napier,
I hired a bicycle. I rode down the coast and
I went down towards Black Barn and all the all
the Oceanside vineyards. And I had a lovely day. Please
tell me I can still do a wine trail.

Speaker 14 (01:12:08):
You absolutely can.

Speaker 23 (01:12:09):
And I think that's the thing that's really important to
hit home here too. There are very real pressures in
the regions like Hawke's Bay right now, but we've actually
got some amazing businesses that are growing and continuing to invest.
So it's certainly not all doom and gloom. But again,
the message keeps being here. We need to keep looking
at these patterns that are emerging and fight to retain

(01:12:30):
the capability, skills and businesses that that turn what we grow,
because great things grow here, into highly productive products and
the jobs that come with them.

Speaker 3 (01:12:40):
Good to hear your passion. Support the people. And I
thank you very much for your time today. That's Wendy Sholem,
who is the mayor of Hastings. I tell you what,
that whole area, if Napier Beach was actually sandy, there
would be nowhere better in the entire world. The wine
is impeccable. The people are wonderful. I love it. 614.

(01:13:01):
All right, it's time to look at the numbers for today.
And the NZX-50 to end the week is down 0.95% today.
Don't look at your shares these in the weekend. It
might depress you. ASX-50, that's also down 0.67%. A barrel
of Brent crude costs $ 100 US. That is up from yesterday.

(01:13:22):
One New Zealand dollar is worth 58 US cents. Combine
the price of oil with the decreasing value of the
New Zealand dollar, and we've got some hurt coming our way,
you've got to say. One New Zealand dollar is now
worth 81 Australian cents, 50 Euro cents, 43 UK pence,
and 89 yen. And Barry Soper is still here and
not looking after his sick wife. But we'll talk politics next.

Speaker 9 (01:13:46):
All right.

Speaker 3 (01:13:47):
We all have those days where you end up extraordinarily busy,
you get a late call to come and do a
drive-time show, your energy's low, and the absolute last thing
you want to do is go home and cook a meal.
This is where Woolworths comes in with some fantastic dinner
solutions to take the pressure off your evening. If you're
cooking for one, their 350-gram ready meals are a game changer.

(01:14:08):
They've got rich restaurant-style flavors like butter chicken, authentic Thai
green curry, creamy macaroni cheese. They're brilliant to keep in
the fridge for those nights when you just want something
fast and delicious without the mess. You can also get
three for $ 20. How about that? If you're feeding a
bigger household, you can't go past Woolworths Family Lasagna. It's
a total crowd pleaser. Super tasty and makes dinner so easy.

(01:14:31):
And then to make things even smoother, you can use
the Woolworths 60-Minute Express Pickup. You just put your order online,
pop by your local store on your way home, and
you're sorted. Good idea. Might have to do that to
make your next dinner easy. Head to Woolworths today.

Speaker 1 (01:14:45):
Andrew Dickens.

Speaker 3 (01:14:46):
Time to look at the week in politics, and Barry
Soper is with us. G'day, Barry.

Speaker 11 (01:14:50):
Hello again, Andrew.

Speaker 3 (01:14:51):
All right, they're all talking about tax all of a sudden.
I was at a political meeting today. They were all
talking about tax. Everyone's talking about tax. Well, I'll tell
you what.

Speaker 11 (01:14:59):
This morning started off with Willie Jackson on the Herald
Now talking about tax with Paul Goldsmith. Now, that was
with poor old Brian Bridge, of course, over the party's
promise to introduce a capital gains tax. Have a listen
to the stoush.

Speaker 5 (01:15:14):
He's a senior person.

Speaker 24 (01:15:16):
He doesn't know what their policies are.

Speaker 3 (01:15:17):
They've only got one policy.

Speaker 4 (01:15:19):
He doesn't know what it is. It's a capital gains policy.
They are lying.

Speaker 3 (01:15:23):
They're saying you're going to get taxed here, taxed there.

Speaker 4 (01:15:25):
Load of rubbish.

Speaker 3 (01:15:26):
I'll go and jump in the lake, Gord. Don't forget,
half the capital gains is inflation. So you're getting taxed
on inflation. That is true.

Speaker 5 (01:15:32):
No one cares, you know.

Speaker 4 (01:15:34):
Check the polls. You're just a storyteller, Gordie.

Speaker 1 (01:15:36):
You're lying.

Speaker 2 (01:15:37):
We're going to put out a bill.

Speaker 3 (01:15:38):
Our billboards will be liars, liars, liars.

Speaker 4 (01:15:41):
Okay.

Speaker 11 (01:15:42):
I'll tell you what. Chris Hipkins this afternoon, he was
out and about, and he was asked about the Stoush.
He was none too happy with the performance of Willie
because Willie, a bit like that Ginny Anderson was wrong
making a claim about a certain thing on radio, on
Newstalk ZB, making a claim and getting it wrong. That's

(01:16:05):
all Willie.

Speaker 3 (01:16:05):
Yeah, well.

Speaker 11 (01:16:07):
Didn't know the– Capital gains takes policy enough.

Speaker 3 (01:16:10):
Yeah, OK. Well, look, I used to work with Willie,
and he's a nice enough bloke, but watching him on
the political stumps, he's far too casual for that sort
of job, if you know what I mean. OK, the
Greens still want to nationalise our supermarkets, even though we
don't have $ 2. 8 billion to do it.

Speaker 16 (01:16:26):
Exactly.

Speaker 11 (01:16:26):
It's incredible, isn't it? Some of the policies that are
coming out, and you'll see plenty more wacky policies like this,
I would believe, between now and November the 7th. But
this one, 120 supermarkets... The government's going to buy the
lot and then they're going to set up a Kiwi
Mart and the government will be in charge of the prices.
You remember there was a maximum retail price under Rob

(01:16:51):
Muldoon who carried it on from the Kirk government to
try and control prices. Governments can't do it.

Speaker 3 (01:16:58):
Well, not only that, she says the government will not
actually physically control the price, but because there's extra competition,
they will magically fall down. It's very much like trickle down.
Her ideology is.

Speaker 1 (01:17:09):
All over the place.

Speaker 3 (01:17:09):
Well, why the hell would you buy all the supermarkets, honestly? Well,
that is a very good question, Barry. Very good question.
You're quite good at this job. ACT would like to
see the end of the Waitangi Tribunal once all the
settlements are done.

Speaker 9 (01:17:19):
Well, yet again.

Speaker 11 (01:17:20):
So here's another statement. And look, it's a very popular thing.
I think a lot of people would say, Look, this
was set up in 1975 by old Matthew Rata. You'll
probably remember it, Andrew, although you would have been at
school in those days. But it was set up basically
as a commission that could make recommendations. Now, of course,

(01:17:42):
you've got the Māori Party wanting it to be binding
all the decisions made. by the Otangi Tribunal, absolutely ridiculous. Essentially,
it was set up to give advice on claims. Now,
all the claims, with the exception of Ngapuhi, have not
really been settled. So, you know, it's a never-never project.

(01:18:05):
If you're going to wait for claims to be settled
in 100 years' time, like Newstalk ZB said, you'll still
have the Waitangi Tribunal there.

Speaker 3 (01:18:13):
I just don't ever want their decisions to be binding.
And it's as simple as that. They cannot be binding.
They're a quasi-judicial think tank and their advice is advice only.
That's exactly what it is. We've got a courier poll.
Puts the coalition as the winners on the 7th.

Speaker 11 (01:18:30):
Yes, and I think certainly the National Party would be
quite happy with it.

Speaker 3 (01:18:35):
But again, it's not overwhelming.

Speaker 9 (01:18:38):
Essentially.

Speaker 11 (01:18:39):
The current coalition parties would have 64 seats between them.
That was up three on last month. And the other lot,
the Greens to party. Māori and the Opportunity, if they
do make it across that 5%, they'd have 56 seats.

Speaker 3 (01:18:55):
So my belief.

Speaker 11 (01:18:57):
Is always that the coalition will go back into office.

Speaker 3 (01:19:01):
Curio poll, who cares?

Speaker 11 (01:19:02):
I mean, There are so many polls.

Speaker 3 (01:19:04):
Coming out now. Can we have a poll on, can
we stop polls? Because I think there will be a 90%
of it, don't you? You are poll-axed, aren't you? We
are poll-axed, exactly right. Meanwhile, don't say nepotism, Winston Peters
appoints a staff member as ambassador to Sweden. This sounds
like a Monty Python sketch.

Speaker 11 (01:19:21):
Well, it's incredible. No, this from a man.

Speaker 3 (01:19:23):
Now, dear old Winston, we.

Speaker 11 (01:19:25):
All love him. You don't always like what he does.
But he always said that, look, it should only be
career diplomats that fill ambassadors' jobs overseas. Well, John Johansson
has been working with Winston Peters for about a decade.
He came from Victoria University.

Speaker 4 (01:19:44):
He was a lecturer there.

Speaker 11 (01:19:46):
And lo and behold, his father, now this is the credentials,
of course, his father came from Denmark in 1948. So
he's going to become the ambassador to Sweden. I'll tell
you what, that'd be a great job if you could
get it.

Speaker 3 (01:20:01):
It would be a great job as long as you
like roll mops.

Speaker 11 (01:20:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:20:04):
But I'm not sure whether the Danes are marvellous great
friends with the Swedish.

Speaker 6 (01:20:07):
No.

Speaker 3 (01:20:08):
There we go.

Speaker 4 (01:20:08):
Not always, no.

Speaker 3 (01:20:09):
Barry Soper, enjoy your weekend, and I thank you so
much for your time today. Nice to talk to you, Andrew.
It is 6.23. Hey, here comes the weekend. If you're
not watching sport, and I don't blame you, you might
want to stream some stuff. I've got some stuff on
What Is Streaming. that you might want to note down.
Get the pen and paper ready.

Speaker 1 (01:20:27):
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. Newstalk ZB. There's

(01:20:48):
no business like show business.

Speaker 3 (01:20:51):
It's Friday, so what is streaming? Well, 28 Years Later,
The Bone Temple is now on Neon for free. They
have had it there. You could rent it. It's a
very good film. I have to say I've seen it. Now,
can I give you a piece of advice about this?
I watched 28 Years Later, The Bone Temple, and then
I watched 28 Years Later. I got that wrong. You

(01:21:12):
should do it the other way around. And when I
finally saw 28 Years Later, I finally understood more about
28 Years Later, The Bone Temple. These are the zombie
movies created by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, right? So
the original 28 Years Later is also on Neon. So
watch that one first, then watch The Bone Temple, and
I can tell you there's a magnificent performance by Ralph Fiennes.

(01:21:33):
And he's covered in iodine, and he's completely orange, and
quite often nude. But it's well worth seeing. Now, Neon
also has a new documentary on the 9-11 terrorist attacks
to commemorate the 25th anniversary. to acknowledge the 25th anniversary.
I don't know, is commemorate too positive? It's a terrible thing.
Someone's telling me to watch, what was it, Fahrenheit 9-11. No,

(01:21:57):
thank you. Frankly, I know why you want me to
watch that. Apple TV's got a brand new thriller from
Australia called Last Scene. Features the guy who was in
Colin from Accounts. Apparently he's just as good in Last
Scene as well. In fact, they're saying it's a really,
really good series. It's going off on Apple. Robin Malcolm
has a new docu-series on TVNZ Plus and it's all
about her menopause. The spin-off of The Office is back

(01:22:22):
for season two on TVNZ +. The big one in
the cinemas this week is Practical Magic 2. Yes, Nicole
Kidman and Sandra Bullock are both returning to star. The
first one was 25 years ago. Some critics are saying
the second one is a bit of a stinker, but
if you like practical magic, this is there. Oh, the
new Oasis documentary, Don't Look Back in Anger, documenting them

(01:22:45):
returning to the stages, is into theatres, and in about
a month's time, it will be being streamed. Not much
albums at the moment. Guess what? There's a woman called Adela.
Not Adele, but Adela. She's got a new song called
Nicole Kidman. She will be going to see Practical Magic 2.

Speaker 9 (01:23:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:23:04):
And Pharrell Williams has teamed with John Legend once again
for a new song called Daylight, and this is what
we're playing. That's what's happening this weekend.

Speaker 6 (01:23:11):
Morning, I'll be here.

Speaker 22 (01:23:13):
Morning, she'll be here.

Speaker 4 (01:23:16):
Morning, I'll be here.

Speaker 1 (01:23:20):
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 futures in good hands.

Speaker 9 (01:23:31):
News Talk ZB.

Speaker 3 (01:23:40):
Welcome on in to the program. I'm Andrew Dickens, filling
in for Heather. I've also filled in for Ryan this week.
I've also filled in for Darcy this week. Yes, I've
been all over the show. And on Wednesday, I filled
in for Heather. And we interviewed at four o'clock the
Labour spokesperson on their policy on AI and also their
policy on data centres and also their policy on forestification,

(01:24:01):
which people put for ETS credits. And I read out
a text that came in afterwards, which said that IKEA
is the owner of 43,000 hectares of forest in New Zealand,
the biggest single owner of forests. And they do it
for the ETS credits. Now, IKEA has taken a little
bit of umbrage at that and has asked for a clarification.

(01:24:21):
And in the interest of balance, I'm more than happy
to give this. They do their investments through a thing
called Inca Investments. They've been investing in forests since 2021.
They say for the purpose of responsible production forestry. They
confirm they own 43,000 hectares of forest land in New Zealand,
but they say that's a small share. of the total forest. Well,

(01:24:42):
that's true because look at some of those massive ones
that the land corps got in the middle of the
North Island. But there we go, still 43,000 hectares. They
say their investments are made without commercial consideration for carbon credits.
They want timber returns, not carbon returns. However, some of
their properties are registered in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme,
but others are not. And they do participate in the ETS,

(01:25:06):
not the full 43,000 hectares. because it provides a government-verified
measure of carbon sequestered by forests, and because land value
in New Zealand is closely tied to carbon, but they
want me to say that they do not purchase or
plant forests to participate in carbon farming to generate and
sell carbon credits from our forest land. But they do

(01:25:27):
own 43,000 hectares of forest. It is 21 minutes to 7.
We're off to Asia, and Peter Lewis joins us.

Speaker 4 (01:25:34):
Hello, Peter.

Speaker 24 (01:25:36):
Good evening, Andrew.

Speaker 3 (01:25:37):
So China's pumped a massive $ 53 billion into banks and insurers. Now,
why have they done that?

Speaker 24 (01:25:43):
Yeah, it's a lot, isn't it? And in fact, it's
the second time now in a couple of years that
they've done this because they also pumped money into them
last year as well. And this time, it's been widened.
Not only is it more money, it's not just banks.
It's going to insurance companies. It's also going to policy
lenders like the Export-Import Bank of China. A couple of

(01:26:05):
reasons why they're doing this, because at first sight, you
would think, well, this is a little bit alarming, isn't it?
Why do you need to keep on recapitalizing your banks?
The first reason is that people in China just don't
want to borrow. The economy is not particularly strong. The
unemployment rates, particularly the youth unemployment rate, is very high,
close to 18%. GDP is well below target there. at

(01:26:31):
the moment. And the banks just can't find people to
lend money to. And those that do want to borrow,
you probably don't want to lend to anyway. So they
can't find enough profitable lenders. And that's reflected in what's
known as their net interest margin, which is really a
measure of banks' profitability. It's just 1.4%. That is very,

(01:26:53):
very low by international standards for banks. And it just
reflects the fact that Interest rates in China are very low.
The loan prime rate is, in fact, at a record
low at the moment. And they just can't make money.
You really need higher interest rates than that, the 1.7%

(01:27:14):
that maybe you can get in China for banks to
be able to make money. And they're also saddled with
a lot of bad debt from the property crisis. That's
been going on now. We're into the fifth year now
of sliding property prices with no sign of an end
to that either. So in some ways, you can say, well,
it's good that these banks are supported by the government.

(01:27:35):
I mean, at the end of the day, they're state-owned
banks anyway, so nothing bad is going to happen to them.
But it's a rather poor reflection of the state of
the economy and the Chinese financial system.

Speaker 5 (01:27:47):
Yes, it is.

Speaker 3 (01:27:47):
But at the same time, we still get figures out
from China saying that things are booming and they're doing
well despite the tariffs. They seem to be winning that
sort of battle. And And we get all those positive
factors come out of the place. But it's a funny
old economy, China, isn't it?

Speaker 24 (01:28:01):
It is indeed. And it's firing on just one cylinder.
And that is exports. Exports are doing very well. no
doubt about it, partly because of the AI boom around
the world. But China is really running a trade surplus
now with almost every major country in the world and
almost across every single sector as well. But you can't

(01:28:25):
just rely on exports and it's causing a lot of
political problems because it's wiping out industries in other countries.

Speaker 14 (01:28:33):
Around the world.

Speaker 24 (01:28:33):
So there are real problems to try to rely on
just exports for your growth.

Speaker 3 (01:28:38):
Yeah, and if you've got 1.4 billion people, then your
domestic economy is actually very, very important and quite influential.
So there we go. Now, let's talk about Singapore. Singapore
is fascinating. The benign dictatorship that is Singapore, though, they've
moved on since Lee Kuan Yew has gone. And they've
got their CEO of the place, the prime minister, really.
He's really a CEO. That's the way they set it up.

(01:29:01):
He has just got a $ 1 million pay rise to
make him, that's the highest salary for any head of
government worldwide. How is it justified?

Speaker 24 (01:29:11):
Well, I'll tell you how they're justified. I mean, his
pay right now is going to be $ 2. 8 million US
dollars after his pay rise. And as you say, that
makes him the highest leader in the world. If you
compare him to US President Donald.

Speaker 8 (01:29:27):
Trump, he earns.

Speaker 9 (01:29:28):
$ 400, 000 a year in salary. If you take Christopher Luxon,
your prime minister, he has an annual pay, the equivalent
in US dollars of about just over $ 300, 000. So you
should be feeling sorry for him. He's quite poor in comparison.

Speaker 24 (01:29:46):
The reason why Singapore does this, and it does it
quite deliberately, is it says, first of all, the ministers
in the government and the prime minister are running a country.
we need to find the best possible people we can
to be able to do that. And we need to
be able to compete with the private sector, with industry,

(01:30:07):
to be able to find those people and keep them
in the political sphere. Secondly, they say that we also
don't want our government ministers to be tempted to by
kickbacks and handouts and bribes and so on. We want
to have a government that isn't corrupt. And the best

(01:30:28):
way of doing that is to pay them well so
that they aren't tempted by other things outside of their jobs.
They're not tempted to take bribes, fiddle expenses and the likes. Now,
the evidence does suggest that that is true to a
certain extent because Singapore's governments over the years are not

(01:30:49):
particularly known for corruption. They do tend to be relatively
clean compared to what we hear about in other countries.
So there is some truth in that. And the people
that they do have running the government, I mean, Lawrence Wong,
for example, he was previously the finance minister, is very
highly respected and regarded. So they do get good quality people.

(01:31:12):
And in general, Singapore is a well-run country. Its economy
is on track. It's doing very well. It seems to
navigate its way through all these global headwinds, particularly sort
of well, particularly in the Trump era. So there is
some truth in what they say and the reasons behind
why they do this.

Speaker 3 (01:31:32):
Absolutely. And I'm trying to get Peter Lewis from Asia.
I think he's heard very, very much indeed. I mean,
you cannot argue with the success out of Singapore. And
that's under the leadership of their prime ministers. They're basically
their public servants. And then you compare that to New Zealand,
where our public servants are vilified for being useless and
their pay is thought to be far too high. But

(01:31:53):
it reminds you that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
And in Singapore, they do not pay peanuts. And they
get very smart people running their country. And look at
the results. It is a quarter to seven. It's Newstalk ZB. Now,
the other day I heard a statistic out of New Zealand.
In the year to the end of the 31st of March, 2026,

(01:32:15):
486 people had an assisted death in New Zealand. What
a successful policy championed by ACT, obviously.

Speaker 4 (01:32:25):
486 people.

Speaker 3 (01:32:26):
Meanwhile, in the U.K., assisted dying doesn't exist and they're
still having those debates that we used to have. And
with more on that, we've got Gavin Gray out of
the UK next.

Speaker 1 (01:32:47):
Everything from SMEs to the big corporates. The Business Hour
with Andrew Dickens and Maz Insurance and Investments. Your futures
in good hands. News Talk ZB.

Speaker 3 (01:32:58):
Gavin Gray out of the UK.

Speaker 1 (01:33:00):
Hello.

Speaker 9 (01:33:00):
Hi there, Andrew.

Speaker 3 (01:33:02):
I just mentioned the fact that in New Zealand to
the year to the end of March, we had 486
people choose assisted dying in this country. And I also
mentioned the fact that in your country, you still don't
have that ability to make that choice, but it's getting closer.

Speaker 22 (01:33:18):
Potentially getting closer. All sorts of things could get in
the way. But later today, there will be a vote
by MPs on the legalisation of assisted dying in England
and Wales. The bill will allow adults with fewer than
six months to live to apply to be given to
help to end their own life, subject to quite a
lot of safeguards. Now, the last effort to change the

(01:33:39):
law was supported by MPs, but then when it got
to the House of Lords, it was stalled, critics say deliberately,
with more than 1,200 amendments. In other words, they kept
discussing amendments. It ran out of time. Now, the MP
really is saying, look, we want to send the same
law back to the House of Lords so they can
finish what they started. But interestingly, if the same bit

(01:34:00):
of legislation, word for word, in two successive parliamentary sessions
goes to the Lords, the Lords cannot halt its progress
for a second time. And that's what the MP behind
this is hoping. It comes, incidentally, as the veteran broadcaster
Dame Esther Ransom, a very high profile campaigner for assisted
dying and with terminal cancer herself, said she's now too

(01:34:21):
frail to travel to an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland. saying,
everything I didn't want to happen, I'm having to go
through now. And that is a very, very prominent statement
in this debate.

Speaker 3 (01:34:31):
Well, we went through all of this as well, and
then it's happened, and now we don't bat an eyelid, really.
It's part of it all. It's a difficult process to
get to, but whatever. We'll see how we go there. Meanwhile,
in New Zealand, here's another thing comparing UK and New Zealand.
In New Zealand, we've just had an international visitor levy
banged on to overseas visitors. Some people wanted a bed tax,

(01:34:54):
which is whenever you hire a bed in a hotel
or whatever, you pay a tax. Where are you at
on that sort of issue in the UK?

Speaker 22 (01:35:02):
Well, the mayors, which, of course, have come back into
force under the last couple of governments, mayors, regional mayors,
are now being allowed to cap what's being dubbed a
tourist tax. And that will be a percentage on the
cost of hotels or bed and breakfasts. and other types
of accommodation. Watch this space to see if Booking.com and
other booking giants are included as well. So what they're

(01:35:26):
saying is, look, it could be up to about 5%,
but it's being left to the mayors. And some are saying, well, look,
that's OK. But what about those who stay in the
UK for their holiday because they can't afford to go abroad?
This is going to slap, but roughly, you know, 280
New Zealand dollars on average to the cost of a
family holiday. If you take it in England, in an

(01:35:46):
area where the mayor puts the limit. As I said,
there is no upper limit on that levy, but 5%
is being touted. I have to say the taxes are
common in Europe, the rest of the world, New York, Amsterdam, Rome.
You just mentioned New Zealand. Different ways of doing it.
And it is becoming something more a talking point.

Speaker 3 (01:36:02):
But if you do it on the beds, you're quite right.
Then you end out with New Zealanders paying tax, more tax.
And our government didn't want New Zealanders paying tax. More
than happy to have you paying tax when you come
down to New Zealand to visit us, Gavin, because you're
an overseas visitor. So that's a very interesting debate. We'll
follow that, too. Thank you so much for your time today, Gavin.
And this is Newstalk ZB. Can I just very briefly

(01:36:22):
before we get to the music, which will take us out.
Say goodbye to Andrew Topping, the producer of the News
Talks here, the afternoon show for 39 years. And everybody
here said a lot about that. But I said something
else as well, because in 1981, I walked into Radio
B and there was a 20 year old Andrew Topping there.
He was the program director. And I said, can I

(01:36:43):
have a crack? And he said, do it now. And
I did some radio like within minutes of walking in.
That was 1981. It was him who got me into radio.
And he mentored me, and I became the station manager,
and I ended up taking up the career. Many, many,
many decades later, I ended up doing the afternoon show
on Newstalk ZB for 18 months. Who was my producer?

(01:37:05):
The man who first got me into radio, Andrew Topping.
And then I did Monday afternoons for five years as well.
And while everyone talked about his 39 years at Newstalk ZB,
they forgot to mention the eight years he'd already spent
at Radio Pacific producing Chris Carter. and The Afternoon Show
as well. So he's closer to 50. He is a

(01:37:25):
broadcasting legend and a very dear friend of mine, and
I can't believe I won't see him anymore. But he's
into his retirement, and I think that's a brave choice,
and I only wish him well. He is the Duke
of Afternoon Radio in New Zealand, Mr. Andrew Topping, who
finally signed off today. All right, that's it for me.
This has been a bizarre week. I've done early edition,

(01:37:47):
drive twice, and I even did the sports talk show.
And frankly, could I just ask the news talks here,
be hosts to harden the hell up and actually get well.
Texas says, he's on again. Is it only him and
Mike left? Well, pretty much. Don't discount the skinny guys.
We're like cockroaches. So just play some songs. Play some
music for me, Locke.

Speaker 8 (01:38:06):
Absolutely, I will.

Speaker 21 (01:38:08):
We're signing out with Who Are Up The Waz? Peter
Ehrlich has done a remix of the famous chant. It's
up on Spotify. Go give it a listen. Get in
the Waz spirit for the weekend.

Speaker 8 (01:38:22):
Up The Waz, absolutely.

Speaker 3 (01:38:23):
It's going to be a crack, a game against the Dolphins, absolutely,
and the Tess, and of course, Liam Lawson in Madrid,
that's a very bizarre race.

Speaker 21 (01:38:30):
It's all go for Kiwi sport, isn't it?

Speaker 3 (01:38:31):
It's all go, it's all go. Thank you to Producer Locke,
thank you so much to Producer Kevin, thank you to
Producer Sam, who always bug us off early. My name
has been Andrew Dickens, I've been everywhere, and now I'm
going home, and I'm going to have a sleep.

Speaker 4 (01:38:42):
Bye-bye.

Speaker 21 (01:38:46):
We'll be right back.

Speaker 3 (01:38:58):
We are the Warriors.

Speaker 9 (01:39:00):
100%.

Speaker 6 (01:39:00):
Boom.

Speaker 1 (01:39:45):
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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