Best of Business

National and NZ First have expressed interest in pulling apart Foodstuffs, and the company is looking to fight back. Foodstuffs recently commissioned consultancy firm Houston Kemp to review the Government-ordered cost-benefit analysis of making the split - with the review claiming the earlier conclusions were 'too good to be true'. Houston Kemp founding director Greg Houston says the recipe of lower prices, higher costs and wiping out profits doesn't seem 'plausible.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data shows Australia's house prices have taken a plunge, with Sydney and Melbourne leading the way. Prices across the nation have taken a significant drop since the property market peaked in March, and experts are unpacking the economic implications. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the recent increases to the OCR are having a real impact on the housing market. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says it'll make trans-Tasman travel more 'seamless' if re-elected. The party is promising to trial fully digitalising airport processes between Australia and New Zealand, so people don't need to show passports. Eligible travellers could provide details digitally and pass through gates with facial recognition. Tourism spokesperson Louise Upston says this will make the process faster and encourage more Australians to come to New Zealand. "In 2009, when National was last in office, we got the SmartGate technology - and so this is really the next step, which means you don't have to have your physical passport as you're moving through the airport." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The current Government earlier indicated they could be looking to make changes to NZ Super and adjust the eligibility age, but they've changed their tone ahead of election season. Chris Luxon and Nicola Willis recently declined opportunities to explicitly back the policy when asked about it after Treasury released its Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update earlier this week. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says it seems like there's a shift, but they haven't unveiled any campaign announcements related to NZ Super yet. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warehouse Group recently reported an improved annual financial result. It's confirmed an annual net profit of $11.2 million dollars - a departure from last year's $2.8 million dollar net loss. Milford Asset Management expert Jeremy Hutton unpacked the market reactions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warehouse Group has turned their luck around after the most recent downturn. It's confirmed an annual net profit of $11.2 million - a far cry from last year's $2.8 million net loss. Noel Leeming made a 21.8 million profit, and Warehouse Stationary made 15.9 million. Warehouse Group CEO Mark Stirton says these smaller companies allowed the brand to do the work on the main Warehouse chain - which also had an improved fourth quarter. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hallenstein Glasson is reporting a boost in earnings, with net profit up in the full year ended August. The retail giant posted a net profit of $59.2 million, up from $39.5 million a year ago. Generate investment specialist Greg Smith says the brand's doing well in Australia, but the data shows Kiwi shoppers are also contributing to the growth. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's Finance spokesperson won't commit to delivering a surplus by 2029/30 if it's at the expense of restoring pay equity. Barbara Edmonds says she is confident Labour could deliver both. "For example, a choice that we would not make is $300 million for a tobacco excise tax cut." Labour will release its fiscal plan in coming weeks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Nicola Willis is putting the rosier Government books - unveiled today - down to Kiwis' hard work, but won't say whether they'll be repaid a dividend in the form of tax cuts. Forecasts predict the next two years' deficits will be much smaller, and the 2028/29 surplus nearly $2 billion larger than earlier expected. But much of that improvement is down to income-tax bracket creep, and more revenue from GST and company tax. Willis says her focus is getting debt down, to buffer against any future shock. "Those are National's budget responsibility rules - we have to deliver on those before we start dishing out the dividend." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economists are expecting the Reserve Bank of Australia to lift the OCR up again this evening. A rise of 25 basis points is projected, meaning the OCR could go up as high as 4.60 percent. Ahead of the announcement, Australian correspondent Murray Olds says this projected increase will put more pressure on the federal Government, especially in the eyes of homeowners. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Gates is the latest big name in the tech sector to issue a warning about AI amid rising concerns. Gates says the technology needs to be regulated and warns that AI can't keep going unchecked and that existing 'kill switches' aren't enough. US correspondent Richard Arnold says Gates is calling for a better 'monitoring system' to stop AI from causing harm. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to bring 'stability' back to the UK's economy as Labour heads to Liverpool. However, economic concerns like the Middle East conflict and rising energy prices are threatening to have a significant impact on UK households. Business correspondent Vicky Pryce says interest rates in the UK are also quite high and the pressure's on for Burnham to bring down the debt. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a belief New Zealand First's proposal to slash the tax rate for small businesses could make a positive difference to our business landscape. The party's promising to lower the tax rate from 28% to 20% for firms with turnover under $30 million. Its estimated cost is about a billion dollars a year. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich told Kerre Woodham it would apply to a majority of our businesses. She says it would need to be researched for implementation, but it's bold and could transform business in New Zealand LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The political parties have pressed go on their election campaigns and every morning from now until November 7th, we'll have a full smorgasbord of party promises to pick over. Lucky, lucky us. Of course, most of them aren't worth the paper they're printed on. The minor parties have the luxury of promising you a pony and a castle and fairy bread for the rest of your life, then when it comes time to stump up after the election, they'll be all, "Oh, soz, we really wanted to, but those mean Nats/Labourites wouldn't let us. Sorry." So everything you hear, take with a grain of salt. And everything the two main parties promise, ask yourself how they expect us to pay for it, because they won't be paying for it out of their party war chests. We will be. You and me. So when the policies come out from National and Labour, think like a supermodel – one of the OG supermodels, Linda Evangelista, famously said, "I don't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day." And that was back in the 80's, that would be serious coin now. Ask yourself when you hear the policies promised by National and Labour, "is this worth me getting out of bed for to do a full day's work and pay my taxes?" Back to the breakfast buffet of election promises. New Zealand First says it will cut the tax rate for small businesses by almost a third, from 28 to 20%. The reduced rate would apply to companies with a turnover under $30 million, which sounds like small businesses are pretty big businesses. They say, New Zealand First, it will cost a billion dollars, but that will be more than returned with increased productivity, long term investment, and increase in labour demand, employment, and wages. But what would you do if your tax was cut by 8%? Where would you put that extra money? Because it comes back to the reason why you started your own business, became your own boss. Is it to be the next Bill Gates? There are a number of you that I've talked to over the years who could grow your businesses, but you don't want the hassle. You could take on more staff, but you don't want to. Once your business gets to a certain turnover, you want to kick back and enjoy life, coach the kids' sport, take time off during the holidays. It's the batch, the boat, the BMW mentality. You have enough for the life you want to live. You don't want to invest in new capital or more staff or do more hours or pack your bags and head overseas and hustle for the next contract. Why? You've achieved a level of comfort that you're happy with. You don't want to be a billionaire. What does success look like to you? If you became your own boss, if you set up your own business, what was that for? To give you freedom? To give you independence? To make a fortune? If New Zealand First got this one over the line in a coalition agreement with National or Labour, what would you do with that extra 8%? Do like New Zealand First believes you will, reinvest it back in the business? Or would you use it to just live your best life, get there faster? And I'd love to know the motivation behind setting up your own business. For the people who've phoned me over the years, it's been about lifestyle, about making your own choices, making your own decisions. It's not been about chasing the buck, but I'd love to hear from you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another positive annual result for Fonterra despite challenging weather conditions and global volatility. The dairy co-op's confirmed a total cash return to shareholders of $19.6 billion. The final Farmgate Milk Price payout for dairy farmers is $9.69, down from a record-high payout of $10.16 last year. DairyNZ CEO Campbell Parker told Ryan Bridge the results reflect not only strong strategy, but strong execution. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, has launched its own new AI-powered assistant. Muse went to number one on the app stores and it's generated plenty of interest, but not everyone's a fan. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further - and revealed why Amazon has cut the agent off its platform. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fonterra's boss believes the dairy co-op remains in a strong position, following the sell-off of its consumer brands. It's confirmed a 23.6 percent rise in annual underlying operation profit. CEO Richard Allen says these recent results are good news for New Zealand, as it means more money entering the economy and a good reward for Kiwi farmers. "It's a great result - we've been very clear on, I guess, our strategy, focused B2B since our divestment and our B2B businesses have had a great year." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ First want taxes slashed for small and medium businesses in order to increase productivity. The party will campaign on lowering the rate from 28 percent to 20 - for businesses turning over less than $30 million dollars. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says there's a case for making this change, as Australia tried something similar for small to medium enterprises. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time is running out for the businesses that generate billions of dollars worth of GDP and that employ a quarter of a million New Zealanders. They're the businesses that run on gas. Your bakers, your coffee roasters, your wineries, your wood processors, your ag sec. And that's not counting the schools and hospitals dependent on gas to heat their buildings. Time is running out because the gas they operate on is running out. It's a finite resource. And as yet, they haven't found anything to replace it. And yes, we've probably heard about the high profile businesses like Glenbrook Steel Mill and Spates Brewery in Dunedin who've transitioned to electric arc furnaces and electric boilers respectively. But for a huge number of businesses, a shift is not yet technically or financially possible but the gas is going to run out. They can't say, we'll just keep it going until we transfer over because when it's gone, it's gone. And when it comes to making the transition, it's not just the cost of a new electric furnace. If bakers, for example, want to make the move from gas to electric, that will cost upwards of $10 million. And that's just the beginning. There are the connection costs. That starts at a couple of million, just to get the thing connected. And then there's the backup plan. Electricity isn't as reliable as gas. BusinessDesk quotes the country president of Schneider Electric who had a customer that had to dump 19 million litres of milk because they lost energy for 30 seconds. As a result, businesses that are transitioning are spending capital on battery stabilisation just to make the grid usable before they can completely transition over. And it makes for a really uncertain environment and that's reinforced by a Schneider Electric survey. They looked at 288 senior business leaders and found 39 percent of them had delayed expansion or lost contracts due to energy costs or supply issues in the past year. We've talked about it before. I think we've talked about it and about the fact that it's coming, that the end of the gas is coming, and yet people and businesses, don't seem to be able to afford to make the transition or else they've looked at the numbers and thought - we'll have to go overseas because there we'll have a reliable energy source. It won't be as expensive as it is here. It's a shame. But we've still got the business and we can set up offshore. Energy costs have doubled over the past five years. But even though we've complained about the cost of everything going up, the cost of a loaf of bread hasn't doubled. Where are you at if you are one of those businesses? They're big and they're small in terms of those that rely on gas. With the smaller ones, is it even worth transitioning? Do you just shut up shop and start again? With the bigger ones, I mean, you probably can't afford not to. Now, the eventual exit, as BusinessDesk writes, of Methanex, New Zealand's single largest user, would free up some volumes currently used for methanol production, but that's only a temporary reprieve. What are we doing here? I can't even imagine what the future looks like. That is, one day you'll go to turn on the gas and it won't be there. What will you have done before that? Will you be long gone, reading about it from Australia? Will you be in another business entirely? Where do we go from here? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data shows insurance disputes have risen to record levels for the year ended 30 June 2026. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme reported handling 3,977 cases during this time period, including 2,602 complaints - with dispute volumes increasing almost 190 percent over the past five years. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says much of this increase was driven by health insurance claims, and this data reflects growing pressures on the health system. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a disappointing result for KMD Brands, but the company has indicated growth could be coming. The owner of Kathmandu and Rip Curl has reported a significant financial loss, but sales are up year-on-year and it seems to be headed in a better direction. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dame Jacinda Ardern and husband Clarke Gayford have reportedly bought a multimillion-dollar home in Sydney's Northern Beaches suburb. The pair sold their Auckland home for an undisclosed sum earlier this year, and new reports claim they recently spent $6.5 million on their new home across the ditch. Northern Beaches buyers agent Danielle Forde says the suburb is a 'distinctive' part of Sydney, with people flocking to buy for the location and ocean views. "The clifftop properties in that area can go as high as $12 million - further south in Manly, you can get family homes for $20 million to $25 million. It's not small change by any means, but it isn't extraordinary." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2degrees has posted another year of growth, with revenue up 5.5% to $1.46 billion. Profit before tax was $27.4 million, marking a $50 million turnaround, with growth across its consumer, business, and wholesale operations. Chief Business Officer Andrew Fairgray told Mike Hosking the continued growth shows they have momentum to continue building on. As the country deals with tight economic conditions and the cost of living, he says their ethos is to be the best value player in the market. Fairgray says they're continually focusing on trying to deliver the best value and making sure they're efficient in how they do that so they can support New Zealand Inc and keep growing. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, the Reserve Bank is set to make their next announcement about the OCR in the coming days - and speculation indicates it will go up again. Australia's official cash rate is currently at 4.35 percent, but the RBA will be putting it up at least one more time this year, according to one expert. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham outlined his predictions further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The growth of weight-loss drugs is leading to an increase of global demand for fish. Reports indicate the rise of GLP-1 treatments is encouraging people to seek out more nutrient-dense food - and that's good news for New Zealand's open ocean fish farmers. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Footwear icon Nike has seen shares drop and it's fallen out of the S&P 100, raising concerns about the brand's future. The sport and athleisure company has seen some challenges, including football star Kylian Mbappé's recent departure from the brand to an industry rival. Streetwear influencer Adrian Daniel says it's normal for brands to see their days in the sun and then drop off, but Nike's fall is unusual. "You kind of wouldn't expect it from a giant like they are." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's some defence of the Reserve Bank's pandemic response - after a new report was released. The independent report into its Covid monetary policy finds it began well, with swift OCR cuts, but was slow to respond when the economy bounced back. Former Reserve Bank economist Michael Reddell says most private sector forecasts were similar to the RBNZ's incorrect predictions. He says that doesn't entirely absolve the bank. "The difference, of course, is that the private sector forecasters weren't responsible for setting monetary policy - the Reserve Bank MPC was." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan both made headlines over their recent moves to lift official cash rates, leaving experts to wonder what could be next. Investors are wondering if there's a longer hiking cycle to come, especially off the back of the ongoing Middle East conflict. Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Costco NZ boss is mostly on-board with National's election Foodstuff break-up plan to drive down grocery prices, but he likes some Labour ideas, too. National and NZ First want to split Pak'n Save from New World and Four Square. Labour's pledging to split Foodstuffs' and Woolworths' retail and wholesale interests. Patrick Noone says he'd add some Labour policies to National's. "The unfair contracts should be ended, I think that's straightforward common sense. Junk fees - banned, that should be done as well. And smaller supermarkets can have guaranteed access to wholesale supply, absolutely." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The supermarket competition debate continues on, with National indicating they'll make changes if re-elected. The party's proposing to increase competition by splitting Pak'nSave from New World and Four Square - as long as the Commerce Commission agrees. Kai Co founder and operations director Ethan Vickery says it's hard to tell how this proposed change will impact Kiwi consumers. "It's really complicated, but I think you have to look at it and be like - why is New World's everyday prices more expensive than Pak'nSave's? Why is Four Square's everyday prices more expensive than New World's? And yet, they all buy from the same DC and they're all part of the same co-op." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Central Bank has raised interest rates for the first time in three years. It's moving from a range of 3.5 to 3.75 percent, to 3.75 to 4 percent. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds unpacked the market reactions - and offered a theory on why things stayed calm. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Supermarket owners all over the country have raised concerns over National's election promise to split up Foodstuffs. The party wants to create a third player by separating Pak'nSave from New World and Four Square, subject to Commerce Commission agreement. New World owner-operator Eric Rush says he's been working in this business for 16 years and putting 'long, hard' hours in - and he's raised doubts over this campaign promise. "That just goes to show that they have no understanding of actually how it works. We'll find a way if we have to, but it's not going to be the same." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economic growth has slowed, with New Zealand getting through the fuel crisis better than feared. Stats NZ data shows GDP rose 0.2 percent in the June quarter, and annual growth reached a two-year high on 1.7 percent. Many economists were forecasting a contraction when fuel prices started spiking in March. BNZ Research Head, Stephen Toplis, says our growth's great, in the circumstances. "We knew the country was under the cost during that period, largely because of rapidly rising oil prices - and it was struggling. But at least it was struggling with the positive sign in front of it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand is outperforming other countries in annual economic growth, but appears to have been hit harder by fuel hikes. Stats NZ data shows GDP rose 1.7 percent in the year to June - the highest rate in more than two years. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says achieving growth amid the ongoing Iran war is a good result - with many key business sectors adding to these results. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blowback from a business advocate on National's plan to break up Foodstuffs. If elected, and if the Commerce Commission agrees, the party would separate Pak'nSave from New World and Four Square to create more competition. But Foodstuffs warns there'd be significant implications and would affect more than 500 locally owned and operated stores. Business NZ Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard told Ryan Bridge threatening to split up private property is hugely alarming. She says it sends a terrible signal to overseas investors – that the government could essentially take away business. Beard also says there's a lack of evidence to suggest our food is more expensive than other countries. She told Bridge that while food prices have gone up, they're no higher than Australia and the UK. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's mixed results out of Briscoe Group, with the homeware and sporting goods retailer reporting a small lift in revenue and a downgrade in profit in its 2026 half-year results, with key sporting events helping boost performance. For the 26 weeks ended July 26, 2026, Briscoe Group reported total sales of $374.2 million - up over $3 million compared to last year. Briscoe Group managing director Rod Duke says the number of high-profile sporting events in rugby, football and the current NRL season have contributed to the boost, but the Iran war remains an economic concern. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Off the back of Cinnabon launching a flagship store at Auckland's Westfield Newmarket, two more American food chains will make their New Zealand debut later this month. Auntie Anne's and Carvel will open their first stores on September 26th - giving Kiwis the chance to try new hand-baked pretzels, ice cream, milkshakes and more. UOA marketing professor Mike Lee says it's expected there will be 'lines out the door' when these companies launch, with high demand expected for Auntie Anne's pretzels. "I just know the New Zealand palate - the mainstream New Zealand palate, I'm not talking about the carb-free health people, I'm just talking about the general mainstream New Zealand public . I think there'll be lines waiting to get a taste of these pretzels." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data out of Federated Farmers shows profitability is the highest it's been in a decade, with 72 percent of farmers making a profit and fewer than one in 20 making a loss. But confidence for the next 12 months has dropped, with many farmers wondering how long these good times can really last. The Country's Jamie Mackay outlined the survey results further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis is hinting National could introduce more income tax cuts if the party's re-elected, but Kiwis may have to wait for them. Speaking on a panel at BusinessNZ's election conference in Wellington, Willis said the party has been monitoring 'bracket creep' and adjustments could be made after a return to surplus. OliverShaw Tax Partner Robin Oliver says there's a case for indexing the tax rates, and the Government should be transparent if they need to make changes. "We should legislate that each year, the Government should be transparent, it should go to the public and say - actually, we need to increase the tax rates on middle-income New Zealanders because we're going to spend it on healthcare, ED, what have you." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belief July's record tourism numbers is a reflection of an investment finally paying off. Stats NZ data shows 256-thousand-600 overseas tourists arrived during the month - overtaking pre-Covid numbers from July 2019 by 0.4 percent. Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell told Andrew Dickens the effort from local council, regional tourism operators and the Government is finally bearing fruit. She says July is usually a quiet time, so the big win is the 70 percent jump in business events that keep Rotorua afloat. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the election under two months away, questions have been raised over the impact of Labour's proposed capital gains tax. This campaign promise has copped some backlash, with National releasing several AI-generated ads condemning its impact. Dentons tax partner Bruce Bernacchi says it could take some time to reveal the impacts of a capital gains tax, given the current 'flat' state of the property market. "I'm not privy to their modelling and maybe that's why it's been quite narrowly targeted at the free doctors' visits. But there surely must be a mismatch for the first few years." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I hope you'll be phoning in to tell me all about the CRL - because it's trains, planes and automobiles today with the official launch of the long awaited CRL yesterday. This morning it was the hard launch as commuters test the reliability, convenience and time saving potential of the railway line. Tough day to be a bus. Nobody cares, you big stinky diesel thing, even though I know a few of you have turned electric. There the buses are heroically supporting the commuter network, around 70 million passenger trips per year. Where's the gratitude? There is none. It's all, ooh, shiny trains. But honestly, who doesn't love a train? And there'll be some of you thinking, oh, how very Auckland. Come on, you know and I know that when you go to New York or London or Paris or Hong Kong or Singapore, even Australia, it's so exciting to be able to jump onto a commuter line that works, that takes you where you want to go cheaply, expeditiously. It's fantastic. We have our Oyster cards and we've worked out the lines, and we think we're so sophisticated as we jump on and off the trains. The subways, metros or tubes might be old and dirty or smelly, but you can spot a Kiwi, because they're so excited to be on there. There's none of this block yourself off and go into your own mind if you're a resident of the aforementioned cities. You just block yourself out and think this will be over soon, this too will end. We're bouncing around and hanging off the straps, just thrilled to bits to be there. And now we've got one of our own. I would definitely be using a train if the new harbour crossing is built with the capacity to run trains, although I will probably be dead by the time a new harbour crossing is built. My ancestors will rejoice. And the rejoicing yesterday, the Sky Tower was lit up with the CRL map, people of all ages set their alarms to stupid o'clock to catch the first train. People from around the country came to Auckland to ride the first train. I'd probably draw the line at saying, 'Tunnel, tunnel, tunnel' - a group chant as you go through the first tunnel, but then I'm not a rail fan or a trainspotter or a ferroequinologist or an anorak or a gunzel or a foamer or a densha otaku, which is all names from different cultures for those who love trains. But the fact that there are so many names in so many different languages and so many different cultures for people who love trains shows what a fan base they have. But beyond this special group of people getting their kicks, there's hope that there will be a significant return on investment with the building of the CRL. Aucklanders lose millions of hours each year stuck in traffic and removing even a small percentage of vehicles makes travel times faster, more reliable for everyone else and that improves productivity. It is hoped that the flow on effects will go right down the country, it won't just be a fun thing to ride - or to go on the new ale trail, or the ale rail trail, whichever you want to call it. Some friends of mine said they were going to go on the new rail link over the weekend and stop off for a glass of wine at different stations, or water after the first two. But there is an actual ale trail on the rail. Five breweries, independent breweries have signed up for it, so you can Google that and find it. Businesses like our lovely lady with the flowers in Victoria Street will be praying that the disruption and the loss of business and the hanging on by a thread will all be worth it now that the CRL is finally up and running. So I would love to hear from those of you who have ridden the train, who have jumped on board, test driven it yesterday or have taken the chance to come into work today on the train. Does it make much difference? Is it going to be part of your regular commute? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.