Taxpayer Talk

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

How do Kiwis view China? What do they think of the Queen? Will an ACT-National government lead to radical policy from the right? Pollster David Farrar Joins Taxpayer's Union researchers Max and Levi for a discussion about all this and more from the recent Lord Ashcroft mega-poll. Support the show

Inland Revenue recently sent 400 letters out to New Zealand's wealthiest individuals in an attempt to figure out how much tax they pay on their economic income. Could this be part of a lead up to a wealth tax grab? Join Jordan and tax expert Mike Shaw for answers. Support the show

National's housing spokesperson Nicola Willis has broken a story about corruption and collusion within our national housing agency. Sadly, this isn't the first time Nicola has broken such a story about Kainga Ora but it is certainly the most shocking. Join Jordan for the full sordid story. Support the show

National finance spokesman Michael Woodhouse appears on the podcast today with Jordan for a detailed discussion about National's finance and tax policy. Support the show

 In a long-awaited interview with Nanaia Mahuta, the Local Government Minister fields questions from Taxpayers’ Union supporters on her controversial Three Waters reforms. Listeners will decide for themselves whether her ducking and diving effectively addressed concerns over ratepayer input, iwi veto power, and forecast costs. Support the show

Cr Tina Nixon has no shortage of harsh words for the proposed Three Waters reforms. Join her and Jordan as they dive into the dangerous implications of this asset confiscation by central government.  Support the show

Nania Mahuta has announced that the government will mandate to seize Three Waters assets from councils. Jordan is joined by National's spokesperson for Local Government Christopher Luxon to discuss the implications, the flaws and what can be done about the government's plans.  Support the show

What's the secret to ACT's success? why after years of campaigning are they opposing housing reforms? who does David think should win the biggest government spending blowout award? Jordan and David discuss this and more in this weeks episode of Taxpayer Talk. Support the show

Jordan is joined by New Zealand Initiative Economist Matt Burgess for a detailed discussion about the ETS. They reflect on the government's long standing stance of ignoring the realities of the trading scheme, the inefficiency of climate change vanity projects and what we can do moving forward. Support the show

Labour, Greens down and National, ACT up. Those are the headlining figures from the exclusive Taxpayers' Union Curia Market Research monthly poll. A change in COVID-19 strategy has been harsh on the governing coalition with the opposition swooping in to pick up support. Jordan is joined by Curia owner and media commentator David Farrar for analysis of the results.  Support the show