What’s your message to the new Reserve Bank Governor?

Dr Anna Breman is moving from Sweden to take up the job and will begin her five-year term at the start of December.

I thought it was interesting to hear her say yesterday that one of the first things she plans to do is to travel around the country to meet and listen to people.

She says she wants to meet people in regular households and students, to hear what they’ve got to say.

What would you tell her? What do you think she needs to know?

Back in March, when Adrian Orr quit, my advice to whoever eventually took over was to be the complete opposite of him.

To make sure they stayed in their lane and kept themselves in check. Because when you’re the Reserve Bank governor, your job is to be part of creating a rock star economy – you’re not the rock star yourself.

What I heard yesterday gives me confidence that Dr Breman is going to do exactly that. Keep the ego under control, but more importantly, actually listen to what’s going on.

The fact that one of the first things she plans to do is go around the country and talk to people like you and me, I think that’s brilliant.

But it can’t just be a one-off. She needs to be in Christchurch and Auckland pretty much all the time, as well as Wellington and other parts of the country. Because Auckland and Christchurch are the two powerhouses of New Zealand’s economy.

If I had half an hour with Dr Breman, I’d tell her that she needs to get out of Wellington and talk to real people on a regular basis. To see what people are paying at the supermarket check-outs, to see what people are paying for power, and not just read about it in reports written by officials who can still afford to buy their coffees and lunches and nights out at the weekend.

I suppose what I’m saying is that Dr Breman needs to be a Reserve Bank Governor of the people. That might be a tall order but that’s what I’d say.

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You know how the Prime Minister does a very good job of batting away poll results and saying that his focus is fixing up the joint after the last lot and that he’ll wait until election day to be judged?

I don’t think he will find it quite as easy to do that with these results out today from the NZ Herald’s annual Mood of the Boardroom survey. The annual survey of about 150 business leaders – 125 of them being CEOs of major New Zealand companies.

People like Port of Auckland boss Roger Gray, the head of Tower Insurance Paul Johnston and Forsyth Barr boss Neil Paviour-Smith.

One of the things that comes out in the survey results is a ranking of the performances of our Cabinet ministers. How these business leaders think of each minister is doing.

Top of the list is Erica Stanford – she’s the highest ranking. Winston Peters is in second place and Chris Bishop is third.

The Prime Minister is ranked 15th. In last year’s survey, he was sixth. Even Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, who sits outside cabinet, ranks higher than the PM in 10th place.

The other big name outside the top 10 is Finance and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis – the bosses at our biggest companies have ranked her in 13th place.

Which is not good news for the Government. Because what’s coming through loud and clear is that the business community has no faith that there is a plan to get the country “back on track”.

We’re way more than halfway through the Government’s current term and our most senior business leaders are asking: “What is your plan Prime Minister?"

I think this result out today is way worse for the Government than any political poll result so far. When you’ve got business leaders ranking the Finance Minister 13th and the Prime Minister 15th, this is a government in strife, isn’t it?

The reason I think this will hurt Christopher Luxon more than any of the other poll results he’s managed to bat away or put a brave face on for, is that these are his people.

Before he entered politics, he was one of them. He probably even took part in these surveys when he was chief executive at Air New Zealand.

He’s the people he’s talking to when he goes on about signs of green shoots in the economy. These are the people he’s talking to when he talks about getting runs on the board.

The people who have said he’s the 15th-best performing cabinet minister. The people he’s talking to with his quarterly action plans, deliverables, KPIs, decision gates, and value chains.

But his people still don’t know what he’s trying to do. They still don’t know what his plan is. Which is why I think he will really be feeling this today.

Because even his people don’t get him.

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Is it good enough?

When you hear a doctor at Christchurch Hospital say that patients are dying in the waiting room and car park because the place is so overloaded, is it good enough?

I’ve been talking to someone who was there at the weekend and saw first-hand how overloaded it actually is, which I’ll tell you about shortly.

But is it good enough that we have Dr Dominic Fleischer saying that patients are dying in the waiting room and car park because the place is so overloaded?

It’s not good enough in my book. But what’s the solution? I honestly think the only genuine solution would be a second general hospital in the greater Christchurch area.

What chance of that happening, do you reckon?

I was talking this morning with someone who wasn’t shocked to hear what Dr Fleischer is saying. Because this person was at Christchurch Hospital at the weekend and saw first-hand what it’s like.

They went to the emergency department with a family member on Sunday afternoon. So it wasn’t Friday night or Saturday night, when the ED is, typically, its busiest.

The person they were supporting was “fast tracked”, but still had to wait six hours to be seen. There were other patients being told that the wait for them was going to be eight-to-nine hours.

It was standing room only in the waiting area. Support people had to stand and there were people squeezed-in together. Some vomiting. There were people bleeding, with blood running to the floor.

A guy arrived with his wife after he’d been lying on the floor at Bunnings for five hours waiting for an ambulance that never came. He had some sort of back injury.

Then, when the person I spoke to and the family member they were supporting eventually got through to the ED ward, every cubicle was occupied and the corridors were lined with people in seats, wheelchairs, stretchers and beds

The family member they were with had to have a consultation in a resuscitation room, where they were told not to put their bags down - in case they had to leave in a hurry.

Another so-called “private” consultation had to be done in the nurses tea room - because there was no other space available.

There was even a doctor wearing a backpack the whole time because he was being moved from ward-to-ward and didn’t know where he was going to be working next. So he kept his backpack on and his personal belongings with him the whole time

People having invasive tests - like blood cultures taken - in the corridor. They struggled to even find a wheelchair with a hook to carry IV medication.

This person who spoke to me about their experience said they couldn’t fault the doctors, nurses and security. Everyone was doing their best.

But it did occur to them, what if there was some sort of mass casualty event? Would the hospital be able to cope?

And this person said, based on what they went through, they couldn’t see how it could cope.

Which brings me back to the question I asked right at the start: Is this good enough?

Is it good enough that some patients are waiting 24 hours to be seen? Is it good enough that patients have died in the waiting room and carpark?

Is it good enough? And what would you do to fix it?

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Would you be happy to pay $110-a-year for a residential parking permit, so you could get a park outside your place whenever you wanted?

Some Christchurch City Council candidates think you would. Especially, if you live in the central city or in a suburb close to town where on-street parking can be a real problem.

The council is already looking into it. That’s how we have an idea how much it would cost. Around $110-a-year.

These candidates are saying today that it’s time to give residents priority parking in their own streets.

But I’m with developer Matthew Horncastle, from Williams Corporation, who is dead against the idea.

He says anyone who pays rates has the right to use an on-street car park, whether they live in the area or not. And he’s right.

He says a lot of people can’t afford to buy an apartment or a townhouse with off-street parking - so they have to park on the street.

I know how infuriating it can be for people who can’t get a park outside their place because every other Tom, Dick and Harry is parking there.

And I know that it’s a particular problem in the centre of town. Although, it’s a problem too in the suburbs a bit further out from the city.

Earlier this year, two-hour parking limits were introduced on Bishop Street in St Albans because people were struggling to get a park.

Which I’m fine with. I’ve got no problem with that. Because that keeps the parks available for everyone.

Resident parking permits are a different story, though.

I think they’re one of those things that sound good or look good on paper but, in reality, aren’t.

For example, policing them would be more work and cost for the council. Plus - just because you have a permit, it doesn’t guarantee you a park.

You could pay your $110 and end up parking around the corner. Or further away.

I hear the argument that people living on a street should have priority over others when it comes to parking. But I think we just have to accept that we have more and more properties in Christchurch without off-street parking and residential parking permits aren’t going to solve the problem.

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My confidence is shot and my patience is wearing thin.

That’s my answer to the question I’ve got for you. Which is: How would you rate your level of confidence in and patience with the Government?

After yesterday’s GDP result, the knives are well-and-truly out. We’ve got former Finance Minister Sir Roger Douglas saying Nicola Willis isn’t up to the job and should resign. Add to that a new poll result which says that 55% of us think the country is on the wrong track and 45% of us think the current government is worse than the previous Labour government.

Sir John Key isn’t having a bar of resignation talk about Nicola Willis, though.

He says out of anyone in the current government, she is far and away the best person to be Finance Minister and Economic Growth Minister. He thinks she has the goods to deliver better economic days – but what else was a former National prime minister going to say?

Two people I was talking to last night who voted for National at the last election weren’t as generous as Sir John. And they, like I do, think Sir Roger is right – Nicola Willis isn’t up to the job. Which is why my confidence has gone.

As for my patience wearing thin, what I’m saying there is that I’m prepared to give the Government a little bit more time to show that it’s listening. Proof of that would be moving Nicola Willis on and giving Chris Bishop the job.

He’s the only person in this Government who I think would be better than Nicola Willis. But just because the pickings are slim, it doesn’t mean changes shouldn’t be made.

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I wonder if the person who called me a tofu-eating, sandal-wearing, treehugger yesterday will have a bit of a re-think when they see what I’ve got to say about Environment Canterbury declaring a nitrate emergency.

I’m with Federated Farmers, which is saying it’s nothing more than a political stunt. But it’s not just that, it’s a very naive political stunt. Because show me one of these so-called “emergency” declarations that have done any good.

What about the Christchurch City Council’s climate emergency? Is that still a thing? Or have they quietly pulled the plug on that one?

The other thing that makes ECan’s stunt particularly naive is that it’s the outfit still dishing out consents for more dairy farming in Canterbury. There are about 950,000 dairy cows in Canterbury and ECan is currently considering applications for another 10,000.

I’ll come back to Federated Farmers because they’re not the only ones who aren’t happy about this emergency declaration – some ECan councillors themselves are brassed off, as well.

So what happened yesterday is one of ECan’s outgoing councillors put forward the motion to declare the emergency and for ECan to “take a leadership role to urgently address the issue of groundwater pollution impacting drinking water sources and supplies”.

Vicky Southworth is the councillor who put forward the motion at what was her very last ECan meeting. It was her last meeting, and it was the council’s last meeting before next month’s elections.

The vote was close —9 in favour, 7 against— and some of the councillors who voted against it were pretty angry at yesterday’s meeting.

Nick Ward is one of them. He said it was “grandstanding”. Another councillor, John Sunckell, said he’s spent 15 years trying to reduce nitrates, and “I just feel really pissed off with this little political stunt”.

They both said nitrates levels are expected to decline over time and that rural communities had worked hard and collaboratively over decades to lower nitrates, and that “emergency” was the wrong word to use.

Federated Farmers agrees. It’s slamming the move, with its vice-president Colin Hurst describing it as a “shameless political stunt that won’t help anyone”.

If Councillor Southworth was so concerned about the nitrates, she wouldn’t be leaving. She’d be putting herself forward for re-election, just like outgoing chairperson Craig Pauling. He voted in favour of the nitrate emergency, but he’s moving on as well. Again, if he’s so worried about it, then he’d be trying to get elected again too.

Instead, they can walk away feeling all virtuous, thinking they’ve done something positive and have made a difference. Do me a favour.

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Another warning from Labour for its potential coalition partner Te Pāti Māori.

MP Takuta Ferris has twice attacked ethnic Labour party volunteers who sign-waved in the Tamaki Makaurau by-election, claiming they were taking a Māori seat away from Māori.

Party president John Tamihere echoed Ferris' comments yesterday, despite the party previously apologising.

Chris Hipkins told John MacDonald the party needs to respond – the ball's in their court, and how they respond matters.

He’s also criticising Rawiri Waititi for only answering journalists' questions in te reo Māori yesterday.

It was the first time the party has fronted since Ferris doubled down on his comments, and Waititi refused to answer media questions in English, but later spoke English in the House.

The Labour Leader told MacDonald any minister in a government he leads would be expected to answer questions so all New Zealanders could understand.

He says if Waititi wants to communicate with Kiwis —including Māori who don't speak te reo— using both languages would be a better way of doing that.

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Get a grip. That’s my advice today to the people complaining about the music festival planned for the area near Bottle Lake Forest, in Christchurch, over the new year period.

Because I think the organisers are treating you very well and going above and beyond.

The Rolling Meadows festival is normally held at Waipara, north of the city, but the organisers hope to have it in Christchurch for the first time this year.

And because it’s near people’s homes, there have been complaints and there’s even a petition doing the rounds, with people worried about the noise and disruption. The organisers have listened and they’ve done a couple of things. Which I’ll get to.

When I was thinking about where I stood on this, I almost settled on the side of the residents, because of the numbers. The number of people expected to attend and the number of vehicles that are expected in the area over the three-day period.

They’re not insignificant. Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend, with 5,000 expected to camp on site, and 4,000 vehicles a day are expected on the only public access to the festival car park.

So there’s going to be a lot of people converging on that area over those three days from December 29 to 31.

But what I came back to is it’s just for three days. Three days when quite a few of the locals are likely to be away on holiday, anyway. Three days when the organisers are going to be bending over backwards to try and keep these people happy.

First of all, they’ve offered to pay for alternative accommodation for residents. They’re also going to hire people to patrol the streets, deal with rubbish and keep homes safe.

What’s more, it’s understood they’ve gone even further and have also offered to finish the performances earlier each night and reduce the noise levels.

That’s still not good enough, it seems. Which might be making the organisers a little bit nervous because they’re yet to get consent from the city council. They say that if that doesn’t happen, they’ll just go back to having it in Waipara.

Sure, the music blasting late into the night might be a pain in the backside if you’re not into it, but it’s just three nights.

Good on the Rolling Meadows organisers for going the extra mile. Some people though, will never be satisfied.

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