1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,600 Speaker 1: On the Huddle of Us this evening, we have Phil 2 00:00:01,639 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: Goff and Connor English high lads. Listen, Phil, I want 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: to talk to you about Trump's peace plan. Has this 4 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:10,720 Speaker 1: got any chance of working? Do you think? 5 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 2: Well? You hope so, because you want to support any 6 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 2: move that will end the slaughter of just numerous civilians. 7 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 2: You know, sixty six thousand people Palestinians killed. Now some 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 2: of them would have been harmassed, and I'm not shedding 9 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 2: tears over that they were combatants, but a third of 10 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 2: them are kids. And you see the suffering there at 11 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 2: the moment, and you say that there's got to be 12 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 2: a way of bringing a sustainable peace there. The plans 13 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,319 Speaker 2: promising for a couple of reasons. One, it's supported by 14 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 2: neighboring Arab countries and the Palestinian authority and Mettaya who 15 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 2: has also accepted it. But you know it's it doesn't 16 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 2: answer all the questions who provides the peacekeepers, who provides 17 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,279 Speaker 2: the money to rebuild? And will the parties either harm 18 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 2: us if they agree to it and Israel if they 19 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 2: agree to it, keep their word because they're both notorious 20 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 2: for failing to keep their word and breaking their promises. 21 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: Yea feels a little bit like Hummas has been snookered 22 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: here Connor they have to agree to it otherwise they 23 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: become the bad guys all over again. 24 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. I think Donald Trump has the art of the negotiator. 25 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 3: Hopefully it comes off, and hopefully he can do something 26 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 3: that plenty of the presidents before him haven't been able 27 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 3: to do, which is to get sort of declared police 28 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 3: amongst the parties in the Middle East. 29 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: I feel the thing here that has disappointed people is 30 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: that there is no talk in the steal of a 31 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,320 Speaker 1: Palestinian state. But it feels like it is kind of 32 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: laying the groundwork for a Palestinian state, isn't it. 33 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 2: Well, you'd hope so, because the two state solution that 34 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 2: everybody except Israel seems to agree to and supported by 35 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 2: the United States, is the obvious solution. There are two 36 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 2: people that have their homeland on one piece of land, 37 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 2: Palestinians that were pushed out when Israel was formed. Everybody 38 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 2: understands why Israel formed and the aftermath of the Holocaust, 39 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 2: but they deserve to have a decent future, a decent present. First, 40 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 2: now to survive the present and build a decent future 41 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 2: for their kids and those that follow, and it can't 42 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 2: be just a case of having peace and not finding 43 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 2: a long term solution that gives them some hope for 44 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 2: the future, because there's one thing that feeds terrorism, and 45 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 2: that's firstly when you have no hope that nothing's going 46 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 2: to get better, and secondly, when you watch your members 47 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 2: of your family being slaughtered by attacks and starving, it's 48 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 2: hard not to hate the people that are doing that 49 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 2: to you. 50 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: Right, Okay, now, Connor the Dixon Street apartments in your 51 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: part of the world, Does someone at KO need to 52 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: be fired for selling them to the EWE for one 53 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: million dollars, who within three weeks sold them for three 54 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: million dollars to someone else. 55 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 3: Well, it's hard to know all the details, but on 56 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 3: the face of it, that does seem like a a 57 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 3: bit of a rise over a short period of time. 58 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 3: I suspect when they sold it they were looking at 59 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 3: getting rid of what was probably quite a big liability 60 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 3: with earthquake e strength thing, although that might be different 61 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 3: today than what it was a couple of days ago, 62 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 3: and I suspect they were looking at it more as 63 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 3: let's get rid of the liability off their books, and 64 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 3: so we're prepared to take very little to just get 65 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 3: rid of the future costs of operating that building. 66 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: That's not being very good at business, is it. 67 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 3: Well, you'd like to think they've got the full market value, 68 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 3: or they could have got it. Then. I don't know 69 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 3: how they went to market or how they really didn't. 70 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 1: But doesn't this look on it to you? 71 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 3: Like? 72 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: What may potentially have happened here is old ian Castle's 73 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: the developer got hooked up with the EWI, and so 74 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: the EWIE gets first right of refusal. EWIE buys it 75 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: for one million, sells it to ian Castle's for three million, 76 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: And that just seems like a really tidy way of 77 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: making sure that it never goes to the open market 78 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:51,119 Speaker 1: and achieves its full value. 79 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 3: Well, there maybe some people who speculate on that process. 80 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 3: I just don't know enough about it either, Phil. 81 00:03:58,440 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: What do you think has happened here? 82 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 2: Well, it is certainly a liability. The cost to remediate 83 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 2: and strengthen the building is something like one hundred and 84 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 2: twenty five million, which puts you know, whether the price 85 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 2: was one million or three million into context. Having said that, 86 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 2: I think that if King Aura and its minister is 87 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 2: going to sell it for one million, and three weeks 88 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 2: later the purchaser, whether it's EWE or anybody else, sells 89 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 2: it for three million. That raises some pretty big questions 90 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 2: and I think you need a lot more transparency and 91 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 2: accountability around what happened. Now, yea, the EE we had 92 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 2: the first right of refusal, but you don't have to 93 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 2: sell them. You don't have to sell it to them. 94 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 2: And the question is whether they could have sold it 95 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 2: directly to Castles or whether an agreement between Castles and 96 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 2: the EWI prevented that. Now, if that were the case, 97 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 2: then King Aura should simply come out and say we 98 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 2: did not have that option. But you know it is 99 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 2: public money and therefore you want to make sure that 100 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 2: you're not gifting a couple of million dollars for somebody 101 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: that simply exites an intermediary holding the property for two weeks. 102 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, Connor, I need to ask you this question, which 103 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: I haven't warned you about at all. Did you watch 104 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 1: the Ragby? 105 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 3: I did watch the rugby, the Wallabies and the Willbecks 106 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 3: and what did you think of the flyover? Well? I 107 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,359 Speaker 3: was at the Athletic Park on the last day that 108 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 3: they played a game there with the French and seven 109 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 3: four seven short wheelbows threw over and it was awesome 110 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 3: being in the crowd because you. 111 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: Sound plane nuts at the moment you were playing nut. 112 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, I do quite like planes, but often at these 113 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 3: sporting events like Formula one and that they do sort 114 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 3: of have fighter jets flying over, don't they. And those 115 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 3: two planes that he were slightly different than that. 116 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,600 Speaker 1: Well, I feel it was so weird to me. Was 117 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: it not weird? The reason we're talking about it obviously, fellers, 118 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: because it turns out it cost US twenty thousand dollars 119 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: to send the two planes over the top, we find 120 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: out today. But was it not weird to just all 121 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: of a sudden flecks on the Aussies when we didn't 122 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: flex on any other team. 123 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 2: I didn't get to see the game because I went 124 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 2: down the beach, so I missed them and the black ferns. 125 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 2: But yeah, probably it probably was a little bit. I'd 126 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 2: have a bit of excitement for the crowd. I mean, 127 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 2: the thing that I remember about it is after an 128 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 2: appalling weekend the previous weekend, we had a consolation of 129 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 2: a win over the Aussies and at least the bronze 130 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 2: medal for the for the Black ferns. So yeah, I was. 131 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 2: I thought a good weekend of Rugby four in New 132 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 2: Zealand hell of a lot better than what had preceded it. 133 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: That's true. I surprise, We'll take them. We'll go with 134 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: the glass half full thing. What did you what did 135 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:36,599 Speaker 1: you make kind of of Richard Waggstow's idea earlier? 136 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,159 Speaker 3: Well, look, I think he's got a point that the 137 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 3: price of energy and the cost of energy to not 138 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 3: any consumers but to business is really crucial in the 139 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 3: economy and society, and it is too expensive. And so 140 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 3: I'm just hoping that the government, when they make whatever 141 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 3: announcements they make tomorrow, change the incentives on on the 142 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 3: gen taylors so that there is more incentive to generate 143 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 3: more power and lower prices, because at the moment, I think, 144 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 3: you know, there is more generation coming through, but clearly 145 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 3: not a muff to get ahead of the demand, and 146 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 3: we are running a risk on the resilient side of things, 147 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 3: of potential blackouts if we have a particularly dry year. 148 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 3: So I don't know what the regulation is going to be, 149 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 3: but it needs to be something that makes the difference. 150 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 3: And I also think we need to build a few 151 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 3: more dans around the place to build the resilience up 152 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 3: a bit. 153 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: You're probably right on that, Phil having a crack at 154 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: the gen Taylor's. I mean, look, they have a role 155 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: to play in it, but it does feel like addressing 156 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: the wrong problem at the moment, which seems to be 157 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: that we're wildly running out of gas. 158 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 2: Well, I think there's a number of problems and you 159 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 2: have to address all of them. One of the critical 160 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 2: problems you've got to address, and this is the problem 161 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 2: with privatization, is that a private company comes in, it's 162 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 2: really tempting to take the money, feed it out and 163 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 2: dividends to your shareholders that keeps them happy, but not 164 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 2: make the investment you need to make in the future. 165 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 2: Now we're seeing that in Ireland with Kiwi Rail when 166 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 2: we privatized it and they simply ran the thing down, 167 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 2: took the money out and we had to end it 168 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 2: up bringing it back into public ownership. But more recently 169 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 2: I also saw it in London where we were supplied 170 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 2: by Thames Water. Thames Water took a fortune and dividends 171 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 2: out of providing water for the city of London and 172 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 2: its surrounding area and left it as an absolute cotcase, 173 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 2: it's about to go bankrupt. That the water quality and 174 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 2: the reliability isn't great, and it's because they did just that. 175 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 2: They sucked out the dividends. They didn't reinvest. Now, if 176 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 2: the government owned it and did that, you could hold 177 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 2: them to account. How do we hold the private sector 178 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 2: to account? 179 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: Well, I meant you can, can't you? You basically you 180 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: get rid of the management. Like there's a shareholder revolts. 181 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 2: Well, well, the shareholders are happy because they got the money. 182 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 2: It's the consumer that's unhappy, and the consumer that doesn't 183 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 2: have the pah. 184 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: I mean still, I take your point, but yearholder aren't 185 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: going to be happy when they start getting the regulation 186 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: coming at them because these guys have been running the 187 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: show badly, right, which is a threat. 188 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, shaholders will end up being unhappy. But in 189 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 2: the meantime, they'll take the money and run. Yeah. Look, 190 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 2: I'll put myself on the line. In twenty eleven, I 191 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 2: opposed the partial privatization of the companies. And why did 192 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 2: I do that? Because I knew the companies that they 193 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 2: are natural monopoly. They were producing a high return. I 194 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 2: wanted to see that high return go back into investment. 195 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 2: And go back to the public that actually paid in 196 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 2: their tax dollars to build the dams and all the 197 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 2: other things. And you know, it is a strategic asset. 198 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 2: And when the power supply doesn't work, it damages the 199 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 2: rest of industry. And we've seen those damages, you know, 200 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 2: with the spikes and power prices and the closure of 201 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 2: a whole lot of our manufacturing industries because they haven't 202 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 2: planned well enough. Now, that's in part the responsibility of 203 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 2: the private sector, also in part the responsibility of the government. 204 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 2: We could have been doing a whole lot more, a 205 00:09:57,720 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 2: whole lot sooner. And you know, you know my put. 206 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 2: I'm always keen on renewable energy, both because it doesn't 207 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 2: produce carbon emissions, but also because it's a hell of 208 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 2: a lot cheaper to generate from. 209 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 1: All right, guys, listen, thank you, I do appreciate it. 210 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: Phil GoF Connor, Englisher Huddle this Evenings. 211 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 2: For more from Heather Duplessy Alan Drive, listen live to 212 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 2: news Talks. 213 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 3: It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast 214 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 3: on iHeartRadio.