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Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber CEO ahead of Budget 2025 · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talk zed B.
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  Speaker 2: Budget Day, it's no BS Debate time.
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  Speaker 3: We are going to go to Craig Reny councilor Trade
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  Speaker 3: Union's Director of Policy Economists also on Labour's Policy Council
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  Speaker 3: and Simon Bridges, former Associate Finance Minister, AUK Business Chamber
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  Speaker 3: of CEO.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, gentlemen, good morning. Good to have you on.
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  Speaker 2: Have we got Craig. Oh we haven't got Craig. He's
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  Speaker 2: slept in.
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  Speaker 4: Well that makes it, That makes it really easy, right.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a pretty one sided argument. Hey, let's talk
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  Speaker 3: super First of all, do you think we need to
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  Speaker 3: increase the age? Do we need to means test? It
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  Speaker 3: sounds like Nichola Willis is going to at least lay
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  Speaker 3: out a path maybe today.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: I think I think those changes are good. I mean,
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  Speaker 4: I think you know what you're seeing is Nichola Willison
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  Speaker 4: who colleagues being very focused on the long term. I
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  Speaker 4: mean what I would say though, that that's all they do.
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  Speaker 4: You know, infect at one level and a short term
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  Speaker 4: you know, you're sucking more money depending on how they
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  Speaker 4: structure it out of the economy when actually we need
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  Speaker 4: to see things that are that getting the growth going
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  Speaker 4: right now. But look, if that's done, I mean I
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  Speaker 4: think most of you would say, yes, these are sensible
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  Speaker 4: long term changes.
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  Speaker 3: Is do you think she's doing this and having this
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  Speaker 3: conversation now because we'll won the elections next year, but
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  Speaker 3: because there is so there is going to be so
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  Speaker 3: little in the budget that this could be a better
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  Speaker 3: talking point.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think you know, you'd say at a high
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  Speaker 4: level what we're seeing from from here as a couple
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  Speaker 4: of things, which which you are both right. Yeah, I mean,
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  Speaker 4: one is this significant fiscal restraint push after you know,
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  Speaker 4: we overdid it, right, and so that is a that
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  Speaker 4: is a good That is a good thing. I think.
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  Speaker 4: The other one is some focus on the long term
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  Speaker 4: infrastructure and so on. I mean, I would just simply say, though, look,
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  Speaker 4: it's really tough out there. The Smith and Kobe's story
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  Speaker 4: of the last day, it could be replicated many times.
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  Speaker 4: Business is holding on for years. So I agree with
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  Speaker 4: all of that. But if that's alone what they're doing,
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  Speaker 4: that's not an adequate, that's not a sufficient response to
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  Speaker 4: where New Zealand's at it's simply by itself going to
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  Speaker 4: prolong the cycle we're in. I think what you know
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  Speaker 4: I'll be looking for, or possibly Craig Rennie, I think
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  Speaker 4: what the business will be looking for. Is it really strong,
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  Speaker 4: clear evidence of the going for growth agenda that provides
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  Speaker 4: light at the end of the time. Now that's the
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  Speaker 4: accelerated depreciation stuff we've heard the rumors of. Actually that
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  Speaker 4: could be if it was done well, a really big
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  Speaker 4: tick for this business. This budget. If it's just auscurity
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  Speaker 4: and not not so much.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I just want to get on the record. I
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  Speaker 3: was the first to bring raise that accelerated appreciation with
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  Speaker 3: the minister and the key we Saver changes too.
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  Speaker 4: But if it could be because this budget could be
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  Speaker 4: because of you Rock, it's actually the Bridge budget.
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  Speaker 2: If it doesn't happen, of course, then just forget I
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  Speaker 2: over say that.
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  Speaker 4: It could have been the Bridge's budget that things changed.
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  Speaker 3: Anyway, Hey, what about the key we Saver stuff. If
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  Speaker 3: it is true that they're going to increase the contribution
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  Speaker 3: for employee, can employers afford an extra one to two percent?
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  Speaker 4: Well, I suppose that's my point. It's a short term,
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  Speaker 4: long term game, you know, the short term my worry
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  Speaker 4: would be, you know, actually right now, they've got to
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  Speaker 4: find things that are if you like counter cyclicle, that
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  Speaker 4: are getting things going. You know, there's a lot of
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  Speaker 4: talk about the long term, but the short term really
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  Speaker 4: matters to you wrote I thought a cracker of a
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  Speaker 4: column in the weekend. I'm not just saying that to
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  Speaker 4: make you feel good. We've got some of the highest
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  Speaker 4: immigration we've ever seen in lowest immigration. Right, that's a
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  Speaker 4: key indicator of out economic health. What can we do
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  Speaker 4: now that turns sentiment around, that gets confidence and that
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  Speaker 4: keeps these people in New Zealand. So now I say
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  Speaker 4: it again, I go along with the superannuation stuff as
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  Speaker 4: far as it goes. But in the short term actual
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  Speaker 4: cook could cause issues if they brought it in straight away.
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  Speaker 4: I personally doubt that over the long term though, Look,
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  Speaker 4: accepting our saving rates need to go up, and there's
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  Speaker 4: been quite a bit of chatter about that.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, appreciate your time, Simon. No sign of Craig Simon
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  Speaker 3: Bridges allpen Business Chamber CEOs
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