Entrepreneur and Crimson Education founder Jamie Beaton joins Taxpayer Talk to discuss his extensive academic career, including his 11 degrees, and to offer a strong policy critique advocating for replacing the NCEA high school qualification with a more rigorous, globally standardized system. 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 ACT MP Cameron Luxton for a wide-ranging discussion on the Government’s new Gene Technology Bill and what it means for innovation and regulation in New Zealand. Cameron shares his perspective on the Bill’s Māori advisory committee and how ACT approached its position. Peter and Cameron also discuss the Bill he has drafted to improve transparency and accountability in local government by banning unelected voting members on council committe...

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, Peter Williams sits down with financial advisor and Stewart Group founder Nick Stewart to tackle a question too many councils would rather avoid: are skyrocketing rates making inflation worse? Nick explains how council spending flows through to households and businesses, pushing up the cost of living just as families are already struggling. Rates might look like a local issue, but the ripple effects are felt nationwide. If you’ve ever wondered why your grocery bill...

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

Building anything in New Zealand has no shortage of challenges. Whether it be soaring costs, reels of red tape, or problems with supplying labour, our choked infrastructure pipeline deeply affects this country's economy and quality of life. CEO for Infrastructure New Zealand, Nick Leggett, joins Peter Williams for a deep dive into how can overcome these challenges so we can build faster, more efficiently, and more affordably. Support the show

Rates across the country have soared, many into the double-digits. But while most councils point fingers and find excuses, Mayor for Whanganui Andrew Tripe has kept his average rates increase as low 2.2 percent – the lowest in the country this year. Mayor Tripe joins Peter Williams for a discussion on how this was achieved, and the work behind getting his Council focused on the basics, while keeping up with important infrastructure and services, and paying down debt. Support the show

It’s seven years since Sir Bill English left politics but the former Prime Minister and long serving Finance Minister is still a keen follower of the political landscape and how the economic outlook for the country can be improved. In conversation with Peter Williams for the latest Taxpayer Talk podcast, Sir Bill maintains that the political battle over National Superannuation has been won and governments will have to pay a universal pension to every senior citizen for the foreseeable f...

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Jordan sat down with former Chair of the Taxpayers' Union and now Minister Casey Costello, to talk through the highs and lows of her first 18 months in Parliament. In the podcast, we unpack her ministerial briefs, including cracking down on organised crime, the Government’s approach to anti-smoking measures, and her priorities in health – plus why she thinks New Zealanders are looking beyond the headlines. Support the show

“The rainy day has come. We believe it is crucial that the Government cut debt now.” Those words from Taxpayer’s Union researcher Levi Gibbs talking about his new paper “A Path to Surplus” released just a few days before Budget 2025. Levi Gibbs joined host Peter Williams on a special edition of the Taxpayer Talk podcast to discuss the in-depth paper which analyses both the debt and the annual budget deficit, and offers solutions to reduce both. Support the show

This week Peter Williams is joined by social media sensation, David Baker, from Rapid QS. David is a quantity surveyor by trade, specialising in pricing residential buildings—and has spent the last year blowing the whistle on why so many public housing and infrastructure projects cost so much. But price is just the start—David also raising growing concern with agencies being unable to explain why the costs are so high, and has stated a wide-ranging social media campaign to expose these costs...

This week on Taxpayer Talk, Peter sat down with Ruth Richardson, Minister of Finance during the National-Bolger Government, and catalyst of major economic reforms during the 90s. One of New Zealand's most respected Ministers of Finance, Ruth remains a deep thinker on the country’s dangerous fiscal position and how we can extract ourselves from it. With this year’s Budget only a few weeks away, she sets a path back to fiscal sustainability and tackles universal superannuation, the health syste...

The Taxpayer’s Union popular podcast Taxpayer Talk returns with host Peter Williams and the Taxpayer’s Union Climate and Fiscal Policy analyst Levi Gibbs talking about New Zealand’s commitments (or lack of them) under the Paris Accord and how the Government can close the forecast 17 billion dollar budget deficit. Hear Levi explain why the Treasury forecast of New Zealand’s $20 billion plus commitment to buy carbon credits may not come to pass. Then he suggests ways to better manage the New Ze...

This week on Taxpayer Talk Jordan sat down with the NZ Initiative's Chief Economist, Dr Eric Crampton on Nicola Willis' announcement on Sunday about possible splitting up of the super market industry. In the podcast, we unpack what's on the table, the risks, and what Dr Crampton argues is the real reason New Zealand lacks competition at the checkout. Support the show

On this week's episode of Taxpayer Talk, Jordan sat down to talk with current Nelson Mayor and former National Party Minister, Nick Smith. First elected as a Member of Parliament in 1990, Nick Smith would remain an MP for over three decades. Nick would serve across a number of portfolios, including as Minister of Education, Local Government, and Housing. He was elected as Nelson's Mayor in 2022, and now chairs LGNZ's Electoral Reform Group. With Wellington and Hastings councils in the news ov...

On this week's Taxpayer Talk, ACT MP Simon Court - Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Infrastructure and Minister Responsible for RMA reform - joins Jordan Williams to talk about the Government's plans for RMA reform. If you like what we do, sign up for updates at taxpayers.org.nz Support the show

Ewen 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 to email podcast@taxpayers.org.nz Support the show

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 brands. Suze shares her life story, what drew her to politics and what she hopes to achieve during her time in Parliament. Also discussed is a number...

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 comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email podcast@taxpayers.org.nz Support the show