When the Facts Change

For decades, the wealthiest New Zealanders have been reaping enormous private gains from public infrastructure investments. While those who benefit consider the game fair, the less fortunate bear the overwhelming burden of infrastructure costs. Bernard Hickey talks with Geoff Cooper, the head of strategy at the Infrastructure Commission, as they delve into groundbreaking policy ideas aimed at transforming the existing landscape. Together, they explore strategies to achieve better distribution of infrastructure costs and envision a society where all individuals contribute their fair share towards a brighter future.

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Both farmers and environmentalists fear Aotearoa becoming a sea-to-sea swathe of permanent Pinus radiata plantations that collect billions of dollars of carbon sequestration credits for investors, but few create long-term jobs and become deserts for native flora and fauna to thrive. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are plenty of redwood, eucalypt, and other fast-growing carbon sinks that foster native regrowth and birds, and which would keep billions of emissions credits in Aotearoa, rather than going overseas. Forestry consultant and carbon-farming veteran Mark Belton explains why a lot of farms just aren't economic and how plantations don't have to be just pine.

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AI is gearing to be as much of a cultural revolution as the birth of the iPhone, but it’s still yet to be seen how its implementation in the workplace will impact everything from efficiency to recruitment. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to CK Lee, founder of receipt scanning app Taggun, about how he uses AI in his business and as a tool to improve his thinking.

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National's housing spokesman Chris Bishop wants councils to zone enough land with enough pipes and roads to house 30 years worth of population growth, but not all through densification. In this week's episode of When The Facts Change, Bernard Hickey asks Bishop just how big he wants Aotearoa to be, and who will pay for all the extra infrastructure needed when that growth is on green fields.

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Aotearoa has been penny-wise and pound-foolish with its investments in maintaining and building public infrastructure and services. This week Bernard Hickey talks with wellbeing economist Katherine Trebeck about how the machinery of government, politicians and voters can think and plan differently to avoid that same pound-foolishness again

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With the political and economic gravities pulling in various directions, the finance minister was tasked with providing support for the hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis without heaping sugar in an already high-inflation sauce. And on top of that, it's an election year. To assess whether Grant Robertson managed to thread that needle, Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire sits down with When the Facts Change’s Bernard Hickey to discuss their Budget 2023 reactions.

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Most new homes in Aotearoa are still designed with bespoke elements and a multitude of building materials. It feels a lot like the early days of cars, when there were thousands of manufacturers with many more thousands of models of cars. Then along came Henry Ford and Toyota to standardise and mass produce cars, driving prices down and quality up. This week Bernard Hickey talks with Simplicity Living MD Shane Brealey about how to build the Toyota Corolla of homes at two thirds the cost of other homes.

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Buying a home with a partner you're romantically involved with has always been the norm, but what if you're not in a relationship or prefer to go solo? Bernard Hickey talks to Kiwibank's Philippa Scott and Pip Maxwell about their new Co-own mortgages, which allow flatmates, brothers, sisters, cousins, and groups of friends to save, borrow and own houses together in ways that fit around modern family structures.

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An IRD investigation into the wealth of New Zealand's richest 311 families found they paid an effective tax rate of just 9.5%, less than a third the 30% effective rate being paid by single PAYE-taxpaying renter on $80,000 a year. This week Bernard Hickey talks to the report’s commissioner, revenue minister David Parker, to break down what the report says and discuss the fairness New Zealand's current tax system.

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As companies struggle to replace staff of all skill levels, is there a group of potential workers being overlooked by employers because they don't fit the traditional mold? Bernard Hickey talks with Autism NZ CEO Dane Dougan about the benefits that come with hiring autistic people and what employers can do to make their workplace safer for autistic staff members.

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