Taxpayer Talk

On this week's episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams speaks to Des Gorman - Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Auckland University - about a new paper from the New Zealand Initiative which claims that evidence for a separate Maori Health Authority is seriously lacking. Peter then reads your correspondence. If you'd like to comment on anything you've heard on the show Peter is wait...

This week’s Taxpayer Talk guest is former Attorney General Chris Finlayson. His latest book “Yes Minister” reflects on his time in Parliament and how the country was run during the John Key years. In a wide ranging discussion with host Peter Williams he expresses his frustration with the country’s civil justice system, explains why co-governance isn’t such a bad thing and why the National Party go...

Josh Van Veen from the Ratepayers’ Alliance sat down with independent mayoral candidate Craig Lord who - after an impressive first effort in 2019 in which he placed third - is back in the race for the City of Sails.  Craig gives an honest appraisal of his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, explains how he views the role of mayor, gives his take on co-governance, and whether or not the widel...

In this edition of Taxpayer Talk,  the focus is on education. With literacy and numeracy standards falling dramatically across the country, long-time educator Alwyn Poole has just finished some extensive research to find which are our most successful schools academically. Using the percentage of students leaving school with University Entrance grades, the results may surprise and shock you. How co...

Josh Van Veen from the Ratepayers’ Alliance sat down with independent mayoral candidate Wayne Brown to discuss why he is running and his plan to fix Auckland.  Support the show

Former TVNZ broadcaster (now Taxpayers' Union Board Member) Peter Williams has taken over as host of our new weekly Taxpayer Talk podcast. In this week's episode, he speaks to author and social commentator Ewen McQueen on his book One Sun in the Sky: the untold story of sovereignty and the Treaty of Waitangi . He also hosts our first of what we plan to be a weekly political panel, this w...

Earlier this year, the Taxpayers’ Union financially supported a judicial review of Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s advice to Cabinet that her Three Waters proposals were required for the Crown to comply with its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi.  On 4 August, the first ‘in chambers’ hearing was heard in Wellington. Jordan sat down for an update with one of the two Queens Counsels...

After five years at the Taxpayers' Union, our Campaigns Manager Louis Houlbrooke is retiring and heading to South America. Jordan sits down with Louis to discuss the ups and downs of Louis' time here at the Taxpayers' Union, the significant policy victories he has achieved and some of the shocking examples of government waste he has uncovered over the years.  Support the show

Straight out of the Beehive's Budget Day "lock up", Jordan sits down with Cameron Bagrie of Bagrie Economics to break down the good, the bad, and the ugly of the biggest ever increase to operational Government spending.   Support the show

In February, the Government launched its road safety strategy called Road to Zero. The strategy hopes to reduce road deaths to zero by 2030.  The Government has allocated $85 million on advertising this strategy alone. Join Louis and motorsport champion Greg Murphy, as they discuss why this unrealistic strategy is purely spin, which will not reduce the number of deaths on New Zealand's roads....

In 2005, the Port of Auckland was delisted from the NZX and was taken over by what is now Auckland Council. Since then, the port has underperformed, become inefficient, and lagged behind other ports such as the Port of Tauranga. Jordan sits down with Greg Smith from Devon Funds to discuss how a public ownership model of Auckland's port has decimated its performance, value and status – costing...

Last month, the Government quietly tried to pass Tamati Coffee's Rotorua District Council Bill. When electing Rotorua Councillors, it would have meant a vote on the general roll would have been worth 39% of a vote on the Māori roll. Due to public pressure and the Attorney General calling it a breach of the Bill of Rights Act, the Government backtracked. Join Jordan and David Farrar, as they d...

The Government owns or partly owns 18 large businesses with combined assets of $78 billion. The Treasury has found that many are underperforming. Join Jordan and co-founder of TDB Advisory Phil Barry, as they discuss why these businesses would be more productive and experience higher rates of return if they were privatised – bolstering New Zealand's  economic resilience and standard of living...

The Government's Fair Pay Agreements Bill passed its first vote in Parliament last week. The legislation will initiate the largest shake up for employment relations in decades.  Join Jordan and Business NZ CEO Kirk Hope as they discuss why Fair Pay Agreements will mean more barriers to employment, less jobs, higher labour costs and no productivity gains.  Support the show

The Government is determined to implement its controversial Three Waters reform and introduce a plethora of policies aimed at tackling climate change. Join Jordan and ACT MP Simon Court as they discuss why Three Waters will not eventuate in better water infrastructure, and why the Government's climate policies will only cost taxpayers without reducing total emissions. Support the show

The NZ Treasury wants to hire economists who've never studied economics. Join Louis and Professor MacCulloch as they discuss why the public service seems to hate economists, and how ideology is trumping expert knowledge at the Reserve Bank and Treasury, threatening New Zealand's economic stability and quality of life.    Support the show

The Government has confirmed plans to merge RNZ and TVNZ into a single publicly-owned media monolith. Louis sits down remotely with National Party Broadcasting spokesperson Melissa Lee to find out exactly what problem the Government thinks it's solving, and how this move will impact New Zealanders' trust in the independence of the media.  Support the show

National's tax policy has been criticised as 'costly' and too generous for high earners – but the Taxpayers' Union questions whether it goes far enough. Louis sits down with National Party Finance spokesman Simon Bridges to explore how he would change tax brackets to counter inflation, and whether we can expect a more comprehensive policy from National before next year's e...

The Taxpayers' Union Curia poll conducted in February shows National surging. Is the writing on the wall for Labour next election? or should National not get their hopes up just yet? Levi is joined by pollster and media commentator David Farrar for analysis of the results.    Support the show

The Government has indicated it wants to spend $5 billion on heavy rail over the next five years. But is it really good value for taxpayer money? Join Levi and Nick Leggett as they discuss why spending billions on heavy rail doesn't stake up.    Support the show

The Government has justified its Three Waters scheme based on an interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi. But does the logic stand up to scrutiny? Jordan sits down with Stephen Franks, a lawyer working on the High Court case against Nanaia Mahuta's water regime.   Support the show

The Opportunities Party (or simply TOP) has a new Leader - Raf Manji. Louis sits down with Raf to learn why he's so keen for a universal basic income, how he thinks a land tax will pay for it, and whether TOP is a "left-wing" or "right-wing" party. Support the show

This year the Government is set to announce more details about its proposed unemployment insurance scheme. Join Jordan and Dr Dennis Wesselbaum as they discuss why the scheme will result in more unemployment, higher taxes and ironically — lower societal wellbeing.  Support the show

Rising from the ashes is a new National Party, with new leadership and possibly, a new hope. Simon Bridges is back in the mix as the shadow Minister of Finance. Jordan talks with Bridges about his new role and what it will mean for Kiwi's. Simon discusses his life, from faith to his views on economics, government and what it means to be a man.  Support the show

The National Party is in meltdown mode. Judith Collins has tried to take the ship down with her and now the race is on to fill the vacuum left by her controversial leadership. Jordan is joined by Taxpayer Talk regular David Farrar to discuss the details. Support the show