Latest / Best of Business / Chris Luxon: Prime Minister responds to calls for clarity from the opposition around India trade agreement

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Chris Luxon: Prime Minister responds to calls for clarity from the opposition around India trade agreement · 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: The Prime Minister is with us.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, morning, Mike.
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  Speaker 1: How are you very well?
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  Speaker 2: Indeed, just a couple of quickies on announcements over the
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  Speaker 2: weekend the Maori seats in New Zealand. First, how far
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  Speaker 2: off thinking about that is the National Party?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Look, hasn't been a major priority.
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  Speaker 4: We're sort of focused on powering up the economy and
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  Speaker 4: doing a few other things at this point. We will
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  Speaker 4: have a caucus conversation about it at some point, but
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  Speaker 4: for right now, we're sort of focused on what New
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  Speaker 4: Zealanders wants to do, which is getting this economy moving.
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  Speaker 4: What's your gut? O, Look, I need to have a
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  Speaker 4: caucus conversation because there'll be a range of views within
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  Speaker 4: the caucus, and that's you know that deserves proper consideration
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  Speaker 4: at some time.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, act fewer departments, yes or no?
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  Speaker 4: Really open to doing what we can to improve the
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  Speaker 4: effectiveness of public service. I still think there's a long
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  Speaker 4: way to go. Initially, the first two years has been
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  Speaker 4: getting rid of consultants, getting the eleven billion of savings,
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  Speaker 4: getting the bureaucracy out and putting the frontline resources. But
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  Speaker 4: look open to what we can do on the second
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  Speaker 4: term around improving the efficiency.
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  Speaker 3: Of the public service. I got a lot of appetite
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  Speaker 3: for that.
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  Speaker 2: Why do we need twenty eight cabinet ministers, a bunch
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  Speaker 2: of whom don't even sit in the cabinet?
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  Speaker 4: Well, actually, the bigger issue is how do you organize
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  Speaker 4: the public service in a way that delivers more effectiveness,
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  Speaker 4: and also how do you digitize it so it's much more.
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  Speaker 4: It treats itself as large service organizations that are customer focus,
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  Speaker 4: that are technology enabled. And then on the back of that,
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  Speaker 4: you'd work out how many ministers you need to sort
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  Speaker 4: of run that system.
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  Speaker 3: So I'd start there before I started the ministers.
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  Speaker 2: Do And what made his speech effective, I think was
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  Speaker 2: that you promised a lot on public service cuts. You
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  Speaker 2: can effect cut two thousand and you could have done more.
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  Speaker 2: You would have taken the same amount of grief. Did
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  Speaker 2: you miss a trick?
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  Speaker 3: Oh?
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  Speaker 4: Look, I think you know we've had to You know,
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  Speaker 4: there's been a massive amount of bureaucracy in that system.
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  Speaker 4: We've generated eleven billion of savings every year we've been there.
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  Speaker 4: You know, it's enabled us to put nine hundred more
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  Speaker 4: corrections offices in place by actually, you know, going after
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  Speaker 4: the back office and creating efficiencies there to be spent
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  Speaker 4: on the front line. I think, you know, we've gone
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  Speaker 4: hard after the consultant spend, you know, and I think
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  Speaker 4: there's a number of things that we've done really well
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  Speaker 4: given in space of two years. But I'm not denying
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  Speaker 4: there's more to do. I think, you know, we want
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  Speaker 4: a highly efficient New Zealand public service that is lean,
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  Speaker 4: very focused on delivery and certainly could use technology a
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  Speaker 4: lot more. When you think about the power of AI
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  Speaker 4: and what you're seeing in the corporate business world in
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  Speaker 4: New Zealand and around the world, there's just massive opportunity.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, why can't a thirty two year old mum
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  Speaker 4: just sort of say, you know, have a natural language.
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  Speaker 3: Inquiry about how does she get eyeglasses.
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  Speaker 4: For a nine year old? And what are working for
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  Speaker 4: family text credits? I mean it's pretty simple stuff.
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  Speaker 2: But a lot I mean there is more room to do,
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  Speaker 2: and you could argue that you've missed it.
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  Speaker 4: Well, I'd argue that I think we've made a good start.
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  Speaker 4: I just argue there's more to do. Right, and I'm
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  Speaker 4: up for that conversation.
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  Speaker 2: The letter from labor over India, is this real or
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  Speaker 2: are they playing games?
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  Speaker 4: Look, I think it's pretty hard as leader of the
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  Speaker 4: opposition to get attention at times is a bit of
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  Speaker 4: politicing over the letter. McLay has been talking to O'Connor,
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  Speaker 4: who's a seasoned trade minister as well, over recent months.
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  Speaker 4: They're talking more formally again this week and you know,
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  Speaker 4: we'll continue to work through any issues or concerns they have.
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  Speaker 3: But the big deal is lot just fast forward.
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  Speaker 4: Ten years from now. Are we going to step back
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  Speaker 4: and say this was a terrible deal. Absolutely not, It's
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  Speaker 4: a great deal.
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  Speaker 2: The stuff they're talking about, though, the treatment of migrants
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  Speaker 2: proper university courses, is that anything that's an actual problem?
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  Speaker 4: No? No, I mean there's three components to the labor mobility.
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  Speaker 4: There's these temporary employment entry visas. You know, there's no
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  Speaker 4: way that they can bring in thousands of family members
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  Speaker 4: off the back of that. I've seen you know once
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  Speaker 4: another's talk about that that's untrue. There's equally the international students.
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  Speaker 4: There's no change to what we do today. Really, we
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  Speaker 4: get to control all of.
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  Speaker 3: That and then on the working holiday visas scheme. We
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  Speaker 3: have forty five other.
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  Speaker 4: Countries similar schemes and it's very aligned with all of that.
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  Speaker 3: So you know, but listen, let's we'll work through their issues.
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  Speaker 3: We'll let maclay and I kind of have a go
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  Speaker 3: at it first.
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  Speaker 2: And do you see the ira I mean the irony
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  Speaker 2: and this this is everything that's wrong with the country,
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  Speaker 2: isn't it. For years we bleeded on about getting a
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  Speaker 2: deal with India. At the moment we get a deal
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  Speaker 2: with India, EU coalition partner doesn't want to bar it
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  Speaker 2: and the other guys are playing dumb games. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: we want to get on with life or we don't.
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  Speaker 4: Correct, correct, and you know, honestly, just you know, blind Freddy,
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  Speaker 4: if you take a step back, look at this thing cold,
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  Speaker 4: this is really awesome for New Zealand. We're growing with
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  Speaker 4: the growing economy. It's going to be the third biggest
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  Speaker 4: in the world. It's got one and a half billion people.
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  Speaker 4: It's going from four hundred and forty million to seven
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  Speaker 4: hundred and fifty million in the middle class living like
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  Speaker 4: middle class New Zealanders who want New Zealand products and services.
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  Speaker 4: And we've done a great deal. And when you line
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  Speaker 4: it up versus what indias o one with other countries.
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  Speaker 4: I'm really really proud of this, So you know, it's
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  Speaker 4: about I guess you know, there were people who posing
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  Speaker 4: the China Free Trade Deal back in the day. There
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  Speaker 4: was people who posing the CPTPP deal. Honestly, this is
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  Speaker 4: New Zealand is a trading nation. One and four of
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  Speaker 4: our jobs come from trade. We just got to get
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  Speaker 4: on board and we've done a cack cass job getting
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  Speaker 4: this thing together. But you know, we'll work through their concerns.
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  Speaker 4: But you know, it's not about politics. This is really
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  Speaker 4: about New Zealand. And yeah, it's frustrating sometimes when you
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  Speaker 4: don't see people get on board with growth and positivity
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  Speaker 4: and a vision and can do and ambition.
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  Speaker 2: Can you explain to me why your party and in
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  Speaker 2: the New Zealand First and Act both all campaigned on
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  Speaker 2: this business of the morification if you like, of New Zealand.
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  Speaker 2: And yet we find out last week that OT's got
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  Speaker 2: cultural leave and any number government departments have got cultural
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  Speaker 2: leave and if you're maor you get unlimited cultural leave.
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  Speaker 2: No questions asked, how is that still possible to go
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  Speaker 2: three years into your government?
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  Speaker 4: Well, it's the legacy of the last government, and as
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  Speaker 4: the employment schemes come up for negotiation, right because that's
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  Speaker 4: sort of two three year terms, that's when this information
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  Speaker 4: gets surfaced. And so I got to say it doesn't
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  Speaker 4: sit right with me at all. I've actually asked my
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  Speaker 4: office to talk to the Public Service Commissioner about it
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  Speaker 4: and to say what options have we got to end it.
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  Speaker 4: I certainly expect going forward there'll be not featuring in
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  Speaker 4: any new contracts, and I certainly expect that it'll be
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  Speaker 4: removed when existing contracts are renegotiated.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, it's just it's just a bit bananas. It's
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  Speaker 3: not really it's a bit, just a.
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  Speaker 4: Bit silly and so but it's a locked and feature
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  Speaker 4: of how the last government locked into employment contracts with unions,
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  Speaker 4: and that's just not right.
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  Speaker 2: No, it is not. I appreciate you time, Christopher LUCKX
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  Speaker 2: and Prime Minister a couple of other things. Just briefly.
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  Speaker 2: I know it happened, Frider, but you can't hide from
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  Speaker 2: the Golden VISA good news story. Five hundred and seventy
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  Speaker 2: three applications, three point thirty nine billion dollars coming our way,
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  Speaker 2: one point oh five billions already committed, so that's worked
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  Speaker 2: to treat. All they did was change the settings investments
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  Speaker 2: coming from places like the US, Germany, Southeast Asia and China.
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  Speaker 2: The housing thing March six changes, so some of these
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  Speaker 2: people have got a few dollars will be able to
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  Speaker 2: buy something expensive in a place like Auckland or Queenstown.
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  Speaker 2: Interesting article also, and I didn't have time to cover
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  Speaker 2: it off with the Prime Minister this morning, But importing gas,
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  Speaker 2: this is the LNG discussion. Most of the damage from
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  Speaker 2: dwindling gas supplies has already occurred, so the inference of
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  Speaker 2: the article look it up as well worth reading. The
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  Speaker 2: inference of the article is that the damage has been done.
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  Speaker 2: The companies that were affected have moved on to other areas.
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  Speaker 2: Since partners they were hired to model regional and economic
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  Speaker 2: outcomes pleasant methodics, balance UREA plants, they're already closed down.
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  Speaker 2: Fonterra is electrifying the gas boilers. Other gas intense abusers
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  Speaker 2: have switched fuel, so in other words, they've already gone
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  Speaker 2: and done their thing. So is there any actual point
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  Speaker 2: of bringing in LNG in a dry year? So much
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  Speaker 2: of that adjustment's already happened. It means much of the
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  Speaker 2: economic cost of higher gas prices have already been born
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  Speaker 2: by the industries and regions, so I don't know how
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  Speaker 2: smart the whole thing looks at the end of the day.
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