In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 29, our guest is business leader Sir Robert McLeod.

Rob grew up near Gisborne on the East Coast of New Zealand and over the last forty years has become one of New Zealand’s most influential business leaders of our time.

His career started as a tax specialist at KPMG and subsequently Arthur Andersen before he settled into the firm then known as Ernst & Young. There he became the Chair of the New Zealand Partnership, and subsequently CEO before later becoming CEO of EY Australia.

His influence across government policy grew as he took on appointments across a wide range of government appointed taskforces and commissions including Tertiary Education, Justice and an organisational review of the Inland Revenue Department. Most notable was his appointment in 2020 to the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and in 2001 to the Chair of the New Zealand Tax Review, in what became known as the McLeod tax review.

His ability to stride both sides of the pollical spectrum is summed up by the fact that he was also the Chairman of the NZ Business Roundtable, a role supposedly not compatible with the Labour Government of the day, and yet he commanded both the Tax Review and the Roundtable with equal measures of independence and pragmatism.

During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, Rob speaks with Bruce Cotterill about the wide range of issues affecting the New Zealand economy, including the recent interest in a capital gains tax, the escalating debate about Maori sovereignty and the current challenges within our debt laden economy, including the need to reduce the size of government before implementing meaningful tax reform. And as you might expect, there’s plenty of discussion about what constitutes good leadership.

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In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 28, our guest is the former ACT Party Member of Parliament and NZCPR Founder, Dr. Muriel Newman.

Dr. Newman moved to New Zealand with her family as a young girl, and brought with her an approach to her education typified by her desire not to let her parents down. That education led to a career teaching in New Zealand and subsequently the USA, before returning to New Zealand to bring up her young children.

Her work as a part of Sir Michael Hill’s Whangarei team led to a position as President of the local Chamber of Commerce and subsequently as a founding member of the ACT party.

After nine years as an MP, she founded the New Zealand Centre for Political Research an independent public policy think tank that provides research-based analysis and commentary on matters of national interest.

NZCPR is guided by a firm belief that informed citizens are at the heart of a well-functioning democracy.

During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, she speaks to Bruce Cotterill about the enormous challenges for the New Zealand government in the aftermath of the Ardern Hipkins Labour government, in particular the implications of unravelling the failed centralisations, bloated bureaucracies and inflated expectations of those who were set to benefit from government decisions based on race.

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In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 27 we take a close up look at how governments and local authorities spend our tax and rates money.

Our guest for this quest is Jordan Williams, co-founder of The Taxpayers Union, a purpose driven organisation established over ten years ago with a view to campaigning for better value for money from government spending.

Jordan graduated from law school at Victoria University and spent his first five years working in the law firm founded by former Act Party MP, Stephen Franks. We hear how he ‘picked up the bug’ of defending taxpayer dollars and the vision that led to the creation of The Taxpayers Union.

Former Prime Minister Sir Bill English has described the Union as follows:

“One of the principal tools for restoring value for money for the taxpayer is transparency. The Taxpayers’ Union has been remarkably successful simply by exposing the actions of government to the hard light of day”.

We’d all like to think that such transparency results in better politicians, better behaviour and better public services. But the job is still a long way from being done.

The conversation doesn’t stop at government spending either. The Prime Minister’s speech to Local Government New Zealand a few weeks ago gets some attention during the podcast as does the recent local body spending news about steps to the $263,000 beach at Milford in Auckland and Wellington’s now famous $500,000 plus bike rack.

Jordan Williams is at his animated and enthusiastic best discussing the wasted spending in our public organisations as he celebrates the organisation’s annual “Jonesie Awards” for the worst examples of wasteful spending.

Episode 27 of Leaders Getting Coffee is a wonderful opportunity to understand more about where our tax and rates dollars go, and we share the story of those who are trying to make that spending more responsible.

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