Latest / Best of Business / Ethan Griffiths: Newstalk ZB political reporter on Luxon's comments to Rotorua business group

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Ethan Griffiths: Newstalk ZB political reporter on Luxon's comments to Rotorua business group · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talk ZEDB. Follow
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: It is time to talk local politics and I'm joined
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  Speaker 2: by news Talk ZB political reporter Ethan Griffiths.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Ethan, Good morning Francesca.
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  Speaker 2: Alrighty, so Christopher Luxon, he did too. ROTORUA had a
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  Speaker 2: bit of a chat to a few businesses there and
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  Speaker 2: fired on him a little bit.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, it did backfire, certainly, raising a lot of eyebrows.
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  Speaker 3: These are comments that Chris Luckson made to the rotor
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  Speaker 3: A Chamber of Commerce on Friday. A business owner and
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  Speaker 3: the audience got up and asked the PM about falling
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  Speaker 3: business confidence and questioned how long they could hold on
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  Speaker 3: with costs rising and fewer customers. Luxon hit back pretty strongly.
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  Speaker 3: He said as a businessman, he would never dream of
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  Speaker 3: asking the government for money. He said, and I quote,
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  Speaker 3: I've literally sat in boardrooms in New Zealand and the
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  Speaker 3: conversation is, oh, I wonder what the government is going
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  Speaker 3: to do. I wonder what the government is going to think.
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  Speaker 3: Who cares what the government thinks or does. Our job
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  Speaker 3: is to be adult, adult adult. He also said that
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  Speaker 3: businesses in New Zealand have a quote parent child mentality. Now,
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  Speaker 3: these comments have had quite a bit of coverage. Labor
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  Speaker 3: has come out and attacked them their finance. Fokes On
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  Speaker 3: Woman Barbara Edmonds says lux And was lecturing businesses instead
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  Speaker 3: of taking responsibility for a lack of economic growth that
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  Speaker 3: he promised. Now, whether this is lecturing businesses or simply
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  Speaker 3: being brutally honest, I suppose that's the question. But perhaps
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  Speaker 3: it's a tad ironic given Luxon made his name running
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  Speaker 3: a company majority owned by the government.
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  Speaker 2: Oh look, I don't think this is too much to
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  Speaker 2: get up, you know, touching our pearls a little bit here,
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  Speaker 2: aren't we. But the point is that actually businesses do
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  Speaker 2: look to the vision of government. I mean, look at
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  Speaker 2: what the changes that we're seeing to employment laws, to
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  Speaker 2: the Holiday Act, to we've got fast tracking, we're getting
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  Speaker 2: changes to maternity laws. All these things have an impact
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  Speaker 2: on business. Basically, I think what they're trying to say
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  Speaker 2: is actually we're not actually asking for a handout. We
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  Speaker 2: just want to know what your vision for the country
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  Speaker 2: is and where you sort of you know where you're heading,
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  Speaker 2: so we understand those impacts on our businesses. That's a
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  Speaker 2: fair call, isn't it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that is a fair call, and you
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  Speaker 3: don't want to make too much of it, absolutely, But
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  Speaker 3: I mean, as Chris Luxon said himself immediately after making
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  Speaker 3: these comments, it's about the government setting up the conditions
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  Speaker 3: for growth. And I think that's perhaps the point that
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  Speaker 3: this business owner was making. After all of that, which
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  Speaker 3: which was the economy is still not in a great shape.
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  Speaker 3: And sure you might not be to blame for all
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  Speaker 3: of it, but how are we going to get ourselves
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  Speaker 3: back to a position where we can start raking the
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  Speaker 3: cash in? And I think that's a fair question.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Ethan, you've had a little rumor that New Zealand
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  Speaker 2: First could be bringing back another former MP today, Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: When Ston Peters is holding a public meeting just up
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  Speaker 3: the road from me and Masterton today. It's his famous
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  Speaker 3: style of politics he's been practicing for years, head to
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  Speaker 3: the regions and try and pack out a hall. Well,
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  Speaker 3: there's been lots of conjecture this week about whether he'll
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  Speaker 3: announced a new candidate for the region. The obvious contender
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  Speaker 3: would be Ron Mark, who was an MP with the
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  Speaker 3: party for many many years, rose to become Defense minister
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  Speaker 3: in the Labor Coalition Mark. Of course former Cartersan Mia
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  Speaker 3: so very well known in that community. Now. I spoke
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  Speaker 3: to Ron a few weeks back. He didn't rule out
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  Speaker 3: returning as a candidate, but said he is also very
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  Speaker 3: busy with his work across the world. Is heavily involved
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  Speaker 3: in humanitarian causes in Ukraine and supporting Kiwis who have
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  Speaker 3: gone over there to fight voluntarily. So you'd have to
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  Speaker 3: say that if he does return to New Zealand First,
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  Speaker 3: he'd be a pretty obvious candidate to pick up the
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  Speaker 3: defense portfolio again. But we will have to wait and
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  Speaker 3: see this afternoon to see whether he is revealed as
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  Speaker 3: the party's new candidate.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Ethan. He saves six terms with parliament.
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  Speaker 2: Would you would you really want to come back anyway?
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  Speaker 2: We shall wait and see what happens this afternoon with
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  Speaker 2: New Zealand First.
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  Speaker 1: And Ron Mark For more from News Talks ed B
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