Latest / Best of Business / Christopher Luxon: Prime Minister on Rotorua comments and NZ First's baby policy

Transcript

Christopher Luxon: Prime Minister on Rotorua comments and NZ First's baby policy · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks. It'd be
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: The Prime Minister's with us a very good morning to
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: you morning Mike. Did you land in the studio this
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: morning by helicopter? How do you arrive?
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: Arrived by Crown car with my security detail? Is I
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: do most Monday mornings?
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: So how many times are you losing the military transport?
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: How many plans? How many helicopters are you ripping off
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: the text player? Why is this a scandal? Why am
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: I even there?
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: There's actually something previous leaders have done as well from
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: time to time, and I only do it when I
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: actually there's not an Air New Zealand or a Jet
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Star service schedule at a commercial time. So obviously fly
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: commercial as much as possible. But it's like, you know,
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: the other day, I'm in Wonga, we finish a meeting
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: at ten thirty at night, I get on a little
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: Succeeded King airplane from the Air Force. They've got to
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: fly those planes and those those assets anyway, because they've
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: got to get the hours up and make sure the
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: planes are doing their hours as well. And so it's
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: generally just done. When I can't get a proper commercial schedule,
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: should you have to be explaining this, well, it's an
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: unusual situation. It's often to be honest, I'll be honest
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: with That's often a topic of conversation with other leaders,
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: like because you know, if you're a I don't mean
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: this to sound bad, but if you're an Anthony Albanisi,
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: you've got you know, three private jets too, brand new
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: A three twenty ones and an A three thirty so
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: and you can move around Australia as you wish in
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: that regard. And that as generally because either for security
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: reasons or just realizing these are busy jobs and you
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: want to use the schedule and the time and every
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: hour matters. But you know, look, I don't mind. I mean,
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: I do use the commercial services in New Zealand and
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: jet style as much as I can when I can.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: It's just when I think the majority of New Zealanders
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: would support the idea that you should be using your
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: time and movement in the best and most efficient way,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: or should you be hanging out in the Kooru lounge
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: eating some sandwiches and waiting for.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: The everything's down to the sort of fifteen minute increments
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: of my schedule. But I think most of the Zealand's
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: understand it's a pretty extreme job. And you know, when
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: you're trying to get around a county and get out
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: of Wellington and you're in places in region on provincial
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: New Zealand from time to time if I can't you know,
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: on Saturday, I was out at six am. I was
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: down to christ sheitch them straight driven down straight down
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: to ash Burton back again. You know you're in parts
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: of the country something there's just not scheduled services exactly.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: Two things in writer Rule one was red Stag. From
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: my understanding, do red Stag sort of build homes in
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: a way that Zuru might be about to all the
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Germans already do. And it's that.
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so there's love. Actually I was there to open
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: up a collaboration we've done with them. We've put public
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: and private money together to take an Austrian process of
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: this off site manufacturing and laminated wood to see what
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: we can do more there. It's a really impressive business.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: Like if you look at our primary industry sector, you
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: know two sectors that I think we could add more
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: value to a certainly forestry and the other one is wall.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: We've got projects now on both of them. But on
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: wood we're setting a lot of logs overseas, you know,
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: and actually we could do a lot more added value
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: here and that's what they are looking at doing. Right
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: in the Parliament precinct. We're building a new Parliament building
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: and it's it's with their wooden structure. It's no steal
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: And cement. You know, it's actually all New Zealand wood.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: And you know, the cost difference isn't that different, and
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: it's a really good thing to have the money spent
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: in New Zealand rather than under sen in Cement.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: And haven't seen the Red Stag people. You then go
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: along to the meeting and run into the Chamber of
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Commerce lady who tells you how miserable it is. You
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: tell that she's negative, and then you tell it not
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: to be a baby, and then the media jump all
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: over this and the whole thing becomes a story.
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: So what actually, well, well, my point was, actually, yeah,
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: I was disappointed, and if that was the reporting or
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: the presentation of what I said, because my point is
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: I actually believe strongly my role as government is to
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: empower and enable businesses. I actually think that there's government,
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: there's business, there's community, three equal actors in our society
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: that we do different things, but we've got to work together.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: And so this idea that you know, we run the
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: settings and we get those settings right, whether it's employment
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: law or RMA or trade agreements or whatever, and then
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: we let business get on with it. You know, I
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: said something the other that's like, we run the operavating
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: system and businesses create the apps, you know, and the
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: two work together. And so you've seen that with our
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: government because you know, we've treated farmers like you know,
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: growing ups, and we've partnered with farmers. We've partnered with
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: business on the fuel crisis versus the labor experience through
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: COVID where they told them what to do and they
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: dictated terms and they did things to them. We're trying
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: to work with enable and empowered businesses. So you know
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: that was my SIMP. You know, message.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Supported or did you overspeak?
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: Do you think it could have been either? Or I mean,
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: clearly you know there was an inference from the report
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: that you know, you know that that you know, and
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: there was generally no intent to cause offense, but it
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: was quite a long conversation that was a piece of
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: this I fully acknowledge, you know, I set up front
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: just I'm a great admirer of business people because they've
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: led through difficult times. They've got a lot of people
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: to lead. I've been in that situation as a business
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: leader myself, so I've got huge admiration for busin leaders.
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: And I try and see many small businesses up and
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: down the country every week, and you know, a lot
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: of what I've got to do is get the settings
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: right so they can get on and crack on and do.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: It the other way.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: That's classic center right center left though philosophy, isn't it.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I mean, the center right government traditionally offers you the
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: opportunity and the platform to do what it is you
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: want to do to get out of their way. Correct,
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Which is all you're saying. Why is that message still
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: seemingly blanding in a weird way in Rotorua.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: Well, I'm not sure, but I mean your points to
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: the right one, which is that where did our idea
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: from investment boosts to write off twenty percent of new
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: capital purchases come from? It came from our conversations with
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: those businesses telling us that's what they want to do.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: I see the labor remarks over the weekend. If they
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: really are just not playing politics, they really want to
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: support small business, tell us be really upfront with things
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: on public Are you going to support investment boots and continue?
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: Do you think there's a battle in this election campaign
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: to be had around that? Though, this woman from the
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: Chamber of Commerce does in fact represent a group in
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: New Zealand as whether in business or not, who do
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: want to get up in the morning and be told
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: how to live their life and have their bum wiped
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: by the government, and that's what they love.
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: There might be some people who operate that way. I
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: actually think the vast majority of key is that I
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: run into outside of you know, the bubble of Wellington,
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: you know when I'm out there every week, you know, genuinely,
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: genuinely actually want to get connected to ambition and aspiration
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: and positivity and can do and get out there and
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: make things happen. And I think they need a government
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: that gets the settings right, gets out of the way
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: and lets them get on with it and then actually says, look,
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: government can't do everything. You know, Actually business leaders can
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: move with speed and scale. We get the settings right.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: The community leaders see the pain, the need, the frustration.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: We all do different things, but they're quite complementary and
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: we've got to go to work together.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: So does it bother you when the lady from the
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: Chamber of Commerce stands up and gives you her numbers
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: of misery and woe against what indisputably are facts that
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: show a different story at the moment, and you can't
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: argue with the facts. There is growth in you know,
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: picking anything you want, from services to manufacturing to the
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: economy itself and GDP it is moving in the right direction.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what I was trying to keep trying to communicate,
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: maybe poorly, but you know the fact that actually the
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: results are that we do have momentum and a positive
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: upswing in this economy. You know, you look at other
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: economies around the world, they're actually in a downswing. New
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: Zealand's going to come through this very well positioned. You know,
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: we've had a huge growth and keys coming back home
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: to New Zealand in the last year from just Australia.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: We've got good levels of economic growth. As you said,
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: the sectors, whether it's exports, tourism, manufacturing, services, going good confidence,
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: business farmer and retail investors strong. So you know, it's
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: there's some real momentum happening in our country and our economy,
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: and that's exciting. I get it. There's still pockets that
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: hasn't got all the way through. There's still businesses that
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: are doing it tough and are struggling, and families that
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: are doing it tough and struggling. But you know, we've
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: got we've got some real momentum started.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: To tell me about. I'm starting to worry about fast track. Yeah,
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: not for mining and things like that. But there's a
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: place called Delmore north of Walkland. Twelve hundred houses and
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: they are shipping wastewater via truck to Northland. That doesn't
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: strike me as something's going to win you a lot
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: of boats, Piggasys and christ Jug another thousand houses. That's
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: not what they bought into Arrowtown last week. There's a
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: hall full of angry people about another twelve hundred. Is
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: fast Track about getting mining going, roading, built in projects going?
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: Or is it just about housing developers who want to
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: dump houses in people's neighborhood and they're going to get
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: angry at you.
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: No, No, it's just generally projects that actually get stalled
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: up in our planning process, like that those two wharfs
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: at the Port of Auckland, that would have been five
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: years under our current system. We did it in one
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: hundred and ten days. The case is as rigorous as possible.
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: You know, it's not like it's a rubber stamp you
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: just get it done. You've got to go through the
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: same arguments that you do on the normal process. It's
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: just proving that we can. If the projects of regional
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: national significance and going to make a difference, then we
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: should crack on and get it done.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: The interesting thing is the interface we have got really
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: bad mic at getting supporter of the fast track. Fast
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: track is an idea, is a great idea to get
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: the port of Tower on or out of Courton actually expanding.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: You know, pull that trick off. But twelve hundred houses
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: north of Auckland and they're shipping wastewater out till twenty
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: fifty to Northland. Yes, now that's tiny, going to piss
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: people off? Yeah, I get it, yep, yeah, So what
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: do you do? Well, We'll continue to look whether we
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: can optimize any of that. I know there's also been
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: some challenges from council on a couple of projects as well,
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: particularly here in Auckland. But you know the bottom line
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: for me is we have to break the system a
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: little bit to get it moving, to actually get things
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: done and built. I can reassure everyone it's not a
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: rubber stamp a fast track process.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: You have to have the same rigor that you have
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: in your case. But it's just that we don't have
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: to take as much time. If we have, we can,
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: you know, we can get through the decision making process quicker.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: From the political side of the equation. You've sent it
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: through to the past track panel though, don't you. Yes,
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: there are too many housing developments being sent through and
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: as you've seen them through, do you think, jeez, there's.
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: A lot of name about twenty six twenty seven total projects.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: I think we've got twenty six. I think we've got
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: totally approved. There's typically one coming through now every week
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: or so. There's a mix of housing. You see some
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: housing projects in there, but there's also a lot of
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: renewable projects, and there's six renewable projects. There's been you know,
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: some mining, some quarrying projects in there. There's been some
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: like commercial projects opened up, so there is quite a
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: di versified mix of stuff that's going on. I appreciate
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: some of the housing ones will be a bit more
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: high profile.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: Sure, just quickly over the weekend. The Act policy on
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: reasonable force and whatever that means and getting good you
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: like it, not like it is that a I.
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: Haven't seen the detail of it, but it is an
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: issue that's raised with me by teachers in schools about
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: classroom behavior. I know Eric Stamford, she's commissioned work with
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: AERO last year. There was a good report back saying
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: part of the challenge we might have to look at
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: some of the laws maybe, but the bigger issue is
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: actually giving teachers the training, the tools and the skills
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: to deal with the current set of protections and rules
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: that they have and so they know what they can
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: and can't do. And I think we could do a
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: better job.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: Of New Zealand first and five thousand per JOD. That's
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: a smile on your face, amusing, it's what's.
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: Four hundred million dollars plus a very untargeted spending on
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: a policy that actually has proven globally it doesn't work.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: And you know, paying people to have children versus actually
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: supporting families with family boosts and working for families and
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: extended parntal leave and compulsory souper and baby bonuses is
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: a much better way to go than trying to pay
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: people for kids. That's my view.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: See you next Monday. Appreciate it twelve minutes away from it.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.