The SME Stream

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The Trade Minister's hitting back at suggestions the India Free Trade Agreement will lead to a flood of immigration.

Foreign Minster Winston Peters has said the agreement won't let us specifically cap Indian student visas, among other commentary on the deal.

Todd McClay's confirmed that's the case but says they can cap student visas from all countries - as long as India isn't specifically discriminated against.

"Others are saying is that hundreds of thousands of people, or tens of thousands of people are going to come over to New Zealand as a result of this agreement - I just want to take it back a step, this is a trade agreement, it actually isn't an immigration agreement." 

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Trade Minister Todd McClay's recognised he could have been clearer about aspects of his India trade deal.  

He's in battles with Foreign Minister Winston Peters about the agreement's text, which hasn't been released.  

Peters has criticised student visas being uncapped but McClay says over-arching immigration settings can still change.  

He told Mike Hosking the deal's being legally verified, and India's asked us to withhold its release.  

McClay says India's negotiating with the EU and US and are sensitive about what they've given us, so we can only talk about things widely when India agrees. 

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The chief executive of DairyNZ encourages farmers to vote YES in the upcoming Milksolids Levy vote. 

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The Justice Minister says his retail crime advisory group has been successful and productive.

It'll been cut short, ending in May - not the planned September - after three members resigned last month.

It leaves just two members, chair and dairy owner Sunny Kaushal and liquor retailer, Ash Parmar. 

Paul Goldsmith says he could have appointed more people for the next six months or wrapped it up early. 

"The simpler thing to do was say - look, you've got a couple of things you need to finish, you've got three months to do that and then we'll go off on our merry way. The Government's got lots of ideas to work with." 

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The Retail Crime Group chair is brushing off criticism from former members.

The Government's scrapping its retail crime Ministerial Advisory Group early after three members resigned, leaving just two members out of five.

Retail NZ boss and former member Carolyn Young said her relationship with chair Sunny Kaushal made the role untenable and as a politician, he's focused on making headlines.

But Kaushal told Mike Hosking he's not upset how things went down with Young because he's focused on the victims.

He says he won't respond to her public comments because he wants to get the job done and not focus on egos.

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There's nothing to suggest the rates of retail crime have fallen.

The Government's scrapping its retail crime Ministerial Advisory Group early - after three members resigned. 

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's confirmed it'll wrap up in May - not the scheduled September end date. 

Retail NZ CEO and former group member, Carolyn Young told Ryan Bridge there are no signs offending is falling.

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Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is defending the financial track record of his regional funds.

Around half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book is considered at risk of default.

Most of the $433 million portfolio covers the Provincial Growth Fund and the current Regional Infrastructure Fund, were both looked over by Shane Jones.

Jones says his party supports investment in regions.

"Not too different from what the commercial banks are dealing with, as we speak at this moment." 

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New Zealand’s love affair with property investing might be entering a new era. Economist Tony Alexander joined us to unpack what’s changed — from the end of decades-long falling interest rates, to shifting tax rules, tighter lending restrictions, and rising costs that are reshaping investor behaviour.

He explains why fewer everyday Kiwis may see property as the default path to wealth, and why first-home buyers are now driving a bigger share of the market.

This bite is a bonus from our episode ‘The end of the property era?’.

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More consistency across the Tasman in the standards for goods and services - could reduce administrative burdens and free up business capacity. 

A new agreement aims to streamline operations, reduce costs, improve quality and meet regulatory requirements in New Zealand and Australia.

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen told Ryan Bridge we were out of kilter with the Aussies on about 24 standards - so businesses effectively had to hire someone just to handle the paperwork. 

He says it's a main below-the-surface issue and barrier for businesses - that can put them off doing the work. 

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