Since the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle, insurers have begun rapidly repricing the land beneath homes for flood risk, which is creating a Wild West for home owners impatient to find out if their lands are going to continue to be insurable. Bernard Hickey talks to insurance and banking academic Dr. Michael Naylor from Massey University to explore what home owners can do to protect their housing insurance in a warming climate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 30, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chris Hipkins' dump of Ardern-era policy has potentially jeopardised a major part of the government's climate change response. Bernard Hickey talks to climate policy expert Christina Hood from Climate Compass to find out why this month’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction failed and how she feels cabinet have destroyed confidence in the market by accident. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 23, 2023•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast With Chris Hipkins transitioning into a new era of policy, what does that mean for the Green Party's agreement with Labour? Green MP Julie Anne Genter joins Bernard to discuss the Green Party's position on Labour's policy dump, who they're willing to go into government with, and her hopes for the upcoming election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 20, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has embarked on a money saving scheme to plug a $295 million "fiscal black hole" in the council's finances, but is it true? A Better Budget for Auckland's India Logan-Riley talks with Bernard Hickey about the flaws in Brown's logic and suggests an alternative to the mayor's belt tightening that doesn't involve slashing social services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 16, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is the environment changing faster than we can adapt to? The emissions trading scheme incentivised livestock farmers to rid their land of animals in favour of converting it for pine forestry. However, the silt and leftover slash used to make those forests are the same things that wrecked havoc on horticultural lands during Cyclone Gabrielle. Alison Dewes and John Burke are two farmers who feel they've adopted a much better, and more sustainable farming practice - converting some of their grass p...
Mar 09, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Who is really winning from skyrocketing inflation? National Party finance spokesperson Nicola Willis went head to head with Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr this week, blaming him and the government for being an active contributor to inflation by printing mass amounts of money during the COVID response. However, another factor may be to blame - corporate price gouging. Bernard Hickey explores how widening company profit margins may be the real reason behind the countries inflation issues. Learn ...
Mar 02, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amongst the tragedy of Aotearoa's recent climate disasters is an opportunity to enact lasting legislation to prevent it happening again. Climate policy academic David Hall is tasked with finding the economically and politically sensible ways that we can adapt to the climate crisis. He talks with Bernard Hickey about gnarly politicking and the changes we need to make to avoid environmental disaster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 23, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast The effects of climate change are beginning to pool at the feet of New Zealand's coastal home owners. Climate Sigma managing director Belinda Storey says most beachfront properties will either need to be moved or demolished in the next 30 years. She and Bernard discuss the morally hazardous world of climate finance, the future cost of repairing mega-mansions, and how the taxpayer can avoid footing the full bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 16, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast A replacement to the Resource Management Act of 1991 is currently going through the motions of parliament with hopes to create more resource and eco friendly industries in Aotearoa. However, Irrigation NZ CEO Vanessa Winning is worried the new version of the RMA could create perverse and unintended consequences. Bernards talks to her about how the government's good intentions could negatively impact our produce production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 09, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how venture capitalists are funding Aotearoa’s fastest growing, least-polluting and highest-wage export growth sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 02, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Parts of the nation's capital have turned into a wasteland of red stickers, and 'for lease' signs. WellingtonNZ CEO John Allen has been given the challenge of breathing new life into the city's economy, businesses, and image. He talks to Bernard about housing and hotel shortages, sewerage on the streets, a movie industry on the brink of collapse, and all the other challenges facing Te Whanganui-a-Tara in the coming decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 26, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wellington has a new mayor determined to shake things up. At the beginning of the year, Tory Whanau was a mayoral candidate pitching her ambitious vision for the future of Wellington city. Now, she sits in the top spot and is tasked with turning that vision into a reality. She talks with Bernard, exactly one year on from when they last spoke on the podcast, to discuss economics, housing, and who she would be nervous about becoming the next transport minister. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Jan 19, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a three-episode miniseries over summer Bernard breaks down the quotes from 2022 that changed everything... This episode, Elon Musk confidently strides into Twitter HQ to claim his new seat as CEO holding... A sink? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 12, 2023•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a three-episode miniseries over summer Bernard breaks down the quotes from 2022 that changed everything... This episode, Jacinda Ardern blames a "wicked perfect storm" for the cost of living crisis that swept over the entire country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 05, 2023•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a three-episode miniseries over summer Bernard breaks down the quotes from 2022 that changed everything... This episode, Adrian Orr tells New Zealanders to "cool their jets", signalling a dark storm cloud set to loom over the economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 29, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Well that took a turn, didn't it? With a war in Ukraine, supply chain mayhem and a deadly disease tearing through the workforce, this year was one for the history books. Bernard is joined by Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr to discuss the previous year, increasing interest rates and what it all means for 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 22, 2022•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why is it that women still earn less than men across many industries in New Zealand? Economist Isabelle Sim is using groundbreaking research to uncover why the stubbornly high pay gap really exists. She talks with Bernard about how other countries achieve pay equity, working mums, and why transparency is the best way forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 15, 2022•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Treasury has just published a government mandated report on the overall wellbeing of our country. Typically, a country's success would be measured by GDP, employment rates, and net debt, but this report aims to redefine how New Zealand measures growth. Tim Ng from the Treasury talks with Bernard about how this shifting of the goalposts might affect the future of political investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 08, 2022•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast We hear a lot about young people struggling with housing affordability, but much less is spoken of how the housing crisis will impact pensioners. A new report shows we're at serious risk of doubling the number of retirees facing rent and mortgage stress by 2048. While the debate around who should get NZ Superannuation and how much they should get has been mostly frozen in time since the late 1990s, the current landscape means the debate has now changed. Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson joi...
Dec 01, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast While billionaires build their bunkers in Queenstown, Julie Scott, CEO of the Community Housing Trust is building affordable homes with profits made by new suburb developers. She tells Bernard all about how inclusionary rezoning can be used to make the rapidly expanding region affordable for locals again Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 24, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Methane and nitrous oxide produced by cows and sheep remain the biggest barrier to Aotearoa meeting its emissions reduction goal. Science writer Melanie Newfield talks with Bernard to break down The Government's recent policy announcement and discuss why gassy livestock is so crucial to the country's climate solution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 17, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast The National Party's Deputy Leader has spoken out against The Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr, calling for an independent review if National are elected in 2023. Skyrocketing house prices and record-high inflation are being blamed on The Government's money printing scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic. Willis says an external review would answer the question - how can this be avoided in the future? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 10, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast As central and local government battle for asset control, the lack of investment in infrastructure becomes an ever-growing issue. Bernard talks to former Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse about the tension between these forms of government and how it can be mended - what has ruptured in these relationships and why does it matter? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 03, 2022•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aotearoa’s Government spends $2b a year on the environment, but where does that money go? Backed by his recently published report on our tracking of emissions, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton dives into discussion with Bernard Hickey on the importance of collective clarity and knowledge in the measurement of our environmental spending. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 27, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Building developers and funders are scrambling to work out how much carbon dioxide is emitted or captured in a building’s construction and operation over its lifetime. Jasmax’s Carbon Research Lead, Paul Jurasovich, joins Bernard to map out the new world of carbon budgeting for buildings (such as the five star green-rated Kiwibank corporate office in Auckland). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 20, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Professor Anthony Hoete is trying to solve some of the biggest housing problems in Te Ao Māori with new tools and technology. He talks with Bernard Hickey on This weeks When the Facts Change about using NFTs to bring together dispersed iwi land titles and engineered timber to turn iwi forests into homes that are carbon sinks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 13, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kiwibank has just produced its first sustainability report as a B Corp, paving the way for big organisations joining the ESG reporting movement. But what does a pass mark look like? How can the marking process be used to do better? CEO Steve Jurkovich joins Bernard in conversation to korero about what Kiwibank did to its climate emissions, how it measured pay equity and what can be done to help fund Māori housing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 06, 2022•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Private rentals owned by ‘Mum and Dad’ landlords are expensive and unstable, making it difficult for tenants and their tamariki to settle into their communities and schools. As renting becomes a long-term reality for more and more of us, is there a better way? In this episode, Bernard is joined by Helen O’Sullivan, CEO of Crockers Property Group, to talk about one possible solution, and what policy tweaks the government needs to make to help it grow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...
Sep 29, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's evident to those living in Aotearoa that doing so does not come cheap, but did you know our housing and rental affordability is the worst in the world? Treasury Chief Economist Dominick Stephens went hunting with a team of Government experts for the reasons why. Revealing the three key factors driving our housing market, Stephens deep dives into conversation with Bernard Hickey on how the combination of lower interest rates, land use restrictions and our tax system has caused such an explos...
Sep 22, 2022•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast The great battle for walkable cities that prioritise cyclists and pedestrians over cars has only just begun. In this battle, Waka Kotahi is a key player in deciding how this battle plays out. In this week's episode, Bernard Hickey talks to Waka Kotahi's urban mobile manager Kathryn King to find out how mode shift might be allowed, or made to happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 15, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
