September 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
The New Zealand Herald released its latest Mood of the Boardroom survey and Chris Luxon and Nicola Willis are out of Cabinet's top 10 performers. Can they turn things around?
What do we think of our new Reserve Bank Governor? She seems very committed to transparency - do we think that's what our central bank needs?
Tory Whanau has revealed she wants to run for Parliament. Do we think this is a good idea?
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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 your
one of a kind.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You're on News talksz B. It is twenty away from
Sex Now Fellow Riley Iron, Duke, Partner's former bost of
Business New Zealand, on the Huddle tonight alongside Jack Tame,
host of Q and A Saturday mornings on News Talks.
Be good evening, How you doing? I think good to
have you both here. Fell your summation after the mood
of the boardroom today they responses various responses from government ministers.
(00:29):
What are you making of it all?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Oh, I was just a cry of frustration. I think
Ryan and noticed that the opposition isn't too too well over,
so you know, it was a bit of a box
and everyone's hous in that sense, and I think, you know,
I think it is a bit of a cry of frustration.
I think it's a bit of a cry of saying,
could you please listen to us a bit more. I
certainly get some of that feedback from the business community.
I didn't expect that. It didn't expect the Prime Minister
to fair quite so badly as he did, but certainly,
(00:54):
you know, there's some good messages for them there about
listening to the business community and taking a bit of
advice and feedback. And I think it will turn around
as there's the economy starts to turn around. There's an
element of that, but there's an element also this this
personal stuff I think that needs that he needs to overcome.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
When you say personal stuff, you mean just likability.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, well, the idea that you know that a lot
of the business people are saying, you know, we want
to talk to them and we want to give them
some feedback, and sometimes that's difficult, and so that there
was some there were some some frustrations expressed about that,
and of course he'll have a different view on this,
but you know, if that's the frustration, then okay, well
let's do something about that. But I think, as I say,
it's it's as much about the economy as well as
(01:32):
as God Thumpson just said. You know, everybody's frustrated about
what's happening here, and so that does tend to lead
to more difficult relationships. Of course, you know this, you know,
this is the story along the along the ease lines
all the time. So as the economy starts to pull
out and then the green shoots are out there. Everybody,
I'm talking to you as a green shoot story to
tell me you'd hope that that relationship will improve. Jack.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
It's interesting because the business community is saying you need
to do more, but it's not exactly clear exactly what
they want them to do differently, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Yeah, Although I mean that being said, I think the
feedback was pretty clear that there feels like there is
a communication impart. Right, A lot of people felt like
Christopher Luxon came to the job as Prime Minister boasting
about his business credentials. I mean, he knows, you know,
two thirds of the c suite in New Zealand. So
I think a lot of those people would have expected
that have the ability to pick up the phone have
(02:24):
a yarn every now and then, not have them on
SEEDEDWN necessarily, but that their concerns and feedback would be
taken on personally from the Prime Minister. And I think
the sense you got from the results today was that
in the eyes of some of the respondents, at least
a meaningful number of them, that at least isn't their
feedback At the moment, I've got to say, move the
boardroom just get better every year, but it's like every
(02:45):
year more the kind of insights that we're getting from
the business community are richer. But I actually we can
de leep A Fonseka and Business Desk had a great
point in his analysis today, as he so often does,
and that he said a lot of the frustration being
expressed by the respondents wasn't so much directly about the government,
(03:05):
but it was they felt that the government's relatively poor
performance was making it more likely that a Labor League
government would be back in an eighteen months time, and
that seemed to be a real kernel of frustration for
many of the respondents.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Hey, Phil, what did you make of the fact that
we've got a or two I see at the Swedish
Central Bank coming to head out.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yeah. I checked with some of my Swedish friends just
a few hours ago, so you know what's the story.
And I hear from them that she's highly regarded in Sweden,
so that's very very good. The challenge, though, Ryan, is
that Sweden is a very very different economy to New Zual,
like really different. It's in the yew economy, it's much wealthier,
it's got very different geopolitical stuff you know, it doesn't
have the same concentration on China and the Pacific that
(03:50):
we do so much less fragile economy. So as always
with these overseas appointments, and this is a bit of
a thing that goes around Willington from time to time.
So they can often walk in as Superman and turn
out to be Clark Kent, not because they're not because
they're not very good personally, but because they just don't
know what's going on in New Zealand. They don't know
the people here. It's a small community here in the business,
(04:11):
in the business world and the political world, so sometimes
they don't go so well because of that. So what
will be really important is for this new Reserve Bank
governor to get out and talk to the business community,
talk to people, talk to community groups, really listen and
then put in place a strong team around here. Given
the fact the RBS you know, not going so well
right now, get a good local team around here and
(04:32):
if she does that then there's a good chance she
will succeed. But clearly a signal from government that big
change was necessary and they've executed that change, haven't they clearly.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, a bit of a new dawn for the Reserve Bank,
hopefully Jack. The main thing to get your head around,
of course, just the housing market. We're into it, we
love it, don't mess with it.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes, Yes, I just think so.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Although Ryan, I think I think it's important to point
out that, of course the Reserve Band Governor now sits
on a monthary policy committee, not like that one person
is a bizarre siding where the ocr should be sitting.
I think too that if she can do one thing,
and from what I've read of her reputation today, it
suggest that she might be well well placed to do this,
it's just to improve perceptions around transparency. I just think
(05:15):
the last seven months or so that the Bank's reputations
has taken a real hit with Adrianaw's departure and the
handling of that departure, I think it's I think it's
been really damaging. And if she can come in steady
the ship and say from the word go and prove
from the word go, you know, really show it to
people who watch the Bank's movement that she's utterly committed
to transparency, I think that'll restore a lot of the confidence.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
The film the Monetary Policy Committee and you know, the Fed,
the Bank of England, the Central Bank in Sweden, they
all publish and say which way the members voted, and
even in Sweden they tell you the justification for the
way they voted too. Would you like to see something
like that here?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yep. I think it's a good idea. And I read
that set in two and I thought there's something too
that it can be a bit scary because we're a
small society and a bit passive aggressive, aren't we, as kiwis,
and so maybe we don't want to know how Dave voted,
or Dave's a bit un comfortable about that, But that's
the very point that's being made. I think we should
do that. That's actually the very thing to get people
(06:16):
debating and to make sure that everybody understands what's going on.
She also is quoted in some of the studies she's done,
some of the speeches she's done on publishing all turnate scenarios.
Here's what we're doing, here's what we could have done.
That's another really good way of getting people to understand
why the Reserve Bank would be doing what it's doing
and why it didn't get down other tracks that people
might argue for So I think that kind of pretty
(06:39):
clear transparency will be quite important and will actually help
her a heck of a lot because it'll enable people
to engage with her and to make sure that she
understands the New Zealand realities.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Fell and Jack on the huddle tonight, be the huddle
with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, the global leader in
luxury real estate, welcome back and living to six on newstalk,
said the fellow Riley and Jack tame on the Huddle tonight, guys,
Torri Farno or Typhoon Tory as some call her. She's
talking about not being finished with Wellington yet, Jack potentially
(07:11):
going to run for national politics. I know she said
this indicated this potentially before what do you what do
you reckon the Greens actually think of that?
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Well, I think internally in the Greens, my understanding of
Tory Fano has really strong relationships and that when she
was chief of Staff a lot of MPs thought she
did a really, really good job. Now I'm not suggesting
for a moment that Tory Farno might enjoy nationwide levels
of support if she does decide to go down the
central government path, but I think it's perfectly conceivable that
(07:44):
if in years to come she decides to stand as
a Green MP, that she would find herself in Parliament.
I don't think it's that crazy ideas, okay.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Even though you know when you point to Wellington and
say that's you know, that's that's Missiqe.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Whether or not she would whether or not she would
win a seat in Wellington, if she would have stand
as the Welling con Central candidate or that all the
high candidate, that might be a different question entirely. But
I think I think from my understanding, her reputation from
her time as a chief of staff for the Green
Party is pretty strong, at least in that party. So
(08:18):
I can see that having the support internally to get
a relatively high position on the list in years to come.
And you know, central government is quite different to local government.
So if you know, Tory decides that she wants to
stay in politics, and I can see at the very
least her having sufficient support from within the Greens to
maybe make that a reality.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
They need a chief of staff actually at the moment,
maybe she could pose you on back of the phil
what do you make exactly, what do you make phil
of the car parks. This idea that we kiwis would
have to pay as well as the overseas tourists to
park at some Mount Cock some of our national parks.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Well, when you when you go send me the story.
This afternoon, I went into a newspaper and look at it.
I thought, why are we even baiting that? Why can't
DOC charge you to park in a car pack, particularly
when it's a very busy car park and a lot
of people want to go there. We park to go
to a shop, or we parke to do It's this
idea that somehow the Department of Conservation is some god
given thing that we all get for free is ridiculous.
(09:16):
It's a very very sixties and seventies thought. Doc's got
to pay for itself and it's going to kind of
staff for the tax payer. Do that more, particularly locals
getting cheap parking and I'm going to fly all the
way down there. I don't get advantage of Mount Cook
very easily, So why not Why don't we have a
big good bit of user pays here? I agree, and
DOC should do more of it, not less, might you?
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah, because we do complain when the tracks aren't fixed
after a storm and it's like, well, where do you
think that's coming from?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
So yeahciously, h Jack, you have a view. There's a
balance to be had, right, Like I think for somewhere
like oh Loucky Mount Cook, it's a perfectly reasonable thing
to give it a crack, Like it's I mean, you
only go there if you go in there right to
Mount Cook. It's not really on the way to anywhere,
and you know, the facilities are very expensive to maintain,
so I think it's a perfectly reasonable idea to give
(10:04):
that a crack. Where I think it would overstep the
line is if we saw charges for entering every national
park in the country or you know, every dock car
park in the country, so that we got to a
point where New Zealanders decided, actually they wouldn't get out
into nature quite so much. I think that would be
a bit of an issue. But for big ticket destination
spots like Alducky, yeah, give it a crack.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Outgoes check Tame fellow Riley on the Huddle Cheers guys.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks they'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio,
The Huddle with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty. Find your
one of a kind.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You're on News talksz B. It is twenty away from
Sex Now Fellow Riley Iron, Duke, Partner's former bost of
Business New Zealand, on the Huddle tonight alongside Jack Tame,
host of Q and A Saturday mornings on News Talks.
Be good evening, How you doing? I think good to
have you both here. Fell your summation after the mood
of the boardroom today they responses various responses from government ministers.
(00:29):
What are you making of it all?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Oh, I was just a cry of frustration. I think
Ryan and noticed that the opposition isn't too too well over,
so you know, it was a bit of a box
and everyone's hous in that sense, and I think, you know,
I think it is a bit of a cry of frustration.
I think it's a bit of a cry of saying,
could you please listen to us a bit more. I
certainly get some of that feedback from the business community.
I didn't expect that. It didn't expect the Prime Minister
to fair quite so badly as he did, but certainly,
(00:54):
you know, there's some good messages for them there about
listening to the business community and taking a bit of
advice and feedback. And I think it will turn around
as there's the economy starts to turn around. There's an
element of that, but there's an element also this this
personal stuff I think that needs that he needs to overcome.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
When you say personal stuff, you mean just likability.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, well, the idea that you know that a lot
of the business people are saying, you know, we want
to talk to them and we want to give them
some feedback, and sometimes that's difficult, and so that there
was some there were some some frustrations expressed about that,
and of course he'll have a different view on this,
but you know, if that's the frustration, then okay, well
let's do something about that. But I think, as I say,
it's it's as much about the economy as well as
(01:32):
as God Thumpson just said. You know, everybody's frustrated about
what's happening here, and so that does tend to lead
to more difficult relationships. Of course, you know this, you know,
this is the story along the along the ease lines
all the time. So as the economy starts to pull
out and then the green shoots are out there. Everybody,
I'm talking to you as a green shoot story to
tell me you'd hope that that relationship will improve. Jack.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
It's interesting because the business community is saying you need
to do more, but it's not exactly clear exactly what
they want them to do differently, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Yeah, Although I mean that being said, I think the
feedback was pretty clear that there feels like there is
a communication impart. Right, A lot of people felt like
Christopher Luxon came to the job as Prime Minister boasting
about his business credentials. I mean, he knows, you know,
two thirds of the c suite in New Zealand. So
I think a lot of those people would have expected
that have the ability to pick up the phone have
(02:24):
a yarn every now and then, not have them on
SEEDEDWN necessarily, but that their concerns and feedback would be
taken on personally from the Prime Minister. And I think
the sense you got from the results today was that
in the eyes of some of the respondents, at least
a meaningful number of them, that at least isn't their
feedback At the moment, I've got to say, move the
boardroom just get better every year, but it's like every
(02:45):
year more the kind of insights that we're getting from
the business community are richer. But I actually we can
de leep A Fonseka and Business Desk had a great
point in his analysis today, as he so often does,
and that he said a lot of the frustration being
expressed by the respondents wasn't so much directly about the government,
(03:05):
but it was they felt that the government's relatively poor
performance was making it more likely that a Labor League
government would be back in an eighteen months time, and
that seemed to be a real kernel of frustration for
many of the respondents.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Hey, Phil, what did you make of the fact that
we've got a or two I see at the Swedish
Central Bank coming to head out.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yeah. I checked with some of my Swedish friends just
a few hours ago, so you know what's the story.
And I hear from them that she's highly regarded in Sweden,
so that's very very good. The challenge, though, Ryan, is
that Sweden is a very very different economy to New Zual,
like really different. It's in the yew economy, it's much wealthier,
it's got very different geopolitical stuff you know, it doesn't
have the same concentration on China and the Pacific that
(03:50):
we do so much less fragile economy. So as always
with these overseas appointments, and this is a bit of
a thing that goes around Willington from time to time.
So they can often walk in as Superman and turn
out to be Clark Kent, not because they're not because
they're not very good personally, but because they just don't
know what's going on in New Zealand. They don't know
the people here. It's a small community here in the business,
(04:11):
in the business world and the political world, so sometimes
they don't go so well because of that. So what
will be really important is for this new Reserve Bank
governor to get out and talk to the business community,
talk to people, talk to community groups, really listen and
then put in place a strong team around here. Given
the fact the RBS you know, not going so well
right now, get a good local team around here and
(04:32):
if she does that then there's a good chance she
will succeed. But clearly a signal from government that big
change was necessary and they've executed that change, haven't they clearly.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, a bit of a new dawn for the Reserve Bank,
hopefully Jack. The main thing to get your head around,
of course, just the housing market. We're into it, we
love it, don't mess with it.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes, Yes, I just think so.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Although Ryan, I think I think it's important to point
out that, of course the Reserve Band Governor now sits
on a monthary policy committee, not like that one person
is a bizarre siding where the ocr should be sitting.
I think too that if she can do one thing,
and from what I've read of her reputation today, it
suggest that she might be well well placed to do this,
it's just to improve perceptions around transparency. I just think
(05:15):
the last seven months or so that the Bank's reputations
has taken a real hit with Adrianaw's departure and the
handling of that departure, I think it's I think it's
been really damaging. And if she can come in steady
the ship and say from the word go and prove
from the word go, you know, really show it to
people who watch the Bank's movement that she's utterly committed
to transparency, I think that'll restore a lot of the confidence.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
The film the Monetary Policy Committee and you know, the Fed,
the Bank of England, the Central Bank in Sweden, they
all publish and say which way the members voted, and
even in Sweden they tell you the justification for the
way they voted too. Would you like to see something
like that here?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yep. I think it's a good idea. And I read
that set in two and I thought there's something too
that it can be a bit scary because we're a
small society and a bit passive aggressive, aren't we, as kiwis,
and so maybe we don't want to know how Dave voted,
or Dave's a bit un comfortable about that, But that's
the very point that's being made. I think we should
do that. That's actually the very thing to get people
(06:16):
debating and to make sure that everybody understands what's going on.
She also is quoted in some of the studies she's done,
some of the speeches she's done on publishing all turnate scenarios.
Here's what we're doing, here's what we could have done.
That's another really good way of getting people to understand
why the Reserve Bank would be doing what it's doing
and why it didn't get down other tracks that people
might argue for So I think that kind of pretty
(06:39):
clear transparency will be quite important and will actually help
her a heck of a lot because it'll enable people
to engage with her and to make sure that she
understands the New Zealand realities.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Fell and Jack on the huddle tonight, be the huddle
with New Zealand Southeby's International Realty, the global leader in
luxury real estate, welcome back and living to six on newstalk,
said the fellow Riley and Jack tame on the Huddle tonight, guys,
Torri Farno or Typhoon Tory as some call her. She's
talking about not being finished with Wellington yet, Jack potentially
(07:11):
going to run for national politics. I know she said
this indicated this potentially before what do you what do
you reckon the Greens actually think of that?
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Well, I think internally in the Greens, my understanding of
Tory Fano has really strong relationships and that when she
was chief of Staff a lot of MPs thought she
did a really, really good job. Now I'm not suggesting
for a moment that Tory Farno might enjoy nationwide levels
of support if she does decide to go down the
central government path, but I think it's perfectly conceivable that
(07:44):
if in years to come she decides to stand as
a Green MP, that she would find herself in Parliament.
I don't think it's that crazy ideas, okay.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Even though you know when you point to Wellington and
say that's you know, that's that's Missiqe.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Whether or not she would whether or not she would
win a seat in Wellington, if she would have stand
as the Welling con Central candidate or that all the
high candidate, that might be a different question entirely. But
I think I think from my understanding, her reputation from
her time as a chief of staff for the Green
Party is pretty strong, at least in that party. So
(08:18):
I can see that having the support internally to get
a relatively high position on the list in years to come.
And you know, central government is quite different to local government.
So if you know, Tory decides that she wants to
stay in politics, and I can see at the very
least her having sufficient support from within the Greens to
maybe make that a reality.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
They need a chief of staff actually at the moment,
maybe she could pose you on back of the phil
what do you make exactly, what do you make phil
of the car parks. This idea that we kiwis would
have to pay as well as the overseas tourists to
park at some Mount Cock some of our national parks.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Well, when you when you go send me the story.
This afternoon, I went into a newspaper and look at it.
I thought, why are we even baiting that? Why can't
DOC charge you to park in a car pack, particularly
when it's a very busy car park and a lot
of people want to go there. We park to go
to a shop, or we parke to do It's this
idea that somehow the Department of Conservation is some god
given thing that we all get for free is ridiculous.
(09:16):
It's a very very sixties and seventies thought. Doc's got
to pay for itself and it's going to kind of
staff for the tax payer. Do that more, particularly locals
getting cheap parking and I'm going to fly all the
way down there. I don't get advantage of Mount Cook
very easily, So why not Why don't we have a
big good bit of user pays here? I agree, and
DOC should do more of it, not less, might you?
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah, because we do complain when the tracks aren't fixed
after a storm and it's like, well, where do you
think that's coming from?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
So yeahciously, h Jack, you have a view. There's a
balance to be had, right, Like I think for somewhere
like oh Loucky Mount Cook, it's a perfectly reasonable thing
to give it a crack, Like it's I mean, you
only go there if you go in there right to
Mount Cook. It's not really on the way to anywhere,
and you know, the facilities are very expensive to maintain,
so I think it's a perfectly reasonable idea to give
(10:04):
that a crack. Where I think it would overstep the
line is if we saw charges for entering every national
park in the country or you know, every dock car
park in the country, so that we got to a
point where New Zealanders decided, actually they wouldn't get out
into nature quite so much. I think that would be
a bit of an issue. But for big ticket destination
spots like Alducky, yeah, give it a crack.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Outgoes check Tame fellow Riley on the Huddle Cheers guys.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks they'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio,
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