Full Show Podcast: 30 April 2025

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Questions, answers, facts, analysis, The Drive show you trust for
the full picture. Heather duper Clan Drive with One New
Zealand let's get connected news talks.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
That'd be.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
Hey, good afternoon, Welcome to the show. Coming up today
the Government's Chief Victims Advisor, Ruth Money. It's going to
talk us through the case of the man who has
murdered twice and been found insane both times. Education Minister
Erica Stanford on her plan to have students learn financial
literacy at school and Wellington City Councilor Ben McNulty on
why they vote voted to support the right to vote
at sixteen. Heather Dupercy, Ala, I want to talk a

(00:40):
little bit more about Nicola Willis's tight budget. Now. I
haven't changed my position from yesterday. I am still impressed
at how little she's giving herself to play with here
in this one. But the truth is this doesn't really
go far enough, does it. I mean it doesn't go
far enough at all. Because understand this, that one point
three billion dollars that she's given herself and her operating
allowannge is new spending. As in, what you need to

(01:01):
do is take last year's budget and now increase it
by one point three billion dollars. Now, for context, last budget,
nicolau Will has spent more money than Grant Robertson ever
did in any of his budget. So take the biggest
budget yet nicola willis is one, and I'll add another
one point three billion dollars to it. That's how big
it's going to be. Now, look, I understand this is

(01:22):
conventional politics. This is what happens every year. The budget
goes up every single year. The last time it didn't.
The last time we had a zero budget was basically
about fifteen years ago, was Bill English's twenty eleven budget,
and he didn't add any more money than he did
the previous year he had a zero budget because of
course we'd have the earthquake. But what that tells you
is that it is possible, isn't it. It's possible to

(01:42):
not increase the spending. And I would argue that is
exactly what we should be doing at the moment, because
we are in big financial trouble as a country. We
are running structural deficits. Our structural deficit is around the
largest in the OECD. Now what that means is that
every single year we are spending more money than we
make as a country. And this is every year. This

(02:04):
is even in years when the economy is running red hot.
We're still spending more money than we could possibly make.
If it was a household, we'd be talking about a
family spending more than they earn and then running up
that difference in credit cards every year, but then also
making the crazy decision to increase their spending even though
they're living off the credit card. That's what we're doing now.
I think we need to cut some big things here.

(02:26):
I don't want to be accused of being a racist,
so I'm reluctant to say publicly that we should cut
the Ministry for Marti Development or the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
But I am a woman, and I'm very happy to
see us cut the women's Ministry because why on earth
do we need that? What's it doing to your life? Nothing?
And then also why do we have a ministry for
the environment and also a Department of Conservation. I feel
like we can cut a lot of these departments and

(02:48):
save a whole lot of money. I could go on.
But if we don't get real, and this is the
real point here, if we don't get real and if
we don't start running smaller budgets where we spend within
our means on the regular, something we'll have to give
in this country. And the thing that every commentator out
there seems to want to cut is your pension because
it is the most expensive thing in this country apparently. Now,
if I had a choice personally, I would keep the pension,

(03:10):
and I would cut nonsense like the Women's Ministry and
every other ministry we don't need, and I would stop
spending more every year than we did in the last year,
just because that's what we do now. Like I say,
I am impressed with what Nikola Willis is doing. She's
going further than I thought that she would, but not
far enough if we're actually going to fix this country's books.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Heather DUPLESSYLA nine.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Two nine two is the text number. Standard text fees apply.
I'm happy to hear what you've got to say about it. Now.
Cabinet has agreed to reinstate a total ban on prisoners
being allowed to vote in general elections. So in twenty
fifteen there was a High Court ruling that said a
blanket ban on prisoner voting was in direct opposition to
the Bill of Rights Act. Labour then allowed the prisoners
serving less than three years to vote from prison, but
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is going to overturn that. Graham

(03:54):
Edgler is a lawyer specializing in electoral law and is
with us now, Hey Graham, Hello, do you reckon? Is
Paul Goldsmith doing the right thing?

Speaker 4 (04:04):
I think probably not, mostly because of the randomness. You know,
if someone's got a life sentence or ten years or something,
they're going to miss out on voting elections. For someone
who's got maybe a one year sentence, then the question
of whether they actually get banned from voting turns on
or were they sentenced in twenty twenty three or twenty
twenty five. Did they spend nine months on remand waiting

(04:26):
for their sentence and then get sentenced, in which case, well,
if they were on remand, they got to vote, But
the person who was charged alongside them at the same time,
who gets the same sentence, but who didn't have to
serve any on remand, they won't be able to vote
because their entire sentence will be served as a sentence
rather than on pretroal remand. And so when you're dealing
with the people on three years or less. It's the

(04:47):
randomness that makes it sort of unreasonable. This person who
got a two year sentence gets to vote because they've
got sentence at the right time in the cycle. This
person who got a six month sentence doesn't because their
sentence was a month before the election. And it's sort
of the randomness. It's not, well, is it a good
reason for that person to be denied to vote? But
that person not. And that's that's why the three year

(05:08):
rule has some sort of sense to it.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
How many of them do you reconnize something they're going
this is so unfair.

Speaker 4 (05:17):
Probably not many, And I don't know if all that
many people actually voted.

Speaker 3 (05:21):
If they don't care who cares well?

Speaker 4 (05:25):
Who cares well? They're going to take more time with
Parliament to change the law. You know, it's gone back
to three years already.

Speaker 5 (05:34):
Yeah, you know.

Speaker 4 (05:35):
So it's like, you know, people have got long sentences.
They're not kiving of it. The people you think, you know,
the murderers, the rapists, the whatever, you know, it's the
people on short sentences. That's the people we're arguing about.
And do the people who care enough really care that
it's worth spending time to do it really given given

(05:57):
the randomness that's involved, and who gets what I mean.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
It's one of these it's one of these debates where
it's kind of theoretical, and I take your point. It's
an interesting point to make, but that's about it. It's interesting.
I mean, if these guys don't actually care about voting,
and the rest of us are largely just cross with
them for being, you know, misbehaving, and we want to
punish them a little. But then if they don't actually
want to be able to vote, why would anybody argue
on their behalf? Just leave them to it?

Speaker 6 (06:23):
I think, just.

Speaker 4 (06:25):
Equally the other way around, though, you know, it's the
if you don't really like but some of them argument,
it's part of being it's part of being in a community.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
Haven't they lost that right by being by being naughty.

Speaker 4 (06:37):
They've lost the right to be free. They haven't lost
all of the other Like yeah, Like, are there any
other rights that we want to deny them? Yeah, So
we're going to deny them the right to movement and
deny them freedom the you have not not watched the TV, don't.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
Get me started, because because yes, I'd say, yeah, I'd
want to take their TVs off them, and I want
to take all the nice food that they have off
them and all of their clothes as well, and really
punish them properly. You know, there will be a lot
of people out there who actually think they have too
easy to go in jail, and so this is just
a tiny little punishment, isn't it.

Speaker 4 (07:09):
The people they're thinking about when they think that, aren't
the people are getting six months or nine months sentence.
The people you think of, oh, that's too easy or
something like that. It's the people who are getting life sentences.
The people who you're in for ten years for aggravated
robbery and wounding with intent and things like that. You know,
it's the people we're talking about are much much less

(07:31):
serious offenders because the law has always banned people for
three years or more.

Speaker 3 (07:36):
I take your point, and I think you are making
some interesting points here. Actually, though, why is this even happening?
I mean, this is the thing that it wasn't a
point of discussion. What's in it for the NATS to
do this.

Speaker 4 (07:48):
They're doing a bill anyway, so it's not doing it
as a one off that they had. The Election Review
Selick Committee came back with a whole bunch of recommendations.
The government sort of accepted almost all of them. Some
of them are going to do straight away before the
next election, some of them are going to be a
bit more work, and maybe we'll look at down the
line and this is just going to get added to
the list. And the government put out the press release

(08:10):
today because they wanted the news story because they think
it looks good for them, and so you know, they
could have announced half a dozen other changes which no
one would have cared about, because you know, it's some
election financier all or something like that, which no one
understands and most people don't need to if you're not
running a political party.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
You're true. Hey Graham, listen, thanks for talking us through
to do appreciate it. There's gramm edually human rights lawyer.

Speaker 7 (08:31):
Heather.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
If you're in jail for a crime against people, you
don't deserve the vote, take the lot off them. Look
his I you know what what I'm discovering is the
older that I get, the less I care about these people.
When I was young and bleeding heart and you know,
I like heartily voting green all of the time, I
really did care that these people got the vote. But
the older I get, the least I care is this

(08:52):
just does this happen to all of us? We're just
our tolerance for people who misbehave in land in jail because,
let's be honest about it, you don't land in jail
nowadays because you nicked a car. You know, like it
takes a serious you have to do something serious to
land in jail because nowadays we've got a lot of
rope there, do you know what I mean? So if
you're landing in jail because you've done something really bad,

(09:15):
and I just don't give two hotes about you anymore,
and I think that it's just me getting old, isn't it.
Sixteen past four.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
It's the Heather Dupers Allen Drive Full Show podcast on
iHeartRadio powered by News Talk.

Speaker 3 (09:29):
Zipp Darcy nineteen pass four By the way, Darcy Watergrave
Sports Talk Hoosters with me, Hey Dars, Hello, Hello. Going
on with the Indian Panthers and are they not paying?
They're not paying their players? This is a crazy story.

Speaker 8 (09:43):
Did this thing just start up watching eight weeks ago?
Right from the get go it was stumbling very late.
Addition to the league, the whole idea of that was
a development side with a whole of Indian players coming
over to play out of South Auckland and then the
Panthers and then things started to go wrong. The first
thing that went wrong, they only turned up with three

(10:05):
or four players because suddenly all of the players that
they like signed up got called into Indian basketball camps
for national duty. So suddenly they got tricked and hobbled
by that. And then since then, well they can't win.
For a start, it's not ideal, but they haven't had
the full gathered of players. So let's understand a lot
of Kiwi's and other imports have been climbing into help out.

(10:28):
The coach left even before the first game started, and
then last night they didn't even play in their innational game.
There was yeah, there was talk of a walkout on
live TV, but didn't happen because they didn't play.

Speaker 3 (10:43):
But what we officially told was the reason that they.

Speaker 8 (10:45):
Oh no, no. One team said we missed the oh
we couldn't deal with the traffic, and the other team said, yeah,
well we're not. We're not doing this anymore. And so
there's been basketball. The Ziland have been with the Sales
NBL Commission today in meat with all twelve teams involved
in the NBA. We heard Nick Mills earlier today saying
get them out, but they won't. They'll work out a way.

Speaker 2 (11:07):
To keep them.

Speaker 8 (11:08):
And I suppose when you look at the ramifications of
being thrown out of the league, it comes down to
the sponsorship, It comes down to other teams playing and
what they've promised their sponsors. It's very messy, it's very
tied up. The easiest and we go get out. You've
been a disaster. But they can't do that now.

Speaker 3 (11:25):
Because presumably the whole thing is set up, the rosters
set up and whatnot for who plays her.

Speaker 8 (11:30):
Yeah, they know what the timetable is and they've ad
have planned for renting out of various courts to go
and play and so on and so on. And there's
one guy who claimed on social media, like to get
paid for two months. So I'm up and I've gone
or I've gone to the giants.

Speaker 3 (11:45):
Where's the due diligence before you admitted squad?

Speaker 8 (11:47):
Well you listen out to the CEO because he joins
us on the show this evening up after seven o'clock. Yeah,
it's it's messy, and there's a lot of excuses fighting
around this talk of someone who has gone into the side,
who's got bad blood with the team, and they are

(12:10):
trying to undermine the team, and they're going out of
their way to undermine the team. But you look back
and you go, this is a mess. And my first
thought when they started this team off was, hey, this
is very fast. This is too quick, too quick, and
you cannot climb into something like this with no preparation

(12:31):
and expect things to go well, they won't.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
You cannot tell they won't. You cannot tell me les
Kiss is a real name.

Speaker 8 (12:39):
Yeah, I don't know if it's Leslie or Leicester. I'm
not entirely sure.

Speaker 3 (12:42):
Le's Kiss les Kiss, that's not a real name.

Speaker 8 (12:47):
Might be telling that. No, No, I think it's Leicester,
but not yet because he's waiting for another year because
he's got to see out his read's contract. Okay, And
so what I'm thinking, and I think of nothing to
back this up. What I'm thinking is Rugby Australia wan, Oh,
you can't really afford to pay his contract outside Joe,

(13:08):
could you stick around for another years?

Speaker 3 (13:11):
And then Joe is just going to knock it out
of the past.

Speaker 8 (13:13):
And we'll give you maybe half of the money that
we had to give him to buy. I don't know this,
but I'm just throwing these ideas near but that's what happened.
But it's really good for Australian rugby because, let's case,
it's an Aussy's lead player, but he's an Aussie and
the reads have gone really, really well and a year
under the wing of Joe Schmidt massive for this guy

(13:33):
to learn the trade. So it's a good news story
for Australian rugby.

Speaker 3 (13:38):
And it's not Eddie Jones.

Speaker 8 (13:39):
And it's not a key We.

Speaker 3 (13:41):
Thank you, dark appreciated any day it's not Eddie Jones.
Is a good day, Dues the water Grave Sports Talk Coast.
He'll be back at seven. It's four twenty.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
Three, moving the big stories of the day forward. It's
Hither Duplicy on drive with one New Zealand. Let's get
connected news talks that'd be Hey, this.

Speaker 3 (13:58):
Is news that is just coming in. By the way,
it's twenty six past four. This is news that's just
coming in. The Arter Teddy is going to be retired
as one of the fairies that goes across the cook Straight.
Now the Arter Teddy is the only rail enabled fairy
that we've got, and yes, it is, of course the
one that ran aground. Now it's somewhat surprising to hear
this news because it's already a shit show, there, isn't it.

(14:22):
Can we say that we have said that the cock
straight is a complete disaster, isn't it? So if it's
a complete disaster with three fairies running now, it's going
to be two fairies running now We're in real trouble,
aren't we, And one of them is the only rail
enabled one. The reason they're doing this is because they
need to do some import infrastructure work blah blah blah
to get ready for the new big Fairies, and so
they they don't need can't use ardno this one. They're

(14:44):
going to retire it this year. Putting in calls right
now to kipi Rolse just find out what the hell
is going on because the rest of us, we're all
expecting this thing to keep running till twenty twenty nine,
so this is something of a surprise. Also, we are
going to talk later in the program about a really
worrying case that's been revealed today. It's a man who's
murdered for a second time. Right, So Chap murdered twenty

(15:05):
years ago and was found to be insane, and then
he was made a special patient under the Mental Health Act,
and then ten years ago was lest out. So you
can assume from that that they were like, oh, he's
not a threat anymore. He could go back into the
community and there must have been some observation and blah
blah blah that was going on. So let out ten
years ago, has murdered again again, it's found to be

(15:27):
insane and not guilty for it. Now we will all
know who this person is. The only trouble is because
the first murder was quite high profile. The only trouble
is his name is suppressed, so there's only so much
that we know. At the moment, we can't say who
it is. I don't know who it is, But when
the name comes out, we will all know who it is.
The question, of course, is how on earth has this happened?
How on earth have we let someone out who's gone

(15:48):
on to murder again. We're gonna have a chat to
Ruth Money, special victim's advocate to the government. After five o'clock,
News is next.

Speaker 1 (15:55):
Mine, recapping the day's big news and making tomorrow's headlines.
It's hither duplicy Ellen drive with one New Zealand let's
get connected news dogs.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
That'd be.

Speaker 3 (16:18):
They didn't let very to go a steering system upgrade
right before it ran aground, and now it's being retired,
and we consistently told our current firies we got until
twenty twenty nine. Seems like some diabolical planning going on here. Yeah. Now,
apparently I'm told by well, how would I describe them?
The transporting industry right that. Apparently this was completely expected

(16:41):
because the minute we started working on the port infrastructure
that out of Teddy can't dock there. So therefore they
were expecting this. They're not at all surprised by it.
But then you have to wonder, well, why were you
spending all that money on the steering upgrade if you're
just going to retire the thing in twenty twenty five anyway,
hope to hear from Kiwi Rail about that at some stage.
Apparently Okay, So apparently it is completely normal to lose

(17:03):
as you get older, to lose interest in the rights
of prisoners. Hither, you're not getting older, you're just maturing,
thank you, Carol. Hither you're not getting older, You're finally
waking up to the fact that they don't consider any consideration.
They don't deserve any consideration. Heither it happens to most
of us. Wait till you hit your fifties, it's ruthless.
So I've gone from caring about the prisoners in my
twenties to being completely apathetic. I just do not care

(17:26):
in my forties. But apparently when I get to my fifties,
it's going to get more ruthless than this. But now
so I'm going to be aggressively anti prisoners in my fifties.
But also remember couple that with my menopause. That's going
to have to happen at some stage, and it's going
to be new clear, isn't it? Twenty three away from five?

Speaker 1 (17:44):
It's the world wires on newstogs Eddy Drive.

Speaker 3 (17:48):
Donald Trump is held the rally in Michigan to celebrate
the first one hundred days of his second US presidency.
Trumpeted his administration's achievements like tightening up the border with Mexico.
Senate my Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has a slightly dimmer
view of the president's first one hundred days.

Speaker 9 (18:04):
Donald Trump's first hundred days have been one hundred days
from hell. Donald Trump is not governing like a president
of a democratic republic. He's acting like a king, a despot.
Wanna be dictator.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
Over in Australia, it's day two of the trial of
the alleged mushroom murderer Aaron Patterson. Now she's accused of
poisoning four of her in laws with death cat mushrooms.
BBC correspondent Katie Watson was in court.

Speaker 10 (18:31):
One of the things that prosecution talked about was that Heather,
in the aftermath of the lunch, had told Simon, who
was Aaron Patterson's strange husband. Aaron put her food on
different plates to us, her plate has had colors on it.

Speaker 11 (18:45):
I wondered why that was.

Speaker 3 (18:47):
And finally, in the.

Speaker 5 (18:48):
World of magic, everything that disappears reappears.

Speaker 3 (18:53):
It is very good to be back. An upcoming Hollywood
film has given away free money as a publicity stunt.
The third Now You See Me film has been announced
for a November release. The series is about magicians robbing
banks and giving away all the money, and a billboard
promoting now you see Me, Now you don't has gone
up in Times Square and anyone who signed up to
the phone number on the billboard before a countdown expired,

(19:14):
was rewarded with one hundred and nineteen US.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
Dollars International correspondence with Ends and Eye Insurance Peace of
Mind for New Zealand Business.

Speaker 3 (19:24):
Dan Machison, US correspondent with US Now, Hey, Dan, Hey, Heather. Okay, So,
hundred days of Donald Trump? And was his speech really
three hours long?

Speaker 6 (19:34):
It wasn't three hours long. It was ninety minutes long.
It may have seemed longer because he has ten hours. Yes,
And you know, there was nothing really surprising on you
out of this. I mean, he was talking about his
program on deporting undocumented migrants in the economy. He took
jabs at Democrats, and I mean, you're looking at the
one hundred days. I don't necessarily think this determines the

(19:56):
rest of a president's term, but I do think the
first one hundred days. Why we make such a big
deal of it over here is it's kind of given
us an idea of a person's priorities and maybe some
of the problems that we could be looking at with
the president. He has signed one hundred and forty two
executive orders, He has signed a number of laws, into effect.

(20:16):
But just remember a lot of these big ticket items
that he's signed, these executive orders, can also be overturned
by the next person that comes in office too.

Speaker 3 (20:24):
I mean a lot of what he will have been
doing with that rally is just trying to keep spirits
up right because there must be some serious doubt creeping
in over how he's handling this business with the tariffs
in the economy.

Speaker 6 (20:35):
Well, there is, and I think there's been. You know,
he's trying to get his commitment to a lot of
the automakers and Troy manufacturing sector in the heartland, and
I think, like you said, there is there's some dissatisfaction
with his economic agenda, and there is also some satisfaction
as well, because there are, of course those supporters who
like his agenda likely will for as long as he's
in office. But there's been a lot of I think

(20:57):
nervous Nelly's you might say, with a start writing the
roller coaster like it has been too.

Speaker 3 (21:02):
Right now, do we have any idea who this country is?
That which country it is that they've signed the first
trade deal with.

Speaker 6 (21:08):
And no, he's been very secretive about that. I think
we're going to find out more by this time tomorrow.
But they are saying that there is at least one
country that has agreed to the trade tariffs right now,
and he's trying to ease up on some of the
tariffs for the car industry over here, so he's giving
some credits and some reliefs. And I think what he's

(21:28):
doing right now is that he's trying not to lose face.
Maybe he's stepping back just a little bit, and maybe
this is him listening to his advisors. And the polls
show that these tariffs are really at the top of
everybody's mind right now, and they've been hurting his public
poll numbers.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
It's not the UK, is it that's the first country?
Because everybody would have thought it would be the UK
because they talk that out, But the UK apparently has
just been told that it's second order priority for the US.

Speaker 12 (21:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (21:52):
I mean, you know a lot of people have been
trying to second guessing.

Speaker 12 (21:54):
Is it somebody?

Speaker 6 (21:55):
Is it a country in Asia? Is it going to
be you know, Canada? Is he going to completely blow
off everything he said he was going to do to Mexico,
which is just a huge trading partner with US. So,
I mean, it's anybody's guest at this point right now.
It'd be nice if he just came out and said it,
if it was all signed and sealed, but it's not
at this point.

Speaker 3 (22:11):
Apparently, what's going on with sixty Minutes.

Speaker 6 (22:15):
Boy, this surprised a lot of people over here, and
it's all anybody's been talking about to their executive producer,
and they've only had three in the almost sixty years
they've been on the air over here resigned and Scott Pelley,
who's the number one correspondent over here, basically took a
shot at the parent company, Paramount, saying that they've been
influencing the show's coverage and that's why their executive producer

(22:35):
stepped down. And Paramount is trying to complete this multi
gazillion dollar merger with Skydance, which could require regulatory approval
from the Trump appointed FCC. So connect the dots, and
this goes back to a big New York Times investigation
that they started looking into back and I think it
was February as well. So and Trump of course still
has vendetta against sixty Minutes for this interview they did

(22:57):
with Kamala Harris, and they're in the middle of a lawsuit.
I think they're treading on a lot of egg shells
right now and it's certainly a turning point for journalism.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
Orig Dan, thank you for talking us through it, really appreciated.
Dan Mitchinson, US corresponding.

Speaker 7 (23:09):
Yees.

Speaker 3 (23:09):
So what's happened in the US, because everybody obviously wants
a free trade deal with the US to try and
get around these tariffs and whatnot. What's apparently happened is
they've split it into three different categories and it's Phase one,
Phase two, and phase three, And obviously you want to
be in phase one because that's their priority. The UK
has just been told they're in Phase two. They will
not be stoked about it. They are desperate, desperate for
a free trade deal with the US. Apparently Asian countries

(23:33):
are predominantly in Phase one. That's who the US wants
to be dealing with, and apparently South Korea is top
of the list. There you go. Now, financial literacy right
Erica stand for The Education Minister's announced that there will
be financial literacy introduced in schools from year one all
the way through to year ten, so that basically take
what does that take you through to fourth form? Is
basically what that is. Right, It'll start next year and

(23:55):
it'll be compulsory from twenty twenty seven. It'll take a
staged approach. The young kids will learn basics like distinguishing
needs from wants, having a bank account, earning, spending, saving,
and so on, and then the older kids will tackle
more complex topics, including budgeting, investment, interest, taxes, and insurance
to help build lifelong financial skills. Now, I don't know

(24:19):
how I mean. I'd love to know how you feel
about it, because I've got to be honest with you.
I just am not loving this. Like I feel like
school is for learning how to read, how to write.
You know, basic mathematics and then advanced mathematics as you
get older, sciences, history, music, like there is so much
already to learn that surely learning a basic life skill

(24:41):
like budgeting falls into the same category as learning to bake.
It's not something you should be learning at school. It's
something you should be learning at home because what does
it displace? But look, I might just be like just
unbelievably puritanical in my view about schooling. So you can
let me know what you think. We'll talk to Erica
Stanford ten past five. It's quarter to two.

Speaker 1 (24:59):
Right now, politics with centrics credit check your customers and
get payments certainty.

Speaker 3 (25:03):
Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editors with us, Thomas Hallow.

Speaker 13 (25:06):
Yeah, good afternoon.

Speaker 3 (25:07):
As you predicted, means testing is coming in by the
sounds of things.

Speaker 13 (25:11):
Yeah, yeah, very very interesting. I mean this was essentially
confirmed on your show yesterday. Nikola willis coming on. I've
listened back to the audio. She was asked three times
by you whether there'd be any means testing to the
best Start payment that's the seventy three dollars a week
for parents of newborn's and then key we Saver subsidies

(25:31):
that's up to five hundred and twenty dollars a year
if you save into your key Saver. She was asked
three times whether there would be means testing to those
those those areas of spending, and she wouldn't say no.
And it was interesting because you know, I did note
that she did say there was no changes to the
winter energy payment or the emissions trading scheme, So you know,
I think I think you can draw a pretty strong

(25:51):
connection between ruling one in and one out. So very interesting.
Interesting there. We'll see on May twenty second budget day,
what's happening.

Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah, it'll be to see how much it saves as well.
But I mean these are the kinds of things we'll
have to wait for the day to actually have revealed.

Speaker 13 (26:04):
I actually have. The numbers on the KIV saver subsidies
are about a billion dollars a year one point two billion,
so you wouldn't if your means testing them, you might
not get rid of all of that. But one point
two billion a year on the kV saver ones and
the best starts about three hundred and thirty million dollars
a year, so it's not small amounts of money. But
obviously we're spending about one hundred and forty billion dollars
a year, so it's there's still quite a lot to

(26:27):
go deficits I think about fourteen billion, so there's a
lot of money.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
And so what's Labour's reaction to all of this.

Speaker 13 (26:32):
Yeah, well labors were struggling awe, but they they blamed
the deficit the cuts yesterday on the fact that there
were tax cuts on the last budget, sot of saying,
you know, if we didn't do the tax cuts last year,
then you wouldn't have to do the spending cuts this year.
But of course Labor at the election obviously wasn't promising

(26:53):
big tax cuts and did have the GST cut, but
they were promising far more spending than the that so
it's not as if it's not as if Labor were
re elected and this government was elected, that the books
would be in any better shape. Yes, public services would
have more funding based on what Labor was promising, but
also based on what Labor was promising, there would be
far more borrowing to pay for that funding. So I

(27:14):
think Chris Hipkins is trying to have it both ways slightly.
He's sort of saying, you know, look, we'll fund public
services better and have less borrowing. You kind of you
can't really do both unless you whack a massive tax
on the side, which it doesn't look like that they're
looking to do. I think it looks like Labor's planning
a relatively modest capital gains tax this time around, and
not a big wealth tax like they were looking at

(27:36):
a couple of years ago.

Speaker 3 (27:37):
Hey, listen, were you expecting the Artitia to be retired
this year?

Speaker 7 (27:40):
Well?

Speaker 13 (27:41):
There was, Interestingly enough, this was announced just this afternoon.
A couple of minutes ago. There had been some reporting
that it might need to be retired ahead of the
new theories coming in twenty twenty nine, because there needs
to be a lot more work done at the Picton terminal.
But it certainly, I certainly wasn't expecting it to be
to basically retire from service almost immediately after I think

(28:03):
it's entered service in nineteen ninety nine. So yeah, look,
there was a bit of speculation, but this Sydney seems
to have come as a bit of a shot to
some of us.

Speaker 3 (28:11):
Yes, totally, okay, now I know because of course, if
there isn't a kerfuffle on the Cookstrait already, it's going
to cause more of a kerfuffle, isn't it. Now what
I'm getting a look, the text machine is having such
a crack at me right now because everybody on the
text machine says we need to have financial literacy in schools,
which is fine, because we need to have everything in schools.
But what are we dropping Thomas?

Speaker 13 (28:30):
That is a very good question. I look, I reckon stand,
but what's chatting today about this? I actually can't see
that there is any that it's being dropped for anything.
Maybe you're aware of something I'm not. It just looks
like it's being lumped onto the curriculum. I have to
agree with your texters. I think a bit of financial
literacy is good. You know a lot of people are
doing stuff like, oh, you know, like when the tariffs

(28:52):
are announced, they switched their key we saver out of
a growth and into a conservative and locking those losses.
You know, if someone needs to tell the kids to not.

Speaker 3 (28:58):
Do that, Yeah, come on, I mean, is that kind
of believer to it? Is that the level of is
that what the kids are going to learn or the
kid's going to learn. In one side of the ledger,
you put in how much your you're earning, and in
the other side of the ledger you put in how
much you're spending. And that's called a budget.

Speaker 13 (29:16):
Well, honestly, either with with with net core crown deet
approaching two hundred billion dollars, I think all five million
of us could do.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Maybe do you think do you think if all all
five million of us had done financial literacy would be
harder on the finance minister and expect a zero budget?

Speaker 2 (29:32):
Yeah?

Speaker 13 (29:32):
Perhaps perhaps, perhaps the perhaps the person who least who
has the least incentive for this financial literacy as the financial.

Speaker 3 (29:41):
Hey, thank you Thomas has always appreciated. Thomas Coglan, the
Herald's political editor. It's eight away from five, putting the.

Speaker 1 (29:47):
Tough questions to the newsmakers the mic asking breakfast.

Speaker 14 (29:50):
The operating allowance for the budget next month, which was
already tight at two point four billion, has been slashed
one point three.

Speaker 8 (29:55):
Former Finance Minister Stephen Joyce, what this?

Speaker 1 (29:57):
Would you have done the same and two is a
four or not?

Speaker 15 (30:00):
Now?

Speaker 2 (30:00):
It's not foolish and I probably would have done something
similar because there is a huge capacity to still reduce
the upwards trend of government spending. I'm assuming in that
move they've found quite a bit of waste and I'll
be able to do.

Speaker 12 (30:13):
Something with it.

Speaker 6 (30:14):
Do you believe the twenty nine surplus thing or not?

Speaker 2 (30:16):
I think it's a good goal. Of course, it's back
from where it was. But when now to be Yeah,
I think you've got to have that at the target
and a lot of it will depend on the state
of the world. Ecomeo the next couple of years.

Speaker 1 (30:25):
Back tomorrow at six am the mic hosking Breakfast with
a Vida News Talk ZB Hither if.

Speaker 3 (30:30):
The kids actually learn maths for one hour per day,
then they won't need a separate financial literacy subject.

Speaker 1 (30:35):
I will.

Speaker 3 (30:36):
I agree with you, Jake. Hither the problem is most
parents don't understand financials at home either, so they can't
learn it there. Hither I disagree with you. Financial literacy
is hugely important. Hither, I'm an accountant. You are wrong,
most kids know about The more that kids know about finances,
the better. Hallelujah. It's about time, Hither that the schools
taught financial literacy. It's one of the biggest problems of

(30:56):
the entire community right now. Hither I think that you
are wrong. Hither I I worked in a bank for
forty four years before retiring and astonished me how many
adults did not have the basic budgeting and life skills. Look, okay,
I mean, I just think I would agree with you.
It is amazing how many people are unbelievably stupid when
it comes to finances. However, I would just argue it's
a parent's job. But I guess I can't change the

(31:16):
fact that parents aren't teaching their kids if they don't
understand themselves, So maybe it falls to schools. Anyway, We'll
talk to Erica when she's with us quarter past five. Oh,
we've bumped her back a little bit. Erica Stamford will
be on a quarter past five because at five past
five we're going to have ker. We were able to
explain what's going on with the fairies. Now we've spent
a lot of time, by the way, just really quickly,
I need to tell you this. Okay, we've spent a

(31:38):
lot of time talking about the Wellington mayoral race, and
a very interesting little thing was pointed out in the
local Wellington papers today, which is that it looks like
Andrew Little has basically show a sewn up support from
across all these political parties for his mayoral bids. So
he's not only he's got Degree, he's got Labor obviously
his own party endorsing him. He's got some support from
the Greens because of course Tory Farno, prominent Green has

(32:01):
now endorsed him. But he's also got some key national
people in the city who are endorsing him. Chrisphin Lason,
former minister, says he's going to vote for Andrew Little.
Wellington City councilor Nikola Young, who's basically a born and
bred nat is also supporting him publicly. But here's the thing.
I'm just wondering if everybody has read this right, because

(32:22):
we're all assuming that Andrew Little is the guy who's
going to win it, and I am assuming this too.
I'm assuming Andrew Little is the guy because we're assuming
it because we look at what we watch politics and
he meets all the traditional criteria and so we assume
that if you meet this traditional criteria, you will win.
But I have been surprised, as has I think Nick
Mills and Wellington, by the level of vitriol that is

(32:44):
coming through on our text machine about Andrew Little, Like
people are really anti Andrew Little in Wellington, and it
surprised me the level to which that is the case.
So I just wonder if Ray Chung has a better
chance than we're all thinking. Anyway, We'll see how it
pans out. Kre we Rail this is with us next new.

Speaker 1 (33:01):
Stalk, said Beach, digging through the spin to find the
real story. Oring it's Heather Dupers Drive with One New
Zealand Let's get connected news talks at b.

Speaker 3 (33:24):
Afternoon. Kiwi Rail has announced the artist head into Island
a Faery will be retired this year now that leaves
us with just two inter Islander fairies to operate until
the new fairies arrive in twenty twenty nine. Adele Wilson
is Kiwi Rail's Chief Customer and Growth Officer and with us,
Hey it.

Speaker 14 (33:38):
L Hi, Heather, good afternoon.

Speaker 3 (33:42):
Why are you retiring it?

Speaker 14 (33:44):
Look, what we're announcing today is the news that the
Artaria to Dwarf and Picton is going to need to
be deconstructed sometime between October. Earliest time October this year
and probably the latest time is March twenty twenty six.

(34:06):
And that Auditary requires specialist loading equipment, so when her
walk goes, that means there's no way for the Arditilly
to operate. And that's why today we're giving the market
the news that the Auditory will be retired sometime this year.

Speaker 3 (34:26):
So will you run her until the very last I
mean if you have to start, if you only start
the work March next year, will you run her till then?

Speaker 14 (34:35):
Look, we're working. That's why we've come out with the
news today because we need to be well advanced with
our planning for a two ship scenario. That's been clear
that we would need to manage that. You know, for
some time, But we are working on those final operational details,
including the final date of the artillery's retirement, and that's

(34:59):
you know, requires us to look at maintenance requirements and
the maintenance regime priorship and what work needs to be
done and which ship we need on the water through
to that time.

Speaker 3 (35:11):
It was possible, wasn't it to actually kind of build
in a little bit of infrastructure to be able to
keep running here? Was that would have cost about one
twenty million.

Speaker 14 (35:18):
Right, that's right? He yes, there was. In the former project,
there was a plan to build a temporary wharf at
a very large cost of one hundred and twenty million dollars.
But look, you know it's been well signaled that this
new project needs to be done for a more appropriate price.

(35:44):
And you know, the idea of the temporary wharf is
one of those things that is not possible if we
want to bring this project in on budget and on
time and at a level that's affordable for New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (35:56):
What's going to be the impact on the number of
sailings and the number of passengers you can get across
the cock straight.

Speaker 14 (36:02):
Sure, So the Rataria at the moment is capable of
carrying six hundred and fifty passengers and the other theory
does four sailings each way per day, so that's two
from Wellington and too from Pactin. So look, there is
no doubt that capacity across the cook Straight for the

(36:23):
transition period until we get our new ship is going
to be tighter, and we're very confident that we can
manage the task.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
I mean, are you going to prioritize goods because if
this is the fairy that's basically been used to transport
goods across the cook Straight, you're going to have to
check it on the other fairies. Does that come before passengers?

Speaker 14 (36:45):
Yeah, it's a balance, Heather, and we've got to think
about New Zealand Ink as a whole. We have to
manage the freight task, but we also have to look
after our families and our international passengers that use the
cook Straight for recreation, but also what's around people.

Speaker 3 (37:02):
Do you prioritize the freight or the passengers.

Speaker 14 (37:05):
We look at the different sailings and the allocations and
how we allocate those are different across the air and
at different peak times. So for example, at Christmas time,
generally the freight task is lower, so at that point
in time, we will be looking to allocate more space
to passengers because that's the peak passenger time and that's

(37:26):
how we'll manage it. So's it's not an easy task.
We do it literally day by day. Now, we look
at historical patterns and we make our allocation decisions based
on that. But I will say, and it's important to
be clear about this, that there's no doubt through this
transition periods on our peak days there is less capacity.
So people may have been used to being able to

(37:48):
travel in their favorite time slot and a lot of
people like to go at eight o'clock in the morning.
Not everybody that has been able to travel them will
still be able to travel them, So people may have
to travel in other time gates, and people may have
to travel slightly earlier outside of those really peak holiday
travel days. So I want to be fair about that

(38:09):
and rare about that, and we would recommend to book early.

Speaker 3 (38:14):
Yeah, all right, Adelle, thanks very much, appreciate it. Adele Wilson,
chief Customer and Growth Officer at Kiwi.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
Rail Together for SEL.

Speaker 3 (38:21):
It's been revealed that a man who killed a person
more than twenty years ago who was ruled insane at
the time has gone on to kill again. So after
the first killing, the man was found not guilty of
murder by way of insanity. He was then detained in
a special secure unit and then he was released into
the community about ten years ago, and since then he
stabbed a person to death. Ruth Money is the Chief
Victims Advisor to the government. Have Ruth Hi Ruth, Was

(38:43):
this a case of this guy having another breakdown that
no one could see coming? Or did everyone know he
was a risk and they should have been watching him
and they didn't And there's a system breakdown here? Which
of the two is it?

Speaker 11 (38:55):
I believe there is a system breakdown and that is
why I am very involved in calling for reviews of
this and other mental health status changes.

Speaker 3 (39:08):
What is the system breakdown? What went wrong here?

Speaker 11 (39:12):
Well? Mental health forensic mental health units are there to
protect the person who is the patient, but also the community. Essentially,
you will be sentenced either via the court and into
a corrections facility so a prison or a community service,
or you will be sentenced and sent off under the

(39:32):
Mental Health Act to live in a forensic unit. The
problem that I believe is that in those units we
are treating people and we are not looking with a
view of risk assessment and the risk assessment to themselves
and all the community.

Speaker 3 (39:54):
And so are you arguing that, okay, so he didn't
get the right kind of treatment that you think should
have happened, or the right cal assessment. But are you
saying then he shouldn't have been let out.

Speaker 11 (40:03):
I am somewhere in this person's history and it will
all come out. I am sure this person's status has
changed to be able to be released back into the community. Now,
there are senior people, There are assessments that need to happen,
and there are senior people that sign off on that.
And this is not a one off event, which is

(40:24):
why I am involved and why I think there needs
to be a review, probably actually a royal commission into
how are we assessing people in these forensic mental health
units to make sure that they are not released and
will reoffend.

Speaker 3 (40:44):
So, reading the case, and to be fair, there is
not a lot of detail that is available publicly because
of all the suppression around it, and so there's a
lot of secrecy. But what is available suggests that he
was let out ten years ago and he's actually been
okay mentally, and then there was a breakdown. So would
you say that even if he's okay, he stays in there.

Speaker 11 (41:03):
No, But what I would say is he needs to
stay or this person people in this environment need to
stay engaged with care and therapy and treatment. Just as
when you kill someone and you get a life sentence,
you may get out on parole, but you're always recallable.
And so we need to be really clear here that

(41:26):
while the offenders in this environment go into a forensic
mental health unit, they then are treated and sent back
into the community, Whereas if you go to prison with
life and of course victims that way, then you are
always recallable and you are always managed by the prole board.

(41:47):
What is happening in the mental health space is not
good enough. These people are going on to kill and
it is not good enough. It is too dangerous for
the community and there needs to be a level of
inquiry that has teeth. We've got the issues in hill
Morton and now we've got the issues here revealed with
this particular person. What else is happening?

Speaker 3 (42:11):
Ruth, thanks very much for talking us through to appreciate it.
It's Ruth Money, the Government Chief Victim's Advisor. It's coming
up sixteen past five. Okay, so here's a savvy Blanc
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(42:33):
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(43:15):
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Speaker 1 (43:21):
Two ever dupless Ellen here.

Speaker 3 (43:23):
Perhaps we can turn the utter teddy into a warship loll.
Everything about the situation is lowll twenty past five now. Budgeting, taxes, investments,
and insurance. They're just some of the things that are
going to be taught very soon in New Zealand Schools.
Education Minister Erica Stanford says this will help build lifelong
financial skills and children as early as five years old.
And she's with us now, Erica, Hello, good afternoon. So

(43:44):
if we're popping this in, what are we popping out
to make space?

Speaker 16 (43:49):
Well, financial literacy should be a strand in the social
science's curriculum. So at the moment in the social sciences
curriculum you have tourtor on New Zealand history. It's supposed
to also include geography and financial literacy, and that's where
we will be popping it in. But it will be
all the way up, so a small dose every year

(44:09):
to make sure we're building capability across a students' time
at school.

Speaker 3 (44:13):
Look, I feel so cynical about this. I feel like
parents should be teaching the kids this so that we
don't have to teach them in schools already crammed. Am
I being unreasonable?

Speaker 16 (44:24):
Well, there are lots of things that parents should be doing,
and unfortunately we're having to pick up at school, like
sex education, like oral literacy. I've got young young people
at EC who are turning up who are five years
old or four years old, who have the language of
a two year old. And so there is a part
of this that is on parents and that we do

(44:44):
need to help parents understand that you need to talk
to your children to improve oral language schools. You do
need to talk to your children about financial literacy if
you are able. But we have to remember that. You know,
the reason that our budgeting services are overwhelmed is because
lot of adults, in fact eighty four percent of them,
so that they never received any financial literacy training themselves.

(45:05):
And so it is an intergenerational thing that we need
to build capacity. So the schools do need to play
a part in this and parents have called for it
for a long time.

Speaker 3 (45:13):
You make a fair point, Erica, Thank you. I really
appreciate Erica. Stand for the education minister. There is a
bunch of stuff we have to teach kids that they
don't get taught at school. Teaching kids to talk, now,
this is a thing, okay, because if you've got a
little one. I've got a little one. He's three, and
you see the other kids around about the same age,
and some of them are really struggling to talk. I
have excelled at teaching my child to talk to the

(45:35):
extent that I regret it. I'm not going to lie.
He talked in the car for two hours straight one day,
and sometimes I just want to stick him in front
of a screen just to shut him up because he's
excelling at that. And is it any surprise to anyone, No, Heather,
I think that Adele from KiwiRail needs to remove the
growth from her title because there is going to be

(45:56):
no growth for four years. That title is delusional. Column
makes a good point. Look, this business for the fairies
is bad. This is bad because just just remember remember
what we were gonna do. We were going to buy
the og ferries the original fairies and they were going
to arrive when twenty twenty six, so we would only
be without the utter Teddy for one year. Right, we

(46:17):
would be sitting in a situation now where would go
out of Teddy's out. We're getting that, we've got the
new Fairies arriving next year instead, what are we what's
going on now? We're waiting three to four years with
reduced sailings and I mean that's State Highway one. So
a lot of people are going to be very annoyed
about this. I would say five twenty.

Speaker 1 (46:33):
Three informed inside into today's issues, it's hither duplicy Ellen
drive with one New Zealand let's get connected news talks.

Speaker 3 (46:43):
They'd be, hey, guess what Wellington City did today? By
the way, Wellington City, because you know how Wellington's got
a lot of problems and they need to be dealing
with that. Wellington City today voted to support sixteen year
olds being able to vote in local government, which is
not going to happen. So why they're wasting their time? Well,
maybe Ben mcnat will be able to explain when he's
with us in ten minutes. Right now, it's twenty six
past five now a tough day for anyone who cares

(47:06):
deeply about climate change policies. Yesterday, I would say, because
do you know what those blackouts in Spain and Portugal
are being blamed on? You know, the ones, the blackouts
that left people stranded in lifts and cut the traffic
lights and cut the entire train system and caused panic
buying and just sent the whole place into Mayhem.

Speaker 8 (47:23):
Do what do you know what?

Speaker 3 (47:23):
They're being blamed on? Renewable energy. Yep, the very thing
we're all being told we have to crack into in
order to save the climate. The solar and the wind
and the power that apparently was to blame now to
be fair to renewable energy. It's not clear whether it
actually caused the blackouts or just made the blackouts worth
but it is worth noting that number one, Portugal and

(47:44):
Spain are the European leaders in renewable energy. Number two
solar power dropped by fifty percent for five minutes around
the time of the blackouts, and three it sparked a
huge debate in Europe now about relying on renewable energy. Now,
even tougher for the climate change advocates is the news
that within ours Tony Blair, the former UK Prime Minister,

(48:05):
piped up and said the UK has to abandon it's
twenty fifty net zero target because it's not working, and
it is not working like you and I can look
at it. It's not working. The planet is still getting
hotter every year, and people, he said, are now starting
to realize just how much it's going to cost them
and just how much they're going to have to sacrifice,
and case in point for the Spanish and the Portuguese
at least, what the sacrificing is a reliable energy supply. Now,

(48:27):
I want to be clear, I am not a climate
change denier, and I do think we have to do
something to save the planet. But where our part company
with the traditional climate advocates is what we do to
save the planet. And I would say that an increasing
number of people are going to start to feel the
same once they start to be hit with the consequences.
For us in New Zealand it's a second winter energy

(48:48):
crisis looming at US this year again, and for those
in Europe energy outages ever do fore, Hey, we're heading
for the headlines very quickly. Just to quick heads up,
we've got an egg shortage worths in Auckland's Lynn Mall,
a New World, Kawa and Napier have no eggs. I'm
only telling you this because this is a major political

(49:08):
issue around the world and maybe it's going to be
one here too. News Dogs, they've been.

Speaker 1 (49:15):
On the iHeart app and in your car on your
drive home. It's hither duplicy Ellen drive with one New Zealand.
Let's get connected, news dogs, they'd be.

Speaker 3 (49:34):
M I'm standing by here. How are they going to
get the rail wagons across the strait with the rail
period out of Teddy out of action for four years, Tom,
I guess they're just unloading it in Wellington, checking it on,
taking it across, loading it back up and picked in
and so on and then the other way in. Just
like it seems very manual. It's going to be very
manual for a while. Listen. Eric Crampton is going to
be with us after six o'clock. Obviously economists with the

(49:57):
New Zealand initiative. He, like me, thinks in the Lullis
hasn't gone farther far enough with her budget and needs
to go harder. So we'll get his take on it
when he's with us now. It's twenty four away from
six Wellington City councils in the news again for a
different reason, though not related to Tory.

Speaker 7 (50:11):
This time.

Speaker 3 (50:12):
It voted today to support allowing sixteen year olds to
vote in local body elections and make and will now
make a submission to local Government New Zealand's Electoral Reform Group.
Ben McNulty is a Wellington City councilor is with us? Now,
Hey Ben, Ben, why are you guys doing this? It's
not going to go anywhere? The government said no.

Speaker 17 (50:31):
Yeah, there's a We're a member of Algae and Z right,
and as a member of algiean Z, we need to
import in today's submissions and processes. And you're right, whether
Algae and Z listened to Wellington, whether the government then
listen to Algae and Z, Who's no. So it's purely symbolic,
but it's still important sometimes to do symbolism and politics.

Speaker 14 (50:48):
Right.

Speaker 3 (50:48):
Why is this so important?

Speaker 17 (50:50):
I think it's important just in terms of the commitment
that we've made. So we're the young person strategy that
we signed off, you know in the last trainingum. We
have incredibly bright and intelligent young people in our and
I happen to believe in no taxation about representation, and
is about one hundred million that our work is between
sixteen to eighteen in this country actually produce an income tax,
but they don't have any chance to input or say

(51:11):
in atually on their future. And I think if you're
old enough to operate a motor vehicle, go to court,
get married with parental permission, filling out a few circles
or numbers on a ballot paper is not the scariest
thing that a teenager can do.

Speaker 18 (51:22):
Ben.

Speaker 3 (51:23):
Look, I know that you guys have a lot of
things you can walk in chew gum at the same time,
but did any of you ever stop to think that
one of the criticisms of Wellington City Council right now
is that you guys get distracted by a whole bunch
of things other than, you know, outside of just dealing
with your actual jobs, which predominantly is trying to get
the pipes fixed, and that voting for something like this
may just reinforce that idea.

Speaker 17 (51:44):
Oh, I hear that feedback and I totally get it.
And unless you're used to the beast of the machinery
of council, you're right. Really, as we're walking to gum like,
this is our thirty minute item on an agenda that
we covered far more meaty things, and how that place
with the public? I get, but that can be received.
You know that we're not focused on the core stuff.
Totally fair criticism, But all I can say is, yeah,
it was thirty minutes. Are they about seven hour meeting today?

(52:05):
So it's not at the expense of anything important for
this kind of discussion occurs.

Speaker 3 (52:10):
Who are you voting for Andrew Little or racheng.

Speaker 17 (52:13):
Oh Andrew Little one ten percent?

Speaker 3 (52:16):
You're a labor man.

Speaker 17 (52:17):
A I am a labor man. Yeah, get that, but
you know, no, Look, reality is you need someone around
the council who can actually bring the council with them.
And that's the problem that I'm Ray's looking to bring
in a whole new team because he's been unable to work.
And you would have seen Nicholie Young and christ and
Mason coming out with endorsements today of Andrew, and that's
because they actually know that despite the politics, but they

(52:38):
don't agree with the pure competency to bring people with
him and work around the table and respect, you know,
but everyone's got views. I think that's what he carries
with them. That's pretty special.

Speaker 3 (52:47):
Yeah, hey Ben, thank you appreciate your time. That's been
McNulty Wellington City councilor it is twenty one away from Sex.

Speaker 1 (52:53):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeast International Realty achieve extraordinary
results with und parallel reach.

Speaker 3 (53:00):
On the Huddle with Us we have David Farrahkiria Polster
and KIWI blog writer obviously, and then Jack Tame hosts
to Q and AS and Saturday Mornings on ZB How
a you do? Okay, David thought on Wellington City Council
doing this.

Speaker 19 (53:13):
Oh, it's just ridiculous.

Speaker 7 (53:14):
I'm sorry about I've actually polled on do people think
sixteen and seventeen year old should vote? And hugely unpopular,
like around twenty percent. I think it's a good idea
that children should be voting. And the reason this always
comes from people on the left is the cold what
respect When you're sixteen seventeen, you're not paying a mortgage,
you're not paying rates, you're not even paying rent, you're

(53:37):
not really paying taxes. You might be here, but you
know tex at that rate's there, So of course you
think everything the left proposes is a wonderful idea. So
when labor politicians say let's lower to sixteen, what they're
actually saying is we want more votes, et cetera. Eighteen
is your age of adulthood. And I've never been convinced,

(54:01):
you know, if you're saying sixteen year olds are bright
enough to vote, also a fifteen year old, so a
fourteen year old. So it really comes down to what
should it be, And eighteen I think is pre standard.

Speaker 3 (54:14):
I mean jack that, I mean, I take the point
that sometimes you have to do things that are symbolic.
But this thing has been killed by this government. It
is such a redundant thing to do.

Speaker 19 (54:22):
Yeah, I don't think it's going anywhere. I think, being
kind of acknowledged that. In fact, I mean, this is
just a they're just voting on a motion to put
this to lg NZ, right, So it's not like they're
actually you know, this is going to be passed and
any time zon there actually going to we're actually going
to see this. I mean, I think at the same time,
you know, it would be unreasonable for us to assert
that they can't, you know, to use your line walk

(54:45):
into a garment. At the same time, to a certain extent,
if they had spent a day debating this and vast
council resources, I think would have a much greater reason
to be upset. But to go back to a line
that that being used in that interview, you know, it's
interesting said that you know there shouldn't be taxation without representation,
and I think I think that you know there is

(55:06):
some feenis in that argument. But can either of you
correct me? Here? Am I right in thinking that that
sixteen year olds, because they can't own property, won't be
paying rates. Thus the taxation without representation argument doesn't necessarily
apply to.

Speaker 3 (55:21):
Very good Our sixteen year old's not allowed to own property?

Speaker 19 (55:25):
Jack, I just I think that's right. I could be wrong.
So I'm going on flying by the seat of my pants.

Speaker 3 (55:32):
Now, Well, do you have to be David? I didn't
know this.

Speaker 7 (55:35):
I think it's eighteen, don't Yeah, I think legally, let's
let's double check that before we commit to that.

Speaker 19 (55:40):
Life.

Speaker 3 (55:41):
That's fascinating, Okay, listen to David.

Speaker 19 (55:43):
It was worth checking that.

Speaker 3 (55:44):
Yeah, financial financial literacy in school, David, I take it
that we don't teach may. I may actually have been
convinced by Erica Stanford. I don't want to like, I
don't want to overload our teachers, but and I feel
like this is something that parents should be teaching the kids.
But obviously there are a bunch of things up here
and don't teach your kids, so we have to. So
therefore it's in schools. Do you agree?

Speaker 7 (56:04):
Yeah, Look, I think this definitely falls into that care.

Speaker 12 (56:06):
Agree.

Speaker 7 (56:07):
I could even say there's probably some parents who could
do what's going on a financial literacy course, but it's
just so important. What the days have gone of the
nineteen fifties and sixties where you can just leave school,
work hard for ten years and buy the house and
live there for forty years and keep the same job. Today,

(56:30):
if you want to own a house one day, you
need to be saving from when you're at school. Actually,
you need a savings culture early on. So I think
financial literacy as part of that savings culture is a
very good idea. But yeah, yeah, make sure it's not
being taught at the expense of English and mathematics.

Speaker 14 (56:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (56:49):
I don't think it is, jack because it's in the
social studies category right where largely what they do there
is they just color and maps, don't they.

Speaker 19 (56:58):
I think it's no, I mean, do you have a.

Speaker 3 (57:00):
Better social studies experience, not just.

Speaker 12 (57:02):
Because we were.

Speaker 19 (57:03):
Yeah, I think so, Yeah, I think we I think
we lit a lot of things about the world. But
I think, I mean, this is kind of like a
like low level applied maths or applied economics in a way,
isn't it. And one thing that I reckon, like, I
support it, I don't have a problem with it. And
I think, you know, if we're all slightly more financially literally,
that would be a great thing. But one thing I
would say is that I reckon younger people today are

(57:24):
actually a little more financially literate than maybe the generations
before them, because of lots of online tools and you know,
even the barriers to kind of owning shares and training
and being engaged with public exchanges like you think about shares,
is that that has totally changed the game for a
lot of young people. And even when people go into
their you know, get into their first jobs and are

(57:44):
enrolled in key we say to them, for example, they're
able to see the impact of compound interest and the
impact of you know, changing you know, share prices and
stuff a whole lot more than they might have been
able to in the past. So I reckon that. Yeah,
younger people today are maybe actually slightly more financially literate
than we give them.

Speaker 3 (58:01):
Yeah maybe so. Hey, Laura the German has had a
look at it. It is eighteen and it is because
you have to be legally party to a contract.

Speaker 19 (58:10):
To land as well as as well as for like that,
just just to be just a triple check. I would
never go against Laura the German because Laura.

Speaker 3 (58:19):
Jack wants you to look at it. It's land as well.
Can you please do that for Jack? Yeh, very she's German.
All right, we'll take a break. Come back shortly quarter two.

Speaker 1 (58:29):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, the ones
with worldwide connections that perform, not promise.

Speaker 3 (58:36):
Back with the Huddle, Jack, Laura looked it up, and
you can own land at any age, but your age
will be noted on the title.

Speaker 19 (58:42):
There you go.

Speaker 7 (58:43):
You did you already know this?

Speaker 3 (58:45):
Did you already know this? And then set this whole
thing up so that you could look like you're really
smart on air.

Speaker 19 (58:51):
I think I'm excellently structured. Why I thought was a
good argument against young people voting in local body elections?
And then I fact checked my own argument and found
it actually, I'm not entirely correct, and then I fact
check the fact checking. But look, the number of the
number of under eighteen year olds who own land and
ended US paying rates on New Zealand, I would have
thought is infinitesimal to at least.

Speaker 3 (59:11):
Yeah, totally. Now, David, do you think Nikola has done
a brilliant job curtailing her new spending or should she
have gone further?

Speaker 7 (59:21):
Probably done as much as you can, because here's the reality.
When you talk about that operational allowance, most of us
is needed for non discretionary stuff, just that increase population
and aging and health. So when they actually say we've
only got like one point one billion instead of three
billion dollars, effectively everyone else is taking a hair cut.

(59:44):
So yeah, I think it's probably. I mean, don't get
me wrong, there's definitely more you could can't. But then
you're getting into not just efficiency saving, but we're going
to disestablish programs. You might be saying, Okay, we can't
fine you or anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:00:01):
No, no, what about we can't afford the women's ministry
and we cut that load of nonsense.

Speaker 12 (01:00:07):
Music.

Speaker 7 (01:00:08):
To my ears, there are around ten ministries that could
happily be messing.

Speaker 3 (01:00:12):
We'll go on, David, name them. Okay, the Women's Ministry
needs to go.

Speaker 7 (01:00:15):
What else, Well, here's the thing. All those demographic ones, woman, Pacific,
mari affairs, they all get ignored by the government. If
you moved them all together into a high powered ministry
of social equity, they actually would probably be have more

(01:00:37):
impact with government than all these small micro ministries.

Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
A lot of them.

Speaker 3 (01:00:42):
Okay, that's four, give me another. You owe me another six.
You said there were ten.

Speaker 7 (01:00:47):
Well, if you really want me to get going, I
actually would mooge the entire public service into twelve mega ministries.
One in the law and order space, one in the
economic space, one in the health, one in the education.
Got four education agencies end u a PEC that and
you have one chief zector for the sector, one minister

(01:01:07):
for the sector. So you reduced can kind of like
what was done with mb.

Speaker 19 (01:01:12):
Yes, but more successfully.

Speaker 2 (01:01:14):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (01:01:16):
Are you liking the sound of this, Jack, because David
and I what obviously can see that there is room
for Nicola to go even harder.

Speaker 19 (01:01:24):
Do you know in principle I have absolutely no problem
with that, with the with the concept of breaking up those,
you know, instead of having those kind of disparate demographic ministries,
considering in principle the idea of merging them, I think
there potentially are big efficiencies to be made. I mean,
we're the raw not now is the time for that
kind of reform of the public sector might be up

(01:01:44):
for up for debate, but yeah, I mean, I think
I think David's core point is right in.

Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
That now is now the time Jack, because we are
in a financial we are running structural deficits that are
so bad apparently we're at the bottom of the OECD
for it. We need to save huge amounts of money.

Speaker 19 (01:02:00):
Yeah, yeah, we do. And you know, when you look
at that Operating Allows, I feel like we're not going
to have a full kind of measure of Nikola Willis's
or the impact of Nicola Willis's actions until we can
see how her kind of redirecting and reprioritization of money
across different ministries and causes, like what the true effect
of that is. Because when we're talking about that operating allows,

(01:02:21):
we're efectively talking about new money, right, and we need
to think about not just the new money, but also
the money that's going to be kind of being shifted around.
But yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah, maybe, although whether or
not that would be in the short term interests of growth,
which is of course what this government has kind of
been there political fortunes on for the time being, Whether
or not in the short term that would be in

(01:02:42):
the interests of growth and massive reforms to the public sector,
you know, potentially thousands of thousands of more public servants
facing redundancy, that kind of thing. It might not be,
but then again maybe we would look back at it
in ten years time and go, actually, those were the
reforms that have allowed New Zealand to climb out of
a structural deficit that was, you know, basically not moving

(01:03:02):
at the time being. You know that the path of
the surface of the time being looks scarcely believable. I think,
you know, in anyone's for you, regardless of their politics.

Speaker 3 (01:03:11):
Totally agree. Hey, guys, thank you so much, really appreciate
both your time. That David Varah and Jack Tame Eight
away from six it's the.

Speaker 1 (01:03:17):
Heather Duper c Allen Drive Full Show podcast on my
Ard Radio powered by News Talk ZB.

Speaker 3 (01:03:26):
Right, so it's been pointed out by the way on
the text machine just read the Kiwi Rail announcement that
the Darta Tedy is going to be retired. That it's
okay because Blue Bridge has got a couple of ships
and one of them there's a new one, isn't there
They've replaced one of them or something like that. So
you don't have to just sail with the key We Rail.
You can also say it with the inter Islander. You
can also sail with the Blue Bridge. Obviously five away
from six at the minute. By the way, I will

(01:03:48):
continue this discussion about how hard Nikola Willis should actually
have gone with the budget with Eric Crampton, who's going
to be with us after six o'clock. Now, Donald Trump,
as we've told you, Donald Trump has been selling breading
his first one hundred days in office by doing something
that he absolutely loves doing, which is giving a really
long speech.

Speaker 7 (01:04:07):
And he did.

Speaker 3 (01:04:08):
He gave one and a half hours of a long speech.
And if it's felt for you like this, one hundred
days has lasted a lifetime, because boy, we've got through
a lot of things in the first one hundred days.
Don't worry, We've still got another thirteen hundred to go.

Speaker 15 (01:04:20):
This is the best they say one hundred days start
of any president in history, and everyone is saying it,
We're just we've.

Speaker 3 (01:04:28):
Just gotten started.

Speaker 15 (01:04:29):
You haven't even seen anything yet.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
It's all just kicking out.

Speaker 3 (01:04:33):
And as he likes to do, he went after the
usual suspects, illegal immigrants.

Speaker 15 (01:04:38):
They're claiming that we're not allowed to deport illegals. And
they're the ones who orchestrated an eight year campaign to
jail their political opponents.

Speaker 20 (01:04:46):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:04:47):
They want to jail woke leftist bureaucrats, telling.

Speaker 15 (01:04:51):
Thousands of corrupt and competent and unnecessary deep steak bureaucrats,
you're fired, Get the hell out of here. You have fire,
Get out of here.

Speaker 3 (01:05:02):
Dei hires.

Speaker 15 (01:05:03):
I ended all of the lawless so called diversity, equity
and inclusion bullshit all across the entire federal government.

Speaker 3 (01:05:13):
And the private sector and the fake news media.

Speaker 15 (01:05:16):
They say Trump only has a forty four percent approval ready,
Well it's actually not bad.

Speaker 7 (01:05:21):
But when you figure that if.

Speaker 15 (01:05:23):
It were a legit poll, it would be in the
sixties or seventies. These people are a bunch of crooked people.

Speaker 3 (01:05:29):
Trump Rerickins, the Democrats' best bet as Bernie Sanders.

Speaker 15 (01:05:32):
One thing I got to give him credit. He's a lunatic,
but he's still pretty sharp. And he's going around with
AOC plus three, you know the plus three follow up.
They hang on for little bits, they hang on for nuggets.

Speaker 3 (01:05:46):
Now if you don't know what he's talking about. AOC
and Bernie are currently traveling across Middle America in a
bid to reclaim the support that they've eroded. And they've
surprisingly been actually quite popular. But as Trump will always
remind us, not as popular as him, and.

Speaker 15 (01:05:59):
They get crowds, so the crowds. Our crowds are so
much bigger than their crowds. Their crowds are small. If
I ever had a crowd like their biggest crowd.

Speaker 12 (01:06:07):
They say it's over for Trump.

Speaker 3 (01:06:10):
Not a lot has changed. You could almost write the speech.
AI could write a speech for him, couldn't he? And
we could just listen to that rather than him, and
it would be bang on. Eric Crampton next News Talks.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
A big.

Speaker 11 (01:06:23):
Stay.

Speaker 3 (01:06:26):
Oh aren't you? I need you, Olga h need These
beautiful things are.

Speaker 1 (01:06:36):
Where business meets insight the Business Hour with Hither duples,
Clan and mass insurance and investments, Grow your wealth, Protect
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Speaker 2 (01:06:46):
News Talk said b.

Speaker 3 (01:06:49):
Even in coming up in the next hour, it turns
out the Reserve Bank is buying huge amounts of foreign currency.
Jane tip Traney will explain that to us when she's
with us. Samtrafui on the first look that we're getting
at the impact of the tariffs on company and fucker
Papa Holdings has just got permission to run the ski field,
so we'll have a chat to them after six thirty.
Right now at seven past six. Now, after the initial
shock about Finance Minister Nikola Willis's almost zero budget, there

(01:07:12):
are now calls for her to go even further now.
She announced yesterday that she's given herself an operating allowance
of one point three billion dollars for next month's budget,
but most of that, in fact, all of that has
already been allocated. Plus. Eric Crampton is the New Zealand
Initiatives economist.

Speaker 5 (01:07:26):
Hey, Eric, good afternoon.

Speaker 3 (01:07:28):
How much harder would you like her to go?

Speaker 5 (01:07:31):
We have a massive structural deficit. On the numbers that
Mike Riddell reported recently from the IMF, it's about the
worst in the OECD if you compare it to overall GDP.
That's not good. The public Finance Act says we are
really not supposed to do this, So cutting until we
no longer have a structural deficit would be a very

(01:07:51):
good idea. That doesn't mean that we can't have a deficit.
If we're having a downturn, it's normal to have a deficit.
But a structural deficit is one where even if the
economy we're firing on all cylinders, we would still have
a deficit.

Speaker 12 (01:08:03):
That's a problem.

Speaker 5 (01:08:04):
We've had one since about twenty twenty. It was justifiable
in COVID. It is no longer justifiable now.

Speaker 3 (01:08:09):
How big is it?

Speaker 5 (01:08:12):
Well, in the figures that Microdell had put up, it
was substantial percents of GDP. I would have to double
check the exact number, but it was worse even than
the United States, which is having awful budget blowouts. The
problem is less on the tax side and more on
the spending side. So if you remember back to Budget
twenty nineteen, the Great Well Being budget that was going

(01:08:33):
to solve every problem that the country had and keep
government spending blow twenty nine percent of GDP. Well, our
tax take or core cround tax take is above where
it was in twenty nineteen. As a fraction of GDP.
The problem is that government spending outpaced it considerably, so
we're now looking at well north of thirty percent of GDP,

(01:08:57):
and some of that is financing costs. But finance and
cost isn't the whole problem, but it is a big
part of the problem.

Speaker 3 (01:09:05):
How much like Okay, so what are we looking at
in terms what do we need to cut in order
to save the situation? Would we get by with entire
government departments or are you going to come after the pension?

Speaker 5 (01:09:18):
Well, the big problems are in continued increases in transfers
to the elderly. Really that we've got these large transfer
programs that will get a lot more unaffordable in the
twenty thirties.

Speaker 3 (01:09:27):
You're talking about the Painton run.

Speaker 5 (01:09:30):
Yeah, pension, but also combined with health spending, so those
together are going to be blowing out in the twenty
thirties and having things set well ahead of that to
avoid well right now is kind of the good times
right compared it to in the twenty thirties when we
will have a much worse dependency ratio. So getting things
in line ahead.

Speaker 12 (01:09:47):
Of that would be a good idea.

Speaker 5 (01:09:48):
There's been talk about means testing for a few programs,
some of which should have just been ended, like the
winter energy payments. At least means testing would make sense.
About a decade ago, I'd put out a report looking
at reinstating interest on student loans. We're still providing those
on an interest free basis to all comers. I'm not
sure that that makes a lot of sense. Economist Studonovan

(01:10:11):
had put some rough numbers on it on Twitter today,
figuring that even just in charging for inflation on it
would save the government about two hundred million dollars a year,
which doesn't touch the sides of the deficit on its own,
but in combination with other things could help. So when
you're running high inflation and zero percent student loans, the

(01:10:33):
government is basically paying you to borrow. It's because the
real value that just erodes over time within with inflation.

Speaker 19 (01:10:41):
Have we ever had a.

Speaker 3 (01:10:42):
Situation we go back to twenty eleven, we had a
zero budget where we had no increases. Right, it's become
conventional to just increase the budget every single year. Have
we ever had a situation where we have cut the
amount of spending from one year to the next.

Speaker 5 (01:10:55):
I having those numbers in front of me. There was
of course substantial fiscal consolidation in the nineteen ninety one
budget when they had a very large problem to deal with.
The approach in twenty four coming out of the GFC
was more of this kind of fiscal restraint that Minister
Willis is trying to use, where you have tight operating
budgets and then count on economic growth to pull you

(01:11:16):
out of it. The problem that we've got with that
now is that the economic forecast globally is far worse
than it would have been even a year ago. The
tariff situation in the United States is depressing global economic
prospects that will hit New Zealand as well as hitting
all of our trading partners. That means it will be
harder to grow our way out of it, so you
need to rely more on actual spending restraint.

Speaker 3 (01:11:39):
Eric, it's good to talk to you. I really appreciate it.
Thanks for your tome. That's Eric Crampton, the economist at
the New Zealand Initiative. Listen. Stephen Stone has sat down
to talk to one of the News TV news bulletins
this evening as Stevenstone. If you haven't been following this,
Stephenstone was one of the people who was accused of
murdering and actually stood trial a couple of times, accused
of murdering Dean full of Sands and Leah Stevens a

(01:12:01):
couple of decades ago, and there was a podcast made
about it called Gonefishing and so on. It's had a
fair bit of publicity recently. Now the Crown announced today
and something of a bombshell. We were waiting that a
couple of the couple of the people got off and
we were waiting to hear what the crown was going
to do with Stephen Stone. And today, in a bit
of a bombshell, they announced that they were dropping a
retrial against him and he was free to go his

(01:12:23):
As I said, sat down with one of the news
TV news channels and reacted to this news today.

Speaker 15 (01:12:28):
I want to rub everybody involved in the rub their
noses in the ground, you know, put them in a.

Speaker 4 (01:12:35):
Cage for twenty eight years and see how they feel.

Speaker 3 (01:12:38):
Now fifty five.

Speaker 19 (01:12:39):
He's missed out on a lot.

Speaker 12 (01:12:41):
O to Jay when my son was four years old,
when I got ere, he was thirty four.

Speaker 8 (01:12:46):
I don't even remember how half my.

Speaker 12 (01:12:47):
Drink kids now.

Speaker 3 (01:12:48):
As I said, there was a podcast about it. It
was called gonfishing. The co host of that podcast, Adam Dudding,
says Stephenstone going for competition should absolutely be a shoeing.

Speaker 5 (01:12:58):
However, the tack of the crowd has certainly grudgingly stopped
assuing this makes them think that perhaps it'll be a
harder journey.

Speaker 3 (01:13:06):
Obviously, what I meant to say was compensation. Thirteen past six,
it's the Heather Duper.

Speaker 1 (01:13:11):
See Alan Drive Full Show podcast on my Heart Radio
empowered by news dog Zebbi.

Speaker 3 (01:13:17):
Hey, although we've said goodbye to summer, it doesn't mean
that we also have to say goodbye to the refreshing
flavors which we get in summer. Because Bunderberg, the legendary
brewers of the iconic Bunderberg Ginger Beer, are coming out
with a brand new low sugar sparkling drink rage. It's
called Refreshingly Light.

Speaker 11 (01:13:32):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:13:32):
This comes in three flavor combos which sound absolutely delicious.
Raspberry and pomegranate, apple and leichi, Lemon and watermelon. These
things are low on sugar, with no artificial sweetness flavors
or colors. They're made for real fruit. They've only got
twenty calories per can and interestingly, have been craft brewed
for three days.

Speaker 7 (01:13:49):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:13:50):
That sounds like a long time, but it makes sense, right,
because it's three days to lock in all those incredible flavors.
And honestly, you would not expect anything less from Bunderberg
because these guys care about make stuff that just tastes good,
simple as that. So to taste Bunderberg's new refreshingly light
sparkling drink range, you'll find them at most major supermarkets.

Speaker 1 (01:14:08):
Now, Heather, do to see Ellen, Heather.

Speaker 3 (01:14:11):
The number that Eric claims he couldn't remember is eighteen billion.
That's our current deficit one eight zero zero zero zero
zero zero zero zero zero. So Nicola will is saying
I'm only going to increase spending by one point three
billion dollars just makes that worse, not better. And this
is why we need proper financial literacy taught. And Bill
I'm starting, you're convincing me with every single one of

(01:14:33):
those zero's. They're seventeen past six.

Speaker 7 (01:14:35):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:14:35):
The Reserve Bank has been busy buying up foreign currency assets.
It recently sold about two hundred and fifty nine million
New Zealand dollars to lift its intervention capacity to a
whopping twenty seven billion dollars. Now Genetibstrainey. The Herald's Wellington
business editors been taking a look hijename. Hey Heaver, give
me a bit of context. How big is about two
hundred and sixty million dollars.

Speaker 21 (01:14:55):
Look, that's that's pretty big and it sort of maybe
in the realm of the cost of school lunches.

Speaker 3 (01:15:04):
Do they regularly buy that much?

Speaker 21 (01:15:06):
Yeah, So for the Reserve Bank to actually, we'll just
take this backstep. So the Reserve Bank sold two hundred
and fifty nine million dollars of New Zealand dollars in March.
That is the second highest amount that it has sold
in more than a decade. So the reason it's getting

(01:15:27):
involved in currency markets selling New Zealand dollars is so
that it can get money to buy foreign currency assets. Now,
it's quite normal thing for a central bank to have
a large balance sheet, have a war chest of foreign
currency assets, so that if there is a financial crisis,
it can possibly intervene. Now, the threshold for intervention is

(01:15:49):
really high. There's a framework in place that the Reserve
Bank has agreed to with the government for what the
conditions would need to be if it did intervene. But
I think it is pretty significant that you know, in
one month that it made such a large transaction to
try to I guess, give it, give it, give itself
a bit more muscle.

Speaker 1 (01:16:08):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:16:08):
Is this is not necessarily a response to or an
indication that think a crisis is coming, right, this is
something that was agreed with Grant Robertson by memory.

Speaker 21 (01:16:16):
Yeah, that's right. So the Reserve Bank has spent the
past two years, you know, buying and selling assets to
bolster its foreign currency intervention capacity. Now it's actually more
than doubled that capacity in the past two years to
nearly twenty seven billion dollars. That's huge. So the Reserve

(01:16:37):
Bank agreed with Grant Robertson, look, it's time to update this.
We need to give ourselves a bit more strength. The
move that we saw in March was just part of this,
but it was a particularly large move. Now I asked
the Reserve Bank, I said, look, what's happened here? Because
I mean the timing of it is interesting. There's so
much volatility in markets at the moment you have to think, well,

(01:16:58):
why did they buy so much? Sorry, why did they
sell so much and then buy so much? Foreign currency
assets in one month. The bank wouldn't say, but it
did point me to something where it said that if
the New Zealand dollar is particularly strong, that might prompt
it to sell, whereas if it's weak, it might prompt
it to buy. So that's a thing. But then I

(01:17:22):
took to an expert and actually that the New Zealand
dollar was not particularly strong in March when it made
that big sale. So it has left me and others
who are more in the know than I am scratching
our heads over what the rationale was. You know, it
does make you think it would be nice if the
Reserve Bank was a little bit more transparent, because you know,

(01:17:45):
while it can't give away its hand and say to
the market, we're going to do this intervention, because then
people could be better against it. Yea, it is important
that it is, in my view, transparent with us because
we're talking very large sums of money and there's always
a risk when it's balance sheet is so big that
these these assets fall in value and that could end
up costing taxpayers. So I think there is a case

(01:18:10):
to be made for a wee bit more transparency from
the bank.

Speaker 3 (01:18:13):
Yeah, bit of explanation Hey, that's fascinating, Janey. Thanks very
much appreciated this Jena Shire trainee the Heralds Wellington Business Editor.
Now I've got a couple of Megan Markel updates for you,
but I'm going to keep them for Zombie Hour because
it's where she belongs. Six to twenty one.

Speaker 1 (01:18:29):
Everything from SMEs to the big corporates, The Business Hour
with Heather Duplicllen and Mass Insurance and Investments, Grow your wealth,
Protect your future, use.

Speaker 2 (01:18:40):
Talks env hither.

Speaker 3 (01:18:42):
We would have enough money for everything if we just
stop paying people who can work not to work once
you make a fair points six twenty four. Now time
to check in on the market. Samtrathuy is from Milford
Asset Management. Hey, Sam, good evening either, Okay, Sam, So
we're starting to see the signs that Trump's tariffs are
impacting the corporate earnings and whatnot. What are you seeing
coming through? What are the initial impacts?

Speaker 18 (01:19:01):
Yes, we certainly are. I think there's indications both locally
and from the large US listed companies that these tariffs
are real and they're starting to buy it. So the
current earning season underway in the US has been dominated
by a few concerns from a pretty diverse list of
companies that these tariffs are coming through. It's the first
time that many of these businesses have spoken publicly since

(01:19:22):
Trump's Liberation Day. So to give you a flavor of
it at the very headline level, the Port of Los
Angeles was out overnight and that's the busiest port in
the US, indicating that pandemic style shipping issues are coming back.
So imports from China down thirty percent in the past
week or so, as many retailers ground to a halt,
and it's a matter of weeks before inventory starts to

(01:19:43):
inty out on many shelves across the US. Else Where,
you've got the likes of Delivery Giant or courier ups
indicating that it's going to cut twenty thousand jobs to
lower costs and response. And more broadly, it's a variety
of companies from airlines to large car manufacturer is having
to either slash or pull back their outlook statements for
the year ahead. So that's globally. Locally, our companies haven't

(01:20:07):
been immune either. Those with material US exposures have also
reported impact. So at the very pointing end of it,
caravan operator tourism holdings indicated in a recent update a
sharp drop of over fifty percent and inbound bookings for
its US business and elsewhere. Wind Exported Delegate signaled that
there's real uncertainty and it's forward orders from the US distributors.

(01:20:29):
So tariffs are becoming real and are beginning to impact earnings.

Speaker 3 (01:20:33):
And so how is this changing what companies say about
their outlook?

Speaker 18 (01:20:37):
What is driving I think the large US counties to
really slash or walk away from their guidance or the
typical outlook statement is the real uncertainty around the situation.
So these management teams are sitting there either seeing very
weak demand all of a sudden turn up, or having
to put through very material price likes to their products
and wondering what's that going to do to consumer demands.
So with their prior outlook comments unlike actually reflecting anything

(01:21:01):
like what has played out in that announcement earlier this
month on Liberation Day, it is really causing that uncertainty.

Speaker 12 (01:21:08):
So at the extreme end of it.

Speaker 18 (01:21:10):
As an example, you've got the US airline industry, and
demand in that sector has been very quick to respond.
So every major US airline, Delta American airlines, etc. Has
pulled guidance and in the case of United they have
provided a recession scenario where it's consistent with very sharp
weakening demand for domestically to travel. So ultimately huge uncertainty.

(01:21:31):
No one has a clear view of where we're going
to end up, and it's delaying businesses making decisions to
see how the situation plays out.

Speaker 3 (01:21:38):
Okay, so Sam put this all together, how do you
think the market is interpreting the weekend earnings because we
had a decent recovery in the last week or so,
haven't we.

Speaker 18 (01:21:45):
That's right, Yes, certainly the market has recovered quite materially
in the past week after that initial tariff shock at
the extend of the tariffs earlier in the month. So
I think it's fair to say the market is taking
a glass offull approach to earnings at this stage, so
reflecting essentially that trade deals will be done quickly and
the impacts that we are seeing coming through at the moment,
we will be pretty short term live. So if you

(01:22:05):
look at the S and P five hundred index headline
indicts and the US is an indication it is not
far below the level it was prior to that Liberation
DATAFF announcement's roughly two percent below that level. So the
risk is really that Trump and his negotiation team cannot
get the appropriate deals done quickly enough, and the consumers
we'll have to will continue to pull back and hence

(01:22:26):
the outlet for corporateands the news to weekend. So hopefully
a solution has found soon.

Speaker 3 (01:22:30):
Brilliant stuff, Sam, thank you as always appreciate it, Sam
trathre We have Milfit asset Management. We're going to deal
with Fucker Upper next and the news is coming at us.

Speaker 1 (01:22:42):
If it's to do with money, it matters to you.
The business hour with head the duplicl and theirs, insurance
and investments, grow your wealth, protect your future news talks.

Speaker 2 (01:22:53):
That'd be.

Speaker 19 (01:22:59):
Thank you, all right.

Speaker 3 (01:23:11):
Gavin Gray is going to be with us out of
the UK in ten minutes time, and one of the
things we're going to talk to him about is Meghan Markle,
otherwise known as HRH Duchess of Sussex. Now, whoops, we
all thought that we weren't going to refer to her
as the HRH Duchess of Sussex, but apparently she's referring
to herself as that, and now the reason that we

(01:23:31):
know this is because she sent a gift basket to
somebody that she knows, I think was somebody she's doing
a podcast with or whatever. And in the gift basket
was two tubs of ice cream and some homemade strawberry
jam and a card that said, with the compliments of HRH,
the Duchess of Sussex. Now mate who she sent it
to put that on social media and everybody saw it,

(01:23:52):
and people with eagle eyed work, hang on, Meghan didn't, didn't.
Didn't Elizabeth say you can't use the HRH anymore because
you and Harry decided to abandon the Royals and naf
off to California. Yeah, you're not supposed to be using it.
But then of course the two of them, because they're unbelievable,
said no, no, no, it's totally fine if we use it,

(01:24:13):
because we're just not allowed to use the HRH in public,
like commercially, we're allowed to use it privately. And this
was privately whatever. That is absolute bs because there was
someone else who lost the HRH as well, that was
Prince Andrew, and Prince Andrew doesn't use it in public
or privately or at all, and it is a rough day.
I will tell you when Andrew is doing a better

(01:24:34):
job of following the rules than you. So anyway, Gavin
Gray is going to talk us through that shortly. And
by the way, that is not the end of the
Megan Michael news that I have for you, because she
is incorrigible at the moment. Stand by for the next
but twenty three away from seven. Now the future is
secured for Fucker Puppa Skifield. Doc has granted Fucker Puppa
Holdings a ten year concession to operate the skifield. And
this comes after the government spent fifty million dollars to

(01:24:56):
keep the skifield going after Rupe who Alpine Lifts went bust.
Dave Maysie is fucking Pappa Holding's chief executive and with us. Hey, Dave, congratulations,
Thank you very much.

Speaker 12 (01:25:07):
Is it an honor to follow an article on Megan?

Speaker 7 (01:25:10):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (01:25:10):
Jeez, I don't know, do you know what? Just console
yourself with the fact that whatever you do, you're not
going to annoy people as much as she does. So
you're already on the winner. I want to talk to
you about this ten year concession. Now, normally the concessions
are a lot longer. What's happened here? Why have you
It's like thirty to forty years in most cases, so
why have you got ten?

Speaker 12 (01:25:30):
Oh, we were quite comfortable with the ten that was
on the table and develop that of discussions with EWI
and DOC And it's really to provide at least five
years of ability in a less pressured environment to have
the discussions with EWI to see what are the long

(01:25:51):
term acceptable outcomes for that place in the context of
Fucko Babesci area.

Speaker 3 (01:25:57):
And is the answer that that is all that EWE
would have allowed you to have.

Speaker 12 (01:26:02):
Well, possibly, but we actually agreed with the philosophy that
it is pointless trying to resolve a twenty or thirty
or forty year future in the context of what has
been going on since RAL went into liquidation and their receivership,
and so to take the opportunity to keep it running
and ticking and providing value on benefits for communities and

(01:26:26):
North Islanders primarily and communities in the central North Island
and have the opportunity with the eight various EWI entities
that we need to engage with to do that in
a less pressured, time pressured environment. Is the only way
we're going to understand and develop a long term future.

Speaker 3 (01:26:47):
How did you feel about putting I mean you obviously
have to put a fair amount of investment into this business,
and knowing that you're doing that, knowing you've only got
ten years rather than thirty or forty, comfortable with that?

Speaker 12 (01:27:00):
Yeah, I mean our investments in the next few years
will be focused on changes that we can make that
will have a relatively fast payback. So yes, snowmaking is
the classic snowmaking and groomyo classics. And then past that,
we're taking on thirteen and a half million dollars worth

(01:27:20):
of debt that is due for repayment in three or
four years time, and we need to work through that
with those bondholders and those providers of that debt, and
then hopefully within five to ten years we have an
answer on what's an acceptable long term operation and development,

(01:27:42):
and then we will apply for a longer term license.

Speaker 3 (01:27:45):
Yesterday the EWE told newsroom dot co dot and said
that they want the government's retreat from the mountain. Does
that include you too?

Speaker 12 (01:27:55):
I think that my reading of that newsroom article, it's
from EWE of ninety two for it tire and it's
more they want the government removed from the governance of
themonger and it steered because they believe that the original Tuku,

(01:28:18):
which put place the peaks of the three mountains in
a co governance relationship rather than a gift, the Crown
has an honored their side of that co governance. And
it's complex, and you and I aren't going to solve
complex issues like that.

Speaker 3 (01:28:38):
You worry about climate change and the fact that you're
going to have less and less snow up there.

Speaker 12 (01:28:43):
That's part of what we need to start doing over
the next five to ten years is transition the business
and that the entity into something that can be sustainable
throughout the variability of weather that we're going to have
in our lifetime. And we're like, you know, if you're
farming in the far North and then fifty years time

(01:29:05):
it's going to be two degrees warmer, you'll start to
think about what crops would I be planting in fifty
years time, but you won't necessarily move to them tomorrow
and will be in that game. And yes, definitely there'll
be shorter seasons, will be less snow, and will use
snowmaking opportunities and snow management opportunities to mitigate some of that.
The Skywalker is a classic investment that was targeted at

(01:29:29):
providing a stronger year round business or commercial activity. And
so there's a transition process that's to go there. But
we know what the current scientific evidence is sane about
what the climate would look like in New Zealand and
fifty years time. But it'll be a slow process and

(01:29:50):
we will transition to match that. I've got no doubts
about that.

Speaker 3 (01:29:53):
Well, Dave, beast of luck with it, and I hope
you have a wonderful time running this business. Dave Maysie,
the chief executive of Fucker Pupper Holdings Hea for see
Allen so Aspat has broken out between Trump and Amazon
over the tariffs right, and it was reported that Amazon
was looking at telling it's US based customers how much
they were paying in tariffs for stuff that they were buying.

(01:30:13):
They've got they've got a little I think it's called
Amazon Hall or something like that. It's like a low
low cost version of Amazon. And it's supposed to go
up against Timu and Shine Sheen Shane. Nobody knows how
to pronounce it anyway. It was supposed to be like
the American version of that, and on that they were
going to present. The word was they were going to
give you a little breakdown of this is how much
your items costing you, and this is how much you're

(01:30:33):
paying in tariffs. Anyway, the wind the White House got
wind of this, and they got very upset, very prickly
about it, because they get prickly about a lot of things.
And they went out public. They sent old mate out,
you know, the hot looking bird who does Trump's comms.
They sent her out and she said as hasta. And
so then Amazon went on the defensive and said, oh, who, well,
we'll hold on. We were thinking about doing it, but
we didn't actually end up doing it, and we're not

(01:30:55):
going to do it. And then Donald Trump got on
the blow at Jeff Bezos. And these guys have sort
of like a frenemy relationship. And Jeff Bezos obviously found
at Amazons who's very influential in this particular scenario. So
Trump calls him up and gets him to call it off.
And this is quite an intense response from the White House.
But why I'm telling you this is that this intensity
in the response from the White House is probably illustrative, right,

(01:31:18):
And what we are seeing it as is proof that
the White House and Donald Trump are under intense political
pressure over the tariffs, and they are not enjoying the
way that everybody is responding to it. So they will
blink a little bit more, hopefully. Sixteen away from seven, croasing.

Speaker 1 (01:31:33):
The numbers and getting the results. It's Heather due to
clan with the business hour and mass insurance and investments,
grow your wealth, protect your future.

Speaker 3 (01:31:44):
These talks that'd be be very clear here the local
E we want control of the total mountain. Dave is
fudging it. Look, this is not a secret. Local EWE
are very upfront about the fact that they want control
of the total mountain and Dave has to fudge it.
I suppose your words, not mine, because Dave has to
maintainant a relationship so he can't be too critical, which
will be what you just heard there. Thirteen away from seven.

(01:32:06):
Gavin Gray is a UK correspondent. Hey Gevin, good afternoon.

Speaker 12 (01:32:10):
They're Heather.

Speaker 3 (01:32:11):
Well, okay, so we've got this. We've got the old
case of these guys who chop down the sycamore tree
at Hadrian's Wall. Has the trial just started?

Speaker 12 (01:32:17):
Has it?

Speaker 20 (01:32:18):
Yes?

Speaker 22 (01:32:18):
It has It's likely to go on for a week,
but the opening submissions have been absolutely fascinating because it
is being said by the prosecution that the pair kept
a wedge of the tree as a trophy for felling it.
That they were described to be on a moronic mission
to take this tree down. For those that can't remember,

(01:32:40):
the Sycamore Gap is a famous piece of north East England.
It's a heritage site. Hadrian's Wall runs through it, built
by the Romans, and a tree while standing there for
more than one hundred and fifty years, pictured between these
inner dip between these two hills. It's featured in lots
of Hollywood films and and really is a very very

(01:33:02):
famous site. And then one night somebody chopped it down.
And now two people are thirty nine and a thirty
two year old from Cumbria who traveled a roughly forty
or so minutes it's been alleged in a range rover
to chop it down, have effectively just decided that they
are now going to be on trial for this. The
tree was planted in the late eighteen hundreds. The prosecutors

(01:33:24):
are absolutely convinced that they have their people. There was
even a forty second grainy video on one of the
mobile phones. It's alleged off the pair that they can
be seen cutting this down. So the criminal act, as
it's been, you know, alluded to in court, was a
moronic mission that the pair were reveling in, delighted that

(01:33:47):
it made international headlines. As I said, the trial continues
and they deny their involvement.

Speaker 3 (01:33:52):
Devin, is there a mode of here? There has been
just like why did.

Speaker 19 (01:33:55):
They do it?

Speaker 22 (01:33:58):
I think a little bit of notar they founded? I
dare say, funny, those are the allegations that the prosecutors
are putting through.

Speaker 3 (01:34:06):
Oh such lolls. Hey, now, Meghan Michael, was she allowed
to use the HRH.

Speaker 7 (01:34:11):
Or not.

Speaker 22 (01:34:14):
Well, no, as part of an agreement with the Queen
not in public. Now there's been the spit of a
spat now because on a video accompanying a podcast from
a UK cosmetics entrepreneur, Meghan has sent this entrepreneur some
jam and goodies from her collection and it is attached

(01:34:36):
with a card that is signed from her Royal Highness
or HRH as that's known with the compliments of HRH,
the Duchess of Sussex. The card says to this entrepreneur
Jamie Kern Lima. So all of a sudden, people are like, ah,
hang on a minute, because that was an agreement with
the late Queen to say you can keep the title,

(01:34:56):
but you really mustn't use it. And what Meghan and
her sources are saying anyway is effectively I know I
didn't use it in public. This was a private gift
to a private friend. I must say. There's some dispute
about exactly how friendly they are, and that therefore it's
not breaking the tradition. However, of course, when the pair
left the UK and they stopped being working roles back

(01:35:19):
in twenty twenty, this was one of the conditions, and
so plenty of people here absolutely furious and suggesting that
the King go the full tilt now and remove the
hr AH titles as well.

Speaker 3 (01:35:31):
Interesting. Gevin, thanks very much, do appreciate it. We'll talk
to you in a couple of days. Kevin Gray Are
UK corresponds to here's another one that I told you.
There's a sicker one from Meghan. So this podcast, right,
so all my who she sent the gift basket too.
She was on the podcast and they were on each
other's podcast, and blah blah, blahevshmoshmoe. So the one the
other one and so meke an end the other one

(01:35:52):
and the other one. If yi is a makeup entrepreneur
who's done very well for herself because she sold her
business to Lori Al for some ridiculous amount of money
and she is just like loaded anyway, Megan says to her,
and I quote, I feel like we haven't talked about
our blood type, but yours is probably an A positive
like mine. Because I was like, even my blood is overachieving?

(01:36:20):
Does this? Does that sit? Does that sit as badly
with you as it does with me? Even my blood
is overachieving? Like She's like, I'm such an overachiever. I've
got a plus blood test to get it. What a knob?
Eight away from seven.

Speaker 1 (01:36:36):
It's the heather Toople See Allan Drive Full Show podcast
on iHeartRadio powered by Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 3 (01:36:44):
Six away from seven. By the way, I can't let
the day go by without telling you this. Now, these
lists come out semi regularly and they're kind of annoying.
But but but we're gonna I still think that this
one is got There's something worth saying about this one.
It's a Cathedral Cove and Corrimandel has come in on
the list of the top fifty beaches in the world.
It's coming at number forty five. And I can't speak

(01:37:06):
to whether this list is influential or whatever, but it's
voted on by travel industry professionals and influences and journalists
and stuff. And the reason I'm telling you this is
because so many times Piha comes in as our best beach,
and I take issue with that because Pihar is only
the best beach for killing people. It's not actually a
good beach. It's a very dangerous beach. So any other

(01:37:29):
beach in this country that comes in on a list
as the best beach in the country, I'm on board with.
And so I'm on board with this. So Cathedral Covi
is forty five. Number one is some beach Carla Goloreze
in Sardinia in Italy, only accessible by boat or foot.
Number two is the Philippines Intalula Beach. Number three is
bang Bao Beach in Thailand. Australia's got three in there

(01:37:52):
at number eleven, Turquoise Bay at number twenty one, Warton
Beach at number thirty seven, the well named Nudi beach.
I love the Australians like, what do you do at
that beach? You get nerdy? Let's call it nerdy beach.
So that's that one. And even the Cook's got a
beach in there one foot Island number seventeen. But we're
there too with Cathedral Cove and thank god it's not
p how right and I can hear it already?

Speaker 7 (01:38:14):
Hit me with it.

Speaker 23 (01:38:15):
Africa its cover well, originally performed by Turto, but this
is Weezer's cover of it that they released a few
years ago. Do you want to tell the story about
why I was playing this other?

Speaker 3 (01:38:23):
So this is why the young people like Africa at
the moment, because Weezer was amongst a lot of things
that happened at the same time to kind of propel
Africa into people's consciousness again. But here's the thing. Weezer
are so embarrassed at doing the song they did. They
just did it for a bit of a hoon, and
then it became it actually went into the charts. So

(01:38:45):
now they are obliged to play it at their concert
and they hate it.

Speaker 23 (01:38:48):
Yeah, it was a fourteen year old girl, I think
who just ran a Twitter account. Of course, that's right,
Weezer Africa or something. She was like, no, she was
just trying trying to get Weaza to play Africa and
they behaved and it just got out of control, beyond
anyone's the power to stop it.

Speaker 3 (01:38:59):
Okay, let's have a listen. Se if it's any good,
I'm gonna say here makes a commentary.

Speaker 20 (01:39:07):
Original for me.

Speaker 7 (01:39:21):
I wait, wait nightly about yourself.

Speaker 3 (01:39:26):
You ways see you tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (01:40:17):
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