1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,679 Speaker 1: And Liam dan is the Herald's business editor at large, 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: and he was listening to the whole thing, and he joins, in, now, hell, 3 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: are Liam good? 4 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 2: Andrew? 5 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: What did you make of it? 6 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 2: Well? I liked it. It was a good it was 7 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 2: it was a good strong language. I guess, you know, 8 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 2: the cynical journalist journalists side of me might be thinking, well, 9 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 2: it's a bit like some of the other stuff we've heard. 10 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 2: This really good language, really good sentiment. You just wonder 11 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 2: what the actual substance of it will be. So she said, well, look, 12 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 2: let's let's do a deal. We'll make treat a new 13 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 2: supermarket entrant like a VIP. We'll you know, we'll kind 14 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 2: of roll out the welcome mat. But you know, it's 15 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,959 Speaker 2: not clear in the hard world of business what that 16 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 2: might be other than and maybe sort of smoothing the 17 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 2: regulatory path. You know, we're not we don't seem to 18 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 2: be quite talking about saying well, look you can pay 19 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 2: no tax for five years or something like that. Just 20 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 2: come in and we'll give you a real kickstart. So yeah, 21 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 2: I'm not sure. I guess, you know, the devil may 22 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 2: be in the detail, and perhaps you know they can 23 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 2: pull it if they pull this off, it'll be you know, 24 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 2: if they could get an Aldi in here before the 25 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 2: next election, that would be a coup. 26 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: So she did kind of suggest though that if a 27 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: third player I wanted to come to her whether proposal, 28 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: she would consider it, and maybe they might come to 29 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: the with the proposal saying we will spend a billion 30 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: dollars on a supply chain, will buy one hundred and 31 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 1: forty stores, and we will do this if you give 32 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: us five years tax free, and she would at least 33 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: consider it. 34 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, Look, I hope that is what we're 35 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 2: talking about, you know, the hope that that level of 36 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 2: sort of creative thinking is what this government is sort 37 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 2: of you know, intimating that it's going to you know, 38 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 2: get and get involved in the next over the you know, 39 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 2: really only got eighteen months into the next election, so 40 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 2: they're going to have to get on with it. But 41 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 2: you know, and that's in the in the side where 42 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 2: we say, well, let's bring in a new player and 43 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 2: that will solve all that problems, and well it might 44 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 2: or might not. 45 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: Here's the thing. She sort of hinted that she's had 46 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: an unsolicited approach by an unnamed third player from an 47 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: unnamed country, and it felt to me a little bit 48 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,399 Speaker 1: like she was suggesting that maybe there was something concrete 49 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: amongst all the waffle. 50 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it's possible, But then you have to look 51 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 2: at the scale and you go, well, look, you know, 52 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 2: up in Auckland, we've got a costco. You know, it's 53 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 2: it's but you need something at scale really to to 54 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 2: affect the dynamic of the whole you know, supermarket or 55 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 2: the grocery store sort of competition dynamic, and one or 56 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 2: two stores probably won't do it. So you've got to 57 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 2: have a really big, serious player. So I guess, you know, 58 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 2: it's just whether one new player would really change things 59 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 2: that much. It's going to help. But then the other 60 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 2: part of it is how tough the government is prepared 61 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 2: to get with the incumbents around competition. And that is 62 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 2: also a situation where it's kind of easy to talk 63 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 2: really tough, it's harder to actually, you know, really sort 64 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 2: of enforce things unless you're prepared to go the whole 65 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 2: hog and start breaking up monopolies, which has been done 66 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 2: in the past. Telecom got broken up, you know, but 67 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 2: that would be a big call, especially from a sort 68 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 2: of a pro business government that talks about you know, 69 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: concerns about sending the wrong message to potential business investors 70 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 2: and that sort of thing. So, you know, I just wonder, 71 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 2: you know, for example, they're calling the bank bosses back 72 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 2: in to talk to them about giving us a better, 73 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 2: better deal. 74 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: I guess, But what will the stick be exactly? And 75 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: we've been trying this for a good five to ten 76 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: years and nothing's worked so far, but you know, God 77 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: loves to try. Liam Dan, I thank you so much 78 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: for your time today. 79 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 2: For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to 80 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 2: news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays. Follow the 81 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 2: podcast on iHeartRadio.