March 8, 2026 • 9 mins
Jeff Grant says flow-on effects from the Middle East conflict are unfortunately just part of the current landscape.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Every day it's again closer going as do then welcome back.
You're listening to the muster on Hakanui. Jeff Grant joins
us next, former MP a member of the New Zealand
Trade Envoy, amongst other things. Jeff, good afternoon, How are
you good Andy? How's everything in northern South for namely Balfa.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Oh, we got eighteen mills of rain over the last
couple of days, which was useful. We were looking for
a more rain standing to brown off again on the
on the ridges and stuff. So I should set this
up for the autumn.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Right this Middle East war, we're starting to see the
ramifications at the pump here. For example, last Friday, the
discount day at the local sealth surviv stations about a
dollar fifty seven for a liter of diesel. Fast forward
to this morning, the same product as about two dollars twelve.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, I see the Commerce Commission of saying they had
a warning saying they think the pricing increase doesn't reflect
the true market situation, in the sense that the fuel
hasn't even arrived at the higher price. But that's just
part of the reality. I always find it amusing you
get these emails telling you've got a price adjustment, which
(01:12):
really means the price has gone up for something, and
we're going to see a bit of that. You know,
transport and logistics will come under some pressure over the
next three or four months if this carries on for
another week or two, and then we'll start to see
it and fertilize the price etc. As we get into
the winter.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So we're saying good prices in the farm gate, the
farm gate inflation. All of a sudden, it's going to
be the equation.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Isn't it always the case though? I mean, you just
start to think you're having a really good season and
then something comes along and changes the mathematics of it all,
and it's just it is what it is. And the
sense that we're going to see, you know, the impact.
I think the impact also for you know, places like
New Zealand, especially on shipping, is that extra cost of
(02:00):
bring stuff having not been able to go through the
strait and delays. I'd imagine it's been a nightmare for
the meat companies along with the dairy industry in terms
of where ships are sitting, especially with chilled meat, you
can't have it sitting in a sitting off the Gulf
on its way to the European market and then find
that you've got to freeze it down and find another buyer, etc.
(02:22):
So yeah, tough time.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Now. Local government restructure has been well documented coming up
eighteen months now about a changing to regional councils, especially
here in the South. What are you hearing? What's the latest?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh? Look, I think that the Local Government Commissions in
the process of its reports, I think it's holding a
meeting in the nineteenth and March down in Riverton to
sort of gather information in terms of people's thinking. I
just say people should get actively involved. There's a nonline
survey as well that they're doing. But the reality is
(02:58):
I just get a sense that all councils down here
aren't really putting their mind to what's the best option
the change should take place, that's for sure, and I
think that there's a good argument to look at what's
the best delivery of a services for local government over
the exten to fifteen years. There's a lot of emphasis
(03:21):
on structure and governance. Governance is about two percent of
the cost. The reality is it's the services and the
staff that is a big cost of local government. And
you know, I find the focus in the wrong direction
to a certain extent.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
What's your gut feeling on this. Are these changes going
to happen regarding local government?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well, look, I think there will be quite a sqush
to find a solution in Southland that does create some amalgamation.
I'm not convinced about two unitary councils as an option,
and again I would say you it's a drive for
the structure of what we should be arguing is well,
debate is how are the services that we want over
(04:04):
the next ten to fifteen years to be delivered and
then look at the structure that gives the best delivery.
And so I think there's an argument to centralize transport, roading,
environmental water into one. And so I'm a bit of
a fan of what you call centralize the services and
(04:25):
localize the democracy. And so there's a variety of structures
you could do to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Quitte proffessiently, Hey, Jeff, what's your thoughts around the latest
pole that came out Christopher Luxe and in national plunging
into the twenties? Is it as catastrophic as what's being
made out or is this simply one pole?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Oh? Look, I think there's definitely a trend that's showing
that the coalition's struggling a bit in terms of the
people's attitude towards what's happening on the ground. So, I mean,
you know, we've had lots of announcement, it's about how
things are improving, but until people feel that in their
back pocket and also when they go to the pub
(05:06):
on Friday night, that that sort of attitude towards saying
are we hitting in the right direction is going to
be questioned. I think it's going to be a there's
always a close election as you do get under m MP,
and I think that coalitions at some risk of not
quite getting over the line.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Do you think Chris Special will be doing the numbers
as it come to that point.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Well, if he is, he's the wrong person. I think
that if we were down, if the Coalition or the
National Party was down around there twenty two percent, that
would build bigger change. I think they'll be looking at
what are they going to do to shift it back
up to around thirty one thirty two that's where they
(05:50):
need to get to. They may just have to accept
that the new coalition may have us stronger influence from
New Zealand first, and that will change the dynamics.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Who would the ideal candidate they lux Mike Mitchell at
Erica Stamford.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Oh, look, I think the reality is that you're never
quite sure. It's always had this sort of question about
who's the next person because they never sort of shine
through until they are actually elected. And just in there
a Dune as a classic example, I think that they
would have to look dynamically quite different from the current
(06:27):
leader if they were to make a change, and so
Erica Stanford would probably be the one that's stuck out
a little bit. But I think that they'll probably better
to stick with what they've got through this election.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
The fake meat story that's losing traction by the day almost.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I just thought it was interesting to go back and
have a little look as we've talked about this before,
and the two big companies that have been in the
market quite strongly since you know, mid for twenty fifteen
are Beyond me and Impossible Foods to American companies. Beyond
Meats are publicly listed. If you had their shares in
(07:06):
twenty nineteen, they're worth two hundred and forty three dollars each.
They're now worth ninety six seventy six cents, so the
dramatic change in terms of its value. What they're really
struggling around is their ability to take on the big
players like Tyson and any leader who have used their
(07:32):
marketing strength to do some of the meat alterms of
but the reality is the market hasn't really responded. So
what's happened is that there's been a lot more analysis
around what are false or these meats in terms of
what the makeup is and the argument around the health
(07:54):
side along with processed food. That's because they use a
lot more ultra process food. Combination in terms of their product,
especially in the meat hamburger paddies hasn't been successful, so
they've changed their swing now now talking about resource sufficiency,
so you know, impossible burgers talk about the fact that
(08:15):
they only used ninety nine percent less water and less
land by about ninety six percent and ninety two percent
less pollution. But that's that global trend towards saying you know,
what am I doing about climate change hasn't really had
an impact. Fascinating figure though, if you changed all the
(08:36):
current beef production in the world to a plant based alternative,
the global protein market would change to the extent that
the savings in terms of greenhouse gases would be greater
than the whole of the electric motor vehicle if every
(08:58):
vehicle in the world was changed to electric, So you
would save more from going to a plant based meat
than you would But the reality is the market is
just not responding, and so these companies are really struggling
to find a place in the market. And I just
don't think other than say Berger King and those providing
an alternative, cheap protein source, we're not going to see
(09:20):
a big change in the market in terms of what
I call false meat.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Jeff Grant always appreciate your time on the Muster. I'll
catch you at the one of Cashew on Friday.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Here's we'll catch it the enemy.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Jeff Grant talking about alternative proteins, I suppose plant based
meat and the lack of traction that seems to have
got those share numbers as well. Unreal Morgan Green for
menius fits. We catch up next. You're listening to the
Muster
Every day it's again closer going as do then welcome back.
You're listening to the muster on Hakanui. Jeff Grant joins
us next, former MP a member of the New Zealand
Trade Envoy, amongst other things. Jeff, good afternoon, How are
you good Andy? How's everything in northern South for namely Balfa.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Oh, we got eighteen mills of rain over the last
couple of days, which was useful. We were looking for
a more rain standing to brown off again on the
on the ridges and stuff. So I should set this
up for the autumn.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Right this Middle East war, we're starting to see the
ramifications at the pump here. For example, last Friday, the
discount day at the local sealth surviv stations about a
dollar fifty seven for a liter of diesel. Fast forward
to this morning, the same product as about two dollars twelve.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, I see the Commerce Commission of saying they had
a warning saying they think the pricing increase doesn't reflect
the true market situation, in the sense that the fuel
hasn't even arrived at the higher price. But that's just
part of the reality. I always find it amusing you
get these emails telling you've got a price adjustment, which
(01:12):
really means the price has gone up for something, and
we're going to see a bit of that. You know,
transport and logistics will come under some pressure over the
next three or four months if this carries on for
another week or two, and then we'll start to see
it and fertilize the price etc. As we get into
the winter.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So we're saying good prices in the farm gate, the
farm gate inflation. All of a sudden, it's going to
be the equation.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Isn't it always the case though? I mean, you just
start to think you're having a really good season and
then something comes along and changes the mathematics of it all,
and it's just it is what it is. And the
sense that we're going to see, you know, the impact.
I think the impact also for you know, places like
New Zealand, especially on shipping, is that extra cost of
(02:00):
bring stuff having not been able to go through the
strait and delays. I'd imagine it's been a nightmare for
the meat companies along with the dairy industry in terms
of where ships are sitting, especially with chilled meat, you
can't have it sitting in a sitting off the Gulf
on its way to the European market and then find
that you've got to freeze it down and find another buyer, etc.
(02:22):
So yeah, tough time.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Now. Local government restructure has been well documented coming up
eighteen months now about a changing to regional councils, especially
here in the South. What are you hearing? What's the latest?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh? Look, I think that the Local Government Commissions in
the process of its reports, I think it's holding a
meeting in the nineteenth and March down in Riverton to
sort of gather information in terms of people's thinking. I
just say people should get actively involved. There's a nonline
survey as well that they're doing. But the reality is
(02:58):
I just get a sense that all councils down here
aren't really putting their mind to what's the best option
the change should take place, that's for sure, and I
think that there's a good argument to look at what's
the best delivery of a services for local government over
the exten to fifteen years. There's a lot of emphasis
(03:21):
on structure and governance. Governance is about two percent of
the cost. The reality is it's the services and the
staff that is a big cost of local government. And
you know, I find the focus in the wrong direction
to a certain extent.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
What's your gut feeling on this. Are these changes going
to happen regarding local government?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well, look, I think there will be quite a sqush
to find a solution in Southland that does create some amalgamation.
I'm not convinced about two unitary councils as an option,
and again I would say you it's a drive for
the structure of what we should be arguing is well,
debate is how are the services that we want over
(04:04):
the next ten to fifteen years to be delivered and
then look at the structure that gives the best delivery.
And so I think there's an argument to centralize transport, roading,
environmental water into one. And so I'm a bit of
a fan of what you call centralize the services and
(04:25):
localize the democracy. And so there's a variety of structures
you could do to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Quitte proffessiently, Hey, Jeff, what's your thoughts around the latest
pole that came out Christopher Luxe and in national plunging
into the twenties? Is it as catastrophic as what's being
made out or is this simply one pole?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Oh? Look, I think there's definitely a trend that's showing
that the coalition's struggling a bit in terms of the
people's attitude towards what's happening on the ground. So, I mean,
you know, we've had lots of announcement, it's about how
things are improving, but until people feel that in their
back pocket and also when they go to the pub
(05:06):
on Friday night, that that sort of attitude towards saying
are we hitting in the right direction is going to
be questioned. I think it's going to be a there's
always a close election as you do get under m MP,
and I think that coalitions at some risk of not
quite getting over the line.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Do you think Chris Special will be doing the numbers
as it come to that point.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Well, if he is, he's the wrong person. I think
that if we were down, if the Coalition or the
National Party was down around there twenty two percent, that
would build bigger change. I think they'll be looking at
what are they going to do to shift it back
up to around thirty one thirty two that's where they
(05:50):
need to get to. They may just have to accept
that the new coalition may have us stronger influence from
New Zealand first, and that will change the dynamics.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Who would the ideal candidate they lux Mike Mitchell at
Erica Stamford.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Oh, look, I think the reality is that you're never
quite sure. It's always had this sort of question about
who's the next person because they never sort of shine
through until they are actually elected. And just in there
a Dune as a classic example, I think that they
would have to look dynamically quite different from the current
(06:27):
leader if they were to make a change, and so
Erica Stanford would probably be the one that's stuck out
a little bit. But I think that they'll probably better
to stick with what they've got through this election.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
The fake meat story that's losing traction by the day almost.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I just thought it was interesting to go back and
have a little look as we've talked about this before,
and the two big companies that have been in the
market quite strongly since you know, mid for twenty fifteen
are Beyond me and Impossible Foods to American companies. Beyond
Meats are publicly listed. If you had their shares in
(07:06):
twenty nineteen, they're worth two hundred and forty three dollars each.
They're now worth ninety six seventy six cents, so the
dramatic change in terms of its value. What they're really
struggling around is their ability to take on the big
players like Tyson and any leader who have used their
(07:32):
marketing strength to do some of the meat alterms of
but the reality is the market hasn't really responded. So
what's happened is that there's been a lot more analysis
around what are false or these meats in terms of
what the makeup is and the argument around the health
(07:54):
side along with processed food. That's because they use a
lot more ultra process food. Combination in terms of their product,
especially in the meat hamburger paddies hasn't been successful, so
they've changed their swing now now talking about resource sufficiency,
so you know, impossible burgers talk about the fact that
(08:15):
they only used ninety nine percent less water and less
land by about ninety six percent and ninety two percent
less pollution. But that's that global trend towards saying you know,
what am I doing about climate change hasn't really had
an impact. Fascinating figure though, if you changed all the
(08:36):
current beef production in the world to a plant based alternative,
the global protein market would change to the extent that
the savings in terms of greenhouse gases would be greater
than the whole of the electric motor vehicle if every
(08:58):
vehicle in the world was changed to electric, So you
would save more from going to a plant based meat
than you would But the reality is the market is
just not responding, and so these companies are really struggling
to find a place in the market. And I just
don't think other than say Berger King and those providing
an alternative, cheap protein source, we're not going to see
(09:20):
a big change in the market in terms of what
I call false meat.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Jeff Grant always appreciate your time on the Muster. I'll
catch you at the one of Cashew on Friday.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Here's we'll catch it the enemy.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Jeff Grant talking about alternative proteins, I suppose plant based
meat and the lack of traction that seems to have
got those share numbers as well. Unreal Morgan Green for
menius fits. We catch up next. You're listening to the
Muster
Popular Podcasts
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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe
When a group of women from all over the country realise they all dated the same prolific romance scammer they vow to bring him to justice. In this brand new season of global number 1 hit podcast, The Girlfriends, Anna Sinfield meets a group of funny, feisty, determined women who all had the misfortune of dating a mysterious man named Derek Alldred. Trust Me Babe is a story about the protective forces of gossip, gut instinct, and trusting your besties and the group of women who took matters into their own hands to take down a fraudster when no one else would listen. If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.org. To learn more about romance scams, and to access specialised support, visit https://fightcybercrime.org/ The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!