October 30, 2024 • 9 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett and former Health NZ chair Rob Campbell joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Health NZ is under fire again for their spending - on top of the recent $60,000 catering bill, it's been revealed they spent $100,000 on catering costs last year. Can they really justify this?
Jeff Bezos has defended stopping the Washington Post's endorsement of Kamala Harris, saying it creates the 'perception of bias'. Is this a good argument or bad excuse?
Police are opposed to a suicide prevention fundraiser in Dunedin distributing alcohol. Do they have a point - or is this a step too far?
Is it time to ditch the haka - or is Joe Marler wrong about it?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Huddle with New Zealand Souththerby's International Realty, local and
global exposure like no other.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
On the Huddle of me Nick Legget Infrastructure in New
Zealand and Rob Campbell at Chancellor in former Health New
Zealand s heare hello, are.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
You too afternoon? Comrade?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Who are you trying to trigger by saying that I
didn't know it trigger anybody? It felt pointed, didn't it, Nick?
I don't believe this protestation of innocence to you.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I thought it was amusing.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Listen, Rob, I do need to talk to you about
this conference. How please explain to me why Health New
Zealand needs to get four hundred finance people into a
room together. What's the value in that?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I would say zero. It never happened when I was
involved with Tatura. And that's really the issue of these things.
I mean, whether that costs X y Z decayed for
them or not as not really a very big part
of the cost. I don't think. The question is whether
you need to have who of the size of this
type at all and what the priorities that are being
(01:04):
applied are. So yeah, I think it's very disappointing to
hear that.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Okay, So Rob, if you and I cannot and we're
totally different life experiences, but neither of us and you
obviously know what you're talking about, neither of us actually
know why they need to have a conference like this,
Then why are they having a conference like this? This
is just a bit of a whoy, a little get together.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I think my experiences, when you have a lot of managers,
they tend to make things up for themselves to do,
and I think that's been a problem in health for
quite some time, not focusing on the real issues at
the front line and focusing on these sorts of things.
I mean, there is a need to communicate and coordinate
(01:47):
amongst the various finance teams that operate into Fartara, but
that does not have to happen and in fact doesn't
most efficiently happen by getting them together for who of
that kind. So I think it's a nonsense. And the catering,
it's just a small part of it.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Nick, what proportion do you think of conferences in the
public sector? Are just parties no value? Otherwise?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Well, it's difficult to say. I mean, the thing is
you do want to allow people the opportunity if it's
going to provide value for their organization and for their
role to be able to get together where it's needed.
The issue is it's hard to defend when it's four
hundred people who are already part of the same system.
And I think, as Rob says, it's not always the
face to face, it's actually this should be operating as
(02:33):
one system anyway. It becomes very hard to justify when
you're an organization under pressure and you know very much
in the red Nick isst.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
This stuff just happens because people are like, you know what,
we deserve a little We deserve a little trip to
Eden Park and or sky Stadium, and if you cannopad,
should we do that. I feel like they're taking the mickey.
I feel like it's become part of the culture in
the public sect.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
But the justification, if it's not ready and evident upon scrutiny,
then you know that it probably wasn't done for the
right reasons. And I haven't heard a good defense here,
so there you go.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, I think it's a widespread as well.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
I don't think it's limited to the public sector. You know,
these things happen a lot in the private sector as well.
And you know one of the reasons. Funnily enough, I'm
not allowed to advertise for anyone, am I. But I
was at an airline today, quite a big one in
New Zealand, and they were.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I wonder which one that is?
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Yes, carry on, Yeah, well they were complaining about you know,
there are thirty percent drop in revenue that they're experienced.
A significant part of that is that people are not
having the number of conferences in the amount of travel
that they used to have. So you know, it possibly
is self correcting to some extent. But I wouldn't anyone
like anyone to think that this was purely a problem.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
No, But you see there, here's the thing, rob. If
you're a private company and you want to get your
people together for some kind of you know, cultural lift
or you know, like you want to you want to
lift the culture of the place or whatever, be my guest.
I'm not paying for it. But with the public sector,
we are, which is why we hold them to account
in a different way.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Right, Well you are you are probably paying for it
if you're a customer, so it gets built into the
constructure of the private organization, so you do end up
paying for it.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, I suppose.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Through the text that you're not able to avoid this
is true.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, all right, guys, at your point, we'll take a break,
come back very shortly the.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Huddle with New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty, elevate the marketing
of your home.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Right, you're back with the Hudle, Nick Legand and Rob Campbell. Nick,
I'm keenan. You'll take on Jeff Bezos thinking that he's
fixing media bias by taking away presidential endorsements. What do
you think.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I would have had more sympathy for his position had
it had he uttered it three months ago, not right
at the point of the campaign, when the when the
endorsement was due. Look, it's a different it's a different environment,
doesn't it. In the United States in terms of media
intervention and endorsements, and in the United Kingdom as well
to New Zealand, we tend to although you can sometimes
(05:07):
see a slant in the media, we tend to be
a little bit more independent independent here and we don't
expect to hear from our media. It seems to me
as though this is a bunch of billionaires hedging their
bets on Trump, and that concerns me. A little bit,
because I think you should have the courage of your convictions.
But that also means that you can have the courage
not to say anything, and that's what he's chosen to do.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, I sort of feel rob that. Actually I don't
mind media biased, but I don't want media pretend to
pretend that they're not biased when they are. And actually
a presidential endorsement is quite a nice little signal of
where you sit, and I appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
What do you think, Yeah, I had noticed that you
were in opposed to a bit of media bias here.
They're actually you for noticing that from time to time. Look,
everyone's biased about various things, and the idea that these
papers have ever been particularly you know, objective, I think
I've got some real doubts about I think it's a
(06:01):
bit of a sideshow. Frankly, I think it's more for
someone like Bezos that someone like Musk is getting more
publicity for being an idiot, so he thinks he wants
to do the starving dance by being an idiot as well.
And there's a little bit of a pissing contest, isn't it,
rather than any genuine political content.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yeah, I suppose it's probably an elemented truth to that. Nick,
what do you make of the cops opposing the fundraiser
for suicide serving any alcohol because of the link between
alcohol and suicide.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I think it is a complete overstep on behalf of
authorities this. I've read about the woman who was putting
on this event to draw attention to mental health and suicide.
She had been very open about her own struggles with
mental health. She was running a responsible event that had
been in pray that have been praised with its restriction
(06:51):
on stopping serving alcohol thirty minutes before the end and
having food throughout and free water. It was a It
was an event that was really I think, showcasing how
alcohol can be a moderate backdrop to a nice social event.
That's what we should be aiming for as a country.
Banning and stopping brings out the very behaviors that the
(07:14):
police and Department of Health say that they're trying to stop.
When you ban something just and our record in this
country is there for everybody to see. We're a prohibition
and six o'clock closing, get it, God get us. It
got us too much drinking in too short a time.
And I think we're still living with the consequences of that. Yes,
I think we should educate about alcohol. Of course we should.
(07:35):
We should be upfront about it. We should be as
a society more conservative about the way New Zealanders drink
and our culture to drinking. But banning and having the
sort of finger waggers do this will have the opposite
impact of the one that they want.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
How the corps become so weird about alcohol. Oh, I
can't hear you, Rob.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
It's certainly going to cause some distress amongst police, social
clubs and other social activities if they start to apply
more widely, and so I don't think. I think it'll
be quite limited. And you know, if you take it
to it's extreme, why do you have alcohol Emparliament when
it's discussing important things and we all know that there
is alcohol there and that people sometimes have one or
(08:22):
two and even sometimes get a bit abusive to the
HOYPELOI when they're out meeting them. So this is you know,
the next point is quite right, there are alcohol issues
in New Zealand. They are quite serious. But this is
I think, frankly trivializing the real issues of both suicide
and alcohol by combining the two and taking objections to
(08:42):
this perfectly harmless activity.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Yep, I agree with you, okay, Nick? Yes or no?
The hakker before the All Blacks Games. Should it be
banned for being ridiculous?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
No?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Of course not. You love it?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Do you want me to go on?
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Go on?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
I mean like some guy sort of from you know,
the UK gets sort of I don't know when he
gets offended or he gets wound up about the hacker. Well,
it's kind of the point and like it's a there's
a uniquely New Zealand display and also Oceany if you
look at all the other Pacific nations that do a version,
(09:20):
that's a way that we can display. That's it's this
country that's playing. It's what this country's indigenous people do
before they go on too battle. It's a great display
and I think here we was proud of it and
we shouldn't be worried about what some opposing team says.
You don't go and find your own thing to do, mate?
He rob you.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Yeah, I think Joe Mahler is what Mark Mitchure would
call an idiot. People shouldn't take any notice of them.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Guys, Thank you really appreciate take on Everything Today Is.
Nick Legan and Rob Campbell are hudle.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
This evening for more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen
live to news talks they'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
The Huddle with New Zealand Souththerby's International Realty, local and
global exposure like no other.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
On the Huddle of me Nick Legget Infrastructure in New
Zealand and Rob Campbell at Chancellor in former Health New
Zealand s heare hello, are.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
You too afternoon? Comrade?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Who are you trying to trigger by saying that I
didn't know it trigger anybody? It felt pointed, didn't it, Nick?
I don't believe this protestation of innocence to you.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I thought it was amusing.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Listen, Rob, I do need to talk to you about
this conference. How please explain to me why Health New
Zealand needs to get four hundred finance people into a
room together. What's the value in that?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I would say zero. It never happened when I was
involved with Tatura. And that's really the issue of these things.
I mean, whether that costs X y Z decayed for
them or not as not really a very big part
of the cost. I don't think. The question is whether
you need to have who of the size of this
type at all and what the priorities that are being
(01:04):
applied are. So yeah, I think it's very disappointing to
hear that.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Okay, So Rob, if you and I cannot and we're
totally different life experiences, but neither of us and you
obviously know what you're talking about, neither of us actually
know why they need to have a conference like this,
Then why are they having a conference like this? This
is just a bit of a whoy, a little get together.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I think my experiences, when you have a lot of managers,
they tend to make things up for themselves to do,
and I think that's been a problem in health for
quite some time, not focusing on the real issues at
the front line and focusing on these sorts of things.
I mean, there is a need to communicate and coordinate
(01:47):
amongst the various finance teams that operate into Fartara, but
that does not have to happen and in fact doesn't
most efficiently happen by getting them together for who of
that kind. So I think it's a nonsense. And the catering,
it's just a small part of it.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Nick, what proportion do you think of conferences in the
public sector? Are just parties no value? Otherwise?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Well, it's difficult to say. I mean, the thing is
you do want to allow people the opportunity if it's
going to provide value for their organization and for their
role to be able to get together where it's needed.
The issue is it's hard to defend when it's four
hundred people who are already part of the same system.
And I think, as Rob says, it's not always the
face to face, it's actually this should be operating as
(02:33):
one system anyway. It becomes very hard to justify when
you're an organization under pressure and you know very much
in the red Nick isst.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
This stuff just happens because people are like, you know what,
we deserve a little We deserve a little trip to
Eden Park and or sky Stadium, and if you cannopad,
should we do that. I feel like they're taking the mickey.
I feel like it's become part of the culture in
the public sect.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
But the justification, if it's not ready and evident upon scrutiny,
then you know that it probably wasn't done for the
right reasons. And I haven't heard a good defense here,
so there you go.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, I think it's a widespread as well.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
I don't think it's limited to the public sector. You know,
these things happen a lot in the private sector as well.
And you know one of the reasons. Funnily enough, I'm
not allowed to advertise for anyone, am I. But I
was at an airline today, quite a big one in
New Zealand, and they were.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I wonder which one that is?
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Yes, carry on, Yeah, well they were complaining about you know,
there are thirty percent drop in revenue that they're experienced.
A significant part of that is that people are not
having the number of conferences in the amount of travel
that they used to have. So you know, it possibly
is self correcting to some extent. But I wouldn't anyone
like anyone to think that this was purely a problem.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
No, But you see there, here's the thing, rob. If
you're a private company and you want to get your
people together for some kind of you know, cultural lift
or you know, like you want to you want to
lift the culture of the place or whatever, be my guest.
I'm not paying for it. But with the public sector,
we are, which is why we hold them to account
in a different way.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Right, Well you are you are probably paying for it
if you're a customer, so it gets built into the
constructure of the private organization, so you do end up
paying for it.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, I suppose.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Through the text that you're not able to avoid this
is true.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, all right, guys, at your point, we'll take a break,
come back very shortly the.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Huddle with New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty, elevate the marketing
of your home.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Right, you're back with the Hudle, Nick Legand and Rob Campbell. Nick,
I'm keenan. You'll take on Jeff Bezos thinking that he's
fixing media bias by taking away presidential endorsements. What do
you think.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I would have had more sympathy for his position had
it had he uttered it three months ago, not right
at the point of the campaign, when the when the
endorsement was due. Look, it's a different it's a different environment,
doesn't it. In the United States in terms of media
intervention and endorsements, and in the United Kingdom as well
to New Zealand, we tend to although you can sometimes
(05:07):
see a slant in the media, we tend to be
a little bit more independent independent here and we don't
expect to hear from our media. It seems to me
as though this is a bunch of billionaires hedging their
bets on Trump, and that concerns me. A little bit,
because I think you should have the courage of your convictions.
But that also means that you can have the courage
not to say anything, and that's what he's chosen to do.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, I sort of feel rob that. Actually I don't
mind media biased, but I don't want media pretend to
pretend that they're not biased when they are. And actually
a presidential endorsement is quite a nice little signal of
where you sit, and I appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
What do you think, Yeah, I had noticed that you
were in opposed to a bit of media bias here.
They're actually you for noticing that from time to time. Look,
everyone's biased about various things, and the idea that these
papers have ever been particularly you know, objective, I think
I've got some real doubts about I think it's a
(06:01):
bit of a sideshow. Frankly, I think it's more for
someone like Bezos that someone like Musk is getting more
publicity for being an idiot, so he thinks he wants
to do the starving dance by being an idiot as well.
And there's a little bit of a pissing contest, isn't it,
rather than any genuine political content.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yeah, I suppose it's probably an elemented truth to that. Nick,
what do you make of the cops opposing the fundraiser
for suicide serving any alcohol because of the link between
alcohol and suicide.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I think it is a complete overstep on behalf of
authorities this. I've read about the woman who was putting
on this event to draw attention to mental health and suicide.
She had been very open about her own struggles with
mental health. She was running a responsible event that had
been in pray that have been praised with its restriction
(06:51):
on stopping serving alcohol thirty minutes before the end and
having food throughout and free water. It was a It
was an event that was really I think, showcasing how
alcohol can be a moderate backdrop to a nice social event.
That's what we should be aiming for as a country.
Banning and stopping brings out the very behaviors that the
(07:14):
police and Department of Health say that they're trying to stop.
When you ban something just and our record in this
country is there for everybody to see. We're a prohibition
and six o'clock closing, get it, God get us. It
got us too much drinking in too short a time.
And I think we're still living with the consequences of that. Yes,
I think we should educate about alcohol. Of course we should.
(07:35):
We should be upfront about it. We should be as
a society more conservative about the way New Zealanders drink
and our culture to drinking. But banning and having the
sort of finger waggers do this will have the opposite
impact of the one that they want.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
How the corps become so weird about alcohol. Oh, I
can't hear you, Rob.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
It's certainly going to cause some distress amongst police, social
clubs and other social activities if they start to apply
more widely, and so I don't think. I think it'll
be quite limited. And you know, if you take it
to it's extreme, why do you have alcohol Emparliament when
it's discussing important things and we all know that there
is alcohol there and that people sometimes have one or
(08:22):
two and even sometimes get a bit abusive to the
HOYPELOI when they're out meeting them. So this is you know,
the next point is quite right, there are alcohol issues
in New Zealand. They are quite serious. But this is
I think, frankly trivializing the real issues of both suicide
and alcohol by combining the two and taking objections to
(08:42):
this perfectly harmless activity.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Yep, I agree with you, okay, Nick? Yes or no?
The hakker before the All Blacks Games. Should it be
banned for being ridiculous?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
No?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Of course not. You love it?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Do you want me to go on?
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Go on?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
I mean like some guy sort of from you know,
the UK gets sort of I don't know when he
gets offended or he gets wound up about the hacker. Well,
it's kind of the point and like it's a there's
a uniquely New Zealand display and also Oceany if you
look at all the other Pacific nations that do a version,
(09:20):
that's a way that we can display. That's it's this
country that's playing. It's what this country's indigenous people do
before they go on too battle. It's a great display
and I think here we was proud of it and
we shouldn't be worried about what some opposing team says.
You don't go and find your own thing to do, mate?
He rob you.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Yeah, I think Joe Mahler is what Mark Mitchure would
call an idiot. People shouldn't take any notice of them.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Guys, Thank you really appreciate take on Everything Today Is.
Nick Legan and Rob Campbell are hudle.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
This evening for more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen
live to news talks they'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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