Larry Williams Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, former Labour Chief of Staff and current director at Mike Munro communications, Mike Munro, and ZB's Nick Mills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  Multiple economists have teamed up to scrutinise aspects of National's tax plan and it's been made clear the numbers don't add up. Will voters care? Will National have to find ways to cut more spending? Restore Passenger Rail protestors spray-painted Wellington's Gazley Motor Group building on Cambridge Terrace earlier today. The trio behind the vandalism have since been arrested. Is this getting out of hand?  An Australian property developer has copped backlash after calling for more unemployment to remind workers of their value. Is this a fair statement? Should employees be more grateful to have jobs? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Initial public offerings, or IPOs, have been regarded as a crucial, yet risky source of funding for companies around the world. After a weak 2022 for IPO investments, demand is starting to pick up again, with four prominent companies - Arm, Birkenstock, Instacart, and Klaviyo- selling shares to the public. Fisher Funds senior portfolio manager explains the rise in IPOs- and how some Kiwi businesses can utilise them. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ministers from several major parties are expected to go head to head at tonight's Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek. Damien O’Connor (Labour), Eugenie Sage (Green Party), Todd McClay (National), Andrew Hoggard (Act), and Mark Patterson (New Zealand First) will discuss the issues impacting the region's rural community. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains what can be expected. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economists are braced for a small bounce-back ahead of next week's GDP numbers. The last set of GDP figures released in June 2023 put New Zealand in a recession. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says China's downturn could still drag New Zealand down further into recession. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi farmers may be expected to do more than their fair share to meet methane reduction targets. A new scientific report from the Universities of Oxford and Cranfield has raised questions about the ambition of New Zealand’s methane reduction targets- and the responsibility falling on farmers. Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says farmers have been told they're responsible for half of New Zealand's overall emissions, but the report says otherwise. "The current targets that are in place- our farmers just aren't going to accept. We don't mind doing our part and playing our role in what we have to do, but we can't do it with unrealistic targets." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Restore Passenger Rail protestor is standing by the group's decision to spray-paint a luxury Wellington car dealership. Three protestors threw paint at the Gazley Motor Group building on Cambridge Terrace and glued themselves to the footpath. The trio were subsequently arrested and charges are being considered. Spokesperson James Cockle claims the luxury cars sold by the dealership are a symbol of excess and wealth inequality impacting this country. "It correlates directly to the damage that's being done to our planet. We're sending a strong message to the New Zealand people- let's stand up against luxury emissions and reign in the excesses of the mega-rich." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Australian multimillionaire property developer is being slammed for his views on unemployment. Tim Gurner has told the Financial Review Property Summit a sharp rise in unemployment is the only way to lift productivity. He says there needs to be pain in the economy to remind employees they work for the employer, not the other way around. Sydney University Business School associate professor Chris Wright says it's an insensitive thing to say. "Unemployment is a bad thing. There's been a lot of research showing the huge consequences it can have for people in terms of well-being- it contributes to suicide rates." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington City Council may need to slash tens of millions of dollars off its budget. City Councillor Diane Calvert says they've had a behind closed doors meeting on the state of the council's finances. She sought legal advice to reveal the financial details and says capital expenditure needs to be cut by tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, in the coming years. She says these financial problems were a long time in the making. "We really had a spending program that we couldn't afford, because it was clear even two years ago that economic conditions were going to change." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three economists have teamed up to scrutinise part of National's tax plan. The party's proposed ending the ban on foreign buyers - for homes worth more than $2 million- and taxing them 15 percent. It expects foreigners will buy 1700 houses valued on average at around $2.9 million. But economist Michael Reddell says it'll be more like 700 in that price range. "That $2 million threshold really does matter, because average house prices - even in Auckland - are well below $2 million. And there just aren't that many really expensive houses in New Zealand." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters won't close the door on sitting with ACT leader David Seymour around the Cabinet table. Depending where the chips fall at next month's election - both parties could be in the Beehive as part of a National-led government. But Peters and Seymour don't see eye to eye, with the latter categorically ruling out working with New Zealand First. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Winston Peters is insistent on both parties putting their differences aside to solve the economic and social issues in this country. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian High Court has revealed every single one of their current judges is a member of Qantas' exclusive Chairman's Lounge. Described as the 'most exclusive' club in the country, the invitation-only club offers their hand-picked members extra perks on demand. This comes as Qantas is facing legal action for sacking 1700 staff members during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says this is another mark against the airline, following the other controversies impacting the company. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shaun Johnson has sat out Thursday's Warriors training due to his calf injury- but coach Andrew Webster is still holding out hope.  Webster insists the halfback's likely to play in Saturday's do-or-die NRL finals clash with the Knights at Mt Smart. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains what this could mean for the events of Saturday's match. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The country's three biggest education unions have joined forces to put education funding on the political agenda this election campaign. A new BERL report has found public spending per student in 2019 was nearly 25 percent lower than the OECD average. Tertiary Education Union National President Julie Douglas says more investment would allow better decisions about the sort of system we want. "I think that we would make sure that the programs are secure and staff are secure, so we can be delivering to a wide range of passions of students." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK GDP figures are in- and the economy shrunk more than expected in July. The 0.5 percent contraction was worse than economists had predicted, and sparked concerns of recession. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says industrial action from healthcare workers and teachers and terrible weather are being blamed for the downturn. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A weighed in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Yesterday's PREFU was eye-opening, and it raised the questions: Should National revise their plan for tax cuts? Can we actually afford them? US News' Best Countries list has concluded New Zealand has amazing scenery and friendly people- but the nation isn't sexy. What do we think of this? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The economic outlook and Government books were in better shape than predicted, but Treasury has issued a warning following PREFU. According to one expert, Treasury claimed Government spending had exceeded the signalled Budget allowance in recent times- creating a grim outlook for the future. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen warned further decisions around additional spending will have to be made in the context of raising more revenue or cutting spending elsewhere. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Returns on low-risk managed funds, including Kiwisaver's Conservative and Moderate funds have been underperforming in recent years. Kiwisaver's Conservative fund has delivered users 0.8 per annum over the last 5 years, as the financial climate gets more turbulent. Milford Asset Management's Mark Riggall explains the dip in returns for investors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Higher-than-expected net migration is promised to prop up economic growth and fuel the property market- but Treasury has other ideas. Treasury doesn't believe the influx of new people will improve the nation's productivity- rather, it believes the demand generated will outweigh the boost to the labour market and keep inflation high. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explores potential solutions here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Julian Savea says he's nowhere close to retirement. The barnstorming outside back is on the move from the Hurricanes to Moana Pasifika for next year's Super Rugby campaign. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did I have a debate on my hands when I got home last night about the country’s debt levels.  The husband gave me a huge telling off for saying yesterday that the Government had taken on too much debt.  So I feel like I need to clear this up: I don’t mind the level of debt New Zealand has. We've heard this a thousand times, but it’s worth saying again- we have very little debt in contrast to other countries in the OECD. Actually, debt is good. If you borrow money to invest in things which make your country richer, like building roads for productivity or new schools for education, it’s a good thing. Case in point- how else did you buy your house if not with a mortgage, AKA, debt? And same with infrastructure- if you need to take on debt to build roads and schools in New Zealand, that’s fine, it’s actually a smart way to spread the cost over generations. My problem is what we did with that debt. What have we got to show for it? Absolutely nothing. In 2019, we had the tiniest, tiniest amount of debt. $5 billion i