Andrew Dickens Afternoons by Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB
Radio: NewsTalk ZB Network
Categories: News & Politics
Listen to the last episode:
It is fair to say the country is not in a good place right now.
Job cuts dominate the headlines. A double-dip recession came true. Inflation is robbing us of our purchasing power.
Last week an IPSOS poll found that 60 percent of us think that New Zealand is in decline and 65 percent believe that the economy is rigged to benefit the rich and the powerful.
And when people bemoan our situation and wonder how we got here a common response is to blame the Labour Government and the Reserve Bank.
A common refrain is Robertson blew all the money so we can't afford to do anything now, even something as important as paying our police more so they don't quit or leave the country. You also hear that Labour caused a debt so large our children and their children will be paying for it for decades to come.
So I pricked up my ears last week when Mike Hosking talked to ASB economist Nick Tuffley about inflation and the economy in general.
Mike asked him how bad was our economy and he said pretty bad but still nowhere near what happened after the GFC.
To remind you, the GFC ended early in 2009 and John Key's government was in charge. To remedy the situation we borrowed, we opened up immigration and we went through austerity to a far greater degree than we're doing now. And it worked.
Need I remind you that within 5 years we were described as having a rock-star economy.
This is not to diminish the situation that we're in right now but it is to put a perspective on things.
But Nick was also asked why inflation and bad economic tidings were still happening here when other economies like the States, the UK and Australia are bouncing back. Economies with far greater debt and spending.
Tuffley essentially blamed our static productivity. He says considering we imported nearly 3 percent more population over the past 2 years our GDP should have raised, but it didn't.
We seem incapable of making more money per person year on year. And it's a problem that we've had ever since Ruth Richardson's Mother of all Budgets early in the 90s. And it's a problem that exists no matter the colour of the government.
It's something we need to look to ourselves for not something we can blame on the government.
And it relates to the comments that Christopher Luxon made overseas that angered some when he boasted that New Zealand is now open for business.
We've always been open for business. The real question is how much business are we open for?
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Previous episodes
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674 - Andrew Dickens: We need to put perspective on the current state of our economy Mon, 22 Apr 2024
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673 - Andrew Dickens: The media model is broken because of fear Mon, 15 Apr 2024
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672 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand knows the price of everything and the value of nothing Mon, 08 Apr 2024
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671 - Andrew Dickens: Let's put SailGP on at an appropriate venue and move on Mon, 25 Mar 2024
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670 - Andrew Dickens: Did the Government know that their pre-election promises were unaffordable? Mon, 11 Mar 2024
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669 - Andrew Dickens: National's state of the nation address was blame game politics Mon, 19 Feb 2024
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668 - Andrew Dickens: This weekend showed the Greens are fast becoming unelectable Mon, 12 Feb 2024
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667 - Andrew Dickens: The Government has to learn perceptions stick Mon, 04 Dec 2023
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666 - Andrew Dickens: Is this what we can expect for the next three years? Mon, 27 Nov 2023
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665 - Andrew Dickens: There's big stones in the path to coalition Mon, 20 Nov 2023
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664 - Andrew Dickens: Enjoy this respite from criticism of New Zealand, it won't last Mon, 30 Oct 2023
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663 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand is confused Mon, 16 Oct 2023
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662 - Andrew Dickens: We've got an incompetent cohort of politicians Mon, 09 Oct 2023
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661 - Andrew Dickens: National has abandoned their plans for social investment from 2017 Mon, 02 Oct 2023
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660 - Andrew Dickens: I don't know why National is so wedded to these tax cuts Mon, 18 Sep 2023
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659 - Andrew Dickens: Luxon shoots himself in the foot, time and time again Mon, 11 Sep 2023
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658 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand needs smart leadership- but no one's offering Mon, 04 Sep 2023
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657 - Andrew Dickens: Misguided, naïve, or just plain timid Mon, 28 Aug 2023
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656 - Andrew Dickens: This country won't survive drastic cuts to the public workforce Mon, 21 Aug 2023
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655 - Andrew Dickens: Will they have any mandate at all come October? Mon, 14 Aug 2023
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654 - Andrew Dickens: There's one piece of infrastructure working well- Eden Park Mon, 07 Aug 2023
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653 - Andrew Dickens: We're not nearly as bad as so many make us out to be Mon, 31 Jul 2023
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652 - Andrew Dickens: Hipkins is a lame turkey waiting for Christmas Mon, 24 Jul 2023
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651 - Andrew Dickens: Matariki is not going away Mon, 17 Jul 2023
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650 - Andrew Dickens: Cancel culture continues to grow Mon, 10 Jul 2023
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649 - Andrew Dickens: The treatment of the Police is regrettable Mon, 26 Jun 2023
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648 - Andrew Dickens: This policy should've been placed in the "not now, not ever" pile Mon, 19 Jun 2023
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647 - Andrew Dickens: Green's tax policy is barely worth the paper it's written on Tue, 13 Jun 2023
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646 - Andrew Dickens: A bit of a culture shock Mon, 29 May 2023
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645 - Andrew Dickens: Why did so many mainstream outlets miss the point of the coronation? Mon, 08 May 2023
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644 - Andrew Dickens: King Charles makes a useful sideshow from the drudgery of everyday life Mon, 01 May 2023
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643 - Andrew Dickens: We need to pay people more Mon, 24 Apr 2023
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642 - Andrew Dickens: Infrastructure planning is a lesson we fail to learn Mon, 17 Apr 2023
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641 - Andrew Dickens: It's time for politicians to back away from the bluster Mon, 03 Apr 2023
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640 - Andrew Dickens: Posie Parker's visit and the fallout played out exactly as predicted Mon, 27 Mar 2023
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639 - Andrew Dickens: We ignore what's possible when we talk about crime and policing Mon, 20 Mar 2023
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638 - Andrew Dickens: We have to admit our health system is broken Mon, 13 Mar 2023
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637 - Andrew Dickens: How can you reduce both public servants and consultants if you want anything done? Mon, 06 Mar 2023
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636 - Andrew Dickens: Tribute to Chester Borrows Mon, 27 Feb 2023
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635 - Andrew Dickens: I won't be voting for a party that doesn't have a cogent water reform policy Mon, 27 Feb 2023
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634 - Andrew Dickens: It's time to stop doing only enough to get by until tomorrow Mon, 20 Feb 2023
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633 - Philip Duncan: WeatherWatch Mon, 13 Feb 2023
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632 - Andrew Dickens: Much to unpack from the Auckland Floods Mon, 30 Jan 2023
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631 - Andrew Dickens: It's making for a great election Mon, 23 Jan 2023
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630 - Andrew Dickens: The by-election needs to be taken with a grain of salt Sun, 11 Dec 2022
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629 - Andrew Dickens: Saturday's Billy Joel concert gave me perspective on transport investments Mon, 05 Dec 2022
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628 - Andrew Dickens: We've been used as a rubbish bin and the Aussies know it Mon, 28 Nov 2022
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627 - Andrew Dickens: Qatar's money has taken their humanity Mon, 21 Nov 2022
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626 - Andrew Dickens: Co-governance should be the least of your worries Mon, 14 Nov 2022
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625 - Andrew Dickens: I warned you that Winston is back and I was right Mon, 31 Oct 2022