Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
EDB Times Talk Politics and joining me now is New
Zealand here Political editor Claire Trevic Morning clear.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Oh, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Tough love on the councils this week. A bit of
a fair call but also an easy target, they're clear
by the Prime Minister.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Yes, a bit of both, and also not necessarily saying
the government always spends its money on fruitful things as well,
so not necessary. But that was of course Prime Minister
Christopher luxem bowling up to their Local Government New Zealand
Conference and giving them, giving the assembled mayors a bit
of a shell a king for the things that they
(00:48):
were getting their money on, and told them that they
were basically squandering rape players' money on what he described
as wife elephants and fantasies and should be spending it
on more core basic stuff, such as in Wellington, for example,
the water pipes. And by blissful coincidence, so there had
(01:08):
been a major league just the night before he stood
up in the conference center and delivered that from.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
It, I did wonder whether if the conference had been
somewhere else the message might not have been quite so poignant.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I think there might have been a slightly less of
an illustrative example, but it's you know, he's he's partly
paid politics, but he partly has a point, and that
people the councilors are an easy target. Almost everyone has
a grievance about something that they think the councils should
be doing. There's multiple examples of kind of what people
(01:43):
might be in frivolous expenditure where that got a bit
of a sour response from some of the mayors, not
all of the mayors. Some felt they were a bit
unfairly maligned. I think Willington's medor Toory Faro has come
out fighting back at it. But I guess where there
where the problem is is that you've got things that
(02:05):
are quite obviously course spending for counsels, like the roads
and the pipes, and you've got things that are quite
clearly frivolous spending, which are kind of what most people
would think we're nice to have. And then you've got
the more subjective area in the middle of things like
you know, art centers and sports kind of funding and
(02:26):
stuff like that, where some things people might think a
good and some things people might think are bad. So
local government minister Shimmy and Brown was just on Q
and A now and the examples he gave was spending
he didn't think we're necessarily meritorious. Was the Wellington Convention Center,
which cost one hundred and eighty milon is now losing money.
And then there's apparently a bus stop about to open,
(02:49):
and part of pata Umu which has a garden. He
thought the garden might be a bit of a frill spend.
It kind of overshadowed the the announcements that they were
making there. So related to that, one they're looking at
way is to kind of restrict government spending. I've kind
(03:10):
of likened it to the government put in beneficiaries who
don't turn up for their job interviews and stuff on
payment card schemes where they can only spend their money
on certain things. So they're looking at kind of capping
the rates increases council can make on non course spending stuff,
and then their kind of care at our guess was
announcing the regional deals, which is counsel and government partnering
(03:36):
app for the longer term projects and stuff like that,
none of which we can assume will include gardens on
bus stock rows.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
But do you know, I think it's interesting you raise
that because I was just saying this morning, I feel
like that's why the direction that the Prime Minister was
going and really this sort of the slap on the
rest of this warning was you expect us to walk
in and solve all your problem with the regional deals.
We're not necessarily going to get your business in order
an then we'll come in and we'll talk to you
about how we're going to assist with infrastructure. I just
though it was a little bit of a warning to
counsels heading into.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Well right, it wasn't even I hidden warning, but it
clearly was. I mean. And the other point he made
is that councils. He tends to think that councils think
the solution is to usk government for money to pay
for it to do the things that it can't afford
to do itself. And he's saying, well, you know, whether
or not it's ratepayers or taxpayers, and the end, they're
all the same people, so it's not as easy as that.
(04:29):
So I'm sure that that would have gone down quite
well with quite a large segment of the population.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
But I think it absolutely has a clear Chris Bishop
and Jane Jones have an announcement media stand up this afternoon.
Do we know what that's about.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Yes, related, there's a there's an announcement coming and I
understand it's around the fast Track legislation. So we'd be
probably looking at that. You'll know that that is the
law that they're passing to enable them to quickly get
approval and get major infrastructure projects up and running, the
ones that have national interests, like big energy projects and
(05:04):
stuff like that, particularly and at the moment, given the
energy crisis that's underway. So I'm sure they'll be leaning
on that to kind of sell the case for the
need for the fast create legislation. There has been some
controversy around the way that that has been set up,
in particular around the ultimate power that it gives to
those three ministers, which is Simmy and Brown, Chris Bishop
(05:26):
and oh got the third one, oh John, of course, yeah,
those three, and they have kind of ultimate sign off
on whether or not projects get given the tick or not.
And that's come in for a lot of criticism because
they're all, you know, just in terms of whether or
(05:48):
not political motivations will come into decision making and stuff
like that, So I will not be surprised. They're all
all three of them had signaled that they are open
to looking at whether or not they change that decision
making process. Would not be surprised to see that come
into today's announcements, to be honest with how they want
to result that. So basically that's still before a Select Committee.
(06:10):
It's just had public submissions. The committee is now considering
it and and I suspect the Government will be making
decisions on some of the points that it has now
agreed need to be changed and will basically pass those
on to the Select Committee, so the Select Committee can
kind of wrap them into its deliberations and it's kind
(06:30):
of rewrite I guess you could call it of the
current bill. So that should be quite a measy announcement
this afternoon.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
And clear very quickly. The Prime Ministers spoke nicely about
his colleagues. He told a school on a visit that
he would work with both Winston Peters and David Seymour
again he likes working with them.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Yeah. He did always stand up after his after a
visit to a school and was asked about whether or
not he would you know was open to working with
Winston Peters after twenty twenty six and a bit of
a change of a tune from twenty twenty three, when
you'll remember during the campaign he said he'd kind of
(07:09):
wouldn't say whether or not he'd picked up the phone
to Winston Peters, and then eventually it looked like Winston
might make it in so he came out and made
a big they made a big deal of it, almost
fairly last minute of saying that he would pick up
the phone if he had to and that kind of stuff.
In this time around, there was no hesitation. He basically said, yes,
(07:29):
he'd be open to talking to Winston again, and of
course that would be a decision for Winston to make,
and it would be up to the voters whether or
not it was needed. And I did message Winston to
ask him if their feeling was mutual, but Winston didn't reply,
which was possibly because he was hosting the Secretary General
(07:50):
Antonio Guteris. But I'll let him get away.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
With its slightly more important thing to deal with.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Claire, Yeah, said he did say the same thing about
David Seymour, but that's a far less controversial question. I
guess you could call it, so we'll wait and see
what happens. Of course, he did point out there's still
two years to go and who knows what the next
election or deal up, so it's not exactly a pre
coalition coalition agreement or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Clear trivette Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, Thanks for
your time this morning.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudken, listen
live to News Talks it Be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.