The SME Stream

National's hit out at Labour's plan to pause fuel taxes. 

Labour's promised no hikes to the fuel excise over the first three years if elected and will consider pushing back National Land Transport fund projects to compensate. 

National's announced it doesn't plan to go ahead with an excise lift scheduled for January. 

But Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking they can't put it off forever like Labour wants to do. 

She says its plan would mean potholes everywhere, bridges washed away in major cyclones, and roads that can't be fixed up. 

LISTEN ABOVE  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forsyth Barr's Mark Richardson joins Herald NOW to break down how investors should read company results.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BusinessDesk’s Dileepa Fonseka returns from Taiwan with lessons for NZ on AI, industrial policy and building globally competitive industries.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nvidia has reported its better-than-expected earnings for this quarter.

It's earned $100 billion of revenue in three months - more than double a year ago. 

Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explained further, as well as what this result means for the AI boom.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forsyth Barr's Paul Laxton Koraua breaks down the retail results, revealing where consumers are spending and which retailers are winning market share.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The overall economy seems to be holding together as it slowly gets back on track. 

Westpac's August overview forecasts 2% growth across this year – accelerating to 3% in 2027.  

It points to an uptick in activity after falling flat in the three months to June.   

Independent economist Cameron Bagrie told Ryan Bridge the war in Iran has played into a lot of uncertainty in recent months, but the economy's bounced back well. 

He says import and export numbers have been phenomenal, and a lot of that's coming from regional growth. 

LISTEN ABOVE  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tauranga Port expanding. Auckland Port seeing 5.5% lift in container volumes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The economy's on the mend but households are still feeling a squeeze.   

Westpac's August overview points to an uplift in activity after a subdued June quarter.  

It forecasts 2% growth over the year, jumping to 3% in 2027.  

Chief economist Kelly Eckhold told Mike Hosking that the growth the country's achieved in the last few quarters is coming from good sources such as exports and tourism. 

But he says there is a concern it will put pressure on margins and prices and push inflation up as we go through recovery next year. 

LISTEN ABOVE  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can international HR experience teach us about leadership in an increasingly connected world?

In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Wendy Baker, Chief People Officer at Brosnan, to explore global HR, commercial leadership, organisational culture, and the leadership capabilities needed to thrive in today's rapidly changing workplace.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore, Wendy shares practical insights into leading across cultures, developing commercial acumen, building trust, and helping organisations navigate complexity.

From international career opportunities and cultural intelligence to leadership, psychological safety, AI, governance, and high-performing teams, this conversation explores how curiosity, adaptability, and continuous learning enable HR professionals to become trusted business partners.

Wendy also shares lessons from competitive yacht racing and the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, drawing fascinating parallels between teamwork, communication, resilience, safety, and leadership in the workplace.

What You'll Learn

• How international experience shapes stronger HR and leadership capability

• Why curiosity is one of the most important leadership skills

• The value of cultural intelligence in diverse workplaces

• How HR professionals can strengthen their commercial and financial acumen

• Why understanding the business is essential for becoming a trusted advisor

• Practical advice for building an international HR career

• Lessons on teamwork, trust, and communication from competitive yacht racing

• How leaders can create psychologically safe, high-performing teams

• Why lifelong learning and adaptability are critical for future leaders

• How AI can enhance HR by creating more time for meaningful conversations

Key Takeaways

• Great HR starts with understanding the business, not just the people.

• Curiosity, listening, and adaptability are essential leadership capabilities.

• Cultural intelligence helps leaders build stronger relationships across diverse teams.

• Commercial understanding allows HR to become a genuine strategic partner.

• High-performing teams are built on trust, communication, and psychological safety.

• Leadership development is a lifelong journey of learning and reflection.

• Technology should enable better conversations, not replace human judgement.

• Supporting new employees well creates stronger teams and better long-term outcomes.

About Wendy Baker

Wendy Baker is Chief People Officer at Brosnan, bringing more than 20 years of Human Resources leadership experience across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore.

Her career includes senior HR leadership roles with organisations including American Express, JLL, CBRE, and Carter Holt Harvey, with expertise spanning organisational transformation, strategic HR, governance, commercial partnering, and leadership development.

A Chartered Member of HRNZ and Fellow of the UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Wendy is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing future leaders, and helping organisations create workplaces where people and performance thrive together.

Why This Episode Matters

As organisations become increasingly global, diverse, and technology-enabled, HR leaders are expected to contribute far beyond traditional people practices.

This episode provides practical insights into building commercial capability, leading across cultures, creating psychologically safe teams, and developing the curiosity and adaptability needed to thrive in the future of work. Whether you're an HR professional, business leader, or people manager, Wendy's international experience offers valuable lessons that apply across every organisation.

Resources

• Connect with Wendy Baker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendybaker1/
• Brosnan: https://brosnan.co.nz/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if space was not simply a place to launch satellites – but a factory floor for making things that cannot be produced on Earth?

That is the bet being made by Auckland startup Outlier Space, which has raised around US$7.35 million (NZ$12.3 million) in pre-seed funding to build reusable spacecraft that carry customer payloads into microgravity, operate them in orbit, then return them safely to Earth. Its first mission is booked for 2028.

The premise is straightforward, if technically formidable. In orbit, a spacecraft is in continuous freefall, creating a microgravity environment in which the familiar force of gravity no longer dominates. Molecules, crystals, cells and materials can therefore behave in ways that are not possible in an Earth-bound laboratory.

That holds incredible appeal to pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and advanced-materials manufacturers. Microgravity can allow purer crystals to form, produce novel structures and open paths to materials and medicines that simply cannot be created – or cannot be created as effectively – on the ground.

Bringing the results home

In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Outlier founder and chief executive Jamie France describes the company as an “anti-gravity chamber” for customers. They provide the proprietary manufacturing equipment and process. Outlier supplies the capsule-cum-satellite that allows access to the extraordinary environment of orbit, then brings the results home.

The opportunity is becoming more urgent as the International Space Station – the world’s most important microgravity research laboratory – approaches retirement. Commercial replacements are on the way, but France believes there is a major role for autonomous, uncrewed spacecraft designed for manufacturing and research missions where astronauts are not required.

France has the background to take on that challenge. He spent 15 years working with Emirates Team New Zealand, helped create Air New Zealand’s Skycouch, and spent almost a decade at Rocket Lab – from senior vehicle engineer on Electron to global director of the launch vehicle programme. Most recently, he sat on the board of FTN Motion, advising the founders as they scaled up production of their electric motorbikes (see episode 160 of The Business of Tech).

France’s career has been defined by teams willing to tackle difficult problems from first principles. At Rocket Lab, he says, the high-stakes peak-performance mindset of an America’s Cup campaign was not an occasional event. It was simply “a Tuesday”.

Outlier is now assembling its own team in Auckland, already numbering more than 20, to build a spacecraft capable not only of operating in orbit but also surviving re-entry and getting valuable payloads back into customers’ hands.

In this episode, France explains why space manufacturing is really about gravity, how a new form of a cancer drug could change treatment delivery, and why New Zealand’s deep-tech future may depend as much on audacity as engineering skill.

Listen to The Business of Tech for the full conversation with Jamie France, available wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.