Latest / Best of Business / Alan McDonald: EMA Head of Advocacy on whether the economy will bounce back following US-Iran peace deal

Transcript

Alan McDonald: EMA Head of Advocacy on whether the economy will bounce back following US-Iran peace deal · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk EDB. Follow this
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio, the
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: only drive show you can trust. Truck to ask the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: question with you, get the answers, find the facts and
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: give the analysis. Hither duplicy Ellen Drive with One New
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Zealand and the power of satellite mobile News Talks EDB.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Good afternoon. So we've got the GDP number for the
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: first three months of the year and it's a decent
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: zero point eight percent, which is roughly what was expected.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Manufacturing was the sector with the biggest growth. Alan McDonald
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: is with the Employers and Manufacturers Association.
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: Hi, Allen, Hi here here you going.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm very well. Thank you mate. Is this what
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: you're seeing on the ground.
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: Well, not at the moment, no, because of course the
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: starter looks three months back. But what it does confirm
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: is that we were going through a good patch until
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: mister Trump put the brakes on. Everything. Was it?
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: How good was it? Was it?
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Like?
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Were people getting excited?
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: Well I think not excited, but I think just finding
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: some confidence in the steady growth because like the Manufacturing
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: index had seven months of positive which sort of came
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: to an end around May April May. So I think
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: there was that just that steady build, and I think
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: when things do come back, it's not going to be
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: a hockey stick. It's going to be that steady build, Okay.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: And so what's it like.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: Now, Well, everyone's kind of hedging their bets a little bit.
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: Those underlying good factors that were evident in those numbers
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: there at zero point eight are still there. But some
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: of the intentions to hire and invest all that kind
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: of thing. Understandably, it's gone on hold until we see
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: whether or not this peace. Laugh. I mean it was
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: peace on Monday. Now it's an EMU and he still
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: might bomb people. So you know, we're going to wait
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: and see what's happening.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what are employers out there and in sectors like
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: construction telling you guys still tough.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: Yes, And some of them are really quite concerned about
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: the next two quarters because of this twice issue goes
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: on and the uncertainty goes on, then they're worried that
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: jobs will start to be deferred, machinery who get picked
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: up those kinds of things, and the costs will flow
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: through from the price. I mean, we've seen the price
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: come down which is great, but it's still higher than
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: it was. I don't think it's going to settle back
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: to ever to where it was, but you know, we
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: just need some stability in there.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah to all right, Alan, thanks very much appreciating. Alan McDonald, EMA,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Head of Advocacy and Strategy. Nine past five.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Yea, a due for cel controversial.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: Fishing bill has been shelved for now. It apparently needs
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: some more panel beating. The Minister Shane Jones.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Is with us.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Hello Shane, Yeah, gooday, what are you going to panel
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: beat it?
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: What are you going to do?
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Oh?
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: Well, you know, I'm a Democrat. Obviously, the members of
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: the Select Committee, they weren't happy with the content of
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: the bill. It was quite a bit of disharmony in
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: the broader community of people who have a vested steak
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: and fisheries. So we're going to take some more time,
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: allow some more engagement and for those people who feel
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: that their voices weren't heard, then will use the experience
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: of an election and the Greens can engage in political intercourse,
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: the recreationists can engage in the process of an election
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: and let's see what happens on the other side of
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: the November the seventh experience.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Do you not think that having this hangover you though,
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: might lose you votes at the election, Like if you
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: just get rid of it all together, you might have
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: a better run.
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: Well our poll. Despite the shrill voices from the Kawasaki HIKOI,
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: people are actually writing and I wouldn't exaggerate how influential
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: the marlin fishermen actually are. We have listened to their concerns.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: We've listened to the concerns of the people who don't
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: like the prospect of bringing juvenile snapper back to shore.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: They want them floating around on the hierarchy golf. So
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: we've given them what they wanted.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Now listen, we have to talk about your travel expenses.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: Why did your two business class flights to Canada cost
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: forty one thousand dollars as bloody pricing?
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: Yes, so I went to the largest minerals conference in
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: the world with a member of my staff, and there
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: was a bit of an administrative botch up. Initially the
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: price wasn't accurately reflected, and then once it was bumped up,
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: it was in line with international travel to there's highly
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: sought after international events, and as a consequence of me
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: going there. A lot of investment did come back.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: I don't get it because I'm looking at it. Everybody's
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: looking at the Air New Zealand flights and it's twelve
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: thousand dollars business class return. So how's that forty one?
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: There's actually flights from New Zealand to Vancouver, from Vancouver
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: to Toronto, there's hotel expenses, and there's travel.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: That forty one thousand is just your business class flights,
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: isn't it? Per person? That's a lot of.
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: Money, obviously, but obviously it's two people organized by Parliamentary
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: Travel or whoever the people are who organize the travel.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: That would have been the cost as a consequence of
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: the administrative botchup inexpensive.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: No, was the administrative botchup that you were booked in
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: premium economy when you wanted to be booked in business
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: class and then bumping out at the last minute incurs
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: an enormous cost.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I presume that was the administrative botchup. It's a
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: little bit beyond my wheelhouse what exactly took place. But actually,
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: when you do compare it to the costs associated with
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: other ministerial travel, it's not too far out of the
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: ambit of what it generally costs. But I mean, I've
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: got to say it is a large amount of money.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: But the reality is we're traveling on the infrequent occasions
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: I do travel that we're traveling long distances.
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: You know.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: Look, I don't have a problem with you traveling business.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: I mean I think that you should have been booked
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: in business in the first place to avoid last minute
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: hikes like this. But what I do have a problem with, Shane,
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: is you keeping a limo on standby for twenty four
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: hours like you're some sort of a royal when you're not.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: How did that happen? Why'd you do that? Why don't
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: you just Uber like a normal person.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so we're in Toronto at a time where it's
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: absolutely freezing. We take the best of advice from the
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: trade in New Zealand North American staff, and they advised
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: my office the most efficient way for travel when there's
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: thirty thousand other people trying to get Uber, trying to
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: get taxis, is to secure a limo service. So we
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: rely on our people on the ground and we use
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: it twenty one times. Because the meetings are spread all
• 6:53
  Speaker 4: over different locations with investors with different political leaders from
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: other countries, So you know, I'm not going up there
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: trying to pretend that I'm a trip advisor.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: I follow advice, all right, Shane, Thank you. I really
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: appreciate your time. Shane Jones, Fisheries Minister.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: For more from News Talks at b listen live on
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio