February 10, 2025 • 8 mins
Two new polls show a shift in the political mood - but National's Nicola Willis isn't too worried about these results.
Both the Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll and the 1 News Verian poll - out today - show Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori would have the seats to form a Government.
Both also have Chris Luxon losing support in the preferred Prime Minister stakes.
But Willis says polls move around - pointing out that there are differences between today's two.
"Overall, the message that I'm hearing very loudly from New Zealand is - they've been though a tough time economically and they really want to see us focused on making them and their family feel more financially secure, and that's what we're doing."
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The numbers from the latest poll. So earlier we had
the Taxpayers Union Caurier poll. Now we have had the
One News Varium poll. This, this is the gist. It
basically backed up the Curier pole. The left block would
have the numbers to govern if an election were held tomorrow.
National down three to thirty four, Labor up four to
thirty three, so at one point gap Green Steady on ten,
(00:24):
Act up one to nine to Party Mardi down three
to four. New Zealand First On five down one third,
PM Well Luxton's back preferred Prime Minister Christopher lux and
twenty two down to Chris Hopkins up two on to seventeen,
joining us this evening. Nicola Willis the Finance Minister and
Minister for Economic Growth. Good evening, Good evening RN. How
(00:47):
do you feel about those numbers?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, you know, poles move around. Even between those two
polls that you've read out, the Taxpas Union one and
the tvnz'd won, there are differences in the numbers. One
we're up, one we're down. Look over all, the message
that I'm hearing very loudly from New Zealanders as they've
been through a tough time economically and they really want
to see us focused on making them and their family
feel more financially secure, and that's exactly what we're doing,
(01:12):
and that's what we should be focused on.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Is your leader getting the tone right when he says
the plan is starting to work but people are still hurting, Well.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
People are hurting, there's no question.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So is he getting the tone right? Do you reckon?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Well, I don't quite know what you mean by that.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I mean, I'll give you an example when Jacinda Aderne
refused to say there was a cost of living crisis
despite the fact everybody was feeling it hard in the pocket.
And then we've got your leader who comes out and
says the plan is starting to work, We're starting to
get back on track. But actually for most people, things
are still really expensive. A lot of people haven't had
(01:52):
a pay rise and they probably feel like it's a
little the message might be a little out of touch.
Can you see that angle?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Oh, look, of course, And I don't think the Prime
Minister would disagree with anything you've just said. I mean,
we see it in our communities every day. There is
no doubt there are families across the country who went
through a massive cost of living crisis are still struggling
to keep up with prices. There are people who have
lost hours of work, who have lost jobs. There are
a lot of people who are really struggling because of
(02:22):
a downturning economy. So the question isn't is it tough.
It is tough, there is no doubt. The question is
what should we do about it? And what we're doing
is we're making sure that we're keeping inflation back under control,
that we've got interest rates coming down, and that we're
driving for the underlying growth that's needed to create more
job opportunities and ensure New Zealanders can get paid more
(02:45):
and can keep up with the cost of living. That's
what we should be doing. And I know everyone would
like it to be an overnight success. I get that
because people have been through many years of hardship in
some cases. But what we're doing as a government is
doing the things we can do every day to make
a difference. And we've just got to keep doing that.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, I mean, it's tough. Even though I was talking
to a friend in Wellington at the weekend. They're you know,
twenty five percent of their properly value, their biggest as
set wiped off, and their rates going up fifteen percent.
It's it's pretty.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Rough, you know, Yeah, it's really rough. And you know,
in Wellington we've had the combination of a of a
council that's been really distracted from the issues that people
care about. I get it in the air all the time,
the people WELLINGTONI and said, I mean, why are they
taking away calf parks and building more cycle ways when
we've got leaking pipes and rising rates bills? Those are
(03:37):
few questions to ask. And I think similarly people are
looking at the government and saying, I want to know
that you're focused on me and my family. How much
I can earn in my paypacket, that I'll have job security,
that I'll have savings for my future, that my kids
can afford a home. I want all of those things too, Ryan.
And so the question is do we keep up the
old approach of the government, which decided the way to
(03:59):
deal with it was to borrow more, spend more, throw
money at ever increasing bureaucracies, or do we get on
with growing the real economy and backing employers, firms, innovators
to grow. And that's our approach.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And let's talk about that. The Foreign Investors Summit that's happening.
We spoken to Chris Bishop about it, so across the
details of it. But will there be actual announcements from
this or will it be this is you know, this
is who we are and what we're about, and we
hope you might go away and make a decision later,
or will it be like the one in the UK
where they came out and they said, all right, we've
(04:31):
actually got some deals ready to sign.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Well. The goal is to present to a range of
international investors opportunities for investment in New Zealand, both in
terms of growing parts of our economy, whether that's aquaculture
or the space industry or agriculture, but also in terms
of significant infrastructure plans that our government has underway. It
would be pretty weird if a deal was signed in
(04:55):
the room, because you'd want the government to be doing
a much clearer negotiation than that. But what we're hoping
is that it leads to relationships that then lead to
deals in due course.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Do you think Winston's warming up to the foreign buyers
homes buying things?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Well, I heard his comments on Mike Coskings Show the
other day and I think he's demonstrated he's an open
minded chap and as I think I've said to you before,
he seems interested in what's good for New Zealand and
New Zealanders, and on that score, it's my view that
allowing more people to buy homes here when they are
contributing to the New Zealand economy is a good idea.
(05:34):
So those conversations will continue.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So they're still ongoing. You still kind of badroom every
now and then.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Every now and then, Well, as you know, Ryan, we've
got a very full agenda of government programs and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs has many things on his plate.
So look, we do lots of things at one time.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Do we need to keep giving sixty million a year
to the Cooks?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Well, we have a really important relationship with the Cook Islands,
an incredibly close relationship, and that that funding reflects a
long standing support that we offer to the Cook Islands people.
And I haven't heard any questions about that funding being
in jeopardy at this stage.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
The US tariffs, Trump scent on steel and aliuminium, Ozzy's sorry,
very worried about that, as you can imagine how big
an impact could it have on us, And are we
trying to get out of it.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well, look, we've taken note of the announcement, but we
actually need to see the specifics before we can comment
on in detail about what it means for New Zealand, because,
as you know, our steel and aluminum exports to the
US already face a US tariff. We were one of
the countries who didn't get off the hook last time
during the last Trump administration, So we don't know yet
(06:50):
if the announcement will actually change anything for our New
Zealand exporters. Our steel exporters have continued to export into
the United States, as have our aliment and exporters, despite
the tariffs that were put on them previously.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But these tarifs will obviously go on top of the
previous ones.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Right, Well, the details aren't yet clear Ryan, exactly what
the arrangements will be. What we have at the moment
is a twenty five percent tariff on our steel and
ten percent on aluminium, So it's yet to be seen
what the details are for New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Will you be fighting for an exemption?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Oh, look, we will always put the interest of our
exporters first and that means minimizing the tariffs that they face,
and so our diplomats will be working extremely hard behind
the scenes to put New Zealand's case forward.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Will you look at the superage at the next election.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Oh look, that's not a discussion we've had as a
national Party caucus yet. I've gone on the record though,
saying look, I'm a mother of four kids and I
want to be honest and look them in the eye,
and i want to be able to say that we're
going to keep New Zealand's superannuation sustainable into the future.
And when you look at the greatest share of spending
that it's going to take up over time, in the
(08:04):
diminishing number of young people who will be paying tax
to support it, it seems to me that there will
come another time for a conversation about the age of eligibility.
But as I say, we don't have a national party
position on that right now. But I think it's one
of those ones where politicians should be honest. If they
are saying that we're going to keep everything exactly the same,
(08:24):
they then have an obligation to explain why young New
Zealanders will need to be paying a shiver's load more
tax to support that.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Is it something that you're and the Prime Minister have spoken.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
About No, we haven't actually.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Minister, I thank you very much for your time. I'm
great to have you on a Monday evening. As always,
we'll see you next week. That is the Finance Minister
Nicola Willison. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
live to news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
The numbers from the latest poll. So earlier we had
the Taxpayers Union Caurier poll. Now we have had the
One News Varium poll. This, this is the gist. It
basically backed up the Curier pole. The left block would
have the numbers to govern if an election were held tomorrow.
National down three to thirty four, Labor up four to
thirty three, so at one point gap Green Steady on ten,
(00:24):
Act up one to nine to Party Mardi down three
to four. New Zealand First On five down one third,
PM Well Luxton's back preferred Prime Minister Christopher lux and
twenty two down to Chris Hopkins up two on to seventeen,
joining us this evening. Nicola Willis the Finance Minister and
Minister for Economic Growth. Good evening, Good evening RN. How
(00:47):
do you feel about those numbers?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, you know, poles move around. Even between those two
polls that you've read out, the Taxpas Union one and
the tvnz'd won, there are differences in the numbers. One
we're up, one we're down. Look over all, the message
that I'm hearing very loudly from New Zealanders as they've
been through a tough time economically and they really want
to see us focused on making them and their family
feel more financially secure, and that's exactly what we're doing,
(01:12):
and that's what we should be focused on.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Is your leader getting the tone right when he says
the plan is starting to work but people are still hurting, Well.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
People are hurting, there's no question.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So is he getting the tone right? Do you reckon?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Well, I don't quite know what you mean by that.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I mean, I'll give you an example when Jacinda Aderne
refused to say there was a cost of living crisis
despite the fact everybody was feeling it hard in the pocket.
And then we've got your leader who comes out and
says the plan is starting to work, We're starting to
get back on track. But actually for most people, things
are still really expensive. A lot of people haven't had
(01:52):
a pay rise and they probably feel like it's a
little the message might be a little out of touch.
Can you see that angle?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Oh, look, of course, And I don't think the Prime
Minister would disagree with anything you've just said. I mean,
we see it in our communities every day. There is
no doubt there are families across the country who went
through a massive cost of living crisis are still struggling
to keep up with prices. There are people who have
lost hours of work, who have lost jobs. There are
a lot of people who are really struggling because of
(02:22):
a downturning economy. So the question isn't is it tough.
It is tough, there is no doubt. The question is
what should we do about it? And what we're doing
is we're making sure that we're keeping inflation back under control,
that we've got interest rates coming down, and that we're
driving for the underlying growth that's needed to create more
job opportunities and ensure New Zealanders can get paid more
(02:45):
and can keep up with the cost of living. That's
what we should be doing. And I know everyone would
like it to be an overnight success. I get that
because people have been through many years of hardship in
some cases. But what we're doing as a government is
doing the things we can do every day to make
a difference. And we've just got to keep doing that.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, I mean, it's tough. Even though I was talking
to a friend in Wellington at the weekend. They're you know,
twenty five percent of their properly value, their biggest as
set wiped off, and their rates going up fifteen percent.
It's it's pretty.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Rough, you know, Yeah, it's really rough. And you know,
in Wellington we've had the combination of a of a
council that's been really distracted from the issues that people
care about. I get it in the air all the time,
the people WELLINGTONI and said, I mean, why are they
taking away calf parks and building more cycle ways when
we've got leaking pipes and rising rates bills? Those are
(03:37):
few questions to ask. And I think similarly people are
looking at the government and saying, I want to know
that you're focused on me and my family. How much
I can earn in my paypacket, that I'll have job security,
that I'll have savings for my future, that my kids
can afford a home. I want all of those things too, Ryan.
And so the question is do we keep up the
old approach of the government, which decided the way to
(03:59):
deal with it was to borrow more, spend more, throw
money at ever increasing bureaucracies, or do we get on
with growing the real economy and backing employers, firms, innovators
to grow. And that's our approach.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And let's talk about that. The Foreign Investors Summit that's happening.
We spoken to Chris Bishop about it, so across the
details of it. But will there be actual announcements from
this or will it be this is you know, this
is who we are and what we're about, and we
hope you might go away and make a decision later,
or will it be like the one in the UK
where they came out and they said, all right, we've
(04:31):
actually got some deals ready to sign.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Well. The goal is to present to a range of
international investors opportunities for investment in New Zealand, both in
terms of growing parts of our economy, whether that's aquaculture
or the space industry or agriculture, but also in terms
of significant infrastructure plans that our government has underway. It
would be pretty weird if a deal was signed in
(04:55):
the room, because you'd want the government to be doing
a much clearer negotiation than that. But what we're hoping
is that it leads to relationships that then lead to
deals in due course.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Do you think Winston's warming up to the foreign buyers
homes buying things?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Well, I heard his comments on Mike Coskings Show the
other day and I think he's demonstrated he's an open
minded chap and as I think I've said to you before,
he seems interested in what's good for New Zealand and
New Zealanders, and on that score, it's my view that
allowing more people to buy homes here when they are
contributing to the New Zealand economy is a good idea.
(05:34):
So those conversations will continue.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So they're still ongoing. You still kind of badroom every
now and then.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Every now and then, Well, as you know, Ryan, we've
got a very full agenda of government programs and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs has many things on his plate.
So look, we do lots of things at one time.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Do we need to keep giving sixty million a year
to the Cooks?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Well, we have a really important relationship with the Cook Islands,
an incredibly close relationship, and that that funding reflects a
long standing support that we offer to the Cook Islands people.
And I haven't heard any questions about that funding being
in jeopardy at this stage.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
The US tariffs, Trump scent on steel and aliuminium, Ozzy's sorry,
very worried about that, as you can imagine how big
an impact could it have on us, And are we
trying to get out of it.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well, look, we've taken note of the announcement, but we
actually need to see the specifics before we can comment
on in detail about what it means for New Zealand, because,
as you know, our steel and aluminum exports to the
US already face a US tariff. We were one of
the countries who didn't get off the hook last time
during the last Trump administration, So we don't know yet
(06:50):
if the announcement will actually change anything for our New
Zealand exporters. Our steel exporters have continued to export into
the United States, as have our aliment and exporters, despite
the tariffs that were put on them previously.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But these tarifs will obviously go on top of the
previous ones.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Right, Well, the details aren't yet clear Ryan, exactly what
the arrangements will be. What we have at the moment
is a twenty five percent tariff on our steel and
ten percent on aluminium, So it's yet to be seen
what the details are for New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Will you be fighting for an exemption?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Oh, look, we will always put the interest of our
exporters first and that means minimizing the tariffs that they face,
and so our diplomats will be working extremely hard behind
the scenes to put New Zealand's case forward.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Will you look at the superage at the next election.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Oh look, that's not a discussion we've had as a
national Party caucus yet. I've gone on the record though,
saying look, I'm a mother of four kids and I
want to be honest and look them in the eye,
and i want to be able to say that we're
going to keep New Zealand's superannuation sustainable into the future.
And when you look at the greatest share of spending
that it's going to take up over time, in the
(08:04):
diminishing number of young people who will be paying tax
to support it, it seems to me that there will
come another time for a conversation about the age of eligibility.
But as I say, we don't have a national party
position on that right now. But I think it's one
of those ones where politicians should be honest. If they
are saying that we're going to keep everything exactly the same,
(08:24):
they then have an obligation to explain why young New
Zealanders will need to be paying a shiver's load more
tax to support that.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Is it something that you're and the Prime Minister have spoken.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
About No, we haven't actually.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Minister, I thank you very much for your time. I'm
great to have you on a Monday evening. As always,
we'll see you next week. That is the Finance Minister
Nicola Willison. For more from Heather 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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