Ewan McQueen, author of One Sun in the Sky, joins us on Taxpayer Talk to discuss the Treaty of Waitangi, including questions around the ceding of sovereignty by Maori, interpretations of the treaty, and the politics now surrounding the treaty today. To support Taxpayer Talk, click here. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free …

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, Suze Redmayne. Suze was elected as the MP for Rangitikei at the 2023 General Election. Suze and her husband run an award winning farm and sell their lamb under their own bra…

David Buckingham is a Queenstown-based employment relations consultant. He was the supporter who first uncovered the extraordinary behaviour of IRD leaking personal information to social media companies. Jordan sat down with him to talk about what he found, how, and what it means for your data. To support Taxpayer Talk, click here. If you have any …

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, David MacLeod. David is the MP for New Plymouth and was elected at the 2023 general election. He spent 22 years on Taranaki Regional Council, including 15 years as the Chair…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with New Zealand First MP, Jamie Arbuckle. Jamie was elected on the New Zealand First List at the 2023 General Election. Jamie also remains a current Marlborough district councillor, a role he …

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, Rima Nakhle. Rima was elected as the MP for Takanini at the 2023 Election. She was born in Australia where she graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of La…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Grant McCallum. Grant was elected as the MP for Northland at the 2023 General Election. Grant is a farmer and has been involved with the National Party's environmental g…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with ACT Party MP, Dr Parmjeet Parmar. Parmjeet has a PHD in Biological Sciences, is a businesswoman and former broadcaster and was also formerly a National Party MP from 2014 to 2020. In 2023 she …

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Katie Nimon. Katie was elected as the MP for Napier at the 2023 General Election. Born and raised in Hawke's Bay, Katie has had experience working in, and eventually run…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with New Zealand First MP, Andy Foster. Andy is a former mayor of Wellington and also served nine terms as councillor making him one of New Zealand's most experienced local government politicia…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Dana Kirkpatrick. Dana defines herself as staunchly East Coast, having been born and raised in Gisborne, and has been the MP for the East Coast since the 2023 General El…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with New Zealand First MP, Tanya Unkovich. Tanya was elected on the New Zealand First Party list at the 2023 General Election. Tanya is a seasoned public speaker, is a published author, life an…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Carlos Cheung. Carlos caused one of the greatest upsets at the 2023 Election when he unseated Michael Wood, winning the Mount Roskill seat off the Labour Party for the f…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Ryan Hamilton. Prior to entering Parliament, Ryan was a Hamilton City Councillor, small business owner and had involvement in a number of community organisations. Ryan g…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Nancy Lu. Nancy was National’s highest ranking candidate who wasn’t already in Parliament and was elected on the list in unusual circumstances following the death of a c…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Jordan sat down with National Party MP, Dr Hamish Campbell. Hamish reclaimed the previously safe National seat of Ilam at the 2023 election, following it turning red for the first time in 2020. Prior to enteri…

This week on our podcast is a special post-Budget analysis with New Zealand Initiative Chief Economist, Eric Crampton. To support Taxpayer Talk, click here If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email podcast@taxpayers.org.nz Support the showBy New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc.

This week on our podcast is a special post-Budget analysis with Bagrie Economics Lead Economist, Cameron Bagrie. To support Taxpayer Talk, click here If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email podcast@taxpayers.org.nz Support the showBy New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc.

This week on our podcast is a special Budget edition with our friend from the New Zealand Initiative, Eric Crampton. Eric is the Initiative’s Chief Economist and provides a much welcome voice of reason to counter some the economic illiteracy often espoused by politicians. In this episode, Eric and Jordan discuss what they think the Government shoul…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Tom Rutherford. Tom was elected as the MP for the Bay of Plenty at the 2023 General Election. Prior to entering Parliament, Tom had worked for the National Party, in loc…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, James Meager. James was elected as the MP for Rangitata at the 2023 General Election, reclaiming the seat from Labour with a significant majority. James is a Lawyer and …

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Mike Butterick. Mike, a farmer and farming advocate, was elected as the MP for Wairarapa in the 2023 General Election. He has previously been involved with Federated Far…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with ACT Party MP, Andrew Hoggard. Andrew is a Manawatu farmer, has an Agricultural Economics degree and, prior to entering Parliament, was the President of Federated Farmers. Andrew has steppe…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Jordan sat down with National Party MP for Whanganui, Carl Bates. Carl joined the Young Nats aged just 12 and less than 30 years later was elected to Parliament as a National MP. Prior to entering politics, Ca…

This week's Taxpayer Talk presents another installment of our "MPs in Depth" podcast series, delving into the backgrounds of Parliament's newest members. In this episode, Jordan sits down with Cameron Luxton, the recently elected ACT Party MP. Cameron Luxton is unique in that he is New Zealand's only Licensed Building Practitioner ever elected to P…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Ollie sat down with National Party MP for Tukituki, Catherine Wedd. Catherine speaks about as a kid wanting to be a lawyer, journalist and a politician, something she now describes as "perhaps the three most u…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Ollie sat down with ACT Party MP Laura Trask. Laura is one of eleven ACT MPs elected at the 2023 General Election. Prior to entering Parliament, Laura worked as a pharmacy technician and in the health and safe…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Ollie sat down with newly elected National Party MP, Dr Vanessa Weenink. Vanessa details her life before politics including her time working as a doctor, being in the Army for more than 20 years, and even prev…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Jordan sat down with newly re-elected National Party MP, Dan Bidois. Dan first became an MP after winning the 2018 Northcote by-election before losing the seat to the red tide of 2020. Now Dan is back in Parli…

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Jordan sat down with newly elected National Party MP, Greg Fleming. Greg tells us about his journey into politics and how he formed his political ideology, starting with an egg business at age nine and eventua…

This episode of Taxpayer Talk is slightly different as it is a recording of a fantastic speech given by Lord Hannan at the Taxpayers' Union's 10th Birthday at Gibbs Farm. Lord Hannan is a member of the House of Lords and former member of the European Parliament. He is an advisor to the UK Board of Trade and is President of the Institute for Free Tr…

This week marks the return of our MPs in Depth series where we get to know some of Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Taxpayers' Union Investigations Co-ordinator, Oliver Bryan, sits down with newly elected ACT Party MP, Todd Stephenson. Todd grew up in the South Island and obtained a law degree from the University of Otago. Prior to becoming a…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with lawyer Stephen Franks to provide an update on the Three Waters legal challenge. Stephen is a founding director of the commercial and public law firm Franks Ogilvie, a former member of Parliament and spokesperson for the Water Users' Group. Franks Ogilvi…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative, Dr Oliver Hartwich, to discuss how the incoming Government should reform the public service. Despite a mandate for change and a desire to unwind many of the policies of the previous Government, the n…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with economist Michael Reddell. Michael is a former Head of Financial Markets at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, has worked for central banks of a number of other countries and has been an Alternate Executive Director on the Board of the International Monet…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with Dr Don Brash to discuss Labour’s proposal to remove GST from fruit and vegetables. Dr Brash chaired the advisory committee that designed New Zealand’s GST system back in 1985 and has a strong understanding of what makes a simple, efficient tax system. D…

A radical set of new anti-smoking measures is set to bring New Zealand close to a de facto prohibition on smoking. But with the black market rearing its head, what is the real cost of this crackdown for taxpayers, businesses and the economy? A major new analysis of Ayesha Verrall's Smoked Tobacco Amendment outlines $1.3 billion in new costs, and ar…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with Casey Costello, a former chair and board member of the Taxpayers’ Union who recently resigned in order to stand as a candidate for New Zealand First in this year's election. Casey has had a successful career in the police force, running her own business…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with National Party Police Spokesperson, Mark Mitchell, to discuss National’s plan for law and order if they are successful in the election later this year. Prior to entering Parliament, Mark was a police officer and was a member of the Dog Section and Armed…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with Malcolm Alexander and Stephen Franks to discuss the bill that the Taxpayers' Union commissioned to repeal and replace the Government’s Three Waters scheme. The development of the bill, along with detailed drafting of key provisions, has been a months-lo…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with Taxpayers’ Union co-founder, pollster and blogger, David Farrar to discuss how polling works along with his time at the Taxpayers’ Union and why he is stepping down. David founded Curia Market Research, a polling company, in 2004 and has had decades of …

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, sits down with National Party MP, Chris Bishop, to discuss the Government's proposed replacement to the Resource Management Act (RMA) and what National would do with resource management if elected. Chris Bishop is National's spokesperson for RMA reform, Infrastructure…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, sits down with ACT Party MP, Simon Court, to discuss the recent Three Waters rebrand, the proposed resource management reforms and what ACT is proposing to solve New Zealand's significant infrastructure and planning problems. Simon Court is ACT's spokesperson for infrast…

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, sits down with Wellington City Councillor, Ray Chung, to discuss Wellington’s shocking 12.3% rates rise and why this is being driven by inefficient, wasteful spending at the Council. Councillor Chung was elected just last year as the representative for Wharangi / Onslow-…

On this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams speaks with former Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand Chair, Rob Campbell, to discuss political neutrality within the public service. Campbell was publicly sacked from his high-profile position in the public service after making controversial comments about the National Party's Three Waters policy on …

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams sits down with Nick Stewart to discuss the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle. The recent cyclone devastated many parts of the country, particularly Hawke's Bay and Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island. Along with claiming lives and livelihoods, the cyclone exposed serious problems with the adequacy of…

In the latest edition of Taxpayer Talk, the focus is on local government with guests Dr Oliver Hartwich and Callum Purves. A review into the future of local government has been commissioned but it fails to address the main issues affecting the sector, in particular the way it’s funded and what its main functions should be. New Zealand Initiative Ex…

In the latest edition of Taxpayer Talk, host Peter Williams talks with Federated Farmers’ Paul Melville and Mark Hooper about the proposed new planning and environmental legislation to replace the Resource Management Act. While there is almost unanimous agreement the much maligned RMA needs to be updated and changed, Federated Farmers have serious …

In our first episode of Taxpayer Talk for 2023, Peter Williams is joined by lawyer Stephen Franks. Stephen is a founding director of the commercial and public law firm Franks Ogilvie, a former member of Parliament and spokesperson for the Water Users' Group. Stephen joins Peter to discuss why the Water Users' Group, backed by the Taxpayers' Union, …

In this year's final episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams hosts fellow Taxpayers' Union board members Hon Ruth Richardson and Executive Director, Jordan Williams, to review the highs and lows of 2022. Peter sits down with Ruth and Jordan to discuss everything from the economy to education to Winston Peters. As a former Minister of Finance, Ruth…