The Huddle: Do we think NZ will recognise Palestinian statehood?

Tonight on The Huddle, lawyer Brigitte Morten and AUT chancellor Rob Campbell joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

We're all waiting on Winston Peters to reveal if New Zealand will recognise a Palestinian state. Which way do we think this will go?

NZ First invokes the agree-to-disagree clause over the Government's new residency pathways. Are NZ First right to do this? And are they trying to make immigration a big election issue next year?

The Government's made some new changes to the Holidays Act - will this be good for businesses and employees alike?  

US President Donald Trump has linked paracetamol use during pregnancy to autism. Should we take this seriously? 

Sir Don McKinnon's idea to kickstart New Zealand is for us to host the Commonwealth Games. Is that really the best way forward?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty. Find your
one of a kind right.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Let's get to the huddle tonight. Bridget Morton, lawyer at
Frank's Ogilvy, is with us. Bridget, good evening to you.
Good evening, Rob Campbell on the phone, Aut Chancellor, former
health en Z chair Rob, good evening. Good to have
you both here. What it will start with? Might as
well start here very quickly? Quick word your thoughts, Bridget.
Do you think that Winston will go ahead and follow

(00:27):
France in the UK and everyone else or will we
go out on our own?

Speaker 3 (00:32):
I think he will follow them. I think ultimately there'll
be a lot of caveats because Winston is well aware
of the foreign fears implications and didmitt indications of recognizing
the state of Palestine. But ultimately we want to be
seen as working alongside.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Our allies, Mike, Rob forgive me.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
Yeah, I'm not going to start a habit of it,
but I agree with bridgide On that that's what I
think we will do.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Okay, Hey, New Zealand. First, Bridget and invoking the agree
to disagree big deal or just elections coming in. It's
immigration so they pull the lever well.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
I think it was in a number of immigration announcements
over the last six months, all aimed at getting more
skilled and people here and more investment on our shores.
Ultimately than he's in a thirst. They know that there's
the portion of their voters that don't agree with a
large immigration push, so ultimately they were going to push
back on something, and I think this is the thing
that started to do so.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Rob Do You had Shane Jones on earlier and he's saying,
you know, the immigration, sort of unfettered immigration changing the
demographics of New Zealand, and it's a sort of changing
the nature of New Zealand. Is it a bad thing?

Speaker 4 (01:40):
Well? I mean Shane shouts at his dogs. He doesn't
use one of the traditional dog whistles, does he. He
makes it pretty clear what their real thoughts are. And
you know, I think frankly that the word racist is
what comes to my mind when I hear him raving
about it. I think he's out of churn with the
vast majority of people in the country. They're trickling out

(02:00):
these announcements on migration. I think this one's frankly pretty trivial.
Who knew that we were short of high expertise and
stewldry and hairdressing. That was a bit of a surprise
to me that it was a problem holding back the economy.
So frankly, ident think this one makes an awful lot
of difference. But yeah, it's a bit of election here
in bunging in on.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
First government's changes to the Holidays Act Bridget it looks
like it's pretty balanced, and to be fair to Brook
van Veldet, it's a bloody hard job to try and
clean that mess up.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, I mean, I mean success. The governments have made
promises to clean up the Holidays Act because the miscalculations
and the burden we've had from underpay and then had
to repay people back is just extraordinary. This system is
very simple to understand. I think employers around the country
will be celebrating that, and I do think it actually
does make it fearer for our part time workers and

(02:54):
the whole because it does recognize the fact that they
don't need as much sickly because they're not working the
same number of das as a full time worker. But
it also recognizes that they should get loading when they're
not necessarily going to get them any other.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Way, yea true.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty the global
leader in luxury real estate five to six.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Bridget Morton and Rob Campbell on the Huddle tonight, Rob
Trump and the autism research thing. What do you say
to all of that, and what do you say to
people who believe it or who think, you know, start
to worry that maybe there is a link.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
Well, it would be very unfortunate if that was the case.
I don't think it's much better this than in themectin
to solve COVID myself. So it really is quite nutty stuff.
And the less attention it's given the better. But I
don't want I don't want to let this go. I'm
afraid this new change to the Whole Day's Act does
not put a loading on part time worker, puts a

(03:53):
loading on casual work. The part time workers have lost
as a result of this. That gets fully prepared. Who
is proportional holiday leave right now? If you're not, you
get whole. They leave on the days you would have
worked for the hours you would have worked. It was
purely proportional before, and this takes rights away from part
time workers. So it does hurt a number of people,
a large number of people who are amongst the most

(04:16):
vulnerable people in our workforce. So I can't let Bridget
get away with misportraying that. But on the autism thing, honestly,
something Trump says just deserve to be treated with a
derision or ignored.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
So sorry, can you come back to that, Rob, What
are you saying about casual workers? How are they worse off?

Speaker 4 (04:33):
Casual workers are not worse off under this change that
they have had a small extra loading put on. But
a casual worker is someone who doesn't have any flixed hours.
A part time worker who works a certain number of
days a week or a certain number of hours in
the day will be worse off under this because they
only get paid in proportion to the ours. It's purely proportional. Now,

(04:54):
what they get the idea that part time workers get
extra thickly that the moment is just not right. If
you stick on a day you don't work, you don't
get leave. If you're a part timer, you only get
paid for the days that you are actually normally rosted
to work, and you only get paid for the hours
you normally do, which is purely proportional to what they do.
This takes the step.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Back bridget Do you want to comment on Trump or
do we move on?

Speaker 3 (05:19):
I just think I feel for those parents out there that,
you know, a feeling, you know, did I do something
wrong or questioning what they have done, because they've got
children that with autism and for them, you know, there's
going to be a bunch of people they're going to
see Trump is a validation of their conservacy views. And
that's really fine there.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Sir Don McKinnon. Everybody's scratching around the back of a
sofa for an idea to give this economy a bit
of a tickle up. And so Don McKinnon says we
should host a Commonwealth Games.

Speaker 4 (05:46):
What do we think, Rob, I think Don woke up
from a slumber one afternoon and thought he was still
Secretary General of the Commonwealth or something. You know, the
Commonwealth Games is a pretty low grade thing anyway, there's
no great attraction in doing it. There's very little evidence
that these big sports events actually do trigger any amount
of economic growth, certainly not sustained economic growth. So unless

(06:09):
Don's actually was half a sleep and wake up thinking
he was still Secretary of General, He's just wrong about it.
It's just a silly idea and again doesn't deserve any space.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Okay, well take no to the Commonwealth Games from Rob Bridget.
Anything positive to say about the Common Games?

Speaker 3 (06:26):
Oh look, I applaud him for, you know, having throwing
a positive idea in there. But I think at Rob's
that's be right that the numbers just don't add up
that whole Wealth Game. That's why Victorias pulled out of it.
But I do disagree with Rob though that these big
sporting events don't bring economic game. We're actually with some
great events coming to New Zealand in the next couple
of years which will actually, you know, really help particularly
in our region. So in the world I'm Maintainionship and

(06:50):
TAPO or Traceon and World Championships and TOTTNGA post. Those
are great events that are really going to boost those
sort of economies without building giant athlete villagers.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
What about the America's cut already had most of the
infrastructure here. You know, we said no to that Rugby
World Cup.

Speaker 4 (07:05):
Can we get that batch?

Speaker 2 (07:06):
You know, we'll leave it there. Guys, Bridget Morton and
Rob Campbell on the huddle tonight.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
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