Taxpayer Talk

As he prepares to leave Parliament after 12 years, former Minister Andrew Bayly joins Peter Williams for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of New Zealand’s finances, the future of superannuation, and the reforms he believes the Government still needs to tackle. From cutting government waste and tackling soaring debt costs to raising the retirement age and protecting KiwiSaver, Bayly isn't holding back on the tough decisions facing the country. He also reflects on his controversial depa...

Jordan Williams sits down with Simon Watts, Minister of Local Government, for a frank conversation on the Government’s local government reforms. From scrapping Three Waters and introducing rates caps to co-governance in water entities, councillor access to information, unelected committee members, and council amalgamations, this episode puts the Minister under pressure on whether National has really delivered the accountability and local democracy it promised. Support the show

Our latest Taxpayers’ Union–Curia poll sent Wellington into a frenzy at the beginning of March. But in this week’s Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams sits down with Curia founder - and Taxpayers’ Union co-founder - David Farrar to separate the signal from the spin. Are polls actually driving political decisions, or just measuring them? And why do politicians pay attention, even when they ignore the results? David lifts the lid on how polling really works (spoiler: no, they’re not ringing every Kiw...

Federated Farmers National Board member Mark Hooper joins Taxpayer Talk with Peter Williams to critique the government’s "deeply flawed" replacement of the Resource Management Act with the Natural Environment Bill and the Planning Bill. Mark walks Peter through why the new framework fails to deliver a faster, cheaper, better system, arguing that a predicted 46% reduction in consents is insufficient and warning that farmers could face double the red tape through a combination of complex farm p...

Author David Cohen joins Jordan Williams for a no-holds-barred chat about his new book, Jacinda: The Untold Story. Billed as a refreshingly un-mushy take on Jacinda Ardern’s premiership, David drew on hundreds of interviews to cut through the PR gloss and media fawning. His verdict? Ardern was a talented brand manager, powered by what he calls a “missionary zeal” — but that communications-first style came at a cost, with big policies like KiwiBuild never properly stress-tested. Support the show

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Jordan is joined by international consultant Rowan Pike, a former Australian Federal Police officer and Customs and Border Force expert, to unpack the explosive rise of illicit tobacco in Australia. With around half of all cigarettes now sourced from the black market, Rowan reveals how sky-high excise taxes have fuelled organised crime, gang violence, and a thriving underground trade. Drawing on his frontline experience, he explains how well-intentioned policies ...

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by Roger Partridge from the New Zealand Initiative to unpack his new report: Unscrambling Government: Less Confusion, More Efficiency. Right now, New Zealand has 81 ministerial portfolios, 28 ministers, and 43 departments. That’s three times as many portfolios and nearly twice as many departments as comparable countries. No wonder things feel messy. Roger argues this sprawling Cabinet structure makes it harder to know who’s accountable, pus...

This week on Taxpayer Talk, James sits down with John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the UK TaxPayers' Alliance. John and James dig into some big issues, to see what New Zealand can learn from the UK's (many) mistakes. Rates caps, death tax, and John's role in exposing the infamous MPs' expenses scandal, which forced every British MP to open their expense reports to public scrutiny. Six MPs were jailed, and hundreds more were caught out. Support the show