n 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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In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 26, we are back into the topic of education, this time with an entrepreneurial CEO with a vision for a better world through education.

Dr. Jamie Beaton is the 29 year old co-founder of Crimson Education Group. He has carried a passion for education, borne of an entrepreneurial mother who hung her own university degrees, three of them, in his bedroom when he was a small boy.

He went on to excel at Kings College in Auckland, before leaving our shores to study at Harvard University in the USA. Now, some ten years later he has a double degree from that most esteemed of universities, as well as eight other university degrees from the who’s who of prestigious education, including Stanford, Yale, Princeton and Oxford.

His own entrepreneurial efforts led to the creation of Crimson Education, an organisation that supports high school students to gain offers to the world’s most competitive universities, including those he has attended. Crimson Education now has a network of over 20,000 students and with over 2,300 tutors and mentors around the world.

In this episode, Bruce Cotterill talks to Jamie about what makes the best universities and how an aspiring student should select a university. Their conversation is littered with tips and ideas for those considering studying abroad. And parents might be pleasantly surprised at the cost of doing so. If you look in the right places, it might not be as expensive as we think.

There’s also plenty of discussion about the state of the New Zealand education system, how we can improve it, and why we should.

Episode 25 of Leaders Getting Coffee is a “must listen” for any students and parents considering University as a next step, and how to maximise that opportunity. And we hear the story of a fascinating young New Zealander who lives and breathes education.

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Hard on the heels of the Paris Olympics, our guest for Leaders Getting Coffee episode 25, is Nigel Avery, Chef de Mission of our Olympic team.

Inspired as a seven year old watching John Walker’s Olympic Gold medal race in 1976, Avery set his sights on going to the Olympic games. He became one of those most unique New Zealanders who went on to represent the country in three very different sports, namely Track & Field athletics, where he was a national champion, bobsled racing, and Weightlifting where he won two Commonwealth Games gold medals and five medals in total.

And yes, although he didn’t get onto the podium, one of his own sporting highlights is that he did get represent his country at the Olympic Games.

Nigel Avery talks about his own sporting career, including the highs of Commonwealth gold and the frustrations of missing Olympic selection, and how those highs and lows influenced his approach to the role he now plays. We hear about the appointments process to becoming Chef de Mission and the high quality group of leaders and managers put in place to support the New Zealand Olympic team. And we learn about the effort that goes into making sure our athletes feel a sense of belonging in the Olympic environment.

The 2024 Paris Olympics saw New Zealand compete at our most successful games ever. A total of 20 medals, including 10 golds, was probably unexpected by most of us.

And you’ll be surprised at just how hands-on the Chef de Mission role can be, as he shares his unique perspective on the athletes that represented us, the moments of glory, and the disappointments.

There is nothing quite like sport to demonstrate success and failure. Elite sport in particular, can be brutal in it’s honesty. Bruce and Nigel chat about the fine line between first and second in Hayden Wilde’s Olympic triathlon, the celebrations of a medal winning performance and the frustration of fourth place.

And what do you think a celebrated sporting champion would do if he was Prime Minister for a day? You might be surprised.

In episode 25 of Leaders Getting Coffee we hear another great New Zealand story about an intensely competitive athlete, who became the leader of our best ever Olympic team.

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