December 18, 2025 • 8 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, CTU chief economist Craig Renney and Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Nick Leggett joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
New data shows GDP has bounced up 1.1 percent in Q3. Is this a sign things are going to get better?
The Ministry of Education is shutting down Gloriavale's school amid safety concerns. But with six weeks to go until the new school year - where does this leave the kids?
Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie has resigned effective immediately. Do we think this could have been handled better? Does Netball NZ's board need to go as well?
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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 Southby's International Realty, a name
you can trust locally and globally.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Joining me on the huddle tonight is Craig Rinny, who
will soon be surely a labor m P and nickle
Get Infrastructure, New Zealand. Good evening, Believing, good eating. Good
to have you both on the show. Craig, I want
to get your tech fist on that GDP number today.
Is I mean, can we at least celebrate something or we.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Can absolutely celebrate that we're not continuing to decline. You know,
the economy rose quarterly one point one percent, but annually
it's still down zero point five percent. We still see
falls in manufacturing, in construction, business investment is lower than
it was in twenty twenty three. The economy is smaller
than it was in twenty twenty three. So there's a
(00:46):
whole bunch of stuff in there. Yes, it's a good number,
but it's one good number when you said it in
the context of rising unemployment and a range of other
indicators that shows the economy is definitely not out of
the woods anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
And we're just one shock away from everything going tits
up again.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Nick, Yeah, I mean, it does feel as though there's
still an element of risk here. And the thing I
always look for. I think in real time we can
feel a bit of an improvement around New Zealand, but
the real challenge is always confidence. Are people confident to
(01:22):
spend a bit more to buy the new house or
a new car, or that they're going to have a
job that perhaps pays more in a year's time. And
I just don't feel we're quite there yet, certainly where
it comes to infrastructure. The country feels next year as
though there's going to be more happening, but it's still
(01:43):
very tentitive, and I think we need a greater shot
in the arm before we can sort of pop any corks.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Craig, what do you say when people come at you
with like, yeah, you can criticize this government, but why
will we in the mess to begin with? And it
was labor and charge at that time, and what's to
stop us getting back there again under labor? You know,
if you did it once, you can do it twice.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
During the election, the economy was grown by two point
four percent. A yeah, it's now declined by zero point five.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And so we had to creation what caused the recision.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Right, and our reflation story, Ryan is absolutely bog standard
in relation to every other country that we compare ourselves to,
and they're all growing, their economies are all growing, and
ours is not. And so when we look at things,
at the performance of services in decks around the world,
that's all positive except in New Zealand total, you know,
(02:38):
So you fix that problem, and the current prescription we're
getting from the government is seems to be exacerbating the
problem here when we look at other countries.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I think that's where you potentially have some mirrant in
the argument. Do you buy that as well, that if
the government had rolled out more money for I don't know,
infrastructure for example, earlier on in the piece, that we
wouldn't necessarily be as bad as we are now.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Well, I would say, yes, wouldn't I But I think
that Look, Craig talks a lot about investment, you know,
and getting value from things, and I do actually think
that should be the focus for the country. Yeah, we
should have looked at projects, particularly infrastructure, but not limits
to but also social spending where we would know that
(03:25):
investment would give us value. And I do think there
was too much stopping and cutting. But I think that whichever,
you know, both major parties next year will be forced
to provide a responsible view as to how we're not
going to spend so much that inflation gets out of control,
but also we want a government to invest so the
(03:46):
economy grows and people have access to jobs and access
to the right kind of services that help them live
a good life.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Nickley get Craig Grinnie on the huddle tonight, the huddle with.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
New Zealand Southby's International Realty the only truly global.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Brand thirteen six on News Talks inb We've got Craig
running from the CTU and Nick leiget from Infrastructure and
z on the huddle tonight. Did you see, Craig the
story about Glory Vale. So the Ministry of Education is
shutting it down, like deleting its registration and doing it
quite quickly from January twenty third next year. So you're
going to have one hundred kids who basically need to
(04:23):
find new schools end quick.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
I think there's been a range of concerns about that
school that have been you know, thought about, over what
appears to be quite a long period of time. I
appreciate it's you know, it's going to be incredibly disruptive
for those children. But making sure that those children get
a quality education and the best start in life is
much more important than the school's registration or its ability
to continue. And if it's not delivering the education that
(04:48):
we want to see for those children, then really we
should be supporting its closure.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
And I guess once you've made that decision, if it's
not a safe but you know, if it doesn't deserve
to be just I guess you just got to do
it quickly, don't you. The band aid.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Absolutely, you can't make sure that this is meeting the
best continuing to delay the education of children back around.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, Nick, what do you think.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
We Well, there's no easy way, right. These kids have
to be safe, and I think every New Zealander would
expect that they're right to have an education is preserved
and is the same as any of our children. And
I think it's the right thing to do, and that
hopefully in the new year they'll be able to start
new schools that are close enough to home. Now, it's
(05:31):
going to be difficult on the West Coast because one
hundred and in fact of one hundred kids into a
school is going to be a bit of a resourcing challenge,
but at least they've got some time to get the
education ministry have got some time to sort that out.
But I lot the first priority here is those kids
accessing what they're entitled to and that is a decent
New Zealand education.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Now, Nick, when the Wellington water business was going on,
you I recall very distinctly fronted up here on news
Talk said be number of times, might have even come
on the Herald Show as well. You know you out
there and you were fronting it. This netballn New Zealand
thing whenever anything happens. And it's not just netballne neusic,
it's sporting bodies. There's something wrong with them that they
(06:15):
just don't front up. And I don't think it's good enough.
What do you think?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
I think, well, Ryan Lot, full disclosure, being upfront, apologizing,
laying it all out there and showing how you're going
to improve is the way it should be done. And yeah,
I think Netball New Zealand, I mean it's clearly an
organization that has grappled with the challenges that has faced.
(06:40):
I think Dame Nolean has been done at disservice and
clearly now there's some utu being taken out on parts
of the organization and it's happening in a really poor way.
So yeah, I think actually coming clean and actually describing
what's happened, even though that'll be uncomfortable, would be the
(07:01):
best way forward for Netball New Zealand so they can
preserve some credibility.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, Craig, I'm assuming you agree with this absolutely.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I think you know the key thing about leadership is
it's about leading, and you know someone needs to be
leading here and saying this is not working if he
hasn't been working for a while, and that probably needs
to be a look more generally at how this how
Netball New Zealand, which is a really important organization in
New Zealand, is working, and whether or not it's really
(07:31):
delivering for non New Zealand as in terms of those
who follow netball here.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
So, Craig, does that mean because you're about to have
a big, long, illustrious political career and things will go wrong,
They'll be scandaled, there'll be something will happen that every
time that happens, you promise, you promise us all here
and now that you will come on news talks be
on the day that that happens.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I am I Amber John Key famously saying that it
was never the mistake, it was always the cover up
that led to the problem. And there are very few
things I agree with John Key about, but that's one
of the few things I do agree with you. I
haven't said yes because then there will be other raids
for stations available at the time. So I will well,
(08:15):
I'll tell you. I'll tell you what if I'm ever
if I'm ever in the situation where I'm looking at
something as bad as what appears to be Netball New Zealand,
then I will absolutely be standing in front of you
telling you this needs to change.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Oh I'm not.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Even gonna try for more than that, Craig Think. Thank you.
Craig Green c to YouTube economists and Nick leiget infrastructure
he did on your handle.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
For more from Hither Duplessy Alan Drive, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
The Huddle with New Zealand Southby's International Realty, a name
you can trust locally and globally.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Joining me on the huddle tonight is Craig Rinny, who
will soon be surely a labor m P and nickle
Get Infrastructure, New Zealand. Good evening, Believing, good eating. Good
to have you both on the show. Craig, I want
to get your tech fist on that GDP number today.
Is I mean, can we at least celebrate something or we.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Can absolutely celebrate that we're not continuing to decline. You know,
the economy rose quarterly one point one percent, but annually
it's still down zero point five percent. We still see
falls in manufacturing, in construction, business investment is lower than
it was in twenty twenty three. The economy is smaller
than it was in twenty twenty three. So there's a
(00:46):
whole bunch of stuff in there. Yes, it's a good number,
but it's one good number when you said it in
the context of rising unemployment and a range of other
indicators that shows the economy is definitely not out of
the woods anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
And we're just one shock away from everything going tits
up again.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Nick, Yeah, I mean, it does feel as though there's
still an element of risk here. And the thing I
always look for. I think in real time we can
feel a bit of an improvement around New Zealand, but
the real challenge is always confidence. Are people confident to
(01:22):
spend a bit more to buy the new house or
a new car, or that they're going to have a
job that perhaps pays more in a year's time. And
I just don't feel we're quite there yet, certainly where
it comes to infrastructure. The country feels next year as
though there's going to be more happening, but it's still
(01:43):
very tentitive, and I think we need a greater shot
in the arm before we can sort of pop any corks.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Craig, what do you say when people come at you
with like, yeah, you can criticize this government, but why
will we in the mess to begin with? And it
was labor and charge at that time, and what's to
stop us getting back there again under labor? You know,
if you did it once, you can do it twice.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
During the election, the economy was grown by two point
four percent. A yeah, it's now declined by zero point five.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And so we had to creation what caused the recision.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Right, and our reflation story, Ryan is absolutely bog standard
in relation to every other country that we compare ourselves to,
and they're all growing, their economies are all growing, and
ours is not. And so when we look at things,
at the performance of services in decks around the world,
that's all positive except in New Zealand total, you know,
(02:38):
So you fix that problem, and the current prescription we're
getting from the government is seems to be exacerbating the
problem here when we look at other countries.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I think that's where you potentially have some mirrant in
the argument. Do you buy that as well, that if
the government had rolled out more money for I don't know,
infrastructure for example, earlier on in the piece, that we
wouldn't necessarily be as bad as we are now.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Well, I would say, yes, wouldn't I But I think
that Look, Craig talks a lot about investment, you know,
and getting value from things, and I do actually think
that should be the focus for the country. Yeah, we
should have looked at projects, particularly infrastructure, but not limits
to but also social spending where we would know that
(03:25):
investment would give us value. And I do think there
was too much stopping and cutting. But I think that whichever,
you know, both major parties next year will be forced
to provide a responsible view as to how we're not
going to spend so much that inflation gets out of control,
but also we want a government to invest so the
(03:46):
economy grows and people have access to jobs and access
to the right kind of services that help them live
a good life.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Nickley get Craig Grinnie on the huddle tonight, the huddle with.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
New Zealand Southby's International Realty the only truly global.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Brand thirteen six on News Talks inb We've got Craig
running from the CTU and Nick leiget from Infrastructure and
z on the huddle tonight. Did you see, Craig the
story about Glory Vale. So the Ministry of Education is
shutting it down, like deleting its registration and doing it
quite quickly from January twenty third next year. So you're
going to have one hundred kids who basically need to
(04:23):
find new schools end quick.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
I think there's been a range of concerns about that
school that have been you know, thought about, over what
appears to be quite a long period of time. I
appreciate it's you know, it's going to be incredibly disruptive
for those children. But making sure that those children get
a quality education and the best start in life is
much more important than the school's registration or its ability
to continue. And if it's not delivering the education that
(04:48):
we want to see for those children, then really we
should be supporting its closure.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
And I guess once you've made that decision, if it's
not a safe but you know, if it doesn't deserve
to be just I guess you just got to do
it quickly, don't you. The band aid.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Absolutely, you can't make sure that this is meeting the
best continuing to delay the education of children back around.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, Nick, what do you think.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
We Well, there's no easy way, right. These kids have
to be safe, and I think every New Zealander would
expect that they're right to have an education is preserved
and is the same as any of our children. And
I think it's the right thing to do, and that
hopefully in the new year they'll be able to start
new schools that are close enough to home. Now, it's
(05:31):
going to be difficult on the West Coast because one
hundred and in fact of one hundred kids into a
school is going to be a bit of a resourcing challenge,
but at least they've got some time to get the
education ministry have got some time to sort that out.
But I lot the first priority here is those kids
accessing what they're entitled to and that is a decent
New Zealand education.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Now, Nick, when the Wellington water business was going on,
you I recall very distinctly fronted up here on news
Talk said be number of times, might have even come
on the Herald Show as well. You know you out
there and you were fronting it. This netballn New Zealand
thing whenever anything happens. And it's not just netballne neusic,
it's sporting bodies. There's something wrong with them that they
(06:15):
just don't front up. And I don't think it's good enough.
What do you think?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
I think, well, Ryan Lot, full disclosure, being upfront, apologizing,
laying it all out there and showing how you're going
to improve is the way it should be done. And yeah,
I think Netball New Zealand, I mean it's clearly an
organization that has grappled with the challenges that has faced.
(06:40):
I think Dame Nolean has been done at disservice and
clearly now there's some utu being taken out on parts
of the organization and it's happening in a really poor way.
So yeah, I think actually coming clean and actually describing
what's happened, even though that'll be uncomfortable, would be the
(07:01):
best way forward for Netball New Zealand so they can
preserve some credibility.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, Craig, I'm assuming you agree with this absolutely.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I think you know the key thing about leadership is
it's about leading, and you know someone needs to be
leading here and saying this is not working if he
hasn't been working for a while, and that probably needs
to be a look more generally at how this how
Netball New Zealand, which is a really important organization in
New Zealand, is working, and whether or not it's really
(07:31):
delivering for non New Zealand as in terms of those
who follow netball here.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
So, Craig, does that mean because you're about to have
a big, long, illustrious political career and things will go wrong,
They'll be scandaled, there'll be something will happen that every
time that happens, you promise, you promise us all here
and now that you will come on news talks be
on the day that that happens.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I am I Amber John Key famously saying that it
was never the mistake, it was always the cover up
that led to the problem. And there are very few
things I agree with John Key about, but that's one
of the few things I do agree with you. I
haven't said yes because then there will be other raids
for stations available at the time. So I will well,
(08:15):
I'll tell you. I'll tell you what if I'm ever
if I'm ever in the situation where I'm looking at
something as bad as what appears to be Netball New Zealand,
then I will absolutely be standing in front of you
telling you this needs to change.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Oh I'm not.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Even gonna try for more than that, Craig Think. Thank you.
Craig Green c to YouTube economists and Nick leiget infrastructure
he did on your handle.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
For more from Hither Duplessy Alan Drive, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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