December 4, 2025 • 7 mins
Tonight on The Huddle broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
We could be looking at the next Netball scandal... at NZ Cricket. A bunch of ex Black Caps have signed an open letter highly critical of a new independent T20 competition. What do you make of their concerns?
Ikea is open, and people either hate the hysteria or are totally buying into it, while The Warehouse is trying to remind people to buy local. What have you made of the whole drama?
And, are our summer breaks too long?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm the huddle with us this evening. We have Mark
Sainsbury broadcaster and Thomas Scrimser of the Maximus that you'd
hire you two?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Here are you here?
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Says are you were? You were a cricket fan.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Look, no, I got hit in a very sense inive
area with a full toss when I was in the
third form and that put me off the sport for forever.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yeah, and so now every time you watch it.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Yeah, but as but as it went on, I mean
they started, let's start what this is all about. It's
trying to make sport more attractive of an event and get
people along, you know.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
You know, like I did.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I sat down I would ever normally watch the ashes.
I started watching it because it was it was all
over in two days. So I can see there must
be so tinking them to look at something like this.
But I think Richard Peatree's biggest complaint, I think seems
to be that it's the outside of control of New
Zealand Cricket, that a private entity. You control it?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, yeah, Thomas do you have do you have any
concerns about this and about the chasing of the dollar here?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Well, I think be concerns if people aren't doing their
due diligence. But I think in general it should be
something that's explored because I guess we hear a lot
about is this good for New Zealand cricket as an
abstract thing, but I think is it better for current
players in New Zealand cricket who are trying to earn
a wage and if there's more people competing to hire
them to play cricket, one would expect they earn more money.
(01:20):
That's why they would go and play for a new
league as opposed to existing ones. So I think New
Zealand Cricket has a vested interest in blocking this. It's
just not clear to me that that's because of their
desire for the good of the game, rather than New
Zealand Cricket trying to protect their turf.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I tell you what I think is fascinating saying so,
is that there is all at the moment, there is
so much disruption if you think about it, and this
was pointed out to me by somebody who's very smart
the other day. Cricket is going through this where there
is massive disruption in the CEO is in trouble. Netball
is going through this where there is massive disruption and
the CEO is in trouble. And it's not long ago
that Rugby went through this with silver Lake and they
(01:56):
can't find a CEO.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, yeah, in the water.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
It is something in the border. And this is the
other confusing thing about this. It seems that you know,
some of the big and the major provincial cricketing associations
are sort of a sort of right behind it. And
then you've got again this tension going on at New
Zealand Cricket with a CEO which peers is a bit
on the outer Yeah, it's a.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Water Heather. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I would like to put to you, Thomas, that the
financial model that we have used for sport in this
country is broken.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Oh yeah, I'm sure it is. I mean, part of
the problem is that entertainment is global now. Heaps of
young Kiwi kids are watching basketball, or watching American football,
or just watching videos on TikTok. Sport used to have
this central local place in our entertainment network and now
it just doesn't. So it's harder to compete for viewers.
And I think the financial models just aren't going to
(02:53):
be viable and they're going to have to reinvent themselves.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You're back with the huddle, Thomas Scrimger Mark Sainsbury. All right, Thomas,
when are you going away on your holiday break.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
I'm working through to the nineteenth and then flying off
to Canada on the twenty second, so you know, working
most of the way to Christmas. My old man will
be a bit disappointed in me. He always told me
that the best worked out of the year is the
twenty third of December. You need one day's leave before Christmas,
but on the twenty third of December all the slackers
are gone home so he can get some real good
(03:21):
work done. I'm knocking off on the nineteenth, so probably
letting the family down.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Gone for how long?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Gone for two weeks?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Oh that's really short, and then you're back at work.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Might take a few more days off, but yeah, you know,
you go, you take a break and then how long?
Does they don't want a holiday for anyway?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
You know what's a holiday? Saying so, I mean you
are on your on constant holiday, aren't.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
You permanent holiday? Yeah? That's right.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, what do you reckon is this?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Chap?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Tosk got a point though, saying so that we're taking
far too long nowadays.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Well, it could be, but some of the stone if
you choice.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So tell me here that if you said the ZB,
I want to.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Work right through Christmas and then I want to have
a holiday, that later they go, no, no, we need
you for our peak rating periods and whatever.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
And it used to be the same in TV.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
You're forced to head to take your leave in January
because it was considered the sort of least profitable sort
of time for them. So that thought all that sort,
and you've got the school holidays, people are away.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Like I see his point, but we do go into
this thing.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
We go into the thing over the summer where you know,
like I'm trying to run Men's Health Week when looking
at different sponsors, I know I don't get something done
literally before December starts, trying to get to people as impossible.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And then it is February before they're back.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
To make this argument saying, so the reason you can't
get anybody in December is not because they're not working.
They are working in December. It's just we're so flat
out with everything else that's going on that we haven't got.
We have to finish the work we've got rather than
take new work on. So it's not. I don't think
like Toss's argument is that we stop having productive conversations.
But it's simply because we're trying to get through our workload.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Here before we go on a great, big break.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, but I don't think, Yeah, but you've got to
go on a break, so it's gonna happen anyway. But
it's structural, like Thomas, this is structural, isn't it. It
is structural because you have to have a shutdown period
at this point in the year. But also I would
argue this is a good life and we shouldn't throw
it away.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
What do you say, Yeah, I think a lot of
businesses probably get a bit caught up in what seems
urgent rather than what's really important, So they're kind of
wanting to tech off a bunch of stuff before Christmas,
go flat out, and then don't come back as quick
as they could. I just want it strange when we're
talking about, you know, are people working enough over the
summer for the good of the economy. I don't work
(05:37):
for the good of the economy. I work for a wage.
And so you know, if businesses want to think they
can squeeze more out of January and more productivity. Great,
they can work with their employees, but I think it's
just really weird to talk about work life balance and
how that makes the economy run, as if that's why
we work.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, I think you're onto something, all right, listening you're
going to go to Ikea sain Zone.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Oh look, I will.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
It reminds me of when ka seafoodh cues, although that
turned out not be as bad as predicted.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah. Look, I've been to Ikea. It's funny.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Ikea celebrated their fiftieth anniversary.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
In Sydney in July.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Yeah, fiftieth anniversary, and we're here going, oh the wonder
is ika.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Isn't this wonderful?
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You know, it's why we're excited.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
We love that, but.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
It's like it is in a bit of a hangover,
as all those things we couldn't wait to McDonald's got
here and all that sort of stuff. We look over
seas at different things and it just gets so excited
by it and becomes a sort of, you know, this
collective hysteria. But I was pleased to see that, you know,
the forty minute wait to get off the motorway never eventuated.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
So I think Ikea was as pleased about that, Thomas.
I think, look there says I was touched on something
there was. There's definitely a cringe over how like mad
for it we got. But it is also a good
news economic story because it shows we've got the kind
of disposable income that's worth chasing.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Well, you could go the cringe direction, Heather, but I'm
going on the conspiracy direction. I drove into work this
morning on the motorway and there are signs advertising Ikea
that are Auckland Transport signs. I open up the Herald
website and somedly there's a live ticker of updates. Is
everyone getting paid for all this free advertising? Where where
can I get this money? I'm on here on radio
(07:21):
talking about Ikea opening. It's a furniture store. Am I
getting some you know, some kickbacks for this?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And why you were here? You were complaining about making
the economy more productive and you're finding your own way
to do it. I love it, Okay, guys, thank you
very much. And yeah, we're going to send our invoices
to Ikea, aren't we. Mark Sainsbury broadcast to Thomas Scrimser
Maxim Institute.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
For more from Hither Duplasy Alan Drive.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
I'm the huddle with us this evening. We have Mark
Sainsbury broadcaster and Thomas Scrimser of the Maximus that you'd
hire you two?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Here are you here?
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Says are you were? You were a cricket fan.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Look, no, I got hit in a very sense inive
area with a full toss when I was in the
third form and that put me off the sport for forever.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yeah, and so now every time you watch it.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Yeah, but as but as it went on, I mean
they started, let's start what this is all about. It's
trying to make sport more attractive of an event and get
people along, you know.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
You know, like I did.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I sat down I would ever normally watch the ashes.
I started watching it because it was it was all
over in two days. So I can see there must
be so tinking them to look at something like this.
But I think Richard Peatree's biggest complaint, I think seems
to be that it's the outside of control of New
Zealand Cricket, that a private entity. You control it?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, yeah, Thomas do you have do you have any
concerns about this and about the chasing of the dollar here?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Well, I think be concerns if people aren't doing their
due diligence. But I think in general it should be
something that's explored because I guess we hear a lot
about is this good for New Zealand cricket as an
abstract thing, but I think is it better for current
players in New Zealand cricket who are trying to earn
a wage and if there's more people competing to hire
them to play cricket, one would expect they earn more money.
(01:20):
That's why they would go and play for a new
league as opposed to existing ones. So I think New
Zealand Cricket has a vested interest in blocking this. It's
just not clear to me that that's because of their
desire for the good of the game, rather than New
Zealand Cricket trying to protect their turf.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I tell you what I think is fascinating saying so,
is that there is all at the moment, there is
so much disruption if you think about it, and this
was pointed out to me by somebody who's very smart
the other day. Cricket is going through this where there
is massive disruption in the CEO is in trouble. Netball
is going through this where there is massive disruption and
the CEO is in trouble. And it's not long ago
that Rugby went through this with silver Lake and they
(01:56):
can't find a CEO.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, yeah, in the water.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
It is something in the border. And this is the
other confusing thing about this. It seems that you know,
some of the big and the major provincial cricketing associations
are sort of a sort of right behind it. And
then you've got again this tension going on at New
Zealand Cricket with a CEO which peers is a bit
on the outer Yeah, it's a.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Water Heather. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I would like to put to you, Thomas, that the
financial model that we have used for sport in this
country is broken.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Oh yeah, I'm sure it is. I mean, part of
the problem is that entertainment is global now. Heaps of
young Kiwi kids are watching basketball, or watching American football,
or just watching videos on TikTok. Sport used to have
this central local place in our entertainment network and now
it just doesn't. So it's harder to compete for viewers.
And I think the financial models just aren't going to
(02:53):
be viable and they're going to have to reinvent themselves.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You're back with the huddle, Thomas Scrimger Mark Sainsbury. All right, Thomas,
when are you going away on your holiday break.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
I'm working through to the nineteenth and then flying off
to Canada on the twenty second, so you know, working
most of the way to Christmas. My old man will
be a bit disappointed in me. He always told me
that the best worked out of the year is the
twenty third of December. You need one day's leave before Christmas,
but on the twenty third of December all the slackers
are gone home so he can get some real good
(03:21):
work done. I'm knocking off on the nineteenth, so probably
letting the family down.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Gone for how long?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Gone for two weeks?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Oh that's really short, and then you're back at work.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Might take a few more days off, but yeah, you know,
you go, you take a break and then how long?
Does they don't want a holiday for anyway?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
You know what's a holiday? Saying so, I mean you
are on your on constant holiday, aren't.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
You permanent holiday? Yeah? That's right.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, what do you reckon is this?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Chap?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Tosk got a point though, saying so that we're taking
far too long nowadays.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Well, it could be, but some of the stone if
you choice.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So tell me here that if you said the ZB,
I want to.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Work right through Christmas and then I want to have
a holiday, that later they go, no, no, we need
you for our peak rating periods and whatever.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
And it used to be the same in TV.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
You're forced to head to take your leave in January
because it was considered the sort of least profitable sort
of time for them. So that thought all that sort,
and you've got the school holidays, people are away.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Like I see his point, but we do go into
this thing.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
We go into the thing over the summer where you know,
like I'm trying to run Men's Health Week when looking
at different sponsors, I know I don't get something done
literally before December starts, trying to get to people as impossible.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And then it is February before they're back.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
To make this argument saying, so the reason you can't
get anybody in December is not because they're not working.
They are working in December. It's just we're so flat
out with everything else that's going on that we haven't got.
We have to finish the work we've got rather than
take new work on. So it's not. I don't think
like Toss's argument is that we stop having productive conversations.
But it's simply because we're trying to get through our workload.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Here before we go on a great, big break.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, but I don't think, Yeah, but you've got to
go on a break, so it's gonna happen anyway. But
it's structural, like Thomas, this is structural, isn't it. It
is structural because you have to have a shutdown period
at this point in the year. But also I would
argue this is a good life and we shouldn't throw
it away.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
What do you say, Yeah, I think a lot of
businesses probably get a bit caught up in what seems
urgent rather than what's really important, So they're kind of
wanting to tech off a bunch of stuff before Christmas,
go flat out, and then don't come back as quick
as they could. I just want it strange when we're
talking about, you know, are people working enough over the
summer for the good of the economy. I don't work
(05:37):
for the good of the economy. I work for a wage.
And so you know, if businesses want to think they
can squeeze more out of January and more productivity. Great,
they can work with their employees, but I think it's
just really weird to talk about work life balance and
how that makes the economy run, as if that's why
we work.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, I think you're onto something, all right, listening you're
going to go to Ikea sain Zone.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Oh look, I will.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
It reminds me of when ka seafoodh cues, although that
turned out not be as bad as predicted.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah. Look, I've been to Ikea. It's funny.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Ikea celebrated their fiftieth anniversary.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
In Sydney in July.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Yeah, fiftieth anniversary, and we're here going, oh the wonder
is ika.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Isn't this wonderful?
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You know, it's why we're excited.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
We love that, but.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
It's like it is in a bit of a hangover,
as all those things we couldn't wait to McDonald's got
here and all that sort of stuff. We look over
seas at different things and it just gets so excited
by it and becomes a sort of, you know, this
collective hysteria. But I was pleased to see that, you know,
the forty minute wait to get off the motorway never eventuated.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
So I think Ikea was as pleased about that, Thomas.
I think, look there says I was touched on something
there was. There's definitely a cringe over how like mad
for it we got. But it is also a good
news economic story because it shows we've got the kind
of disposable income that's worth chasing.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Well, you could go the cringe direction, Heather, but I'm
going on the conspiracy direction. I drove into work this
morning on the motorway and there are signs advertising Ikea
that are Auckland Transport signs. I open up the Herald
website and somedly there's a live ticker of updates. Is
everyone getting paid for all this free advertising? Where where
can I get this money? I'm on here on radio
(07:21):
talking about Ikea opening. It's a furniture store. Am I
getting some you know, some kickbacks for this?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And why you were here? You were complaining about making
the economy more productive and you're finding your own way
to do it. I love it, Okay, guys, thank you
very much. And yeah, we're going to send our invoices
to Ikea, aren't we. Mark Sainsbury broadcast to Thomas Scrimser
Maxim Institute.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
For more from Hither Duplasy Alan Drive.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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