Latest / Best of Business / Roger Gray: Port of Auckland CEO on whether New Zealand suffers from a culture of saying no

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Roger Gray: Port of Auckland CEO on whether New Zealand suffers from a culture of saying no · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks'd be follow
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  Speaker 2: The Ports of Auckland boss Roger Gray has called out
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  Speaker 2: the key we know culture. He's given a speech in
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  Speaker 2: Auckland saying we're apparently referred to as no Zealand when overseas,
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  Speaker 2: there's plenty of business to be done in the country.
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  Speaker 2: We just need to start saying yes to it. So
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  Speaker 2: let's talk to him. Hi, Roger, Hi, Heather, Who are
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  Speaker 2: these people you've been speaking to who called us no Zealand?
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  Speaker 3: Well that was about nine months ago. I was in
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  Speaker 3: Miami talking to the cruise lines to try and understand
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  Speaker 3: why they were dropping off their bookings, and the feedback
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  Speaker 3: across the whole lot of the four cruise lines I
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  Speaker 3: went to was they felt that New Zealand was just
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  Speaker 3: simply too hard to deal with because people were so
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  Speaker 3: negative about things.
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  Speaker 2: They're onto something. Ah.
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  Speaker 3: Well, what I think is interesting is that's where we
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  Speaker 3: were and that was their perception. But the cool thing
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  Speaker 3: is now, I think there's a real change going on
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  Speaker 3: amongst people. There's a real starting to be a positivity
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  Speaker 3: amongst a lot of people and you know, I think
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  Speaker 3: the bledderzone north Wharf is a great example if you
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  Speaker 3: can just get on and do stuff. We've created two
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  Speaker 3: hundred and fifty new jobs for Aucklanders and that wolf
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  Speaker 3: will be finished by the end of next year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you're onto something. I think that we
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  Speaker 2: I think it is changing. I hate to always, you know,
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  Speaker 2: take everything back to politics, but I think it is
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  Speaker 2: in part because we have some courageous political leaders who
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  Speaker 2: are prepared to just kind of go against the flow,
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  Speaker 2: like Wayne Brown for example. The guys in government at
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  Speaker 2: the moment. Would you put it down to.
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  Speaker 3: That, I think that's right. People are seeing that occasionally
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  Speaker 3: you need someone to specify a vision and simply make
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  Speaker 3: the hard call. And I think the mayor is a
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  Speaker 3: great example of someone who just gets on, articulates what
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  Speaker 3: he wants and then just gets it done. And business
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  Speaker 3: needs to follow that example.
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  Speaker 2: But what about the rest of us. I mean, as
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  Speaker 2: you say business needs to follow that example, what about
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  Speaker 2: the rest of us? The unions who say no, the
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  Speaker 2: locals who say no to gold mines, the rest of
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  Speaker 2: us who just constantly don't want to say yes to things.
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  Speaker 2: How do we change our attitude?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, I think there's no doubt that people have
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  Speaker 3: been doing it tough for the last couple of years.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely no doubt. But what I've got is great trust
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  Speaker 3: in New Zealanders towards the fact that we are at
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  Speaker 3: heart a logical, smart community. I think the economy is
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  Speaker 3: actually better than people are actually saying. Most people are conservative,
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  Speaker 3: they don't want to jinx the return. But you know,
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  Speaker 3: we're seeing we unloaded eight thousand cars in the last
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  Speaker 3: five days. Three thousand more arrive later this week. We've
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  Speaker 3: had records container volume for the highest for nine years
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  Speaker 3: last month. The economy has turned. I think everybody feels it,
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  Speaker 3: but what they're saying is they don't want to jinx it.
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  Speaker 3: So yeah, maybe I think.
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  Speaker 2: Don't you think though, this is actually part of our culture,
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  Speaker 2: Like I think that we have a certain level of
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  Speaker 2: complacency because life is actually pretty good in New Zealand
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  Speaker 2: most of the time, so we're just pretty relaxed out
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  Speaker 2: things and therefore we say, no, what do you think?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I do think there's a little bit of that.
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  Speaker 3: I think there's also a natural conservativeness amongst New Zealanders.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, if I was asked, what's the difference
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  Speaker 3: between Australia and New Zealand. I'd say, well, let's take
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  Speaker 3: a leaf out of their optimism book. I think Australians
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  Speaker 3: are a bit more optimistic. Yeah, let's have a crack.
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  Speaker 3: We're a bit more sit back and more conservative.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Roger, I thought, jeez, I read this in the
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  Speaker 2: paper this morning. I thought, Roger, you're Australian and you're
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  Speaker 2: saying this about the Kiwis. Do you know what? Is
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  Speaker 2: everyone going to give you a hard time for this?
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  Speaker 3: Now, I'm sure they will have it, but you know,
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  Speaker 3: I am in New Zealand now. I did do my citizenship,
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  Speaker 3: so I've signed up. I'm a full fledged Kiwi now, Okay.
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  Speaker 2: Well, beast of luck with that, Roger. Roger Gray, Chief
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  Speaker 2: Executive Ports of Auckland.
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