November 6, 2025 • 34 mins
The Prime Minister says he's confident a free trade agreement with India will get across the line soon.
Christopher Luxon denied negotiations had hit a rough patch after skipping Parliament last minute this week to meet with India’s Trade Minister.
He told Kerre Woodham India has very strong positions on certain aspects of trade.
Luxon says they’re really hard negotiators, but equally they want the best possible deal they can secure for New Zealand.
The Government's aiming to finalise the FTA this year and the Prime Minister's confirmed Trade Minister Todd McClay will head there next week.
Luxon's popularity has lagged in polls this year and there’s a growing sentiment that National should consider a leadership change for the next election.
However, the Prime Minister told Woodham a potential successor hasn't crossed his mind.
When told people aren’t buying the product he and his government are selling, he told Woodham to wait and find out what happens next year.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Kerry Wooden Morning's Podcast from News
Talk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
This is promised. We're joined by Prime Minister Christopher Luxe
and it's how final quarterly catch up for the year.
Can you believe it?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Vial for the year?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yeah, Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Don't Christmas special or anything?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
No, unless you want to put a Santa hat on.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
And have you started decorating your house here?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
You're certainly not.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
No. No, are you sort of an earlier or a
late Christmas?
Speaker 5 (00:28):
No?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Definitely late late decorator. Yeah, definitely a late decorator. There
are big moves on Treaty principles, infrastructure, international trade, crucial
time for the government as the country looks for momentum
in our economic recovery. If you have a relevant, relevant
question to ask the Prime Minister, call now eight hundred
(00:49):
and eighty ten eighty. You can text through on nine
two nine two z B z B and a very
good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Good morning to you, Tay.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Are you ging annoyed that you're not getting more approval
either as a prime minister or as.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
A government Look, I mean there's.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
No day does it start to brass you off?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Well, I mean I didn't come to politics to I
came to politics because I wanted the country to realize
it's potential.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I don't need to.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Do this job. I choose to do this job. I
choose to come to politics. So for me, it's a
slightly different motivation, which is I want to make sure
we're doing the right things for our kids and our grandkids.
So it's a great future here. So for me, I'm
very connected to that mission and purpose. I know I'm
also going to turn around jobs. I'm having to sort
of mess out, and I'm having to make some tough
decisions and tough course and I'm the figure.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Here to be in politics twenty years from now.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Oh no, I'll be.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I want to do as much as I can to
get this country realizing the fantastic potential that it has.
And I felt frustrated on the sidelines watching it over
the last ten years, saying, this is a country not
hitting its straps, not where it needs to be, where
it can go in the wrong direction completely. And that's
why four years ago I came out of business life.
And I know it's not a normal career path here
in New Zealand. It's quite common in other parts of
the world, but it's not common here. And I'm not
(01:56):
a career politician because I come here, came in and
choose to do the job because I actually think actually
is a great country.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So if it's a turnaround job that you came in
to do, could break it basically, Yeah, and you don't
intend to be around forever.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Hang I'll hang out for as long as I can.
Don't misunderstand me there. I want to stay as long
as I possibly take.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Who do you think is the best person?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
That's not even a consideration.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It must be you're a salesman. You're selling a product
which is the government.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
And I'm selling a product which is I'm the CEO.
I've got a team in place. I've put a team
together with great ministers not buying it. Well, they let's
find out what happens next year, Carrie. I mean, the
bottom line is, yes, I've inhered a hell of a mess.
I'm cleaning it up. I'm doing the right things for
the long term with a team. I've got my team
of ministers on the right assignments, with the right level
of clarity about what I'm asking them to deliver and do.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
And Yep, it's hard.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
It's been really hard, and there's no doubt about it.
But the last lot stuff the joint and we're fixing
it up. And I appreciate that doesn't make you popular always,
But the point is I'm focused on the long term
and I don't get too men out of shape about
what commentators think or others take. I don't take offense
from people. I don't take advice from. It's pretty simple
for me. I came here to do a job, which
is to make sure this country has its best shot
(03:09):
at realizing the potential that it hasn't as going forward.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
But you came in promising to fix things. Yep, right,
we're all going to feel better. I'm going to fix things.
I knew how big the job was going to be.
I couldn't understand why you would want to and you
know good why Because.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
I don't want to get to ninety years old looking
back saying I wish I'd given it a go. Maybe
I had something to offer to keep this country back
on track.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
You made promises, and I'm thinking I don't feel better. Well,
I know how hard you know the job was going
to be. There are people who don't follow the news
as closely and just see someone coming in and.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Heeak effects it in eighteen months after six years of
a debarkle. Yeah, look, I mean the key thing promise,
Well no, but the thing is, look at what we
did promise. We said we're going to grow the econom
We're going to restore law in order to deliver better
health and education if we take law in order. We
have actually delivered on that, and we are delivering on that.
You know, crime was up, violent crime up thirty percent,
violent crime now twenty nine thousand less victims, first time
(04:07):
in a long time we've had that coming down. Serious
youth defending down sixteen percent, ramraads down eighty five percent.
So there's good progress on law and order.
Speaker 6 (04:15):
Right.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
I think we're doing the right things for education for
the long term. Yes, it will take a while to
come through the system to people to see the results,
don't but again we have not You cannot buy any
stretch of the imagination say education system was world class
when fifty five percent of kids don't go to school,
half of them are not sent. They need to be
on reading, eighty percent not send. Then you'd be on
mass going too high school. We are failing our kids
and that is the number one thing you got to
(04:36):
sort out, Prime Minister.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
I'm sure you'd love to hear.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Added to the laundry list of people by sex thirty
this morning already told me what my problems are.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
It would have been a time where you didn't think
you had many. I think your problem is that you're
too smart. You're like, you're rattling off these stats at me,
and you're rattling off the stats, but you.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Want to have a conversation about what the issue is.
And I've got to tell you here's the problem, the reality,
and here's the common sense plan, and here are the
results to fix it right And if people have to
feel it, yeah, I know, and they're not.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
On the economy and Ja Sindra I doing got in
without a single fact, a single factor. That's not what
I knowledge. The result, what happened, I know, But she
got elected and you've got to be elected to care
effect change career.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I got elected in twenty three.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Everybody told me that you couldn't get the National Party
from twenty percent to whatever week, thirty seven percent on
the night to get elected to form a government. That's
going to be impossible. You've gone too early. You should
be going twenty twenty six, you know, wasting your time,
blah blah blah. So I understand I've been underestimated my
whole time in my political career, sure as it may
have been in the last four years. And I don't
care because I got elected in twenty twenty three to
(05:44):
go get a job sort of, because I came here
because I believe in this country. I came home from overseas,
I sat there trying to make a contribution in a
business life. I've come into political life because frankly, you
can get elected, but if you don't do the right things,
what set up have we got for our kids in
twenty years time. I want our kids and our grandkids
to feel really attached this place and believe it's got
a better future than what it ads has us in
(06:06):
our generation.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Now that's hard work.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Now someone's got to get off the sidelines and get
into the arena and actually give it a go. And
I'm going to give it to the go the best
of my ability, twenty hours a day, seven days a week,
you know, good, bad or otherwise.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I'm going to give it a go.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
And I think you need that because and people make
a decision in twenty twenty six, you know. Then you know,
whenever the election is, they'll make their call and let's
deal with that. But I mean in the intervening period,
when you're turning it around and it's tough and it's hard,
I get it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
You know, people are all told, does that take or
does it really is a bit like me, does it
just wash off?
Speaker 7 (06:37):
You just do?
Speaker 2 (06:37):
You take advice from those you respect and care about.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
The rest There's several things you have to do because otherwise,
if you're getting bounced around by the noise and every
commentator and everybody with their recons, you just wouldn't get
out of bed in the morning, honestly, or you or
you bugger off overseas and you know, do something else,
You do whatever, you know. So for me, it's slightly
different because I think I do come to it differently
from other people because I'm not a career politician. I
(07:00):
haven't come from student politics and to being an advisor
to a minister, to being an MP and Minister of
Prime which is the track of politicians that we've seen
more recently. I don't need this job. I can go
off and do anything else I want to do, so
I choose to do the job. So therefore I'm connected
very deeply to the mission and purpose of what I'm doing.
I'm informed but not consumed by social media. And equally,
(07:21):
I don't take offense from people. I never take advice
from you know. So in that context, I'm pretty focused
on what I'm here to do. And I know it's hard,
and I know it's tough, and I know it's a
turnaround and that's difficult, and I wish it was different,
and I wish I had different cards that I've been dealt,
But these are the cards I've been dealt, and these
the ones are going to play well.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I think Alista's along the same lines. Alistair, good morning
to you.
Speaker 8 (07:41):
Morning, Gerry, morning, christ How are you going good?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Alice? How are you going good?
Speaker 8 (07:44):
Buddy good hey. Look back in twenty seventeen, I was
lucky enough to hear Bill English speak. It was about
three months before the election, yes, and he outlined where
the NATS are taken economy, and you know, I was
super impressed with how how great a handle we had
on on the top countries finances and just how things
(08:08):
had got to the point where we've come out of
a situation which is not too dissimilar to where we
are now, that's not quite as bad, and he had
very carefully crafted over about eight of nine years to
get us back the position we've actually start to spend
on social policies and social programs and actually get the
(08:29):
position where we can move fort Now. Then, obviously we've
had the six years of labor government with what I'd
describe as being absolute economic vandalism. But I can't help
that wonder whether your government hasn't really articulated well in
the public arena the scale of the mess that you
were left and you know just how bad it actually is.
(08:49):
I mean, talking to a lot of people that I
talk to, they don't really appreciate just what an absolute
shambles you were left. And it's not something you can
turn around in three years.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Yeah, look, I mean I think you're right, Alistair, and
you know that's a challenge to both of us, to
us to say, how can we community the challenge and
the problem we're trying to solve better. But equally, there's
a point when the publics say, well, actually we voted
you in in twenty three and you guys have got
to go fix it. And so the more you bang
on about how bad labor were and how they stuffed
the joint and and let's be clear, they're going to
(09:21):
do it again, and they're just going to spend more,
borrow more, tax more. That's what's at risk, and that's
what's caused the pain and suffering and just not managing
the economy. Well, but you're right, I mean, this is
let me give you one fact. I mean, the debt tripled.
It went from sixty billion to one hundred and eighty billion.
We pay nine billion dollars in interest. Many of your listeners, Carey,
have got really high interest bills at the paying banks
and stuff. At the moment we pay we pay nine
(09:42):
billion dollars to bondholders around the world right now. That
is five to need in hospitals that I cannot build
each and every single year because those muppets round the
debt up because they couldn't run the economy. Well, so, yeah, Alistair,
you're right, And I think it's finding the balance of
not being just negative about the labor piece and actually
fronting the reality that we've inherited, and then actually more
importantly saying, look, this is the reality. Here's the common
(10:05):
sense plan, here's the improvement and the results that we're seeing,
and then the trick is that people actually have to
feel it. I think people would say on law and order,
you know, violent crime, gang membership, ram raids, retail crime
was out of control. It was just getting worse and
worse and worse. We've gone tough on gangs, sort of
out youth offending, and gone tougher on sentencing, and as
a result, you know, actually we've seen crime come down.
(10:25):
I think on education, people would say, look, problem was attendance,
academic achievement, poor, slipping versus the world. We're going back
to basics, structured literacy, structured numeracy low and behold, we're
getting some results. We're going to replace the secondary school
program as well, so kids are set up for a future.
We haven't seen those results yet in the actual outcomes,
but people say that's the right stuff to do.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I think on.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Healthcare, difficult to tough portfolio, heaps of money going in,
more resource being recruited, but for the first time we've
now got improvement on emergency department wait times. The five
big metrics that we've been chasing. On the economy, really
difficult because we had massive spending, massive increase in taxes,
massive increase in borrowing. You know, we've had to poop
(11:05):
scoop a lot of that stuff and sort that out.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
We're getting there.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
It's helped part of the economy, which is the rural
economy South Island, christ Church good stuff, but actually not
fully felt yet in Auckland because of property, because of
construction other things.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
But it's coming.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I mean, just this month we had three and a
half percent increase in job adds. We've had a three
and a half percent increase in consents, we had a
four percent growth in our exports. We've got zero saying
small business revenues are up almost two percent. So it's coming.
But when you're doing a turnaround job, it's a bit
like a magnifying glass. There are bits that are in
focus and bits that aren't in focus, and ultimately it
all tunes in.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
It's going to tune in.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
The question is what are we going to do to
make this country realize its potential and not just watch
a recovery take place.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
As we'll find out after the break. Just a quick
bit of feedback before we go to Nigel, can you
be supportive of our PM and not mock them, mocking
the did you feel not know you didn't, You wouldn't
care anyway even if you were. Please don't underestimate your audience.
I'm lapping up the facts and figures the PM has
come to your show with give them a break, settle
down and listen up. You know again, says Clear and
(12:08):
geez carry. Maybe you should have done some homework and
be able to rattle off some stats as to why
you don't feel better because you've got your lefty blinders on.
If you can't see this coalition government is the best
thing for the country since slice bread topped with avocado,
says Roger and many more along those lines. Well, it's true.
I mean this is an informed audience.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Look, I think I personally think the New Zealanders are
really frustrated with media. I think they're not you know,
they don't want the three to six second SoundBite, which
is what they often see me at six o'clock news
sounding off on something. They want to understand the substance
of what's going on. And I think I'm trying to
treat everyone as adults to say, look, here's the problem,
here's the choices we have, here's the common sense plan
that we want to put in place, and here's the
(12:50):
progress we're making about whether that's working or not working
for us. So I think there's a real you know,
people have a massive desire to engage. When I'm out
and about doing town halls, people often say, oh, if
you could just talk like this in the media, that
would be great.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And the reality as.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Well, I do talk like this, but then I'll be
told I took too long, or it's too many facts,
or it's too many whatever. But I actually think these
islanders are really curious that they know something went wrong,
they know something got broken, and they're trying to understand
what's happening, and they want context for actually the decisions
that we're taking, and you know, they want to understand
the big picture where we're trying to get to and
I think we can communicate that better for sure. But
(13:26):
equally they want detail and they want to understand stuff,
and then they want to know what you're doing about it.
And so I come from a view of if it's
a turnaround job, which is what I'm doing, I've done
a lot of that in business life. You've got to
get clear on the reality. You may not like the reality.
You may not like calling out the problems that you have,
but then put a common sense plan to deal with
it and then get their outcomes, and then people have
to feel it. And that's the bit that is when
(13:47):
you get the transmission. And at the moment I get it,
people aren't feeling the full the benefit what we're doing
economically yet, but they will.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
We'll take Nigel at a moment so as to give
him more time. News took said be Nigel. Good morning
to you.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
Oh, good morning, carry, good morning, Prime Minister.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Good day Nigel.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
How I am very well and it's a gorgeous day.
I don't know where you are in the country, but
it's an absolutely fabulous spring day here and things are
looking up.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
I hope, one free, I hope.
Speaker 7 (14:12):
So tell me you guys are doing great job on
the trade front, no question about that. We live in
pretty disrupted times and as we will know, global trade
hates disruptions.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
So then yeah, well, so congratulations on that.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
I've got a very simple question, really is on a
scale of one to ten, where one is no chance
at all and ten is a dead suit. What do
I reckon with the India Free Trade Agreement? Because my
understanding is that it's actually pretty tricky stuff to bring
that home.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
So how good a well sally mate, thanks so much
for taking interest in that international trade stuff, because there's
a lot of really good things going on out there.
Because the world's getting wealthier. They want great New Zealand
food and produce and services and technology and stuff, and
we've got a big oportunity to sell them a heap
of things. And one in four of our jobs are
tied to trades, so that's really good. But look on India,
look I reckon it's a ten. Think we are very
(15:06):
confident we can get a deal done, promised to Modi myself,
Minister maclay and Minister Goyel. They're the four that are
involved in this. From our sides that Indians are tough negotiators.
They are areas we've got very strong positions on things.
We've got equally strong positions on our side. But actually
between Minister Goyel and Minister McLay, I think you've got
some of the two best trade ministers in the world
(15:27):
and they've built the met eleven times. Minister Goyel, as
you know, is down here in the country. This week
Todd will go back to India next week. We're making
good progress. We're very determined to get something done. But yes,
we're in the throes of tough negotiations and I've done
a lot of business in India and they're really hard negotiators.
But equally we want the best possible deal that we
(15:47):
can secure for New Zealanders. But you know, under labors
that relationship with India, trading relationship went backwards when both
economies were growing already. I think our trade is up
seventeen percent with India without even an FTA by virtue
of bringing attention to the market. And what I'm impressed
about is our New Zealand exporters are able to rock
into the Europe, UK, India, China, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.
(16:08):
We've now got the GCC and the UAE, which is
a fantastic deal. So I'm really excited about trade because
that's one of the things that says we should have
a great future because they want our products and services.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
John. Hello, John, very lovely man, John.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
And more.
Speaker 9 (16:31):
Oh, great, good morning, Prime Minister. Lovely to speak to you.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Good to talk to you too. John.
Speaker 9 (16:39):
We're a small business, yep. We've been going for about
three years. What can you do to help the small
businesses in New Zealand in the immediate Like right now,
pro tax is a bit of a killer for us GST.
We're doing that okay, but it's it's the seven day
(17:00):
a week that we're working to try and get ahead.
I used to be a butcher and what I was
earning as a butcher was a struggle. And now what
I'm doing doing my own work, it's still sort of
just treading water all the time. So rather than improving export,
(17:23):
is there anything you can do for the small businesses
in this country? We have the backbone.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Yeah, tell me about it. You're ninety seven percent of
all of our business in New Zealand. So look, I mean, John,
I mean there's two things going on. One is at
the macro level. What we have to do is we
had to get inflation and interest rates down. And just
bear with me there because it sounds like it's unrelated
to small business, but it isn't.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
We reckon.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
Forty percent of New Zealander are about to refix their
mortgages within the next six months. When they do that,
they'll have about eight hundred extra dollars a month to
actually spend on an average mortgage, so they'll be freed
up to have back in the economy they can spend
in small businesses.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
They're saving that money because of the world as an uncertain.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Some are because they got really damaged through COVID, particularly businesses,
and some because they've come through a recession worse we've
had in thirty five years. But they will start spending,
and they are starting to spend, as we're seeing in
parts of the country. So that's going to mean that
they've now got discretionary income to spend on services like yours,
in bars and restaurants and hospitality.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
All those sorts of things.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
The second thing we're trying to do is to say
to people like yourself, if you need to invest in
new plan to or capital or equipment in your business,
then we're happy to let you write that twenty percent
of that asset off this year, and that just changes
the cash flow calculation of whether you might make that
investment in new computers or new equipment that you might
need for your business. So those are the sort of
(18:43):
two things we've got to get inflation, interest rates down
and get the economy growing so that people are spending
the money in the economy and do that in the
right way. And that's what's hurt a lot of small
businesses is that people have said, oh, I'll kick for
touch rather than actually make that investment. Now I'll just
hold off on that. I'll just sit back for a
bit while I repair my own finances. But that's what
we want to change.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Thank you very much. John, good to Talk News Talk said,
be talking to Prime Minister Christopher Leckxon and the last
of our quarterly ketchups. Which seems bizarre, Rob, you're kind
of touching on the same things John was touching on,
aren't you.
Speaker 10 (19:16):
Now a different angle? Kerry and good morning Prime minister.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Good morning, how are you good?
Speaker 10 (19:22):
Thank you. Look, I listen and read all what you're
saying about future, about the infrastructure projects you have going of,
all the rebuild of the classrooms, the tourism push, all
of that sort of stuff, and I agree that's what
you should have been doing, looking into the future. But
I don't believe you're looking at your feet and seeing
(19:45):
the harm that is in the community now. Now, I
chair a budgeting service and demand for our services is
through the roof. Yes, Yet last year your minister cut
the funding to forty four budgeting services. We are struggling
to get resources. People can't balance their budgets tonight. Yeah,
(20:07):
not what's going to happen in six months time when
their interest rate changes or a new road is starting
to be built. We need those cuts restored now so
that people can get through the next six months.
Speaker 6 (20:23):
Now.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
It's a really good challenge. And firstly, thanks for what
you're doing on the budgeting services. I've sat in in
about three or four budgeting service sessions with families that
were actually being hit with high interest rates, about to
lose their homes, having to make terrible choices about cutting
kids activities, and you'll be seeing it up front, really
clearly in the work that you do.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
So how much will you have you lost robbed for
the budgeting services?
Speaker 10 (20:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Whereabouts are you rob which area?
Speaker 10 (20:49):
I'm in Auckland and I'm upfront. The cuts were put
in place by Carmel Sepaloni in twenty twenty three, but
your minister doubled down on that and defunded forty four
services last year. Previous previously there were the majority of
(21:09):
budgeting services had MSD contracts. That's now down to about
eighty and forty four services work cut.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Okay, well listen, let me go people try to help themselves.
Speaker 10 (21:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Look, and Rob's right.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I mean you're in a difficult place where actually you're
trying to fix the economy and deal with the issues
that have caused the cost living crisis, which is inflation.
But in the intervening period you've had people who have
had twelve interest rate rises is what they experienced. Fund Well, listen,
I'll go away and look at that. I really do
want to understand that more. And that's a fair challenge
from Rob actually, because that's budgeting Service do amazing work.
(21:44):
I've said, as I said in four or five sessions now,
actually with families, they are very kind. They let me
just sit in as they told their stories and you
see them hopeful.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Yeah, thank you Rob.
Speaker 10 (21:53):
Well, look and look, can I say that there is
no whole of government approach to THISSDSMSD has some funding,
specific people's had some other funding. There's no whole of
government approach helping people who are in financial strikes.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Now, Yeah, and Rob, I think you've raised a bigger point,
which is something that we've got to sold for ultimately
in government, which is that we have tens of thousands
of providers across the social services across New Zealand. It's
often in very siloed contracts. So you might do a
contract for budgeting services with MSD, you might have family
violence with OT.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
You know, it's all siloed.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
And actually we don't I don't think have a very
good grip on which organizations are delivering really outstanding outcomes
that we should be every dollar week of tax power
money we fund, we get you know, five or six
dollars back in a return because they're doing such great
work and we've got a lot more work to do
on social services. And that's that thinking from Bill English
called Social Investment, which Nicola Willis is leading and starting
(22:54):
to get some progress to say, look, you know, we've
got so many contracts with so many organizations. They spend
three months trying to apply for the money that it
only is then there for two years and they've got
to reapply again. By the time they've recruited the social
worker that might be working in addiction or family violence
or whatever it is. It's it's all around again. So
there's a lot of work to do on social service
procurements and partnering with organizations.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
There's another one. Andy, Good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Hi guy here you're going Hey, Andy, how are you?
Speaker 11 (23:20):
Sorry?
Speaker 5 (23:21):
I'm very well. Thanks PM and Carrie. Just a flight
change of text for my for my original question. But
do you ever think there's going to be a time
when national and labor can.
Speaker 10 (23:32):
Get together for two big powers of government of Zealand.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
And agree to two areas that are no goes.
Speaker 7 (23:40):
For political Yeah, you know what.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
I know exactly what you're saying, Andy, because you know,
like I'm a person who's not deeply ideological and quite
practical and pragmatic just what things sorted right.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
But it takes.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
So I'm going to keep reaching out to the other
side on these issues, like we did this recently on NCAA,
Like we said, we know NCAA is not working, we
know our kids are falling behind other countries, and we
couldn't get the other side to engage with us on
Actually do you want to talk that through. We've done
it on public private partnerships for infrastructure so I can
get roads built quicker faster than we would have if
the government has to fund it. All labor governments in
(24:13):
Australia all very up for that and we've tried to
reach out and again we got good support from Barbara
Edmonds and then it sort of fell over with other
parts of the Labor Party. So I think you're right.
I think there are things that we should take out
of the political process, like infrastructure and where the roads
get built on off on off, based off labor changes
of government, which is insanely stupid, and try and put
things outside the political process. But equally we've got to
(24:35):
keep working on by partisanship on things that just are key.
We things are not party or political, things like.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Homelessness, Like that's points out of homeless people.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
I mean yeah, like, I mean yeah, And I think
just you know, yeah, I get it. And politics does
come into it. And I have to say, you know,
someone who's come from outside of politics.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
That's the thing. But what are we going to about
the Auckland CBD. I went for a walk down there
yesterday because a I wanted to get something, and then I,
you know, thought I'd go for a walk downe and
just for myself. Nothing says, boy, do I need a
new pair of shoes? At Christian Luberton Like two men
fighting off their chops, no shirts, no shoes and two
(25:21):
poor security guards who are on minimum wage trying to
try to keep the general public away from them. So
it's it's not good pals Christian Baton, foodies, eateries and
these poor hapless souls who are it's so much more
than home.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
It's a really complex issue.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
But I think what happened in the Auckland CBD in
particular is that you had a lot of those five
oh one k's and emergency housing town right, And so
we came to power and the first thing we did
is we've made the police go around and do community
beat teams down there, and they've done a very good
job of actually being present, and the shop owners are
feeling much more secure.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Well not that much more if you look at the server.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Sure, but but I would to say that's the first
step of what we've done. We're going at it again
because essentially Auckland doers want to come into the CBD,
but they feel like intimidated. The second thing is Chuck
and Mary have decided on a once in a lifetime
trip to come from Iowa to New Zealand. We've just
secured cruises in downtown Auckland. They're going to actually start
up in Auckland, which is a major achievement, and they
get off the boat and the first thing landcounter is intimidation.
(26:20):
Like their see downtown, we've got a convention center, we've
got major events coming, we've got a CRL coming on board,
we've got a cruise industry kicking in. So we have
to sort the CBD out and it's part of it
sits with the council, part of it sits with the agencies,
government agencies, part of it sits with the NGOs and
obviously with the government. So the Minister for Auckland, Simon Brown,
has actually started to convene those people. Yes, people have
then leaked out those conversations to the media. Because we
(26:42):
should look at by laws, we should look at move
on powers, we should look at all sorts of things.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Well that's what you need.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
So if you're going to put a move on power,
you need to know how you're going to support that
individual and you're not just moving the problem into another.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Part of the city.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
We need more rehab centers.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
We need a lot of things because the homeless issues
are complex.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
They are not easy.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
It's addiction issues normally.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Can but it can be a range of things carrier.
It can be you know, family violence, sexual violence. It
can be state care, it can be addiction issues, it
can be a relationship breakdown. You know, there's a whole
bunch of complexity in there, and they're not easy issues
because you know, under the last government they had a
dedicated homelessness minister it went up thirty seven percent, only
spend a billion dollars on emergency hotel accommodation. Now chucking
(27:22):
people into motels wasn't the answer. Then we've taken them
out and put them into houses. But even on the
homeless thing, we just give a feel for it. We've
put in place in the last two months three hundred
what are called Housing First Home, so actually we've got
three hundred houses available for homelessness and we've actually got
one hundred of them already filled. We've got two hundred
of them here in Auckland out of the three hundred,
so that we can get people into a house. Then
(27:43):
once they're inn a house, you've not then got to
get the services around them to deal with the underlying
root cause of the issue, which for each individual can
often be quite different and highly differentiated. So it is complex,
but we have to fix up that CBD because that
is not a great advertisement for Chuck and Mary coming
on there once in a lifetime trip to New Zealand
(28:03):
and experiencing all of that. And I'm not saying that
in a heartless sense of just like we don't then
care about the homeless people. We do, but you have
to solve for that problem, working with multiple agencies and
NGOs that are doing good work and actually try and
not just transport the problem into a different part of
the city.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Peter, good morning to you, morning, Peter, morning.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
The morning, Prime Minister.
Speaker 8 (28:22):
How are you doing it?
Speaker 3 (28:23):
I'm doing right.
Speaker 7 (28:24):
I'm calling because.
Speaker 6 (28:26):
The other day we had an announcement from the Labor
Party which was to offer free servival cancer screenings. Now
bear in mind that the cervival cancer screening program is
a program that already exists, the position and the cost area,
and this is a cancer that affects six point eight
women per one hundred thousand annually. Now I happened to
(28:52):
Parliament a couple of times helping lobby and present positions
and what have you to try and get a screening program,
not a free screening program, but a screening program for
prostate cancer. Now prostate cancer affects one and eight men
in their lifetime two point four out of every one
hundred thousand per year, and there's not even a screaming
program that all over free screening program. So I was
(29:13):
just wondering, what's it going to take because we've been
trying to push for this for quite some time.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Yeah, look on cancer, the key trick on cancer is
we've got to put the resources to the most where
the greatest risk act she sits. And so for us,
that initially has been very much about expanding breast cancer up.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
To seventy four.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
The second thing is actually lowering bowel cancer rates, which
we know we've got some commitments to meet in terms
of matching Australia. And the third thing is that we
put six hundred and five million dollars into cancer drugs
that we actually get better treatments and better drugs to
extend life and to help people through that period. And
we've also made it one of our five big measures
to get faster cancer treatment within thirty one days and
get onto a cancer treatment plan. So you know that's
(29:51):
really there's a limited set of resources on cancer. You've
got to direct it to the most highest rest sort
of places that you can possibly get to. For us
right now, it's about expanding breast, certainly making sure that
we get into lowering bowel cancer thresholds, and then certainly
extending those drug bugs. And that's made a big difference.
And the number of cancer patients that I've sat down
with and who actually received key truder for the first
(30:12):
time in their life and it's extended their their their
their their prognosis for a long period of time.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Has really got cancer screen.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
We'll look into that.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
I can look into that, you know, Memberrow and I
know we've talked to the November guys and a bunch
of people about that.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Margie, Quick one from you.
Speaker 11 (30:27):
Good morning Kerry, Good morning Prime Minis. Sorry, no time
for pleasantries, just just wondering, how are you appealing to
younger voters these I have so many around me and
I don't want them to miss out on trying to
understand exactly what you're doing, understand the complexities more than
you know.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
Yeah, no, Margie, I think the biggest thing for young
people is we have to rebuild back the proposition for
New Zealand, which is that if you work hard, you
should be able to get ahead and do well. You
should be able to live in a society and feel safe,
and you should be able to get good education for
your kids, in good healthcare for your folks. And I
think that's the work that we've been focused on and
we have to do a better job at to actually
make sure that the people see there is a future
here for them, their kids and their grandkids.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
And numbers is terrifying.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Yeah, well, say, we've always been through periods when the
economy does badly. If you think about the GFC, you
know we had forty thousand I think a year going
off to Australia at that period of time. If we
build back the proposition, as I've just said to Mark Marjie, now.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
That's what we have to do. That's what we really
have to do.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Okay, we'll take a break and then I know you
like to talk, but we might do some quick one
that's just to take us. We're almost at the end.
I know, I'm sorry, right, I know you'd like long answers,
but we'll just go through quickies because we've run out
of time.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I've got okay, White Tongue Tribune or do you have
plans to disband it?
Speaker 4 (31:43):
No plans to rethink through what its role is in
a post treaty settlement world. The great thing is we
made tremendous progress on settlements. Mary are doing well with
those businesses. But after settlements, what comes next and what's
the role of the white tang a driven Well, that's
a genuinely good question to ask.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
What are you doing to improve race relations?
Speaker 4 (31:58):
Well, again, focusing on outcomes and improving outcomes form Maori.
I meet with EE leaders privately, you know, regularly, and
we've very united on the fact of we've got to
grow our economic interests so that we can actually spend
money back in our social services, supporting our people to
do well.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Okay, would you consider cutting the corporate tax rate or
even cut GST for a short term just to encourage
money flow.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
No, I think at this point, you know, we can't
afford to do those cuts. We need to make sure
that we maintain the tax base that we've got. But
the answer is not to load up more taxes, which
is what the opposition wants to do.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Well, speaking of which, do you think you'll win the
election now that Labor's doing a CGT.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
I think a CGT sounds like an interesting idea, but
it's a terrible idea because it just means they're going
to be spending, borrowing, and taxing more. And that's what
got us in this mess. And it's just more of
the same.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
We are a family of six, four kids to adults.
We have ryally working on a farm, not farm owners.
Please tell us that living is going to get easier.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
It is so hard out here, yep, fully get it
really difficult times. This is the consequence of what happens
when you don't run an economy well. It might sound boring,
but running an economy well really matters because it ends
up hurting people when you don't like we're seeing.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
When will it get better?
Speaker 3 (33:05):
Well, it's starting to get better.
Speaker 10 (33:07):
You know.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
You're certainly seeing some good growth in our rural sectors,
our exports, all that good stuff. It's starting to come better.
We've seen more job ads. We're seeing wages growing faster
than inflation, which is all good stuff, which means people
can get ahead and have more money in their pocket.
But you know, we've got to get better over.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
The next two quarters.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Sunshine helps.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Sunshine helps, for sure, but actually know that seriously, I mean,
people have been doing incredibly tough. But just remember when
you spend and your tax and you borrow, what happens
is you drive inflation and that hurts lower middle income
working news islanders. And that's what's happened, and that's what
we've got to fix. When well, the forecasters are saying,
(33:45):
you know, we're in growth now, We're going to be
in stronger growth as we go into quarter four and
through the course of next year. You're seeing unemployment peak.
It's the last thing that happens when you lose formation
on spending, inflation and interest rates recession, people have to
lay off workers. That's peaking about now, and you know
it's projected to come down over the course of the
next year. So you know, the reality is the forecast
is saying, well, look, we've got good growth prospects in
(34:06):
this economy in the next two years. The next four
is plased to be generating two hundred and forty thousand
extra jobs. We're seeing really good job rich construction projects,
infrastructure projects starting to come through. And that's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
You've still good enough guess in the tank to keep
doing that.
Speaker 4 (34:20):
Yeah, yeah, no, no, I love this country, and damn it,
we're gonna make sure we realize our potential.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Okay, we leave you with the PM's choice. Kaylee Bell's
playing at the Civic tomorrow night as part of her
Cowboy Up tour. This is song for Shanaia Kayley's love
letter to one of her greatest musical influences. Thank you,
brom Minister, Lovely to see you.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
To be with you you always and for good song beforehand?
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Are you sure well anyway? Thank you very much to
the callers too, and the texters, your input is absolutely invaluable.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news talks it'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Kerry Wooden Morning's Podcast from News
Talk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
This is promised. We're joined by Prime Minister Christopher Luxe
and it's how final quarterly catch up for the year.
Can you believe it?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Vial for the year?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yeah, Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Don't Christmas special or anything?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
No, unless you want to put a Santa hat on.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
And have you started decorating your house here?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
You're certainly not.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
No. No, are you sort of an earlier or a
late Christmas?
Speaker 5 (00:28):
No?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Definitely late late decorator. Yeah, definitely a late decorator. There
are big moves on Treaty principles, infrastructure, international trade, crucial
time for the government as the country looks for momentum
in our economic recovery. If you have a relevant, relevant
question to ask the Prime Minister, call now eight hundred
(00:49):
and eighty ten eighty. You can text through on nine
two nine two z B z B and a very
good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Good morning to you, Tay.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Are you ging annoyed that you're not getting more approval
either as a prime minister or as.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
A government Look, I mean there's.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
No day does it start to brass you off?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Well, I mean I didn't come to politics to I
came to politics because I wanted the country to realize
it's potential.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I don't need to.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Do this job. I choose to do this job. I
choose to come to politics. So for me, it's a
slightly different motivation, which is I want to make sure
we're doing the right things for our kids and our grandkids.
So it's a great future here. So for me, I'm
very connected to that mission and purpose. I know I'm
also going to turn around jobs. I'm having to sort
of mess out, and I'm having to make some tough
decisions and tough course and I'm the figure.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Here to be in politics twenty years from now.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Oh no, I'll be.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I want to do as much as I can to
get this country realizing the fantastic potential that it has.
And I felt frustrated on the sidelines watching it over
the last ten years, saying, this is a country not
hitting its straps, not where it needs to be, where
it can go in the wrong direction completely. And that's
why four years ago I came out of business life.
And I know it's not a normal career path here
in New Zealand. It's quite common in other parts of
the world, but it's not common here. And I'm not
(01:56):
a career politician because I come here, came in and
choose to do the job because I actually think actually
is a great country.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So if it's a turnaround job that you came in
to do, could break it basically, Yeah, and you don't
intend to be around forever.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Hang I'll hang out for as long as I can.
Don't misunderstand me there. I want to stay as long
as I possibly take.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Who do you think is the best person?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
That's not even a consideration.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It must be you're a salesman. You're selling a product
which is the government.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
And I'm selling a product which is I'm the CEO.
I've got a team in place. I've put a team
together with great ministers not buying it. Well, they let's
find out what happens next year, Carrie. I mean, the
bottom line is, yes, I've inhered a hell of a mess.
I'm cleaning it up. I'm doing the right things for
the long term with a team. I've got my team
of ministers on the right assignments, with the right level
of clarity about what I'm asking them to deliver and do.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
And Yep, it's hard.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
It's been really hard, and there's no doubt about it.
But the last lot stuff the joint and we're fixing
it up. And I appreciate that doesn't make you popular always,
But the point is I'm focused on the long term
and I don't get too men out of shape about
what commentators think or others take. I don't take offense
from people. I don't take advice from. It's pretty simple
for me. I came here to do a job, which
is to make sure this country has its best shot
(03:09):
at realizing the potential that it hasn't as going forward.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
But you came in promising to fix things. Yep, right,
we're all going to feel better. I'm going to fix things.
I knew how big the job was going to be.
I couldn't understand why you would want to and you
know good why Because.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
I don't want to get to ninety years old looking
back saying I wish I'd given it a go. Maybe
I had something to offer to keep this country back
on track.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
You made promises, and I'm thinking I don't feel better. Well,
I know how hard you know the job was going
to be. There are people who don't follow the news
as closely and just see someone coming in and.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Heeak effects it in eighteen months after six years of
a debarkle. Yeah, look, I mean the key thing promise,
Well no, but the thing is, look at what we
did promise. We said we're going to grow the econom
We're going to restore law in order to deliver better
health and education if we take law in order. We
have actually delivered on that, and we are delivering on that.
You know, crime was up, violent crime up thirty percent,
violent crime now twenty nine thousand less victims, first time
(04:07):
in a long time we've had that coming down. Serious
youth defending down sixteen percent, ramraads down eighty five percent.
So there's good progress on law and order.
Speaker 6 (04:15):
Right.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
I think we're doing the right things for education for
the long term. Yes, it will take a while to
come through the system to people to see the results,
don't but again we have not You cannot buy any
stretch of the imagination say education system was world class
when fifty five percent of kids don't go to school,
half of them are not sent. They need to be
on reading, eighty percent not send. Then you'd be on
mass going too high school. We are failing our kids
and that is the number one thing you got to
(04:36):
sort out, Prime Minister.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
I'm sure you'd love to hear.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Added to the laundry list of people by sex thirty
this morning already told me what my problems are.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
It would have been a time where you didn't think
you had many. I think your problem is that you're
too smart. You're like, you're rattling off these stats at me,
and you're rattling off the stats, but you.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Want to have a conversation about what the issue is.
And I've got to tell you here's the problem, the reality,
and here's the common sense plan, and here are the
results to fix it right And if people have to
feel it, yeah, I know, and they're not.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
On the economy and Ja Sindra I doing got in
without a single fact, a single factor. That's not what
I knowledge. The result, what happened, I know, But she
got elected and you've got to be elected to care
effect change career.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I got elected in twenty three.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Everybody told me that you couldn't get the National Party
from twenty percent to whatever week, thirty seven percent on
the night to get elected to form a government. That's
going to be impossible. You've gone too early. You should
be going twenty twenty six, you know, wasting your time,
blah blah blah. So I understand I've been underestimated my
whole time in my political career, sure as it may
have been in the last four years. And I don't
care because I got elected in twenty twenty three to
(05:44):
go get a job sort of, because I came here
because I believe in this country. I came home from overseas,
I sat there trying to make a contribution in a
business life. I've come into political life because frankly, you
can get elected, but if you don't do the right things,
what set up have we got for our kids in
twenty years time. I want our kids and our grandkids
to feel really attached this place and believe it's got
a better future than what it ads has us in
(06:06):
our generation.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Now that's hard work.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Now someone's got to get off the sidelines and get
into the arena and actually give it a go. And
I'm going to give it to the go the best
of my ability, twenty hours a day, seven days a week,
you know, good, bad or otherwise.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I'm going to give it a go.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
And I think you need that because and people make
a decision in twenty twenty six, you know. Then you know,
whenever the election is, they'll make their call and let's
deal with that. But I mean in the intervening period,
when you're turning it around and it's tough and it's hard,
I get it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
You know, people are all told, does that take or
does it really is a bit like me, does it
just wash off?
Speaker 7 (06:37):
You just do?
Speaker 2 (06:37):
You take advice from those you respect and care about.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
The rest There's several things you have to do because otherwise,
if you're getting bounced around by the noise and every
commentator and everybody with their recons, you just wouldn't get
out of bed in the morning, honestly, or you or
you bugger off overseas and you know, do something else,
You do whatever, you know. So for me, it's slightly
different because I think I do come to it differently
from other people because I'm not a career politician. I
(07:00):
haven't come from student politics and to being an advisor
to a minister, to being an MP and Minister of
Prime which is the track of politicians that we've seen
more recently. I don't need this job. I can go
off and do anything else I want to do, so
I choose to do the job. So therefore I'm connected
very deeply to the mission and purpose of what I'm doing.
I'm informed but not consumed by social media. And equally,
(07:21):
I don't take offense from people. I never take advice
from you know. So in that context, I'm pretty focused
on what I'm here to do. And I know it's hard,
and I know it's tough, and I know it's a
turnaround and that's difficult, and I wish it was different,
and I wish I had different cards that I've been dealt,
But these are the cards I've been dealt, and these
the ones are going to play well.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I think Alista's along the same lines. Alistair, good morning
to you.
Speaker 8 (07:41):
Morning, Gerry, morning, christ How are you going good?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Alice? How are you going good?
Speaker 8 (07:44):
Buddy good hey. Look back in twenty seventeen, I was
lucky enough to hear Bill English speak. It was about
three months before the election, yes, and he outlined where
the NATS are taken economy, and you know, I was
super impressed with how how great a handle we had
on on the top countries finances and just how things
(08:08):
had got to the point where we've come out of
a situation which is not too dissimilar to where we
are now, that's not quite as bad, and he had
very carefully crafted over about eight of nine years to
get us back the position we've actually start to spend
on social policies and social programs and actually get the
(08:29):
position where we can move fort Now. Then, obviously we've
had the six years of labor government with what I'd
describe as being absolute economic vandalism. But I can't help
that wonder whether your government hasn't really articulated well in
the public arena the scale of the mess that you
were left and you know just how bad it actually is.
(08:49):
I mean, talking to a lot of people that I
talk to, they don't really appreciate just what an absolute
shambles you were left. And it's not something you can
turn around in three years.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Yeah, look, I mean I think you're right, Alistair, and
you know that's a challenge to both of us, to
us to say, how can we community the challenge and
the problem we're trying to solve better. But equally, there's
a point when the publics say, well, actually we voted
you in in twenty three and you guys have got
to go fix it. And so the more you bang
on about how bad labor were and how they stuffed
the joint and and let's be clear, they're going to
(09:21):
do it again, and they're just going to spend more,
borrow more, tax more. That's what's at risk, and that's
what's caused the pain and suffering and just not managing
the economy. Well, but you're right, I mean, this is
let me give you one fact. I mean, the debt tripled.
It went from sixty billion to one hundred and eighty billion.
We pay nine billion dollars in interest. Many of your listeners, Carey,
have got really high interest bills at the paying banks
and stuff. At the moment we pay we pay nine
(09:42):
billion dollars to bondholders around the world right now. That
is five to need in hospitals that I cannot build
each and every single year because those muppets round the
debt up because they couldn't run the economy. Well, so, yeah, Alistair,
you're right, And I think it's finding the balance of
not being just negative about the labor piece and actually
fronting the reality that we've inherited, and then actually more
importantly saying, look, this is the reality. Here's the common
(10:05):
sense plan, here's the improvement and the results that we're seeing,
and then the trick is that people actually have to
feel it. I think people would say on law and order,
you know, violent crime, gang membership, ram raids, retail crime
was out of control. It was just getting worse and
worse and worse. We've gone tough on gangs, sort of
out youth offending, and gone tougher on sentencing, and as
a result, you know, actually we've seen crime come down.
(10:25):
I think on education, people would say, look, problem was attendance,
academic achievement, poor, slipping versus the world. We're going back
to basics, structured literacy, structured numeracy low and behold, we're
getting some results. We're going to replace the secondary school
program as well, so kids are set up for a future.
We haven't seen those results yet in the actual outcomes,
but people say that's the right stuff to do.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I think on.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Healthcare, difficult to tough portfolio, heaps of money going in,
more resource being recruited, but for the first time we've
now got improvement on emergency department wait times. The five
big metrics that we've been chasing. On the economy, really
difficult because we had massive spending, massive increase in taxes,
massive increase in borrowing. You know, we've had to poop
(11:05):
scoop a lot of that stuff and sort that out.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
We're getting there.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
It's helped part of the economy, which is the rural
economy South Island, christ Church good stuff, but actually not
fully felt yet in Auckland because of property, because of
construction other things.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
But it's coming.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I mean, just this month we had three and a
half percent increase in job adds. We've had a three
and a half percent increase in consents, we had a
four percent growth in our exports. We've got zero saying
small business revenues are up almost two percent. So it's coming.
But when you're doing a turnaround job, it's a bit
like a magnifying glass. There are bits that are in
focus and bits that aren't in focus, and ultimately it
all tunes in.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
It's going to tune in.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
The question is what are we going to do to
make this country realize its potential and not just watch
a recovery take place.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
As we'll find out after the break. Just a quick
bit of feedback before we go to Nigel, can you
be supportive of our PM and not mock them, mocking
the did you feel not know you didn't, You wouldn't
care anyway even if you were. Please don't underestimate your audience.
I'm lapping up the facts and figures the PM has
come to your show with give them a break, settle
down and listen up. You know again, says Clear and
(12:08):
geez carry. Maybe you should have done some homework and
be able to rattle off some stats as to why
you don't feel better because you've got your lefty blinders on.
If you can't see this coalition government is the best
thing for the country since slice bread topped with avocado,
says Roger and many more along those lines. Well, it's true.
I mean this is an informed audience.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Look, I think I personally think the New Zealanders are
really frustrated with media. I think they're not you know,
they don't want the three to six second SoundBite, which
is what they often see me at six o'clock news
sounding off on something. They want to understand the substance
of what's going on. And I think I'm trying to
treat everyone as adults to say, look, here's the problem,
here's the choices we have, here's the common sense plan
that we want to put in place, and here's the
(12:50):
progress we're making about whether that's working or not working
for us. So I think there's a real you know,
people have a massive desire to engage. When I'm out
and about doing town halls, people often say, oh, if
you could just talk like this in the media, that
would be great.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And the reality as.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Well, I do talk like this, but then I'll be
told I took too long, or it's too many facts,
or it's too many whatever. But I actually think these
islanders are really curious that they know something went wrong,
they know something got broken, and they're trying to understand
what's happening, and they want context for actually the decisions
that we're taking, and you know, they want to understand
the big picture where we're trying to get to and
I think we can communicate that better for sure. But
(13:26):
equally they want detail and they want to understand stuff,
and then they want to know what you're doing about it.
And so I come from a view of if it's
a turnaround job, which is what I'm doing, I've done
a lot of that in business life. You've got to
get clear on the reality. You may not like the reality.
You may not like calling out the problems that you have,
but then put a common sense plan to deal with
it and then get their outcomes, and then people have
to feel it. And that's the bit that is when
(13:47):
you get the transmission. And at the moment I get it,
people aren't feeling the full the benefit what we're doing
economically yet, but they will.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
We'll take Nigel at a moment so as to give
him more time. News took said be Nigel. Good morning
to you.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
Oh, good morning, carry, good morning, Prime Minister.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Good day Nigel.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
How I am very well and it's a gorgeous day.
I don't know where you are in the country, but
it's an absolutely fabulous spring day here and things are
looking up.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
I hope, one free, I hope.
Speaker 7 (14:12):
So tell me you guys are doing great job on
the trade front, no question about that. We live in
pretty disrupted times and as we will know, global trade
hates disruptions.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
So then yeah, well, so congratulations on that.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
I've got a very simple question, really is on a
scale of one to ten, where one is no chance
at all and ten is a dead suit. What do
I reckon with the India Free Trade Agreement? Because my
understanding is that it's actually pretty tricky stuff to bring
that home.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
So how good a well sally mate, thanks so much
for taking interest in that international trade stuff, because there's
a lot of really good things going on out there.
Because the world's getting wealthier. They want great New Zealand
food and produce and services and technology and stuff, and
we've got a big oportunity to sell them a heap
of things. And one in four of our jobs are
tied to trades, so that's really good. But look on India,
look I reckon it's a ten. Think we are very
(15:06):
confident we can get a deal done, promised to Modi myself,
Minister maclay and Minister Goyel. They're the four that are
involved in this. From our sides that Indians are tough negotiators.
They are areas we've got very strong positions on things.
We've got equally strong positions on our side. But actually
between Minister Goyel and Minister McLay, I think you've got
some of the two best trade ministers in the world
(15:27):
and they've built the met eleven times. Minister Goyel, as
you know, is down here in the country. This week
Todd will go back to India next week. We're making
good progress. We're very determined to get something done. But yes,
we're in the throes of tough negotiations and I've done
a lot of business in India and they're really hard negotiators.
But equally we want the best possible deal that we
(15:47):
can secure for New Zealanders. But you know, under labors
that relationship with India, trading relationship went backwards when both
economies were growing already. I think our trade is up
seventeen percent with India without even an FTA by virtue
of bringing attention to the market. And what I'm impressed
about is our New Zealand exporters are able to rock
into the Europe, UK, India, China, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.
(16:08):
We've now got the GCC and the UAE, which is
a fantastic deal. So I'm really excited about trade because
that's one of the things that says we should have
a great future because they want our products and services.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
John. Hello, John, very lovely man, John.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
And more.
Speaker 9 (16:31):
Oh, great, good morning, Prime Minister. Lovely to speak to you.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Good to talk to you too. John.
Speaker 9 (16:39):
We're a small business, yep. We've been going for about
three years. What can you do to help the small
businesses in New Zealand in the immediate Like right now,
pro tax is a bit of a killer for us GST.
We're doing that okay, but it's it's the seven day
(17:00):
a week that we're working to try and get ahead.
I used to be a butcher and what I was
earning as a butcher was a struggle. And now what
I'm doing doing my own work, it's still sort of
just treading water all the time. So rather than improving export,
(17:23):
is there anything you can do for the small businesses
in this country? We have the backbone.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Yeah, tell me about it. You're ninety seven percent of
all of our business in New Zealand. So look, I mean, John,
I mean there's two things going on. One is at
the macro level. What we have to do is we
had to get inflation and interest rates down. And just
bear with me there because it sounds like it's unrelated
to small business, but it isn't.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
We reckon.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
Forty percent of New Zealander are about to refix their
mortgages within the next six months. When they do that,
they'll have about eight hundred extra dollars a month to
actually spend on an average mortgage, so they'll be freed
up to have back in the economy they can spend
in small businesses.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
They're saving that money because of the world as an uncertain.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Some are because they got really damaged through COVID, particularly businesses,
and some because they've come through a recession worse we've
had in thirty five years. But they will start spending,
and they are starting to spend, as we're seeing in
parts of the country. So that's going to mean that
they've now got discretionary income to spend on services like yours,
in bars and restaurants and hospitality.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
All those sorts of things.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
The second thing we're trying to do is to say
to people like yourself, if you need to invest in
new plan to or capital or equipment in your business,
then we're happy to let you write that twenty percent
of that asset off this year, and that just changes
the cash flow calculation of whether you might make that
investment in new computers or new equipment that you might
need for your business. So those are the sort of
(18:43):
two things we've got to get inflation, interest rates down
and get the economy growing so that people are spending
the money in the economy and do that in the
right way. And that's what's hurt a lot of small
businesses is that people have said, oh, I'll kick for
touch rather than actually make that investment. Now I'll just
hold off on that. I'll just sit back for a
bit while I repair my own finances. But that's what
we want to change.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Thank you very much. John, good to Talk News Talk said,
be talking to Prime Minister Christopher Leckxon and the last
of our quarterly ketchups. Which seems bizarre, Rob, you're kind
of touching on the same things John was touching on,
aren't you.
Speaker 10 (19:16):
Now a different angle? Kerry and good morning Prime minister.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Good morning, how are you good?
Speaker 10 (19:22):
Thank you. Look, I listen and read all what you're
saying about future, about the infrastructure projects you have going of,
all the rebuild of the classrooms, the tourism push, all
of that sort of stuff, and I agree that's what
you should have been doing, looking into the future. But
I don't believe you're looking at your feet and seeing
(19:45):
the harm that is in the community now. Now, I
chair a budgeting service and demand for our services is
through the roof. Yes, Yet last year your minister cut
the funding to forty four budgeting services. We are struggling
to get resources. People can't balance their budgets tonight. Yeah,
(20:07):
not what's going to happen in six months time when
their interest rate changes or a new road is starting
to be built. We need those cuts restored now so
that people can get through the next six months.
Speaker 6 (20:23):
Now.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
It's a really good challenge. And firstly, thanks for what
you're doing on the budgeting services. I've sat in in
about three or four budgeting service sessions with families that
were actually being hit with high interest rates, about to
lose their homes, having to make terrible choices about cutting
kids activities, and you'll be seeing it up front, really
clearly in the work that you do.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
So how much will you have you lost robbed for
the budgeting services?
Speaker 10 (20:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Whereabouts are you rob which area?
Speaker 10 (20:49):
I'm in Auckland and I'm upfront. The cuts were put
in place by Carmel Sepaloni in twenty twenty three, but
your minister doubled down on that and defunded forty four
services last year. Previous previously there were the majority of
(21:09):
budgeting services had MSD contracts. That's now down to about
eighty and forty four services work cut.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Okay, well listen, let me go people try to help themselves.
Speaker 10 (21:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Look, and Rob's right.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I mean you're in a difficult place where actually you're
trying to fix the economy and deal with the issues
that have caused the cost living crisis, which is inflation.
But in the intervening period you've had people who have
had twelve interest rate rises is what they experienced. Fund Well, listen,
I'll go away and look at that. I really do
want to understand that more. And that's a fair challenge
from Rob actually, because that's budgeting Service do amazing work.
(21:44):
I've said, as I said in four or five sessions now,
actually with families, they are very kind. They let me
just sit in as they told their stories and you
see them hopeful.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Yeah, thank you Rob.
Speaker 10 (21:53):
Well, look and look, can I say that there is
no whole of government approach to THISSDSMSD has some funding,
specific people's had some other funding. There's no whole of
government approach helping people who are in financial strikes.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Now, Yeah, and Rob, I think you've raised a bigger point,
which is something that we've got to sold for ultimately
in government, which is that we have tens of thousands
of providers across the social services across New Zealand. It's
often in very siloed contracts. So you might do a
contract for budgeting services with MSD, you might have family
violence with OT.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
You know, it's all siloed.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
And actually we don't I don't think have a very
good grip on which organizations are delivering really outstanding outcomes
that we should be every dollar week of tax power
money we fund, we get you know, five or six
dollars back in a return because they're doing such great
work and we've got a lot more work to do
on social services. And that's that thinking from Bill English
called Social Investment, which Nicola Willis is leading and starting
(22:54):
to get some progress to say, look, you know, we've
got so many contracts with so many organizations. They spend
three months trying to apply for the money that it
only is then there for two years and they've got
to reapply again. By the time they've recruited the social
worker that might be working in addiction or family violence
or whatever it is. It's it's all around again. So
there's a lot of work to do on social service
procurements and partnering with organizations.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
There's another one. Andy, Good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Hi guy here you're going Hey, Andy, how are you?
Speaker 11 (23:20):
Sorry?
Speaker 5 (23:21):
I'm very well. Thanks PM and Carrie. Just a flight
change of text for my for my original question. But
do you ever think there's going to be a time
when national and labor can.
Speaker 10 (23:32):
Get together for two big powers of government of Zealand.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
And agree to two areas that are no goes.
Speaker 7 (23:40):
For political Yeah, you know what.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
I know exactly what you're saying, Andy, because you know,
like I'm a person who's not deeply ideological and quite
practical and pragmatic just what things sorted right.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
But it takes.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
So I'm going to keep reaching out to the other
side on these issues, like we did this recently on NCAA,
Like we said, we know NCAA is not working, we
know our kids are falling behind other countries, and we
couldn't get the other side to engage with us on
Actually do you want to talk that through. We've done
it on public private partnerships for infrastructure so I can
get roads built quicker faster than we would have if
the government has to fund it. All labor governments in
(24:13):
Australia all very up for that and we've tried to
reach out and again we got good support from Barbara
Edmonds and then it sort of fell over with other
parts of the Labor Party. So I think you're right.
I think there are things that we should take out
of the political process, like infrastructure and where the roads
get built on off on off, based off labor changes
of government, which is insanely stupid, and try and put
things outside the political process. But equally we've got to
(24:35):
keep working on by partisanship on things that just are key.
We things are not party or political, things like.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Homelessness, Like that's points out of homeless people.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
I mean yeah, like, I mean yeah, And I think
just you know, yeah, I get it. And politics does
come into it. And I have to say, you know,
someone who's come from outside of politics.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
That's the thing. But what are we going to about
the Auckland CBD. I went for a walk down there
yesterday because a I wanted to get something, and then I,
you know, thought I'd go for a walk downe and
just for myself. Nothing says, boy, do I need a
new pair of shoes? At Christian Luberton Like two men
fighting off their chops, no shirts, no shoes and two
(25:21):
poor security guards who are on minimum wage trying to
try to keep the general public away from them. So
it's it's not good pals Christian Baton, foodies, eateries and
these poor hapless souls who are it's so much more
than home.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
It's a really complex issue.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
But I think what happened in the Auckland CBD in
particular is that you had a lot of those five
oh one k's and emergency housing town right, And so
we came to power and the first thing we did
is we've made the police go around and do community
beat teams down there, and they've done a very good
job of actually being present, and the shop owners are
feeling much more secure.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Well not that much more if you look at the server.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Sure, but but I would to say that's the first
step of what we've done. We're going at it again
because essentially Auckland doers want to come into the CBD,
but they feel like intimidated. The second thing is Chuck
and Mary have decided on a once in a lifetime
trip to come from Iowa to New Zealand. We've just
secured cruises in downtown Auckland. They're going to actually start
up in Auckland, which is a major achievement, and they
get off the boat and the first thing landcounter is intimidation.
(26:20):
Like their see downtown, we've got a convention center, we've
got major events coming, we've got a CRL coming on board,
we've got a cruise industry kicking in. So we have
to sort the CBD out and it's part of it
sits with the council, part of it sits with the agencies,
government agencies, part of it sits with the NGOs and
obviously with the government. So the Minister for Auckland, Simon Brown,
has actually started to convene those people. Yes, people have
then leaked out those conversations to the media. Because we
(26:42):
should look at by laws, we should look at move
on powers, we should look at all sorts of things.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Well that's what you need.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
So if you're going to put a move on power,
you need to know how you're going to support that
individual and you're not just moving the problem into another.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Part of the city.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
We need more rehab centers.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
We need a lot of things because the homeless issues
are complex.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
They are not easy.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
It's addiction issues normally.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Can but it can be a range of things carrier.
It can be you know, family violence, sexual violence. It
can be state care, it can be addiction issues, it
can be a relationship breakdown. You know, there's a whole
bunch of complexity in there, and they're not easy issues
because you know, under the last government they had a
dedicated homelessness minister it went up thirty seven percent, only
spend a billion dollars on emergency hotel accommodation. Now chucking
(27:22):
people into motels wasn't the answer. Then we've taken them
out and put them into houses. But even on the
homeless thing, we just give a feel for it. We've
put in place in the last two months three hundred
what are called Housing First Home, so actually we've got
three hundred houses available for homelessness and we've actually got
one hundred of them already filled. We've got two hundred
of them here in Auckland out of the three hundred,
so that we can get people into a house. Then
(27:43):
once they're inn a house, you've not then got to
get the services around them to deal with the underlying
root cause of the issue, which for each individual can
often be quite different and highly differentiated. So it is complex,
but we have to fix up that CBD because that
is not a great advertisement for Chuck and Mary coming
on there once in a lifetime trip to New Zealand
(28:03):
and experiencing all of that. And I'm not saying that
in a heartless sense of just like we don't then
care about the homeless people. We do, but you have
to solve for that problem, working with multiple agencies and
NGOs that are doing good work and actually try and
not just transport the problem into a different part of
the city.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Peter, good morning to you, morning, Peter, morning.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
The morning, Prime Minister.
Speaker 8 (28:22):
How are you doing it?
Speaker 3 (28:23):
I'm doing right.
Speaker 7 (28:24):
I'm calling because.
Speaker 6 (28:26):
The other day we had an announcement from the Labor
Party which was to offer free servival cancer screenings. Now
bear in mind that the cervival cancer screening program is
a program that already exists, the position and the cost area,
and this is a cancer that affects six point eight
women per one hundred thousand annually. Now I happened to
(28:52):
Parliament a couple of times helping lobby and present positions
and what have you to try and get a screening program,
not a free screening program, but a screening program for
prostate cancer. Now prostate cancer affects one and eight men
in their lifetime two point four out of every one
hundred thousand per year, and there's not even a screaming
program that all over free screening program. So I was
(29:13):
just wondering, what's it going to take because we've been
trying to push for this for quite some time.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Yeah, look on cancer, the key trick on cancer is
we've got to put the resources to the most where
the greatest risk act she sits. And so for us,
that initially has been very much about expanding breast cancer up.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
To seventy four.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
The second thing is actually lowering bowel cancer rates, which
we know we've got some commitments to meet in terms
of matching Australia. And the third thing is that we
put six hundred and five million dollars into cancer drugs
that we actually get better treatments and better drugs to
extend life and to help people through that period. And
we've also made it one of our five big measures
to get faster cancer treatment within thirty one days and
get onto a cancer treatment plan. So you know that's
(29:51):
really there's a limited set of resources on cancer. You've
got to direct it to the most highest rest sort
of places that you can possibly get to. For us
right now, it's about expanding breast, certainly making sure that
we get into lowering bowel cancer thresholds, and then certainly
extending those drug bugs. And that's made a big difference.
And the number of cancer patients that I've sat down
with and who actually received key truder for the first
(30:12):
time in their life and it's extended their their their
their their prognosis for a long period of time.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Has really got cancer screen.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
We'll look into that.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
I can look into that, you know, Memberrow and I
know we've talked to the November guys and a bunch
of people about that.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Margie, Quick one from you.
Speaker 11 (30:27):
Good morning Kerry, Good morning Prime Minis. Sorry, no time
for pleasantries, just just wondering, how are you appealing to
younger voters these I have so many around me and
I don't want them to miss out on trying to
understand exactly what you're doing, understand the complexities more than
you know.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
Yeah, no, Margie, I think the biggest thing for young
people is we have to rebuild back the proposition for
New Zealand, which is that if you work hard, you
should be able to get ahead and do well. You
should be able to live in a society and feel safe,
and you should be able to get good education for
your kids, in good healthcare for your folks. And I
think that's the work that we've been focused on and
we have to do a better job at to actually
make sure that the people see there is a future
here for them, their kids and their grandkids.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
And numbers is terrifying.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Yeah, well, say, we've always been through periods when the
economy does badly. If you think about the GFC, you
know we had forty thousand I think a year going
off to Australia at that period of time. If we
build back the proposition, as I've just said to Mark Marjie, now.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
That's what we have to do. That's what we really
have to do.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Okay, we'll take a break and then I know you
like to talk, but we might do some quick one
that's just to take us. We're almost at the end.
I know, I'm sorry, right, I know you'd like long answers,
but we'll just go through quickies because we've run out
of time.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I've got okay, White Tongue Tribune or do you have
plans to disband it?
Speaker 4 (31:43):
No plans to rethink through what its role is in
a post treaty settlement world. The great thing is we
made tremendous progress on settlements. Mary are doing well with
those businesses. But after settlements, what comes next and what's
the role of the white tang a driven Well, that's
a genuinely good question to ask.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
What are you doing to improve race relations?
Speaker 4 (31:58):
Well, again, focusing on outcomes and improving outcomes form Maori.
I meet with EE leaders privately, you know, regularly, and
we've very united on the fact of we've got to
grow our economic interests so that we can actually spend
money back in our social services, supporting our people to
do well.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Okay, would you consider cutting the corporate tax rate or
even cut GST for a short term just to encourage
money flow.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
No, I think at this point, you know, we can't
afford to do those cuts. We need to make sure
that we maintain the tax base that we've got. But
the answer is not to load up more taxes, which
is what the opposition wants to do.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Well, speaking of which, do you think you'll win the
election now that Labor's doing a CGT.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
I think a CGT sounds like an interesting idea, but
it's a terrible idea because it just means they're going
to be spending, borrowing, and taxing more. And that's what
got us in this mess. And it's just more of
the same.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
We are a family of six, four kids to adults.
We have ryally working on a farm, not farm owners.
Please tell us that living is going to get easier.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
It is so hard out here, yep, fully get it
really difficult times. This is the consequence of what happens
when you don't run an economy well. It might sound boring,
but running an economy well really matters because it ends
up hurting people when you don't like we're seeing.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
When will it get better?
Speaker 3 (33:05):
Well, it's starting to get better.
Speaker 10 (33:07):
You know.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
You're certainly seeing some good growth in our rural sectors,
our exports, all that good stuff. It's starting to come better.
We've seen more job ads. We're seeing wages growing faster
than inflation, which is all good stuff, which means people
can get ahead and have more money in their pocket.
But you know, we've got to get better over.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
The next two quarters.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Sunshine helps.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Sunshine helps, for sure, but actually know that seriously, I mean,
people have been doing incredibly tough. But just remember when
you spend and your tax and you borrow, what happens
is you drive inflation and that hurts lower middle income
working news islanders. And that's what's happened, and that's what
we've got to fix. When well, the forecasters are saying,
(33:45):
you know, we're in growth now, We're going to be
in stronger growth as we go into quarter four and
through the course of next year. You're seeing unemployment peak.
It's the last thing that happens when you lose formation
on spending, inflation and interest rates recession, people have to
lay off workers. That's peaking about now, and you know
it's projected to come down over the course of the
next year. So you know, the reality is the forecast
is saying, well, look, we've got good growth prospects in
(34:06):
this economy in the next two years. The next four
is plased to be generating two hundred and forty thousand
extra jobs. We're seeing really good job rich construction projects,
infrastructure projects starting to come through. And that's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
You've still good enough guess in the tank to keep
doing that.
Speaker 4 (34:20):
Yeah, yeah, no, no, I love this country, and damn it,
we're gonna make sure we realize our potential.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Okay, we leave you with the PM's choice. Kaylee Bell's
playing at the Civic tomorrow night as part of her
Cowboy Up tour. This is song for Shanaia Kayley's love
letter to one of her greatest musical influences. Thank you,
brom Minister, Lovely to see you.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
To be with you you always and for good song beforehand?
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Are you sure well anyway? Thank you very much to
the callers too, and the texters, your input is absolutely invaluable.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news talks it'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.