Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber CEO ahead of Budget 2025

Transcript

Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber CEO ahead of Budget 2025 · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Budget day, it's no BS debate time. We are going
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: to go to Craig when any councilor trade Union's director
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: of Policy Economists also on Labour's Policy Council and Simon Bridges,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: former Associate Finance Minister or Business Chamber of CEO. Good morning, gentlemen,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: good morning. Good to have you on.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Have we got Craig.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Oh we haven't got Craig. He's where he slept in.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Well that makes it, That makes it really easy.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, it's a pretty one sided argument. Hey, let's
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: talk super First of all, do you think we need
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: to increase the age? Do we need to means test?
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: It sounds like Nichola Willis is going to at least
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: lay out a path maybe today.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think those changes are good. I
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: mean I think you know what you're seeing is Nichola
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Willison who colleagues being very focused on the long term.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: I mean what I would say though, that that's all
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: they do. You know, infect at one level and a
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: short term you know, you're sucking more money depending on
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: how they structure it out of the economy when actually
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: we need to see things that are that getting the
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: growth going right now. But look, if that's done. I mean,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: I think most of you would say, yes, these are
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: sensible long term changes.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Is do you think she's doing this and having this
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: conversation now because we'll won the elections next year, but
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: because there is so there is going to be so
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: little in the budget that this could be a better
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: talking point.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know you'd say at a high level,
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: what we're seeing from from here is a couple of things,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: which which you are both right. Yeah. I mean, one
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: is this a significant fiscal restraint push after you know
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: we overdid it right, and so that is a that
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: is a good That is a good thing. I think
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: the other one is some focus on the long term
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: infrastructure and so on. I mean, I would just simply say, though, look,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: it's really tough out there. The Smith and Kobe's story
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: of the last day, it could be replicated many times.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Business is holding on for years. So I agree with
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: all of that. But if that's alone what they're doing,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: that's not an adequate that's not a sufficient response to
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: where New Zealand's at. It's simply by itself going to
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: prolong the cycle we're in. I think what you know,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: I'll be looking for actually possibly, Craig Rennie, I think
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: what business will be looking for is really strong, clear
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: evidence of the going for growth agenda that provides light
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: at the end of the time. Now, if it's the
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: accelerated depreciation stuff we've heard the rumors of, actually that
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: could be if it was done well, a really big
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: tick for this business at this budget. If it's just
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: obscurity and not not so much, yeah, I.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Just want to get on the record. I was the
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: first to raise that accelerated appreciation with the minister and
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: the key we Saver changes too.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: But it'd be because this budget could be because of
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: you rong, it's actually the Bridge budget.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: If it doesn't happen, of course, then just forget I
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: to say that.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: It could have been the Bridge's budget. But things change anyway.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: Hey, what about the key we Saver staff. If it
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: is true that they're going to increase the contribution for employee,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: can employees afford an extra one to two percent?
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: Well, I suppose that's my point. It's a short term,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: long term game, you know, the short term. My worry
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: would be, you know, actually right now, they've got to
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: find things that are if you like counter cyclicle, that
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: are getting things going. You know, there's a lot of
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: talk about the long term, but the short term really
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: matters too. You wrote I thought a cracker of a
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: column in the weekend. I'm not just saying that to
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: make you feel good. We've got some of the highest
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: immigration we've ever seen in lowest immigration, right, that's a
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: key indicator of out economic health. What can we do
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: now that turns sentiment around, that gets confidence, and that
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: keeps these people in New Zealand. So now I say
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: it again, I go along with the superannuation stuff as
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: far as it goes. But in the short term exture
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: cooker could cause issues if they brought it in straight away.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: I personally doubt that. Over the long term though, Look,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: excepting our saving rates need to go up, and there's
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: been quite a bit of chatter about that.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, appreciate your time, Simon. No sign of Craig Simon
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Bridges all Fen Business Chamber CEOs.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
• 3:45
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• 3:48
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