August 12, 2026 • 9 mins
Don Morrison says the rise of minor political parties shows that voters are prepared to move their support around.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Today John o'caras church Ja Great Don Morrison farms at
Willowbank and joins us this afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
How we good afternoon?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
You requested this song owed to Billy Joe by Shneida
Connor or her version I'm Done originally by Bunny Bobby Gentry.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I got Andy. Yeah, Look, it's just a great version
of what's a classic song, the Bobby Gentry one from
pArg He might have been back like sixties early seventies.
Was one of those really good songs when you think
you never hear a cover better. But Jude, that's that's
a good beat on that one, so thought your listeners
might enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
How's everything out on the rod chittyway?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Is?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
What are we? The middle of August?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
We're seeing longer days now we can hear the bird life, oh,
relatively early before dawn this morning. It was quite pleasant,
you cerrently, last three or four days have been a shift, Andy.
We've enjoyed some really nice warm days here and some
good drying days. So it's sort of that time of
the year that that August can be a big definer
on how well you're set up come the spring, and
(01:11):
we probably need it.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
We've used it just the budget. The budget's working, but
if we can get a bit of growth, then I'm
comfortable when it comes to spreading out and you're not
trying to sneak those extra days and very conscious of
that feed budget and daily allocation. You know, from here
on we need, we need, and we want to be
lifting them all. So, yeah, it's been a good couple
(01:32):
of days.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
No early lembs yet.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, we've got a few, not enough to say they're planned.
So I always say, if you get locks, you put
them on the front. Pader can say they're planned, and
if you're only getting a few, you've got to hide
them up the back. So yeah, no, we got a
few early ones, Andy, Oh.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
You just doing it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It's a couple that popped out because there's a rig
running around or whatever. It is a case of it
is what it is.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, poor fence, poor fence somewhere on the farm. But no, look,
they're actually due to start in about within the next week,
the early ones is due to start. So there was
a couple this morning, which just I think you're probably planned.
And so they're all getting spread out today and they'll
start leving another week.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Quite a lot happening in the political landscape at the moment.
How we will comment on this now Christopher Luxan remains
in charge of the country, prime Minister and leader of
the National Party. But you've got a bit more of
a centrist view on things. We spoke to you of
this probably about a month ago, and there's Amanda recing
scenarios out there regarding coalitions and the like.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yeah. Look, I don't know, Andy. I think I'm probably
one of those people that's been frustrated by the divisive
politics not only in New Zealand but around the world,
between comp between Faraj, even some of our own political parties.
It seems to be playing a pretty divisive card, which
is not really good for any of us, and divisive
policy too, which doesn't help. It doesn't help the economy
(02:54):
at all. So, you know, I think I mentioned a
few interviews ago the Opportunity Party will someone that I
thought was going to play an interesting role and could
only see them, i mean, from growing, and that was
when they're setting at about two percent. I see there
up to eight percent. Now. I think a lot of
people just want to see it grown up in the room,
and so you talk about what's happened with Luxeon and
(03:16):
National it's I guess the problem is if you can't
control your own party, how can you actually even control
your coalition partners? And that's I guess what would be
my criticism of this coalition government is that you know
too much policy from those the two let's say to
the right, the smaller parties and yeah. Interesting. So it'll
(03:39):
be certainly very interesting to see what happens from the
Opportunity Party here because I think their core policy around
a land value tax, which is their core revenue raiser
for the business plan as such, will become under a
much bigger scrutiny, and it will actually depend if that's
something that they say, well, this is aspirational, it's negotiable,
(04:00):
this is something that's a bit of an ideology, and
we're prepared to retune it or eave it. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
The Opportunity Party, they've got three primary reforms. First, one
is what they're calling a citizen's income. They're promoting a
citizen's income or universal basic income of up to three
hundred and seventy dollars a week a nineteen four hundred
dollars a year for every citizen and resident age over eighteen,
So effectively they want to make us a welfare state.
You talked about the land value tax, calling for a
(04:27):
one point seventy five percent annual tax on the value
of urban land and zero point five percent on rural land,
aimed to quote redirect money from speculation. Quote it says
the policy fixes the break and settings in a driven
house house prizes to unconscious noble levels. I've said that wrong,
but you know able to mean to. In other words,
they're really high. And that land value tax alone will
(04:50):
pay for the citizen and citizens income with another four
billion dollars in revenue left over, the party claims in
its policy review, And they want to do a few
changes around compulsory care savers. So yeah, they just want
to tax their way into prosperity, which is never a
good thing.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Well, I think they're ideological and their policy, and I
think a certain amount of naivety going with that. Andy
and to two aspects for a universal tax. There's some
people in New Zealand that don't need help from the government,
and there's some people that clearly do. So I don't
see any point directing resources to a sector that doesn't
need help. So that's the first thing, and the second
(05:27):
thing with their land value tax, it ignores every other
asset class as wealth in New Zealand, which seems absolutely
crazy and a bit biased. And yeah, so it's interesting.
And also in that they exclude municipal land, eerie land,
and crown land, so you know you're going to have
(05:48):
twenty five thousand bona fide farmers in New Zealand would
actually be paying a fair bit of that tax. That's
just not a fair bit. I think it's about four
billion of the twenty eight billion they raised will estimate
that would come from the farming sector. So I've got
to take my hat off to them though. I've spoken
to two lay one and Daniel lev and they've been
very receptive to have that conversation. So it's really going
(06:11):
to be where they view that, where they view that
lands an a tax. From here on, I think we'll
influence some of their support.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
People get sick of taxo, howie, that's the issue.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Well, tax is just you know, we don't like the
word tax andy, but we use resources in our country,
we use infrastructure, and someone's going to pay for it.
So whatever you want to call it, there's actually a
requirement for everyone to contribute for the services that they receive.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Now is that interesting?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
The talking in these polls about TPR the Top Party
being up there National New Zealand First Act. The current
coalition is one option, we know that, but the other
one will be a four headed beast of Labor, Greens,
To Party, Marie and Top. But this is all based
as well on this polling of TO Party Maury retaining
all their seats is something that's been lost in translation
(07:01):
along the way.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Yeah, well, To Party Maori has certainly done their own
amount of self destruction and I think Labor's been building
certainly momentum on some of those seats, so will be
interesting in what TO Party marriage can hold. And you're
probably surmising their andy when you say it's that four
parties on the left, because while Luxon has said he
won't work with Opportunities Party, I think that's a very
(07:24):
premature call to make, and certainly as the Opportunities Party
gains momentum, they certainly may gain more credibility. And I've
got to say to me, they're the only ones at
the moment that are acting like the adult in the
room with their discussion. Everything else is very petty, very divisive,
and I get it for trouble those Labor and National
for their supporters. You know, they're the ones that are
(07:45):
going to be sneaking over to the to the middle
ground of the opportunity parties where the extreme left and right.
Then they can keep up their own rhetoric because they've
got their basic atal ten support and that's all they
want to hold on to. Now.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Is there a good chance, though, this is just going
to get lost in election fatigue.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
We've still got three months to go.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Well, I think the question is andy the economy. So
when you've got a lot of people under pressure and
our economy isn't doing great, unemployment isn't great, that becomes
that very much becomes the focus of your election dialogue.
And I can't see that I'm improving at the moment.
And you know, look, I'm not specifically blaming any party.
(08:25):
With our National borrowed heavily and the GFC labor borrowed
heavily in Covidere where we are, and we just need
I guess a business, a business plan that's going to
get us out of it. And that's what we perhaps
haven't seen excerchieved from this Coalition, the latest coalition party.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Just to wrap up, how are the your blecks? They
got the work.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
They got the job done over the sharks yesterday and
the wet Yes, they got fifty points or so, but
they have the Sharks to zero, which was a pleasing factor.
I really enjoying watching Reuben Love grow as a footy.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Player, yet of confidence, a lot of right decisions. You know,
you look at your you look at your Malamas, you
look at your Dan Carter's, you look at Reuben Love.
They make it look as though they've got more time.
They don't have any more time than anyone else with
the ball, but they've just got that vision and you know,
it makes it look as though they've got time. And
with that they can create space, they can create options.
(09:21):
And I love We've got a number ten that runs
at the line and.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It Don Morrison always good to catch up. Enjoy the afternoon.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yep, cheers Andy, Catch.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
You later, Don Morrison there at Willow Bank. The song
is what is it? Ode to Billy Joe, Ode.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
To Donald Morrison.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
The Helly Christain's up next from South Confederated Farmers
Today John o'caras church Ja Great Don Morrison farms at
Willowbank and joins us this afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
How we good afternoon?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
You requested this song owed to Billy Joe by Shneida
Connor or her version I'm Done originally by Bunny Bobby Gentry.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I got Andy. Yeah, Look, it's just a great version
of what's a classic song, the Bobby Gentry one from
pArg He might have been back like sixties early seventies.
Was one of those really good songs when you think
you never hear a cover better. But Jude, that's that's
a good beat on that one, so thought your listeners
might enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
How's everything out on the rod chittyway?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Is?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
What are we? The middle of August?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
We're seeing longer days now we can hear the bird life, oh,
relatively early before dawn this morning. It was quite pleasant,
you cerrently, last three or four days have been a shift, Andy.
We've enjoyed some really nice warm days here and some
good drying days. So it's sort of that time of
the year that that August can be a big definer
on how well you're set up come the spring, and
(01:11):
we probably need it.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
We've used it just the budget. The budget's working, but
if we can get a bit of growth, then I'm
comfortable when it comes to spreading out and you're not
trying to sneak those extra days and very conscious of
that feed budget and daily allocation. You know, from here
on we need, we need, and we want to be
lifting them all. So, yeah, it's been a good couple
(01:32):
of days.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
No early lembs yet.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, we've got a few, not enough to say they're planned.
So I always say, if you get locks, you put
them on the front. Pader can say they're planned, and
if you're only getting a few, you've got to hide
them up the back. So yeah, no, we got a
few early ones, Andy, Oh.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
You just doing it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It's a couple that popped out because there's a rig
running around or whatever. It is a case of it
is what it is.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, poor fence, poor fence somewhere on the farm. But no, look,
they're actually due to start in about within the next week,
the early ones is due to start. So there was
a couple this morning, which just I think you're probably planned.
And so they're all getting spread out today and they'll
start leving another week.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Quite a lot happening in the political landscape at the moment.
How we will comment on this now Christopher Luxan remains
in charge of the country, prime Minister and leader of
the National Party. But you've got a bit more of
a centrist view on things. We spoke to you of
this probably about a month ago, and there's Amanda recing
scenarios out there regarding coalitions and the like.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yeah. Look, I don't know, Andy. I think I'm probably
one of those people that's been frustrated by the divisive
politics not only in New Zealand but around the world,
between comp between Faraj, even some of our own political parties.
It seems to be playing a pretty divisive card, which
is not really good for any of us, and divisive
policy too, which doesn't help. It doesn't help the economy
(02:54):
at all. So, you know, I think I mentioned a
few interviews ago the Opportunity Party will someone that I
thought was going to play an interesting role and could
only see them, i mean, from growing, and that was
when they're setting at about two percent. I see there
up to eight percent. Now. I think a lot of
people just want to see it grown up in the room,
and so you talk about what's happened with Luxeon and
(03:16):
National it's I guess the problem is if you can't
control your own party, how can you actually even control
your coalition partners? And that's I guess what would be
my criticism of this coalition government is that you know
too much policy from those the two let's say to
the right, the smaller parties and yeah. Interesting. So it'll
(03:39):
be certainly very interesting to see what happens from the
Opportunity Party here because I think their core policy around
a land value tax, which is their core revenue raiser
for the business plan as such, will become under a
much bigger scrutiny, and it will actually depend if that's
something that they say, well, this is aspirational, it's negotiable,
(04:00):
this is something that's a bit of an ideology, and
we're prepared to retune it or eave it. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
The Opportunity Party, they've got three primary reforms. First, one
is what they're calling a citizen's income. They're promoting a
citizen's income or universal basic income of up to three
hundred and seventy dollars a week a nineteen four hundred
dollars a year for every citizen and resident age over eighteen,
So effectively they want to make us a welfare state.
You talked about the land value tax, calling for a
(04:27):
one point seventy five percent annual tax on the value
of urban land and zero point five percent on rural land,
aimed to quote redirect money from speculation. Quote it says
the policy fixes the break and settings in a driven
house house prizes to unconscious noble levels. I've said that wrong,
but you know able to mean to. In other words,
they're really high. And that land value tax alone will
(04:50):
pay for the citizen and citizens income with another four
billion dollars in revenue left over, the party claims in
its policy review, And they want to do a few
changes around compulsory care savers. So yeah, they just want
to tax their way into prosperity, which is never a
good thing.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Well, I think they're ideological and their policy, and I
think a certain amount of naivety going with that. Andy
and to two aspects for a universal tax. There's some
people in New Zealand that don't need help from the government,
and there's some people that clearly do. So I don't
see any point directing resources to a sector that doesn't
need help. So that's the first thing, and the second
(05:27):
thing with their land value tax, it ignores every other
asset class as wealth in New Zealand, which seems absolutely
crazy and a bit biased. And yeah, so it's interesting.
And also in that they exclude municipal land, eerie land,
and crown land, so you know you're going to have
(05:48):
twenty five thousand bona fide farmers in New Zealand would
actually be paying a fair bit of that tax. That's
just not a fair bit. I think it's about four
billion of the twenty eight billion they raised will estimate
that would come from the farming sector. So I've got
to take my hat off to them though. I've spoken
to two lay one and Daniel lev and they've been
very receptive to have that conversation. So it's really going
(06:11):
to be where they view that, where they view that
lands an a tax. From here on, I think we'll
influence some of their support.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
People get sick of taxo, howie, that's the issue.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Well, tax is just you know, we don't like the
word tax andy, but we use resources in our country,
we use infrastructure, and someone's going to pay for it.
So whatever you want to call it, there's actually a
requirement for everyone to contribute for the services that they receive.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Now is that interesting?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
The talking in these polls about TPR the Top Party
being up there National New Zealand First Act. The current
coalition is one option, we know that, but the other
one will be a four headed beast of Labor, Greens,
To Party, Marie and Top. But this is all based
as well on this polling of TO Party Maury retaining
all their seats is something that's been lost in translation
(07:01):
along the way.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Yeah, well, To Party Maori has certainly done their own
amount of self destruction and I think Labor's been building
certainly momentum on some of those seats, so will be
interesting in what TO Party marriage can hold. And you're
probably surmising their andy when you say it's that four
parties on the left, because while Luxon has said he
won't work with Opportunities Party, I think that's a very
(07:24):
premature call to make, and certainly as the Opportunities Party
gains momentum, they certainly may gain more credibility. And I've
got to say to me, they're the only ones at
the moment that are acting like the adult in the
room with their discussion. Everything else is very petty, very divisive,
and I get it for trouble those Labor and National
for their supporters. You know, they're the ones that are
(07:45):
going to be sneaking over to the to the middle
ground of the opportunity parties where the extreme left and right.
Then they can keep up their own rhetoric because they've
got their basic atal ten support and that's all they
want to hold on to. Now.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Is there a good chance, though, this is just going
to get lost in election fatigue.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
We've still got three months to go.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Well, I think the question is andy the economy. So
when you've got a lot of people under pressure and
our economy isn't doing great, unemployment isn't great, that becomes
that very much becomes the focus of your election dialogue.
And I can't see that I'm improving at the moment.
And you know, look, I'm not specifically blaming any party.
(08:25):
With our National borrowed heavily and the GFC labor borrowed
heavily in Covidere where we are, and we just need
I guess a business, a business plan that's going to
get us out of it. And that's what we perhaps
haven't seen excerchieved from this Coalition, the latest coalition party.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Just to wrap up, how are the your blecks? They
got the work.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
They got the job done over the sharks yesterday and
the wet Yes, they got fifty points or so, but
they have the Sharks to zero, which was a pleasing factor.
I really enjoying watching Reuben Love grow as a footy.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Player, yet of confidence, a lot of right decisions. You know,
you look at your you look at your Malamas, you
look at your Dan Carter's, you look at Reuben Love.
They make it look as though they've got more time.
They don't have any more time than anyone else with
the ball, but they've just got that vision and you know,
it makes it look as though they've got time. And
with that they can create space, they can create options.
(09:21):
And I love We've got a number ten that runs
at the line and.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It Don Morrison always good to catch up. Enjoy the afternoon.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yep, cheers Andy, Catch.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
You later, Don Morrison there at Willow Bank. The song
is what is it? Ode to Billy Joe, Ode.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
To Donald Morrison.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
The Helly Christain's up next from South Confederated Farmers
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