Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk said B direct from News Talks DB's
team at Parliament the bee Hive Buzz.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
As we do this time every Monday morning, we head
to the Beehive and Beehive Buzz News Talk SIB's political
edit to Jason Walls joins us.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Good morning, Jason, Oh, good morning, Nock. How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm good, Thank you. Let's talk about the Cook Islands.
We've been talking for about it for the last hour.
What's going on there and how long will it take
for Winston Peters to get serious about it?
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Well, I mean that's the question that everybody's asking. I
think that there are a lot of people within the
New Zealand government that are actually scratching their head and
asking the same question as well. I mean, New Zealand
has obviously had a long standing, a very close relationship
with the Cook Islands, which is very much being tested,
you'd have to say over the past couple of weeks
with this the fact that they're getting closer to China
(01:04):
in terms of a non of issues. Their Prime Minister
Mark Brown is actually in China this week, where there
is a lot of talk about him going to sign
an agreement to become closer to China, which is obviously
sparking some alarm bells here in New Zealand, because we
have for a long time been a close partner of
the Cook Islands, and China kind of muscling in like
(01:25):
this and becoming their new sort of almost some might
say their country of preferred choice when it comes to
their partnership will be ringing alarm bells here in New Zealand.
The way that China in the Pacific tend to come
in with the checkbook, build all sorts of things, roads, hospitals, schools,
and you know, as I said out loud, that doesn't
actually sound too bad, but there are always strings attached
(01:49):
to these sorts of things. So that's where Winston Peters
is at at the moment. He has issued a bit
of a please explain to Mark Brown, who went over
to China without really giving the New Zealand government much
of a heads up at all, and Winston has said
we therefore view the Cook Islands having failed to properly
consult New Zealand with respect to any agreement it plans
(02:11):
to sign over this coming week in China, the lack
of consultation is a matter of significant concern to the
New Zealand government. We look forward to continuing discussions with
the government of the Cook Islands on this important matter
in the coming days and the coming week. So we've
got the Prime Minister who's fronting his usual post cabinet
press conference later today, so we will obviously be asking
(02:33):
the Prime Minister questions about this. Where does this leave
the relationship, what happens next, etc.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
What do you think will happen next.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Jason, I think that you know that there is some
serious questions to ask about. Any money that New Zealand
is sending to the Cook Islands. I don't know how
much that is, but at this stage that money would
be conditional. And on the other hand, if you are
in the Cook Islands and you're looking at New Zealand
versus China, I mean you're always going to go to
(03:01):
the person with the biggest checkbook, and China, we just
cannot outbid China and any sort of any world because
they just have money to burn. A New Zealand, especially
in New Zealand of today, just doesn't. So we'll be
leaning into and we'll be relying upon these sort of
historical cultural connections that we have to the Cook Islands,
and that's really where our trump card comes in this relationship.
(03:25):
But you know, if you're a person of Cook Islands
and you're choosing between a strong relationship that you've had
over many, many years with one country and another that
can build your road in a school and hospital nine
times out of ten back ninety nine times out of
one hundred, I think you'd probably be going with the latter.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
There's been a lot of talk about Australia being upset
with the Chinese involvement in the South Pacific. Do you
think they'll get involved?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I think the Australians will be watching this extremely closely
because it's endemic of what's happening in the Pacific region.
I mean, for years, New Zealand and Australia have been
essentially the partners of support when it came to some
of the support smaller Pacific regions in China. I mean,
they haven't shy about the fact that they want to
(04:08):
move into the South Pacific area in a big way.
And even when I was I've been over there a
number of times for work and I was over at
Chogham in Samoa, and there was this interesting moment where
there was a sign up for Chogham and welcoming the King,
and the wind had blown it down and underneath there
was a logo for a Chinese construction company, and it
(04:30):
was just so symbolic of what's happening to the Pacific
at the moment. But again, this you always come back
to the question if they're getting something out of it,
for example, upgraded roads and schools and other bits of infrastructure,
you'd have to be asking why is this a bad
thing for me? If you're in the Pacific Islands.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Okay, the government has introduced this new foreign investor visas,
but they can't buy a house. Now this, I think
the idea is great, but who the hell's going to
come over here and invest ten million dollars and not
be able to buy their own home.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Well, I mean that's the question that everybody's asking, and
I think that's a question that was on the reporter's
lips yesterday when asking the Prime Minister in Nicola Willis questions.
And it's something that we've been talking about. I think
we talked about it last week on this show because
we had a number of politicians coming out last week
Prime Minister Chris Luxon was one of them, of course,
and then Winston Peter's on Friday talking about the rules
(05:25):
that we have in terms of foreign investment in New Zealand,
specifically around foreign houses. And this morning when Hoskin was
talking to Nicola Willis, she seemed to imply that Winston
had come around to his thinking that if they're high,
high network individuals who are investing a lot of money
in New Zealand, it makes sense for them to be
able to buy a house here. And I think that
(05:45):
they're gearing up to make some sort of announcement because
Nicola Willis kept saying that she doesn't want to get
ahead of Winston Peters, and that to me sounds like
he's about to announce something. And you know, it was
a National Party election promise to reverse the foreign buyer's
band so they can start taxing the heck out of
people coming to New Zealand, these high networth individuals. Winston
Peters didn't like it. He said that he didn't like
(06:06):
the maths. Maybe he's been brought around. Maybe they've just
got a good accountant to come in and convince some otherwise,
and maybe he.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Just realizes what sort of situation financially our country really
is in.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, I mean, Niicola Willis and the Prime Minister have
not been shy at all this year about saying this
is the year of growth, and they've announced a number
of new ways to open up that growth conversation. And
a lot of that is from wealthy people in overseas
countries looking at New Zealand as a place to invest
and if you want to grow an economy, that's a
banger way to do it because that's money that wouldn't
(06:40):
have been here before. That is now.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Absolutely what's happening in Parliament this week. Anything gonna happen
this week under your.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Watch, I hope. So I try to keep it entertaining
around here. But no, there's been obviously that the White
tong he was week last week and the Treaty Principal's
Bill was once again front and center for that. So
there's going to be that's going to be at play
in the House some select committees as well. Nichola Willis
is giving some keynote speeches to some for him, so
(07:07):
you know, a bit of the same old but always
bringing the story forward just a little bit every single time.
But keep an eye out for some of these announcements
on foreign home ownership. I think they might be coming
even as early as this week.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Oh wow, just really really quickly, because we've got to
go nowhere near as much as air grow as I
thought there was going to be at Waitang. In fact,
it was pretty lame, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Oh yeah, And it was always going to be the
Prime Minister, wasn't there. There was a bit of a
scuffle between David Seymour and Guy Williams. At the end
of the day, voters have moved on from it today.
So I just think it was just, you know, a
bit of a flash in the pan at the moment
that everybody else has moved on.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
You know what, I know Guy Williams reasonably well because
he used to be a basketball player. I'd go on,
I'd back David Seymour every day against him, even though
he's six foot four and double the size of He's
got the heart of a pee. Weere you old, Guy Williams.
So I think David Seymour would have had that one
if it got any further. Don't panic about that.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Well. I mean, the thing about David Seymour is You
always need to come with receipts. You always need to
get your facts and have a clear line of question,
and you can't come at them with some sort of haphazard,
sort of wet bus ticket esque line of questioning. That
is just aggressive because he'll eat you for breakfast, and
that's exactly what we saw.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I love that come with your receipts. I've never heard
that one before. I'm going to use that. By gosh,
I'm going to use that. You got what. I'll be there,
Wolsey Jayson, thank you very much, Always a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
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