Early Edition with Ryan Bridge
Oct 21, 2026 · 4 min · 5 segments
Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges says politically, the Mood of the Boardroom shows a "tactical draw" between National and Labour. The survey of business leaders shows dissatisfaction and…
Simon BridgesGuest
Ryan BridgeHost
Yeah, I think it's intriguing if you read the full 40-something pages, which I've done for my sin.
I mean, there's definitely what you say, which is that optimism there in the local business environment, at least.
It's kind of the sense, and I pick it up as well in my travels, that Whatever the politicians and the world does, you know, we're going to get on with it.
I would say, though, there's also, you know, subtly, and it's variable, but across this slither of business, which is the top end of town, there's also dissatisfaction.
You know, they're wanting to see, and this is across the board, across the political class, you know, when they're looking at them, they want to see more investment and infrastructure.
They want to see more talk about productivity and they're not necessarily seeing that.
So I would sort of, if you think about it politically, I would kind of say, because you'd expect, and they are in their numbers, the Nats as a centre-right incumbent government to be higher up.
I would sort of call it a tactical draw between the Nats and Labour when you look at this closely.
What about the idea of the smaller parties having more say and smaller parties of very different persuasions in the case of the coalition having more say in the next government?
Yeah, I mean, my read of Mood of the Boardroom is that they don't like that, right? And to be clear, I mean, if you look at it, the minor parties, with the exception perhaps of ACT, so if you look at the, you know, the ministers that score well, and really, you don't have NZ First there in the top 10.
You do have David Seymour and Brooke van Velden, though, right? Actually, higher than the Prime Minister, who doesn't even make the top 10, although he gets some good remarks in the...
And I would say, you know, Ryan, if you think about it this way, this is a very small slither of business.
They tend to like stability, certainty and incumbent government over kind of change that might be messy and uncertain.
Yeah, I think it's intriguing if you read the full 40-something pages, which I've done for my sin.
I mean, there's definitely what you say, which is that optimism there in the local business environment, at least.
It's kind of the sense, and I pick it up as well in my travels, that Whatever the politicians and the world does, you know, we're going to get on with it.
I would say, though, there's also, you know, subtly, and it's variable, but across this slither of business, which is the top end of town, there's also dissatisfaction.
You know, they're wanting to see, and this is across the board, across the political class, you know, when they're looking at them, they want to see more investment and infrastructure.
They want to see more talk about productivity and they're not necessarily seeing that.
So I would sort of, if you think about it politically, I would kind of say, because you'd expect, and they are in their numbers, the Nats as a centre-right incumbent government to be higher up.
I would sort of call it a tactical draw between the Nats and Labour when you look at this closely.
What about the idea of the smaller parties having more say and smaller parties of very different persuasions in the case of the coalition having more say in the next government?
Yeah, I mean, my read of Mood of the Boardroom is that they don't like that, right? And to be clear, I mean, if you look at it, the minor parties, with the exception perhaps of ACT, so if you look at the, you know, the ministers that score well, and really, you don't have NZ First there in the top 10.
You do have David Seymour and Brooke van Velden, though, right? Actually, higher than the Prime Minister, who doesn't even make the top 10, although he gets some good remarks in the...
And I would say, you know, Ryan, if you think about it this way, this is a very small slither of business.
They tend to like stability, certainty and incumbent government over kind of change that might be messy and uncertain.
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