September 5, 2024 • 8 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett and former Labour Party advisor Mike Munro joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Watercare struck a $20 million dollar deal with Waikato-Tainui in exchange for permission to take more water from the Waikato River - and kept it secret. What do we make of this?
Wellington ratepayers recently shelled out over $550,000 on the upgrade of a 32m laneway to accommodate a new designer bike rack and two extra motorbike parks - with the bike rack alone costing $136,000. How can the council justify this?
Raygun has spoken out about the backlash she received after the Olympics - do we feel sorry for her because of how she was treated or do we think she's taking advantage of the attention?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Eighteen away from six the Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's
International Realty Exceptional marketing for every.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Property on the Huddle of this this evening. Mike Mnroe,
former advisor to Jacinda and nic Leggett Infrastructure, New Zealand Highlands.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Hello, good, all right.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Nick, do you want to have a guess at why
they tried to keep it secret?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I think you've just touched on it, haven't you? Look
to me, this is perfectly defendable, particularly if you went
and said if you'd disclosed it and then you'd said
this is what the million dollars is going towards. The
issue here is that it's water care is now on
the back foot, as you've correctly demonstrated, and it feels
(00:41):
like something's being hidden and actually improving the health quality
of the Waycatta River in the part that's most polluted
is not a bad thing, and it's something that I
think most people in New Zealand would think was a
good idea.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
This is not defendable because why don't we just call
it out for what is right. We do not pay
to access water in this country, and this gets around
that by dressing it up as some sort of like
appointing Kitesiyaki and doing all this research just paying to
get water out.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
But if it was if you could, if you could
demonstrate from the get go that there were tangible projects
coming from this million dollars that were improving the health
of the river, I don't think people would have a problem.
But there's no opportunity to explain that now because it
looks like it's been covered.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Up very much. So I mean, Mike, how do they
rescue themselves from this?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Well, yeah, they've got themselves into a real pickle. And
I agree with Nick that, you know, they should have
just come out there at the outset and see what
was going on. I mean, he mentioned a figure four
hundred and eighty five thousand people on their database or whatever.
To me, that's about two dollars twenty a year per household.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, but and then adding then added to it the
forty million were already paying, And then before you know it,
it starts becoming a lot more than just a couple
of bucks.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Than that that number for the cleanup, the forty million
dollars that's already out there. They put that number out
there when the deal was made. This fun for some
inexplicable reason they decided to sit on it. And when
you do a cover up like this, it always comes
around and bites you in the bum at some point,
and it did this afternoon when you just did your
blistering interrogation there either of poor Dave. So yeah, secrecy
(02:24):
always backfires.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
All right, guys, we'll take it. Don't side with Dave.
Now listen, both of you guys are WELLINGTONI and so
I want you to. I want your take on the
bike crack and Wellington very short. We will come back
and do that.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, unparalleled reach
and results.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Okay, we've got Mike monro Nick legged on the huddle. Mike,
what do you spend? What do you make of this
spend on the bike crack on the Terrace.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
I saw that article and I just thought it was
more hysteria from the anti bike lotty myself. I mean, look,
if we're going to incentivize people to get out of
cars and to get on their bikes and use other
means of getting into the city, there's got to be
the infrastructure for it.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Mike and a.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Half a million dollars for a bike rack. It's not
a big deal when you put it alongside the millions
that get spent every year on roadways and curves and
everything else.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Mike, are you listening to yourself? That is the cost
of building a house.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah, but this thing's going to accommodate a rather large
number of bikes. And as a person who uses a
bike in that part of the city, it's severely lacking.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Why can't you just chain your bike up against a
pole like I do?
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Well, up till now, I've been doing that, but now
I can use this flash bike.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Hold on a take though. So, Mike, were you telling
me you were riding your bike anyway without the bike rack,
but now this is going to make you ride your
bike because you've got a bike rap?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
No, No, no, there is there are There is infrastructure up
there now to park bikes, but it's very limited. In fact,
I saw the councilor Calvert who's quoted in this article
today saying that no one ever uses the rack outside
the council and that's not true. That's direct misinformation. Blazed
this information. I've used it twice about the last three weeks,
(04:02):
and there's always bikes there. But The thing is there's
a lack of infrastructure out there, and a lot of
people work in that part of the city and take
their bikes in and like you say, they've got to
strap them two power poles or whatever, and that upsets
some of the passes by. So having a bike back
to me makes emminent sense. And it's a good signal
that bikeers cycled, they are going to be looked after.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
NAC next, save me from Mike right now.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Please, Yeah, I mean the answer the MIC's right in
the sense that we do need we do need afrastructure
for a whole lot of ways of moving around. But
it isn't bikes versus cars, mics. It's a bit more
of everything else. But I think the real bit of
everything should I say that The real issue here though,
is value for money, isn't it. People are being stun
(04:46):
by twenty percent plus rate increases and it's easy And Mike,
you're a media man of all of us, you know
you would know it's when things stick out and people
are struggling to pay heavy rates bills that these kind
of issues have a teacher drawn to them. So yeah,
and and that and that's I think the real the
(05:07):
real message here is you know, there's there is a
challenge around local government demonstrating value for money. I think
we're right to look at local government and central government
for that. And people will be scrutinizing the spending, but
that the answer to there is not to say spend
nothing on bikes and cycle lanes, but actually we've got
(05:29):
to invest in every mode of transport. Let's not get
bought into this.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Partisans, stop catastrophones, and that's not what's going on here.
What's going on here we're.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Having referring to respond.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Actually, thank you because because there is a there is
a middle path here, Mike that normal kiwis can see, right, Like,
I mean I cycle, I cycle all the time, but
I think you can actually do head sticks and you
can and there's your cycle way done. You don't have
to spend millions dollars.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Points you've just made the point.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, yeah, and you can build it buy.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
People use different ways of getting around and we should, Yes,
we should prioritize all of them.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
It is, Mike about the it's about going for the
gold standard. And this is the problem. Like a lot
of people are can be really upset about this. They've
been priced out of their houses and then they see
tories just gone and by it brought a bike thing
for five hundred thousand. It's indefensible even hither.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
I don't know what you think is an appropriate amount
for a bike rack so that people can get their
bikes safe in the city. I mean, there's it's four
hundred thousand, hundred thousand.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
You can reduce that by multiples.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yeah, true, maybe you can. But but you know, I
don't know the sort ins and outs of budgeting for
bike racks, so I don't.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I just can I just make another Can I make
another point here? I think the five hundred thousand was
for the whole lame way. Yeah, the bike crack itself
was about one hundred and thirty. Such are just trying
to Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, just about context. I mean it was all done
for the bike crack, obviously, but it all added up. Hey, listen,
tell me Somethingnck. What do you think of Reagan?
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
She is milking her fame and you can either take
the approach of loving it like I am, or you
could go without Ossie correspondent who hates her for it.
Where are you on this?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I'd probably lead more to you on this. Heather I
mean like she's got a hell of a lot of attention,
she's got a brand, she's an athlete, and she didn't
she didn't do particularly well, but she can, she can
get ahead on on on the notoriety. All power to her.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
What do you think, Mike, Well, look, I think Hither
that if she was so bad, if it was such
a bizarre performance, what was she doing there? And what
does that say about the qualifying processes in Australia. Yeah,
I mean, shouldn't the question be asked about the Australian
selection process and the people who ticked off her name
to be a competitor at the Games. I mean, she
(07:53):
would over there and did her best, but somebody in Australia,
or a lot of somebody's decided she was good enough
to be there. Other ones. Since you've been the gun
not dear on, Raygun.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Yeah, ray Gun, I love what you've done there. Hey, guys,
thank you so much, appreciate it. Mike monro Nickly get
our huddle this
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Evening 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.
Eighteen away from six the Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's
International Realty Exceptional marketing for every.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Property on the Huddle of this this evening. Mike Mnroe,
former advisor to Jacinda and nic Leggett Infrastructure, New Zealand Highlands.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Hello, good, all right.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Nick, do you want to have a guess at why
they tried to keep it secret?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I think you've just touched on it, haven't you? Look
to me, this is perfectly defendable, particularly if you went
and said if you'd disclosed it and then you'd said
this is what the million dollars is going towards. The
issue here is that it's water care is now on
the back foot, as you've correctly demonstrated, and it feels
(00:41):
like something's being hidden and actually improving the health quality
of the Waycatta River in the part that's most polluted
is not a bad thing, and it's something that I
think most people in New Zealand would think was a
good idea.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
This is not defendable because why don't we just call
it out for what is right. We do not pay
to access water in this country, and this gets around
that by dressing it up as some sort of like
appointing Kitesiyaki and doing all this research just paying to
get water out.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
But if it was if you could, if you could
demonstrate from the get go that there were tangible projects
coming from this million dollars that were improving the health
of the river, I don't think people would have a problem.
But there's no opportunity to explain that now because it
looks like it's been covered.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Up very much. So I mean, Mike, how do they
rescue themselves from this?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Well, yeah, they've got themselves into a real pickle. And
I agree with Nick that, you know, they should have
just come out there at the outset and see what
was going on. I mean, he mentioned a figure four
hundred and eighty five thousand people on their database or whatever.
To me, that's about two dollars twenty a year per household.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, but and then adding then added to it the
forty million were already paying, And then before you know it,
it starts becoming a lot more than just a couple
of bucks.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Than that that number for the cleanup, the forty million
dollars that's already out there. They put that number out
there when the deal was made. This fun for some
inexplicable reason they decided to sit on it. And when
you do a cover up like this, it always comes
around and bites you in the bum at some point,
and it did this afternoon when you just did your
blistering interrogation there either of poor Dave. So yeah, secrecy
(02:24):
always backfires.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
All right, guys, we'll take it. Don't side with Dave.
Now listen, both of you guys are WELLINGTONI and so
I want you to. I want your take on the
bike crack and Wellington very short. We will come back
and do that.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, unparalleled reach
and results.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Okay, we've got Mike monro Nick legged on the huddle. Mike,
what do you spend? What do you make of this
spend on the bike crack on the Terrace.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
I saw that article and I just thought it was
more hysteria from the anti bike lotty myself. I mean, look,
if we're going to incentivize people to get out of
cars and to get on their bikes and use other
means of getting into the city, there's got to be
the infrastructure for it.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Mike and a.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Half a million dollars for a bike rack. It's not
a big deal when you put it alongside the millions
that get spent every year on roadways and curves and
everything else.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Mike, are you listening to yourself? That is the cost
of building a house.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah, but this thing's going to accommodate a rather large
number of bikes. And as a person who uses a
bike in that part of the city, it's severely lacking.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Why can't you just chain your bike up against a
pole like I do?
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Well, up till now, I've been doing that, but now
I can use this flash bike.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Hold on a take though. So, Mike, were you telling
me you were riding your bike anyway without the bike rack,
but now this is going to make you ride your
bike because you've got a bike rap?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
No, No, no, there is there are There is infrastructure up
there now to park bikes, but it's very limited. In fact,
I saw the councilor Calvert who's quoted in this article
today saying that no one ever uses the rack outside
the council and that's not true. That's direct misinformation. Blazed
this information. I've used it twice about the last three weeks,
(04:02):
and there's always bikes there. But The thing is there's
a lack of infrastructure out there, and a lot of
people work in that part of the city and take
their bikes in and like you say, they've got to
strap them two power poles or whatever, and that upsets
some of the passes by. So having a bike back
to me makes emminent sense. And it's a good signal
that bikeers cycled, they are going to be looked after.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
NAC next, save me from Mike right now.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Please, Yeah, I mean the answer the MIC's right in
the sense that we do need we do need afrastructure
for a whole lot of ways of moving around. But
it isn't bikes versus cars, mics. It's a bit more
of everything else. But I think the real bit of
everything should I say that The real issue here though,
is value for money, isn't it. People are being stun
(04:46):
by twenty percent plus rate increases and it's easy And Mike,
you're a media man of all of us, you know
you would know it's when things stick out and people
are struggling to pay heavy rates bills that these kind
of issues have a teacher drawn to them. So yeah,
and and that and that's I think the real the
(05:07):
real message here is you know, there's there is a
challenge around local government demonstrating value for money. I think
we're right to look at local government and central government
for that. And people will be scrutinizing the spending, but
that the answer to there is not to say spend
nothing on bikes and cycle lanes, but actually we've got
(05:29):
to invest in every mode of transport. Let's not get
bought into this.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Partisans, stop catastrophones, and that's not what's going on here.
What's going on here we're.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Having referring to respond.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Actually, thank you because because there is a there is
a middle path here, Mike that normal kiwis can see, right, Like,
I mean I cycle, I cycle all the time, but
I think you can actually do head sticks and you
can and there's your cycle way done. You don't have
to spend millions dollars.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Points you've just made the point.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, yeah, and you can build it buy.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
People use different ways of getting around and we should, Yes,
we should prioritize all of them.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
It is, Mike about the it's about going for the
gold standard. And this is the problem. Like a lot
of people are can be really upset about this. They've
been priced out of their houses and then they see
tories just gone and by it brought a bike thing
for five hundred thousand. It's indefensible even hither.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
I don't know what you think is an appropriate amount
for a bike rack so that people can get their
bikes safe in the city. I mean, there's it's four
hundred thousand, hundred thousand.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
You can reduce that by multiples.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yeah, true, maybe you can. But but you know, I
don't know the sort ins and outs of budgeting for
bike racks, so I don't.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I just can I just make another Can I make
another point here? I think the five hundred thousand was
for the whole lame way. Yeah, the bike crack itself
was about one hundred and thirty. Such are just trying
to Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, just about context. I mean it was all done
for the bike crack, obviously, but it all added up. Hey, listen,
tell me Somethingnck. What do you think of Reagan?
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
She is milking her fame and you can either take
the approach of loving it like I am, or you
could go without Ossie correspondent who hates her for it.
Where are you on this?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I'd probably lead more to you on this. Heather I
mean like she's got a hell of a lot of attention,
she's got a brand, she's an athlete, and she didn't
she didn't do particularly well, but she can, she can
get ahead on on on the notoriety. All power to her.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
What do you think, Mike, Well, look, I think Hither
that if she was so bad, if it was such
a bizarre performance, what was she doing there? And what
does that say about the qualifying processes in Australia. Yeah,
I mean, shouldn't the question be asked about the Australian
selection process and the people who ticked off her name
to be a competitor at the Games. I mean, she
(07:53):
would over there and did her best, but somebody in Australia,
or a lot of somebody's decided she was good enough
to be there. Other ones. Since you've been the gun
not dear on, Raygun.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Yeah, ray Gun, I love what you've done there. Hey, guys,
thank you so much, appreciate it. Mike monro Nickly get
our huddle this
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Evening 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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