November 26, 2025 • 9 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Q&A and ZB Saturday Mornings host Jack Tame and Kiwiblog writer and Curia pollster David Farrar joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Port of Auckland CEO Roger Gray has slammed new Zealand's culture of saying no - and that it's off-putting to prospective investors. Does he have a point here?
Mayors and regional councillors have had mixed reactions to the Government's decision to reform local Government. What do we think of all this?
New reports show car crashes have come down thanks to new technological developments. How much do we rely on this tech while driving?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Twenty one away from six the Huddle.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
With New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, a name you can
trust locally and globally.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
On the Huddle of This This Evening, David Farrer, QB
Blog and Curia and Jack Tame, host of Q and
A and Saturday Mornings on Newstalk z'd be high you guys, hello,
think he's onto something? David? What do you think?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Oh? Look, I think he's absolutely right. You can go
with conservatism nimbiism. The thought that came to me is, Heather,
and you used to live in Wellington when you were
a back younger, is the Wellington Hurban Motorway, right? You
would think it'd be impossible not to have a motorway
and to the Wellington capital. Let me tell you that
one of whom in motorway would never have got consented
(00:40):
today because do you.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Know what they did?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
They look, they plowed it through four hundred grades. Could
you imagine today someone proposing anything that moved even one grade?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The home suggesting then that the no thing is a
recent advent.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh, I think it's definitely got worse. I think some
of the complacency has always been there, But I think
it definitely has got worse where Ah. Look, we all
know we need more renewable energy. Everyone says it every
time you go out and say, you know, someone wanted
to put one turbines at Bearing here, perfect place for
(01:20):
windy Willington and a few dozen people who lived on
the other side of the harbor. I said, oh, and
I might spoil my view, and we didn't get her
one turbines.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Okay, why are we doing this? Jack?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (01:34):
I think the conservatism point is a really good one.
And really we don't think of ourselves as being conservative,
but there are a lot of good reasons to be
conservative about New Zealand. There's a lot of good stuff
that we don't want to change. I reckon, personally we
are less No Zealand than are maybe, oh, year on,
(01:54):
or let me think about it. Oh hang on, let
me just refer that to the appeals court or perhaps
yeah Zealand, Yes, that's the thing, right, Yeah, well it's
almost it's actually in some ways it's more painful, like
take the take the urban way for example, Like we
got there in the end, but the process for getting
there was painful, right, And I reckon, maybe this is
one of the big things we need to change. We
(02:16):
just need to be more assertive in making these decisions,
so when we do choose to support something, we get
it done much faster.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Do you know what the other thing is I was thinking, David,
is we actually are genuinely very nice people and we
don't want to offend people. We don't want to cause upset.
So when twelve people are upset about the windmills, we
got on. But look, maybe it's not worth it. Just
don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, look you touch on saying worth being Australian. I've
done business just a cup of Australian companies and they
will try and cut your throat over every last one
hundred dollars and a million dollar transaction, but nothing personally
at the end, go out have a drink. In New Zealand,
it would be like haraffic to play that hard ball.
(02:56):
So there is a very very different culture an Australian
business and news own business or are definitely polite and
they're a totally bad things. But maybe you can take
it too far, David.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Somebody says the other problem is that we smoke more
pots than they do in Australia and that's the problem.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I don't know that. I have to say we probably
do we listen to really will have their own you know,
they've got the gangs and the mafia there. But I'm
sure they're.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Doing They're doing class as they're doing like you know,
like heroin and like charging things M D M A
and stuff, don't.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
You think, Jack, Well, I mean this is definitely pivoted
to an area I wasn't expecting.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
But dive into the psychology in this country.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
If we're talking about the productivity benefits of various different
classes of drugs. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't possibly want
to comment, but I.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Can done on copain and pee than you are. But
this is undermining my argument because.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
There's lot of people I can say only class to
get done in Australia.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Well, there you go, David, listen to that or it's
a real life experience. We'll take a break so we
can just come down from that admission and we'll come
back shortly.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, the only
truly global brand.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Oh yeah, back with the huddle. Jack Tayman, David Farrett,
now Jack Thomas Coglan of the Herald reckons that the
scrapping of the regional councils is just the start, and
we're going to end up scrapping all of the local
authorities basically all together, and ending up with eleven big
territorial authorities like Auckland Super City. Are you cool with that?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Do you know?
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I think the arguments in favor of amalgamation are very strong, indeed,
the devils in the detail, But I do think it's
curious that a government that has sold itself on localism
would go that far. I mean, think about the ways
in which they rejected the advice of the commissioners in
Todenger to bring back democracy at the first available opportunity.
Think about the ways in which they sold the three
(04:58):
Wards policies. So you're going to be able to come
up with your own plans, and then compare that with
some of the decisions since the decisions over rates capping,
for example, and now this amalgamation. It's sort of like,
I think, at the very least you could say that
maybe they're kind of talking out both sides of their mouths,
you know, like, oh, yeah, localism, localism actually not so much.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I am just so excited about it,
David that I don't give two hoopes what they've said
in the past. I want this so badly, what about you.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
I think they've been quite cunning with it, because Lot absolutely,
if you look at what's important, that's not getting rid
of the elected councilors on region replacing them with MEAs
So we have two years to come up with a
regional amalgamation plan and the Minister can improve them, not referendum,
that's the key. But rather than announced we're amalgamating seventy
(05:48):
six councils, which will get a huge outcry, they're saying
we'll leave it to each region to work out their
own plan and then we'll put up for approval. And
that's smart because Lot in Willing, you might have malgareate
the four big urban councils, but you probably want to
mailgate the three wire rapper oneson. So we'll now each
region to work out what works for them. But the
(06:10):
key thing is if you've got the Mears on side,
but they have to submit the plan, you're not going
to be facing you know what, They've hadden Hawk's Bay
forever where one council wants it, the other doesn't.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah, Jack, did you realize that we have sixteen hundred
local body elected politicians across this country? Sixteen hundred?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
And when you think about the things that they're responsible for, like,
do we honest does anyone honestly think that those elected
officials have the expertise when it comes to governance of
some of the things they're responsible for. I think it's
a very hard argument to make it.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I mean, the only disappointment I'll tell you what my
disappointment about it is, Jack, is that when I retire,
I was I was really hoping to have this as
kind of like a really nice little addition to my income. No, yeah,
go on alone.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
It's like being on the body corporate and a part building.
It's one of those things that for a moment, you
think this is going to be a great idea, and
then the moment dolls. I can know that, But have
you been to one meeting, let alone thirty or fifty
a year. It would be such a punished.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
You know, you put your ear pods in and you
listen to something else and pretend that you're there. I
think it's easy, easy money. I'm just working.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Either you would hate it. You would so hate it.
Possibly your fellow counselors might be only one. She would
hate it more, argue with you all day.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
There we go. There drives up my retirement plans. Now, David,
have you got one of those cars that just breaks
for you?
Speaker 4 (07:31):
I do?
Speaker 3 (07:32):
And lot the safety features undoubtedly have made carsing. What
most of all was the three sixty degree cameras, the
backing camera. Do you remember that when you back out
driveway and you get ship neck pains, you're always looking
behind you, et cetera, and you know you can't quite
see anything. But absolutely, I think technology got Modern cars
(07:55):
are actually computers on wheels.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
They really are, right Jack, I can't. I can't keep
up with you, though. What have you? Are you still
driving that old like clapped out Corolla?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
No, it from the old clapped out Corolla.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
I sold that old clapped out Corolla and got a
slightly newer Corolla, so I'm still.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Corolla safety features.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
It's got all of the safety features.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It's a Corolla.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
It's fantastic and it's got But he's a thing. I
turned most of them off because they just got so
because so the lane departure, I wouldn't be departing from
my lane, but I would just like go around a
cyclist or something like that, and then it would start
screaming at me, and I thought, on ah, I can't
be doing this. Honestly, I felt like it was making
me a least safe driver.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So anxiety.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
To tell you what though, the reversing camera, I reckon
that alone, it's just been the biggest game changer.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Well, yeah, because the other day what I did was
I've got an old jealopy at the beach which hasn't
got anything on it, like anything, any fancy things, and
so what I found is an old jeep wrangler and
I found myself. I just backed down. I backed out
without looking over my shoulder because I forgot I had to.
So there is a Yeah, there is a downside to
having all the cameras is that when you get one
(09:04):
that doesn't have cameras, people need to beware anyway, don't
tell anyone about that or I'm not going to get insurance. Guys,
thank you, I really appreciated look after yourselves. It's Jack
Tame host a Q and A Saturday mornings on News
Talk and David Farrah. Do you hear Jack was just
like oh oh because yeah. I Also when I did it,
I was like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive, Listen live to
news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
Twenty one away from six the Huddle.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
With New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, a name you can
trust locally and globally.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
On the Huddle of This This Evening, David Farrer, QB
Blog and Curia and Jack Tame, host of Q and
A and Saturday Mornings on Newstalk z'd be high you guys, hello,
think he's onto something? David? What do you think?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Oh? Look, I think he's absolutely right. You can go
with conservatism nimbiism. The thought that came to me is, Heather,
and you used to live in Wellington when you were
a back younger, is the Wellington Hurban Motorway, right? You
would think it'd be impossible not to have a motorway
and to the Wellington capital. Let me tell you that
one of whom in motorway would never have got consented
(00:40):
today because do you.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Know what they did?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
They look, they plowed it through four hundred grades. Could
you imagine today someone proposing anything that moved even one grade?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The home suggesting then that the no thing is a
recent advent.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh, I think it's definitely got worse. I think some
of the complacency has always been there, But I think
it definitely has got worse where Ah. Look, we all
know we need more renewable energy. Everyone says it every
time you go out and say, you know, someone wanted
to put one turbines at Bearing here, perfect place for
(01:20):
windy Willington and a few dozen people who lived on
the other side of the harbor. I said, oh, and
I might spoil my view, and we didn't get her
one turbines.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Okay, why are we doing this? Jack?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (01:34):
I think the conservatism point is a really good one.
And really we don't think of ourselves as being conservative,
but there are a lot of good reasons to be
conservative about New Zealand. There's a lot of good stuff
that we don't want to change. I reckon, personally we
are less No Zealand than are maybe, oh, year on,
(01:54):
or let me think about it. Oh hang on, let
me just refer that to the appeals court or perhaps
yeah Zealand, Yes, that's the thing, right, Yeah, well it's
almost it's actually in some ways it's more painful, like
take the take the urban way for example, Like we
got there in the end, but the process for getting
there was painful, right, And I reckon, maybe this is
one of the big things we need to change. We
(02:16):
just need to be more assertive in making these decisions,
so when we do choose to support something, we get
it done much faster.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Do you know what the other thing is I was thinking, David,
is we actually are genuinely very nice people and we
don't want to offend people. We don't want to cause upset.
So when twelve people are upset about the windmills, we
got on. But look, maybe it's not worth it. Just
don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, look you touch on saying worth being Australian. I've
done business just a cup of Australian companies and they
will try and cut your throat over every last one
hundred dollars and a million dollar transaction, but nothing personally
at the end, go out have a drink. In New Zealand,
it would be like haraffic to play that hard ball.
(02:56):
So there is a very very different culture an Australian
business and news own business or are definitely polite and
they're a totally bad things. But maybe you can take
it too far, David.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Somebody says the other problem is that we smoke more
pots than they do in Australia and that's the problem.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I don't know that. I have to say we probably
do we listen to really will have their own you know,
they've got the gangs and the mafia there. But I'm
sure they're.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Doing They're doing class as they're doing like you know,
like heroin and like charging things M D M A
and stuff, don't.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
You think, Jack, Well, I mean this is definitely pivoted
to an area I wasn't expecting.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
But dive into the psychology in this country.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
If we're talking about the productivity benefits of various different
classes of drugs. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't possibly want
to comment, but I.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Can done on copain and pee than you are. But
this is undermining my argument because.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
There's lot of people I can say only class to
get done in Australia.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Well, there you go, David, listen to that or it's
a real life experience. We'll take a break so we
can just come down from that admission and we'll come
back shortly.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, the only
truly global brand.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Oh yeah, back with the huddle. Jack Tayman, David Farrett,
now Jack Thomas Coglan of the Herald reckons that the
scrapping of the regional councils is just the start, and
we're going to end up scrapping all of the local
authorities basically all together, and ending up with eleven big
territorial authorities like Auckland Super City. Are you cool with that?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Do you know?
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I think the arguments in favor of amalgamation are very strong, indeed,
the devils in the detail, But I do think it's
curious that a government that has sold itself on localism
would go that far. I mean, think about the ways
in which they rejected the advice of the commissioners in
Todenger to bring back democracy at the first available opportunity.
Think about the ways in which they sold the three
(04:58):
Wards policies. So you're going to be able to come
up with your own plans, and then compare that with
some of the decisions since the decisions over rates capping,
for example, and now this amalgamation. It's sort of like,
I think, at the very least you could say that
maybe they're kind of talking out both sides of their mouths,
you know, like, oh, yeah, localism, localism actually not so much.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I am just so excited about it,
David that I don't give two hoopes what they've said
in the past. I want this so badly, what about you.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
I think they've been quite cunning with it, because Lot absolutely,
if you look at what's important, that's not getting rid
of the elected councilors on region replacing them with MEAs
So we have two years to come up with a
regional amalgamation plan and the Minister can improve them, not referendum,
that's the key. But rather than announced we're amalgamating seventy
(05:48):
six councils, which will get a huge outcry, they're saying
we'll leave it to each region to work out their
own plan and then we'll put up for approval. And
that's smart because Lot in Willing, you might have malgareate
the four big urban councils, but you probably want to
mailgate the three wire rapper oneson. So we'll now each
region to work out what works for them. But the
(06:10):
key thing is if you've got the Mears on side,
but they have to submit the plan, you're not going
to be facing you know what, They've hadden Hawk's Bay
forever where one council wants it, the other doesn't.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah, Jack, did you realize that we have sixteen hundred
local body elected politicians across this country? Sixteen hundred?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
And when you think about the things that they're responsible for, like,
do we honest does anyone honestly think that those elected
officials have the expertise when it comes to governance of
some of the things they're responsible for. I think it's
a very hard argument to make it.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I mean, the only disappointment I'll tell you what my
disappointment about it is, Jack, is that when I retire,
I was I was really hoping to have this as
kind of like a really nice little addition to my income. No, yeah,
go on alone.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
It's like being on the body corporate and a part building.
It's one of those things that for a moment, you
think this is going to be a great idea, and
then the moment dolls. I can know that, But have
you been to one meeting, let alone thirty or fifty
a year. It would be such a punished.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
You know, you put your ear pods in and you
listen to something else and pretend that you're there. I
think it's easy, easy money. I'm just working.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Either you would hate it. You would so hate it.
Possibly your fellow counselors might be only one. She would
hate it more, argue with you all day.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
There we go. There drives up my retirement plans. Now, David,
have you got one of those cars that just breaks
for you?
Speaker 4 (07:31):
I do?
Speaker 3 (07:32):
And lot the safety features undoubtedly have made carsing. What
most of all was the three sixty degree cameras, the
backing camera. Do you remember that when you back out
driveway and you get ship neck pains, you're always looking
behind you, et cetera, and you know you can't quite
see anything. But absolutely, I think technology got Modern cars
(07:55):
are actually computers on wheels.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
They really are, right Jack, I can't. I can't keep
up with you, though. What have you? Are you still
driving that old like clapped out Corolla?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
No, it from the old clapped out Corolla.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
I sold that old clapped out Corolla and got a
slightly newer Corolla, so I'm still.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Corolla safety features.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
It's got all of the safety features.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It's a Corolla.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
It's fantastic and it's got But he's a thing. I
turned most of them off because they just got so
because so the lane departure, I wouldn't be departing from
my lane, but I would just like go around a
cyclist or something like that, and then it would start
screaming at me, and I thought, on ah, I can't
be doing this. Honestly, I felt like it was making
me a least safe driver.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So anxiety.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
To tell you what though, the reversing camera, I reckon
that alone, it's just been the biggest game changer.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Well, yeah, because the other day what I did was
I've got an old jealopy at the beach which hasn't
got anything on it, like anything, any fancy things, and
so what I found is an old jeep wrangler and
I found myself. I just backed down. I backed out
without looking over my shoulder because I forgot I had to.
So there is a Yeah, there is a downside to
having all the cameras is that when you get one
(09:04):
that doesn't have cameras, people need to beware anyway, don't
tell anyone about that or I'm not going to get insurance. Guys,
thank you, I really appreciated look after yourselves. It's Jack
Tame host a Q and A Saturday mornings on News
Talk and David Farrah. Do you hear Jack was just
like oh oh because yeah. I Also when I did it,
I was like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive, Listen live to
news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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