September 2, 2024 • 9 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Josie Pagani from Child Fund and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayer's Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Do we need tighter regulations around 'dynamic pricing'? The UK Government has announced investigation after Oasis tickets went on sale. Do we agree with this move?
The Government's new transport plan cuts funding for speed bumps - do we need to cut corners here?
There's outrage as one Wellington hospital stops offering new mothers toast after they've given birth. How bad does this look?
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nineteen Away from Sex the Huddle with New Zealand Southerby's
International Realty Exceptional Marketing for Every Property.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Joseph Ghani, Child Fund CEO, and Jordan Williams, Executive Director
of the Taxpayers Union with us.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hello you too, good head.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hello JOSEI. How do you feel about the dynamic pricing?
Speaker 4 (00:17):
Really really bad? Especially that terrifying conversation you just had,
because I'm one of those people who's a really bad hagler,
Like if someone says, oh, you know, we'll charge you
fifteen dollars and I'll go, no, no, please, let me
give you twenty. So this is just not going to
be good for people like me. And it's scary, isn't it,
because you don't know what information you're sharing online And
this AI is absolutely doing this. I mean, I've been
(00:40):
reading about this overseas, that they will match a price
to what they think you're willing to pay, So I
think it's really worrying. But the big I mean when
you say wat's the solution to ticket Master doing this
dynamic pricing and so on, i' mean the basic solution.
And I'm sure Jordan you'd agree with me. It's actually
getting rid of monopolies and more compaition, because the thing
(01:01):
that brings an uber price down in a high demand
time is more share ride apps out there that you
can use that will offer you a cheaper price. So
it's the monopoly that's the problem.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, what do you reckon, Jordan oh Harley Lujiah.
Speaker 5 (01:15):
I totally agree with Josie. I think if you banned
dynamic pricing it would be a real problem. You think,
for example, on a horrible, wet, cold, rainy day that
when there's no ubers around, yep, you pay a lot more.
But that's also of course you want that because that's
what gets more ubers out on the road. The point
(01:35):
I was going to make Josie, you've met me to
the punch is that often there's not a lot of
competition here because Ticketmaster appear to do deals with all
the big venues. So if you're a band and you
want to come to New Zealand, you really have to
deal with them, because the venues have already contract tracted
to only go through Ticketmaster. And that's the real problem.
(01:56):
I mean, let's be frank, the technology behind selling tickets
online is pretty off the shelf. It's not particularly difficult
to do, so what they do is create an artificial
barrier to entry through the venues.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, it's a very good point actually, and the monopoly
is the problem there. How do you feel, Josie about
Sam and defunding the speed bumps.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Fund the speed bumps? Yes, but also I'm sure you
worked this out too, Heather, but most of us have
worked out how you drive just carefully around the speed
bump in the width of your car. So they're built
really badly anyway, you don't.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Know why do you have to drive around it? Have
you got maybe slow slung boy racer thing? Yeah, but yeah,
how did you know?
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Well, I do live in Cuppity. I'm a boy racer myself.
But I think it's also that we're pretty rubbish at
building stuff in Cuppandy too. It's taken us two years
to build a bus stop, let alone. Speed bumps and
the speed bumps in company are designed just to fit
the width of your car, so they don't they do
Diddley squat anyway.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
But yeah, I mean I.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Do think this is this is a good package and
I think one of the most hopeful things here. And
I heard Nick Leggett from Infrastructure New Zealand saying this.
Today they've introduced this thing called the Infrastructure National Infrastructure Commission.
Now that's an independent body where everybody can submit projects
to that body, and that body will go yep, that's
(03:16):
got a good cost benefit analysis. That hasn't and even
Labor has agreed to that. So I think we're starting
to depoliticize the fact that roads the right wing and
cycle ways a left wing, which is just daft.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I totally agree, Jordan. I won't you take but
we'll get it after the break is to hang on
to It's sixteen away from six.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The huddle with New Zealand Southeby's international realty, unparalleled reach
and results.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Hey, I've got a solution. If you don't like that
thing that you heard about what a New.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Zealand might be doing with the tickets and stuff, hang
on because Allen sent a solution through. But first we're
back of the huddle. Joe's he begunning and Jordan Williams
k Jordan, what do you make of the defunding of
the speed bumps?
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Well, I want these capity speed bumps to come too, Auckland,
because I'm sick of Auckland. Transport spending a million bucks
on these damn speed humps that no one wants to
slow everyone down and when anyone complains, Oh, but it
encourages people to take a bus. Now they're putting these
damn stops bus stops on in the middle of the road,
so when the bus stop, everyone stops behind it and
(04:13):
they're proud of it. I have to say Wayne Brown's right,
they need to bring all transport. It's weird. Agent.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
It's weird how we have spent centuries basically making roads
run as smoothly as possible until Auckland Transport decided to
do the opposite. And they've met they've been quite successful
at that.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Recently, twenty years ago. They use that you know, they
measure how long it takes through the average trip in Auckland,
and officials used to try to get it down. Now
the Yahoo when they get it up, it's totally out
of control. And I get the argument that you want
to depoliticize it, but actually an Aukland Transports case, we
need the politicians to take back control because they complain.
(04:53):
But Auckland Transport are a world into themselves and ignore
the council.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You can't stand them. Hey, Josie, I was a little
bit shocked by removing the toast from the mothers who
just pushed out of baby.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
What about you?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Yes, I know, of all the things to focus on,
I mean, what is the problem we're trying to solve
with health and let's face it, it's a crisis. Lack
of GP's, lack of hospital adoptors and nurses, Waiting lists
are too long, unequal provision to mari and pacificate for
whatever reasons, that needs to be dealt with, all of
these big, big issues. And we're talking about toast. You know,
(05:27):
we're trying to cut costs with toast.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
It terrifies me, Heather.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
I've had my daughter. This is during COVID she had
to have a back operation. She would have waited about
nineteen months on the public waiting list to get the
operation she needed. She would have been a drug addict
by then. She would have been on morphine, tramadol, the
whole lot. Now, you know, we did to give a
little page to raise money to do it quickly. I
mean the consequences of us having these long waiting lists
(05:56):
with people on elective surgery waiting lists and sign it's
terrifying and we're talking about toast. Yeah, come on, it's
it's it's just wrong.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
What is terrifying about it, Jordan, is that that is
the solution from some numpty and Health New Zealand.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
I couldn't help, but wonder I said to on the
on the morning call this morning. I said to my guys,
I think this might be a Lady Elizabeth problem. And
by that I mean every time you affect police funding,
what they do is find the most politically painful part
to cut police. It's the Wellington Police launch the Lady Elizabeth.
(06:34):
This felt to me like it was officials going, well,
we need more resources, will get you what's the what's
the thing that will really get under people's Do you know?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Do you know what I think it is?
Speaker 5 (06:45):
Though, Jordan.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
It's a bit like the dead cat theory of politics.
You know, you've got this massive crisis over here. Let's
check a dead cat on the table, and everybody will
talk about that, and the toast is the dead cat
You've got. You've got two options, though, You've got an
aging population and you've got declining revenue. Either you cut spending,
don't want to do that, or you tax more or
you get into debt, you've got to make some hard choices.
(07:08):
It's an exempt from that.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
There's a third choice here. We did about five years
ago we did a series of reports about health productivity.
It got absolutely no media coverage except for a report
we did on a hospital car parking. Appreciate it's a
very big deal. But if New Zealand just came up
to the average health productivity the OECD, it is the
equivalent of spending a third more on health. And while
(07:32):
this government's thinking around the edges around, you know, reversing
partially some of the so called reforms labored it, I
don't see any appetite to properly change the incentives and
we're going to end up with I think in the
medium term it's the government's biggest political risk. Look at
the way the Tories tried to get their health system
(07:53):
on the straight and narrow without changing the model. That's
exactly what's happening here. You can rearrange or try, sorry,
you can try to run it better, but unless you're
changing the actual incentives and fundamentals of what is a
New Zealand version of the NHS, I think the Nats
are stuffed.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Jordan can you send me that report.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I like to have a read of that.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Actually, if you don't, I.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Will dig them out of the archive and we can
give it a good go. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I mean, the thing is, Jordan, the problem is so huge.
I mean, and we've been talking about this for years,
about an aging population which is going to get sicker
and make more demands on the health sector. You know,
I think, yes, you can look at the incentives. You
can you know, stop giving people toasts. You can, I
don't know, charge more for parking, you can do all
(08:42):
sorts of little things around the edges. But I think
you've really got to confront the fact that we've got
declining revenue and higher spend and at some point you've
got to go either we've got to find different sources
for revenue for health and by golly, I want it.
I mean, I don't want my family or myself to
be going into a hospital system right now. It's really scary.
(09:03):
Or you've got to or you've got to go into debt,
and and you know, and lot. The big issue we're
not talking about is the fact that we're you know,
we've got productivity in New Zealand, which is nose darting.
I mean, we just make rubbish things. We work long
hours for low wages. We're not making enough money as
a country, and that means we can.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, we have to leave it there. Guys, I really
appreciate it. Thank you so much. Joseph ac Gani Child
Fund CEO, and Jordan Williams, executive director at the Taxpayers Unions.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
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.
Nineteen Away from Sex the Huddle with New Zealand Southerby's
International Realty Exceptional Marketing for Every Property.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Joseph Ghani, Child Fund CEO, and Jordan Williams, Executive Director
of the Taxpayers Union with us.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hello you too, good head.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hello JOSEI. How do you feel about the dynamic pricing?
Speaker 4 (00:17):
Really really bad? Especially that terrifying conversation you just had,
because I'm one of those people who's a really bad hagler,
Like if someone says, oh, you know, we'll charge you
fifteen dollars and I'll go, no, no, please, let me
give you twenty. So this is just not going to
be good for people like me. And it's scary, isn't it,
because you don't know what information you're sharing online And
this AI is absolutely doing this. I mean, I've been
(00:40):
reading about this overseas, that they will match a price
to what they think you're willing to pay, So I
think it's really worrying. But the big I mean when
you say wat's the solution to ticket Master doing this
dynamic pricing and so on, i' mean the basic solution.
And I'm sure Jordan you'd agree with me. It's actually
getting rid of monopolies and more compaition, because the thing
(01:01):
that brings an uber price down in a high demand
time is more share ride apps out there that you
can use that will offer you a cheaper price. So
it's the monopoly that's the problem.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, what do you reckon, Jordan oh Harley Lujiah.
Speaker 5 (01:15):
I totally agree with Josie. I think if you banned
dynamic pricing it would be a real problem. You think,
for example, on a horrible, wet, cold, rainy day that
when there's no ubers around, yep, you pay a lot more.
But that's also of course you want that because that's
what gets more ubers out on the road. The point
(01:35):
I was going to make Josie, you've met me to
the punch is that often there's not a lot of
competition here because Ticketmaster appear to do deals with all
the big venues. So if you're a band and you
want to come to New Zealand, you really have to
deal with them, because the venues have already contract tracted
to only go through Ticketmaster. And that's the real problem.
(01:56):
I mean, let's be frank, the technology behind selling tickets
online is pretty off the shelf. It's not particularly difficult
to do, so what they do is create an artificial
barrier to entry through the venues.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, it's a very good point actually, and the monopoly
is the problem there. How do you feel, Josie about
Sam and defunding the speed bumps.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Fund the speed bumps? Yes, but also I'm sure you
worked this out too, Heather, but most of us have
worked out how you drive just carefully around the speed
bump in the width of your car. So they're built
really badly anyway, you don't.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Know why do you have to drive around it? Have
you got maybe slow slung boy racer thing? Yeah, but yeah,
how did you know?
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Well, I do live in Cuppity. I'm a boy racer myself.
But I think it's also that we're pretty rubbish at
building stuff in Cuppandy too. It's taken us two years
to build a bus stop, let alone. Speed bumps and
the speed bumps in company are designed just to fit
the width of your car, so they don't they do
Diddley squat anyway.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
But yeah, I mean I.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Do think this is this is a good package and
I think one of the most hopeful things here. And
I heard Nick Leggett from Infrastructure New Zealand saying this.
Today they've introduced this thing called the Infrastructure National Infrastructure Commission.
Now that's an independent body where everybody can submit projects
to that body, and that body will go yep, that's
(03:16):
got a good cost benefit analysis. That hasn't and even
Labor has agreed to that. So I think we're starting
to depoliticize the fact that roads the right wing and
cycle ways a left wing, which is just daft.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I totally agree, Jordan. I won't you take but
we'll get it after the break is to hang on
to It's sixteen away from six.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The huddle with New Zealand Southeby's international realty, unparalleled reach
and results.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Hey, I've got a solution. If you don't like that
thing that you heard about what a New.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Zealand might be doing with the tickets and stuff, hang
on because Allen sent a solution through. But first we're
back of the huddle. Joe's he begunning and Jordan Williams
k Jordan, what do you make of the defunding of
the speed bumps?
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Well, I want these capity speed bumps to come too, Auckland,
because I'm sick of Auckland. Transport spending a million bucks
on these damn speed humps that no one wants to
slow everyone down and when anyone complains, Oh, but it
encourages people to take a bus. Now they're putting these
damn stops bus stops on in the middle of the road,
so when the bus stop, everyone stops behind it and
(04:13):
they're proud of it. I have to say Wayne Brown's right,
they need to bring all transport. It's weird. Agent.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
It's weird how we have spent centuries basically making roads
run as smoothly as possible until Auckland Transport decided to
do the opposite. And they've met they've been quite successful
at that.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Recently, twenty years ago. They use that you know, they
measure how long it takes through the average trip in Auckland,
and officials used to try to get it down. Now
the Yahoo when they get it up, it's totally out
of control. And I get the argument that you want
to depoliticize it, but actually an Aukland Transports case, we
need the politicians to take back control because they complain.
(04:53):
But Auckland Transport are a world into themselves and ignore
the council.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You can't stand them. Hey, Josie, I was a little
bit shocked by removing the toast from the mothers who
just pushed out of baby.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
What about you?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Yes, I know, of all the things to focus on,
I mean, what is the problem we're trying to solve
with health and let's face it, it's a crisis. Lack
of GP's, lack of hospital adoptors and nurses, Waiting lists
are too long, unequal provision to mari and pacificate for
whatever reasons, that needs to be dealt with, all of
these big, big issues. And we're talking about toast. You know,
(05:27):
we're trying to cut costs with toast.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
It terrifies me, Heather.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
I've had my daughter. This is during COVID she had
to have a back operation. She would have waited about
nineteen months on the public waiting list to get the
operation she needed. She would have been a drug addict
by then. She would have been on morphine, tramadol, the
whole lot. Now, you know, we did to give a
little page to raise money to do it quickly. I
mean the consequences of us having these long waiting lists
(05:56):
with people on elective surgery waiting lists and sign it's
terrifying and we're talking about toast. Yeah, come on, it's
it's it's just wrong.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
What is terrifying about it, Jordan, is that that is
the solution from some numpty and Health New Zealand.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
I couldn't help, but wonder I said to on the
on the morning call this morning. I said to my guys,
I think this might be a Lady Elizabeth problem. And
by that I mean every time you affect police funding,
what they do is find the most politically painful part
to cut police. It's the Wellington Police launch the Lady Elizabeth.
(06:34):
This felt to me like it was officials going, well,
we need more resources, will get you what's the what's
the thing that will really get under people's Do you know?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Do you know what I think it is?
Speaker 5 (06:45):
Though, Jordan.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
It's a bit like the dead cat theory of politics.
You know, you've got this massive crisis over here. Let's
check a dead cat on the table, and everybody will
talk about that, and the toast is the dead cat
You've got. You've got two options, though, You've got an
aging population and you've got declining revenue. Either you cut spending,
don't want to do that, or you tax more or
you get into debt, you've got to make some hard choices.
(07:08):
It's an exempt from that.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
There's a third choice here. We did about five years
ago we did a series of reports about health productivity.
It got absolutely no media coverage except for a report
we did on a hospital car parking. Appreciate it's a
very big deal. But if New Zealand just came up
to the average health productivity the OECD, it is the
equivalent of spending a third more on health. And while
(07:32):
this government's thinking around the edges around, you know, reversing
partially some of the so called reforms labored it, I
don't see any appetite to properly change the incentives and
we're going to end up with I think in the
medium term it's the government's biggest political risk. Look at
the way the Tories tried to get their health system
(07:53):
on the straight and narrow without changing the model. That's
exactly what's happening here. You can rearrange or try, sorry,
you can try to run it better, but unless you're
changing the actual incentives and fundamentals of what is a
New Zealand version of the NHS, I think the Nats
are stuffed.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Jordan can you send me that report.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I like to have a read of that.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Actually, if you don't, I.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Will dig them out of the archive and we can
give it a good go. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I mean, the thing is, Jordan, the problem is so huge.
I mean, and we've been talking about this for years,
about an aging population which is going to get sicker
and make more demands on the health sector. You know,
I think, yes, you can look at the incentives. You
can you know, stop giving people toasts. You can, I
don't know, charge more for parking, you can do all
(08:42):
sorts of little things around the edges. But I think
you've really got to confront the fact that we've got
declining revenue and higher spend and at some point you've
got to go either we've got to find different sources
for revenue for health and by golly, I want it.
I mean, I don't want my family or myself to
be going into a hospital system right now. It's really scary.
(09:03):
Or you've got to or you've got to go into debt,
and and you know, and lot. The big issue we're
not talking about is the fact that we're you know,
we've got productivity in New Zealand, which is nose darting.
I mean, we just make rubbish things. We work long
hours for low wages. We're not making enough money as
a country, and that means we can.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, we have to leave it there. Guys, I really
appreciate it. Thank you so much. Joseph ac Gani Child
Fund CEO, and Jordan Williams, executive director at the Taxpayers Unions.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
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.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.