1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: And what could be a first for Hocky do we 2 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: we've got a studio of big weeks. We welcome our 3 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: local m P James Meeker, who's probably only going to 4 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: get a quick hello in and that's about it. Hello, 5 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:11,800 Speaker 1: and the Finance Minister Nichola. 6 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 2: Wellas good morning. That is great to be on your show. 7 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: What are you doing in town? 8 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 3: Well, this is of course where the Minister of the 9 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 3: South Island is based, so it's very important. 10 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,119 Speaker 2: It's almost the capital of the South Island in that sense. 11 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: So it's been doing well. It's bringing a lot of 12 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: his colleagues to Eshburten, which is wonderful. Can I just say, 13 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: in full disclosure the weather is not always this barmy. 14 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,279 Speaker 1: I hope you've met up with some happy farmers though, 15 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: those with calves and lambs leaping through the paddocks with joy. 16 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 3: Yes. Well we're about to visit a dairy farm which 17 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 3: I'm very much looking forward to. 18 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 1: Oh that explains why you got the swan draw on 19 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: the gun boots on. 20 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 2: The gun boots are not yet on, but I can 21 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 2: tell you that are in the car. Really have just. 22 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 1: Brought them, have you, so make sure you scuff them 23 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: up a bit on the road side before. 24 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 2: You get to the frontier for five years, so I've 25 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 2: got some proper. 26 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: You've seen your fair share. 27 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 2: Of other on a few dairy farms. 28 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: City politics. There's nothing worse than the city politician that 29 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: rolls up to field days with a new pair of 30 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: gum boots. Yes, they stick out like goodness knows what. 31 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 2: That's not the way to do it. It's not the 32 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 2: way to do it. 33 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,479 Speaker 1: Hey, I thought i'd get some of the rough stuff 34 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: out of the way early and then we can get 35 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: back to the fluffy. Obviously, you're the Finance minister and 36 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: you're coughing a bit of heat at the moment, which 37 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: is understandable because cheese times are tough and there's a 38 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: lot of talk on interest rates and foreign investment. The 39 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: supermarkets has been leading our headlines. But it kind of 40 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: feels like not a lot's actually happening. Are you finding 41 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: that rest wreck out there and what are you saying 42 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: to it? 43 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 3: Well, look, we're a government that is making big changes. 44 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 2: You know, around this part of the. 45 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 3: World, there'll be a lot of people who will tell 46 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 3: you that the headaches in their life are created by 47 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 3: the Resource Management Act, the consents they have to do 48 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 3: whenever they want to build something the way that the 49 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 3: councils cover them in red tape. Well, we're completely replacing 50 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 3: the Resource Management Act. We've introduced fast track legislation so 51 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 3: that big projects can get through really quickly. One of 52 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 3: them has already been signed off before Christmas. We're building 53 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 3: seven billion dollars worth of government infrastructure between now and Christmas. 54 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:08,639 Speaker 3: Those projects are starting well. 55 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: That include our new Ashburton Bridge. 56 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 3: That's not in that seven billion, but that Ashburton bridges 57 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 3: all go. The de's been signed out between NZTA and 58 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 3: the Council and I can tell you that James Meeker, 59 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 3: is the Associate Ministry of Transport, isn't going to let 60 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 3: that one go anytime soon. But look, we're reforming the 61 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 3: education system. If you've got kids in primary school, you 62 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 3: will have noticed you've got an hour a day of reading, 63 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 3: writing and maths happening, where of course replacing NCA. We're 64 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 3: forging new trade agreements through the Middle East and working 65 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 3: hard on one with India. We're inviting an overseas investment 66 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 3: again so we get some more cash flowing in this economy. 67 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: You understand some of the frustration though out there right, 68 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: It's like, okay, yeah, that all sounds great, but I'm 69 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: not seeing anything directly though. 70 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 3: Well, look, I think New Zealanders have been through three 71 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 3: really tough years. Actually, we had a big spike where 72 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 3: inflation and went very high. It was out of control 73 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 3: for three years, got up to seven point three percent. 74 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 3: Those big price increases hurt. Then interesst rates went soaring 75 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 3: through the roof, which was really difficult for anyone with 76 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 3: a mortgage or debt. And then those interst rates do 77 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 3: what they do, which is that they strangled a lot 78 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 3: of activity in our economy. 79 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 2: So where the government that. 80 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 3: Came in to fix all of that and cleaned it up, 81 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 3: and we're coming through the other side. Inflations now under control. 82 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 3: Prices are still increasing, and I recognize any key we 83 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 3: that the checkout feels that, but they're not increasing anywhere 84 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 3: are as fast as they were, and we've got that 85 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 3: under control. Interst Rates have come down massively, Thank goodness 86 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 3: for that, and goodness and that's going to put a 87 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 3: lot of cash into people's household budgets as they're able 88 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 3: to refix their mortgage at a lower rate, and it's 89 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 3: pretty helpful for many of our farmers too. And now 90 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 3: what we're starting to see is that the economy is 91 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 3: picking up again. We had a great start to the year. 92 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 3: We were growing full times as fast as Australia at 93 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 3: the beginning of the year. There's no doubt that Donald 94 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 3: Trump's tariff announcements and all put the brakes on lots 95 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 3: of parts of the economy. And I think that's what 96 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 3: you're really feeling right now. But look, we look at 97 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 3: the data all of the time. I need to look 98 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 3: New Zealanders in the eye and know that when I 99 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 3: tell them it's going to get better, that's based on 100 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 3: something real. 101 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: So that's what you're telling us right now. It is 102 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: getting better. 103 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 3: Well, that's what the Reserve Bank and the Treasury tell 104 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 3: me as they say, look, growth is going to accelerate 105 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 3: this year. That's going to feel good because that's where 106 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 3: jobs will come from. They're forecasting that unemployment will come 107 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 3: back down and probably won't go as high as was 108 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 3: being picked before the election, and they're saying, look, two 109 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 3: hundred and forty thousand jobs are going to be created 110 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 3: over these next few years. You're going to see incomes 111 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 3: rising faster than prices, which wasn't the case before we 112 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 3: came to government, actually wages, we're not keeping up with 113 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 3: price rises, so all of that is going to feel good, 114 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 3: but none of that means that right now everyone goes, oh, well, 115 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 3: we've had. 116 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 2: Three tough years, no problems. It still feels tough for 117 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 2: a lot of people. 118 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 3: So the government's got to keep doing the sensible things 119 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 3: to make progress.