Forty years ago one of the most transformational governments in New Zealand history was sworn in. That government, led by the larger than life David Lange, who was accompanied by financial architect Roger Douglas, had the task of overhauling the country’s fragile economy.

Sitting in the inner sanctum of that government was Dr Michael Bassett, who became the Minister in charge of a run-down health service during an economic downturn. Sound familiar?

Dr Bassett has a unique perspective on the fourth labour government and the Muldoon led National government that preceded them. Those days saw rapid inflation, a wage and price freeze and a run on the currency immediately before the 1984 election. Rogernomics was the new Labour government’s fiscal response, as critical a part of their legacy as their introduction of our nuclear free legislation.

Since his political retirement Dr Basset has gone on to become one of our most important historians, with fifteen books to his credit, including multiple political biographies. And in 2018 he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for his services to history.

There is no one better placed to reflect on New Zealand’s greatest Prime Ministers.

And he has plenty to say about our recent governments, and some advice for the current coalition.

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Private equity firms have launched takeover offers for The Warehouse Group and retirement village company Arvida. Will the stock exchange fight back?

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Welcome to the latest episode of Business in Between... it's our new series, on our new podcast channel, that features long-form chats with NZ's most interesting business minds.

This week we're dipping back into our Between Two Beers archives and getting business lessons from Steve Dunstan.

Steve is the co-founder of Huffer, one of New Zealand’s most loved fashion brands. He started the company as a 21-year-old and over 20 years grew it into a multi-faceted business with stores across New Zealand and in Australia.

Since recording this episode back in 2023 Steve has taken a back seat in the operational running of Huffer but remains a minority shareholder while he looks at new and exciting opportunities.

But in this episode we talk about the humble beginnings of the Huffer story, the Orlando Bloom moment in front of 200,000 people in Wellington, taking on America, hitting rock bottom and nearly losing it all and the 10-year salvage mission that got the brand back to where it is today.

Steve is a Kiwi icon, a thoughtful, humble, optimistic winner, who’s epic story of business success is as entertaining as it is inspiring.

There's a really exciting opportunity available to sponsor this channel. I could be talking about your business right now. If this interests you, please get in touch.

Follow and subscribe to this Business in Between channel in your podcast app. We’ve got big plans to grow this space, so following, liking, subscribing and all that stuff means the world to us.

Enjoy.

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Our sovereign wealth fund is set to double in the next decade. How will its new CEO meet its growth demands?

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