March 4, 2025 • 8 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Newstalk ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
The school lunch saga carries on, with David Seymour stepping up to reassure Kiwis the programme's problems are being dealt with. What do we make of this?
Congestion charging appears to be getting closer, as a new bill allowing local councils and authorities to charge users for busy routes during peak hours has passed its first reading in Parliament. Do we think this is the way to go?
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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 Southeby's International Realty Find You're
one of a kind.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Allie Jones read pr with us this evening. Hi, Ellie
get Ryan and Nick Mills News Talks. They'd be Wellington Mornings. Nick,
good evening to you, Hi. Right, let's start with the lunches.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Nick.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We've heard from David Seymour ninety nine percent on time.
You know, there's obviously going to be some teething problems,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But what do you
make of this?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I thought there was a lot of bs from Minister Seymore.
I mean, we've just had a big article on the
local paper here about Marna College, one of the colleges
that get the delivery, and they showed the food that
they got twelve months ago against the food they're getting now.
The food is crap. It's coming cold, it's coming burnt,
it's not turning up on time for them to turn
around and try and make out that everything's all right now.
(00:48):
You know, I understand eating problems, but he's done it
on the cheap with a big company that don't give
a damn and the results are there. You can see it.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist, you don't
have to be a prime and so you can see
that the proper is a problem because it's been done
too damn.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Cheap, Ellie. Two thirds of schools have not complained, and
the third of schools that have complained, I've either asked
questions or complained, So we don't actually know yet. But
it's a minority who have complained about this. Does that
not indicate that for most it's actually working?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Yeah, but that doesn't make it right. And I never
thought i'd say this, but I agree with every.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Single word that Nick just said.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
What I think is the issue here is exactly what
Nick said, that it's the big picture. Listening to David Seymour,
who sounded exhausted actually and so he should be, is
that this is not just about stuff being delivered on time,
as Nick said, It's about the quality of the food.
It's about the food being cold, it's about the food
being burnt, it's about it not being halal food, it's
(01:46):
about it not being vegetarian. So for him to focus
on ninety nine percent of it's on time.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
As just rubbish.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
And also, how the hell is it going to take
another eight weeks to flip that ninety nine.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
Percent to one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
What's going on that needs to take eight weeks to
get right?
Speaker 5 (02:02):
And again, and Nick just made that point about.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Hang on, how are we expecting so much perfection from this,
from this new system when we had so many problems
with the previous We did we.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Didn't, he said, we had seven Well, we certainly didn't.
Down here, I've been speaking to a group of women
this week that used to do it. Well, not women,
there were guys in there as well. They used to
provide food to the local schools. They served six schools.
The kids loved it. It was on time, it provided jobs.
It was a circular economy. And now they're asking can
we have the old provider back?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
People go on about the jobs. It was a thousand
jobs that was created. The system was costing us half
a billion dollars. That's not good value for money, Nick, Sure.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, but I mean that surely that we can do it.
That beats both those So do you really want to
be feeding our kids this crap? Do you really want
the money to go off shore? Why wouldn't you just
do it? So? Localized businesses and organizing. This government says
they're all about small business, but they don't give a
rats about small business. They give a direts about big business.
(03:04):
That's where our issue is.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
The huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, the ones
with local and global reach.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Ellie Jones read pr and Nick Mills Newstalks. They'd be
Wellington Mornings with me on the huddle tonight quarter Just sorry,
thirteen minutes away from six o'clock now, congestion charging. This
is either good news or bad news. If you're stuck
in traffic listening to us right now, Congestion charging is
probably going to be on the way because the first
reading of the bill that will enable counsels to do
it is just passed in the House, everyone voting in
(03:34):
favor apart from Taparty Maori, though we're not quite sure
at this point. Why Allie do you think because you're
in christ Church, aren't you?
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Is this something that christ is going to do that
you would support them doing.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
It's been looked at before, it was raised in the
last Annual Plan in the last term of Council, and
there wasn't the mechanism there, as you know, we're seeing
now because it's going through government for the legislation, but
there wasn't the mechanism there for the council to do it.
It's certainly something that people have been talking about. I
think it needs to be considered. But I think the
point that Mey Brown makes that a stronger public transport
(04:06):
and roading system is also needed for us down here,
that is absolutely key. I mean, we basically don't really
have a public transport system other than buses, so you know,
it's a little different in Auckland perhaps, but man, our streets.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Are really congested down here.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
We do have to do something, and I think this
will be talked about, you know, far more in the
coming years.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, the public transport point is a good one, Nick,
because if you're and we've had so many people text
in here to say, I would love, you know, I'd
love to catch the public transport and not pay a
congestion charge. But that would mean three buses and three
hours you know to get to work.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, I mean I'm down for it. I'm absolutely down
for it. I mean, you guys have got to pay
the price for living in Auckland. You know, you're the
hearts and soul of the country. You know, one point
two million people. You know, it takes a little bit
of time to you to get for me to be well,
that's something you've got to put up with because why
you're you're a big city, you're playing in the big league.
Take a bit of time, relax. But public transport, if
you are going to actually look at public Chansler, go
(05:05):
to Melbourne. Go to Melbourne. I mean Melbourne has a
population of New Zealand and complain about anything towards the roading.
I mean it's expensive to park in town, very expensive
to park in town. One hundred dollars a day to
park in town in some places. But the public transport's fantastic,
the freeways fantastic. Auckland's just got to move with the times.
And you know what, you know that you're lucky. You're
(05:27):
so lucky. You've got people going out, you got people
in traffic jams, you got people, people create people and
fun and money. So it's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, I suppose that's coming from someone who's living in
Wellington as well.
Speaker 5 (05:42):
Look, you just have to look at London. I mean,
you look at London.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
I know that's not alike for like, and I'm very
wary of comparing cities, but you know, I'd hate to
be stuck in traffic. I've been using an e bike
more because I can, because of time and things. But
you know, in London there is a fantastic public transports system.
And I've got friends that are living very close to
the center of town and they rarely use a vehicle.
They'll either use a bike or they'll use the buses
(06:08):
or the underground, and their congestion charging is well in
place and has been for a while.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yeah, ming Ryan, it took me fifteen minutes to drive
from the middle of Courtney Place to the airport tonight
at five o'clock.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I mean, I don't want to be coming straight out
of town. I want to be traffic. I want to
be part of people. I want to see people back
in the city, and I mean congestion is just part
of it.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Yeah, you can have people. You don't need congestion.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
I don't, although actually we won't go too far into Wellington,
but all those cycle ways around the bay is making
luck very difficult, very difficult. Hey, just before we go,
Adrian Brody at the Oscars last night. He's been critic well,
I don't. I've criticized. He's been certainly got some attention
online because just before he went up to accept his
award for Best Actor, he took chewing gum out of
(06:57):
his mouth, which he had obviously been chewing on during
the ceremony, and threw it to his wife, who caught
it and like she was I don't know what she
was going to do with it, hold on to it
for later. We were talking about this in the office
today and Ellie, chewing gum is not I didn't think
was still a thing other than in America obviously people
chewing chewing gum.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
No, well, maybe he's trying to stop smoking man. Maybe
it was like, you know, you have a troll or
some sort of nicotine journal. But look, if I'm chewing
gum and I have done it before, really, But if
I chew gum and I'm going somewhere meant to be talking,
or I'll just take it out and hold it in
my hand. So I don't understand why he didn't do
that whole moment.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Listen to me at chewing gum. I chew gum all
the time, you know why, Because I want to kiss
people if I meet them. And see them. I want
to have fresh breath when I kissed them. So I
chew gum all the time. I think chewing gum is cool,
really cool.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Where do you put it once you finished with it? Though?
That's the question.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I keep chewing it all day. I keep chewing it
all day. I do a three hour show with a
piece of gum in my mouth.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Oh reminder to never use the mics in Wellington. Thank you, Nick, I.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Had to use it after you a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Nick Mills News Talks EB Wellington Mornings and Allie Jones
read pr on the huddle. Tonight time is eight minutes
away from six. There was a guy who used to
sit next to at at work desk and who he
had a pump bottle and he would choose cheering gum
and then he would put the chewing gum on the
top of the pump bottle lid and just leave it there.
I had to get a new job.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to
news Talks he'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty Find You're
one of a kind.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Allie Jones read pr with us this evening. Hi, Ellie
get Ryan and Nick Mills News Talks. They'd be Wellington Mornings. Nick,
good evening to you, Hi. Right, let's start with the lunches.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Nick.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We've heard from David Seymour ninety nine percent on time.
You know, there's obviously going to be some teething problems,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But what do you
make of this?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I thought there was a lot of bs from Minister Seymore.
I mean, we've just had a big article on the
local paper here about Marna College, one of the colleges
that get the delivery, and they showed the food that
they got twelve months ago against the food they're getting now.
The food is crap. It's coming cold, it's coming burnt,
it's not turning up on time for them to turn
around and try and make out that everything's all right now.
(00:48):
You know, I understand eating problems, but he's done it
on the cheap with a big company that don't give
a damn and the results are there. You can see it.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist, you don't
have to be a prime and so you can see
that the proper is a problem because it's been done
too damn.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Cheap, Ellie. Two thirds of schools have not complained, and
the third of schools that have complained, I've either asked
questions or complained, So we don't actually know yet. But
it's a minority who have complained about this. Does that
not indicate that for most it's actually working?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Yeah, but that doesn't make it right. And I never
thought i'd say this, but I agree with every.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Single word that Nick just said.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
What I think is the issue here is exactly what
Nick said, that it's the big picture. Listening to David Seymour,
who sounded exhausted actually and so he should be, is
that this is not just about stuff being delivered on time,
as Nick said, It's about the quality of the food.
It's about the food being cold, it's about the food
being burnt, it's about it not being halal food, it's
(01:46):
about it not being vegetarian. So for him to focus
on ninety nine percent of it's on time.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
As just rubbish.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
And also, how the hell is it going to take
another eight weeks to flip that ninety nine.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
Percent to one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
What's going on that needs to take eight weeks to
get right?
Speaker 5 (02:02):
And again, and Nick just made that point about.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Hang on, how are we expecting so much perfection from this,
from this new system when we had so many problems
with the previous We did we.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Didn't, he said, we had seven Well, we certainly didn't.
Down here, I've been speaking to a group of women
this week that used to do it. Well, not women,
there were guys in there as well. They used to
provide food to the local schools. They served six schools.
The kids loved it. It was on time, it provided jobs.
It was a circular economy. And now they're asking can
we have the old provider back?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
People go on about the jobs. It was a thousand
jobs that was created. The system was costing us half
a billion dollars. That's not good value for money, Nick, Sure.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, but I mean that surely that we can do it.
That beats both those So do you really want to
be feeding our kids this crap? Do you really want
the money to go off shore? Why wouldn't you just
do it? So? Localized businesses and organizing. This government says
they're all about small business, but they don't give a
rats about small business. They give a direts about big business.
(03:04):
That's where our issue is.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
The huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, the ones
with local and global reach.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Ellie Jones read pr and Nick Mills Newstalks. They'd be
Wellington Mornings with me on the huddle tonight quarter Just sorry,
thirteen minutes away from six o'clock now, congestion charging. This
is either good news or bad news. If you're stuck
in traffic listening to us right now, Congestion charging is
probably going to be on the way because the first
reading of the bill that will enable counsels to do
it is just passed in the House, everyone voting in
(03:34):
favor apart from Taparty Maori, though we're not quite sure
at this point. Why Allie do you think because you're
in christ Church, aren't you?
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Is this something that christ is going to do that
you would support them doing.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
It's been looked at before, it was raised in the
last Annual Plan in the last term of Council, and
there wasn't the mechanism there, as you know, we're seeing
now because it's going through government for the legislation, but
there wasn't the mechanism there for the council to do it.
It's certainly something that people have been talking about. I
think it needs to be considered. But I think the
point that Mey Brown makes that a stronger public transport
(04:06):
and roading system is also needed for us down here,
that is absolutely key. I mean, we basically don't really
have a public transport system other than buses, so you know,
it's a little different in Auckland perhaps, but man, our streets.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Are really congested down here.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
We do have to do something, and I think this
will be talked about, you know, far more in the
coming years.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, the public transport point is a good one, Nick,
because if you're and we've had so many people text
in here to say, I would love, you know, I'd
love to catch the public transport and not pay a
congestion charge. But that would mean three buses and three
hours you know to get to work.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, I mean I'm down for it. I'm absolutely down
for it. I mean, you guys have got to pay
the price for living in Auckland. You know, you're the
hearts and soul of the country. You know, one point
two million people. You know, it takes a little bit
of time to you to get for me to be well,
that's something you've got to put up with because why
you're you're a big city, you're playing in the big league.
Take a bit of time, relax. But public transport, if
you are going to actually look at public Chansler, go
(05:05):
to Melbourne. Go to Melbourne. I mean Melbourne has a
population of New Zealand and complain about anything towards the roading.
I mean it's expensive to park in town, very expensive
to park in town. One hundred dollars a day to
park in town in some places. But the public transport's fantastic,
the freeways fantastic. Auckland's just got to move with the times.
And you know what, you know that you're lucky. You're
(05:27):
so lucky. You've got people going out, you got people
in traffic jams, you got people, people create people and
fun and money. So it's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, I suppose that's coming from someone who's living in
Wellington as well.
Speaker 5 (05:42):
Look, you just have to look at London. I mean,
you look at London.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
I know that's not alike for like, and I'm very
wary of comparing cities, but you know, I'd hate to
be stuck in traffic. I've been using an e bike
more because I can, because of time and things. But
you know, in London there is a fantastic public transports system.
And I've got friends that are living very close to
the center of town and they rarely use a vehicle.
They'll either use a bike or they'll use the buses
(06:08):
or the underground, and their congestion charging is well in
place and has been for a while.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yeah, ming Ryan, it took me fifteen minutes to drive
from the middle of Courtney Place to the airport tonight
at five o'clock.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I mean, I don't want to be coming straight out
of town. I want to be traffic. I want to
be part of people. I want to see people back
in the city, and I mean congestion is just part
of it.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Yeah, you can have people. You don't need congestion.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
I don't, although actually we won't go too far into Wellington,
but all those cycle ways around the bay is making
luck very difficult, very difficult. Hey, just before we go,
Adrian Brody at the Oscars last night. He's been critic well,
I don't. I've criticized. He's been certainly got some attention
online because just before he went up to accept his
award for Best Actor, he took chewing gum out of
(06:57):
his mouth, which he had obviously been chewing on during
the ceremony, and threw it to his wife, who caught
it and like she was I don't know what she
was going to do with it, hold on to it
for later. We were talking about this in the office
today and Ellie, chewing gum is not I didn't think
was still a thing other than in America obviously people
chewing chewing gum.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
No, well, maybe he's trying to stop smoking man. Maybe
it was like, you know, you have a troll or
some sort of nicotine journal. But look, if I'm chewing
gum and I have done it before, really, But if
I chew gum and I'm going somewhere meant to be talking,
or I'll just take it out and hold it in
my hand. So I don't understand why he didn't do
that whole moment.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Listen to me at chewing gum. I chew gum all
the time, you know why, Because I want to kiss
people if I meet them. And see them. I want
to have fresh breath when I kissed them. So I
chew gum all the time. I think chewing gum is cool,
really cool.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Where do you put it once you finished with it? Though?
That's the question.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I keep chewing it all day. I keep chewing it
all day. I do a three hour show with a
piece of gum in my mouth.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Oh reminder to never use the mics in Wellington. Thank you, Nick, I.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Had to use it after you a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Nick Mills News Talks EB Wellington Mornings and Allie Jones
read pr on the huddle. Tonight time is eight minutes
away from six. There was a guy who used to
sit next to at at work desk and who he
had a pump bottle and he would choose cheering gum
and then he would put the chewing gum on the
top of the pump bottle lid and just leave it there.
I had to get a new job.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to
news Talks he'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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