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Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber CEO on the reports claiming business confidence is on the up · 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: It looks like Auckland businesses are turning a corner with confidence.
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  Speaker 2: On the app, negative confidence ratings have fallen twenty points.
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  Speaker 2: They are now at forty four forty four percent. More
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  Speaker 2: than half of them expect the New Zealand economy to improve.
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  Speaker 2: In Simon Bridges, the Auckland Business Chamber chief executives with
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  Speaker 2: us Allo Simon Hi evening here that so, I mean
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  Speaker 2: these numbers are good. A like you've got negative confidence
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  Speaker 2: going from sixty four down to forty four. You've got
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  Speaker 2: neutral sentiment climbing up twelve points, however many to thirty nine.
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  Speaker 2: You've got fifty four percent of them now saying that
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  Speaker 2: the New Zealand economy is going to improve. That's the
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  Speaker 2: one that's up twelve points. What's caused this?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I look, I think they are good. I think
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  Speaker 3: you know, it's no rockstar economy, no one's saying that.
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  Speaker 3: But I think what you're seeing is future sort of
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  Speaker 3: beliefs and intentions from business people in Auckland and the
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  Speaker 3: economy is that it's looking better. And I suppose you say, well,
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  Speaker 3: what's causing that. I mean, it's fundamentals, isn't it. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: you've got around the rest of the country farmers with
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  Speaker 3: a big payout from Fonterra, record prices, a low dollar,
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  Speaker 3: so that's sort of at a level, got to start
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  Speaker 3: filtering through. You've got the ocr coming down. It's gone
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  Speaker 3: from being a tough gig to being you know, quite
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  Speaker 3: stimulatory on the economy. And I think they can just see,
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  Speaker 3: you know, whether it's some of the stuff the government's
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  Speaker 3: been doing, or I think they've picked up the pace
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  Speaker 3: a bit on their policy and seat of other initiatives
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  Speaker 3: for Auckland, it's just starting to feel a bit better
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  Speaker 3: and they can see that over the next year it
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  Speaker 3: is going to get a bit better. So, you know,
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  Speaker 3: some of the numbers right now they're still not great,
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  Speaker 3: but as I say forward intentions, you know, a clear
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  Speaker 3: majority see the economy improving over the next year. They
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  Speaker 3: see revenue up over the next year. They're going to
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  Speaker 3: make more investment over the next year.
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  Speaker 2: What are the things that are still concerning them though.
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  Speaker 3: Oh well, there's definitely things that consume them. Look, it's
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  Speaker 3: a sense of lack of demand of consumer sentiment that
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  Speaker 3: that's still pretty poor. It's stuff around product and growth.
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  Speaker 3: They're not sort of seeing that year. It's their own
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  Speaker 3: cash flow, it's their own ability to pay you off
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  Speaker 3: the back of that kind of lack of consumer confidence
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  Speaker 3: and lack of growth. And then it's down the list
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  Speaker 3: a little, but it's still inflation that's there. It's still
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  Speaker 3: a sense that the world in terms of trade and
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  Speaker 3: geopolitics is pretty tough.
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  Speaker 2: What's your feeling do you think that next year is
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  Speaker 2: going to be a raw you know, come, let's say
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  Speaker 2: election time next year. Are we going to be absolutely
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  Speaker 2: going for it or is it still going to be
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  Speaker 2: a hard grind.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I've written a terrific column on this Affrano Sullivan
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  Speaker 3: and enz ed me for next week. I have to say,
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  Speaker 3: and just to give you a preview on it, I
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  Speaker 3: think what I would say is it's I'm realistically optimistic, right,
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  Speaker 3: So well, what I mean is, you know, I think
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  Speaker 3: some of the bank economists are talking three plus percent.
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  Speaker 3: I don't buy that. I mean, there's a number of
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  Speaker 3: factors there that say to be a bit tough than that.
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  Speaker 3: You've got a close election, which in the end actually
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  Speaker 3: means a period where people kind of pull back a bit.
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  Speaker 3: You've got the potential stock market crash and the United
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  Speaker 3: States at some time. You've got a bunch of other factors.
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  Speaker 3: But I still say on those fundamentals I mentioned earlier
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  Speaker 3: on a CRL and an international convention center, some of
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  Speaker 3: these things, it is slowly going to grind its way out.
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  Speaker 3: But I think, for heaven, wait for twenty seven.
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  Speaker 2: Are you going to tell me how you got onto
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  Speaker 2: the snake pitted Metallica or not? I text you and
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  Speaker 2: you have left it on read.
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  Speaker 3: What I'm going to tell you is it was outstanding.
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  Speaker 3: I mean it was like a three D moving move.
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  Speaker 3: You could see these guys sweating, you could see their facials,
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  Speaker 3: and I could tell you, for some old codges, they
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  Speaker 3: were really enjoying it, and they brought their best to this.
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  Speaker 3: I think the other thing I was just saying off here, Laura,
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  Speaker 3: is I don't know what I expected. I wondered if
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  Speaker 3: it would be kind of bogans and leather vests and
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  Speaker 3: here suits. It was a decidedly middle class affair, you know.
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  Speaker 3: So if you were in that snake pit, you're of
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  Speaker 3: a certain age, a certain vintage, and you weren't necessarily
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  Speaker 3: a boke.
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  Speaker 2: Well, hold on, because you were there. You were there,
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  Speaker 2: Tiger why Teat he was there. And the drummer from
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  Speaker 2: from Tool was there was he was.
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  Speaker 3: He was about a meter from me. I didn't know
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  Speaker 3: him from Adam. I'm not a big Tool guy, and
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  Speaker 3: they obviously played in the weekend. But the chap next
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  Speaker 3: to me pointed out that was drummer of Tool, and
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  Speaker 3: suddenly I felt like I was quite kind of v
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  Speaker 3: v I P. Well, yeah, I mean I it was amazing.
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  Speaker 2: I looked at the list and went, what the hell
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  Speaker 2: are you doing there? But I mean, having said that
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  Speaker 2: you you can play the drums like reasonably okay, so
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  Speaker 2: you know your base.
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  Speaker 3: I would love to tell you that that's that's the
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  Speaker 3: basis on which I was at the snake pit. But no,
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  Speaker 3: I mean, in the end, that's none of your business
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  Speaker 3: here there. I'm a private citizen who's entitled to be there.
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  Speaker 3: That's more like doing it very very much.
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  Speaker 2: The sass I want from you, Simon. I love it now. Listen, Simon,
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  Speaker 2: I kind of I've been like, oh, do I do
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  Speaker 2: this or do I not do this? I'm going to
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  Speaker 2: do this. Yeah, do they go for Chris bishop.
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  Speaker 3: Uh, look coming the Primeister is saying, you know, no way,
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  Speaker 3: and it's it's all good stuff and and you know
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  Speaker 3: I take him to in that. I mean what I
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  Speaker 3: would say is I had that shit for years on
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  Speaker 3: end from a more experienced, harder press gallery that dare
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  Speaker 3: I say it. It's not massive fun, it doesn't help
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  Speaker 3: a party and you know they need to sort it
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  Speaker 3: out quite quickly so that you know Zelander is going
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  Speaker 3: to get back to focusing on the policies and that
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  Speaker 3: growth that we're looking for in twenty six twenty right.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, I'm loving the sassy Breen Simon. Thank you.
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  Speaker 2: Simon Bridget's Chief executive, Auckland Business Chamber.
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