Andrew Urquhart talks housing and economic uncertainty with Grant Marshall of Christian Savings, exploring why the property market is so inconsistent right now, with some homes selling instantly while others, especially those over $1.4 million, sit unsold as vendors cling to unrealistic 2021-era price expectations.



Mr Marshall notes banks are forecasting house prices could return to 2021 peaks by around 2029, encouraging sellers to hold on if they can rather than crystallise losses now, while warning of likely Reserve Bank rate rises before Christmas. The pair also weigh up how global shocks, from the Israel-Iran conflict driving fuel prices to October's local election, feed into New Zealanders' cost-of-living pressures, with Mr Marshall calling for stable, cross-party economic policy to restore market confidence ([www.christiansavings.co.nz](https://www.christiansavings.co.nz)).



Tune into Thoughts & Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.

For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Andrew Urquhart talks housing and economic uncertainty with Grant Marshall of Christian Savings, exploring why the property market is so inconsistent right now, with some homes selling instantly while others, especially those over $1.4 million, sit unsold as vendors cling to unrealistic 2021-era price expectations. Mr Marshall notes banks are forecasting house prices could return to 2021 peaks by around 2029, encouraging sellers to hold on if they can rather than crystallise losses now, while warning of likely Reserve Bank rate rises before Christmas. The pair also weigh up how global shocks, from the Israel-Iran conflict driving fuel prices to October's local election, feed into New Zealanders' cost-of-living pressures, with Mr Marshall calling for stable, cross-party economic policy to restore market confidence ([www.christiansavings.co.nz](https://www.christiansavings.co.nz)). Tune into Thoughts &amp; Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.For more from the show, visit the <a href="https://www.rhema.co.nz/listen-on-demand/video-podcast/thoughts-and-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thoughts &amp; Comments</a> page at rhema.co.nz.Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Here you can catch up on all of the latest interviews from Thoughts & Comments with Andrew Urquhart.

Here you can catch up on all of the latest interviews from Thoughts &amp; Comments with Andrew Urquhart.

Thoughts & Comments Interviews

Thoughts & Comments brings social commentary to current issues and a faith perspective to the latest news. Hosted by Andrew Urquhart, a seasoned broadcaster with over three decades of experience. In each episode, Andrew chats with a wide range of guests and experts who bring their wisdom and insight to a huge variety of topics, including politics, psychology, societal trends, theology, geopolitical analysis, social policy, and spirituality. We’ll give you something worth thinking about! Thoughts & Comments with Andrew Urquhart, wherever you get your Podcasts.

Thoughts &amp; Comments brings social commentary to current issues and a faith perspective to the latest news. Hosted by Andrew Urquhart, a seasoned broadcaster with over three decades of experience. In each episode, Andrew chats with a wide range of guests and experts who bring their wisdom and insight to a huge variety of topics, including politics, psychology, societal trends, theology, geopolitical analysis, social policy, and spirituality. We&rsquo;ll give you something worth thinking about! Thoughts &amp; Comments with Andrew Urquhart, wherever you get your Podcasts.

Thoughts & Comments Podcast

Thoughts & Comments brings social commentary to current issues and a faith perspective to the latest news. Hosted by Andrew Urquhart, a seasoned broadcaster with over three decades of experience, chatting with a wide range of guests and experts who bring their wisdom and insight to a huge variety of topics, including politics, psychology, societal trends, theology, geopolitical analysis, social policy, and spirituality. We’ll give you something worth thinking about! Thoughts & Comments with Andrew Urquhart, wherever you get your Podcasts.

Thoughts &amp; Comments brings social commentary to current issues and a faith perspective to the latest news. Hosted by Andrew Urquhart, a seasoned broadcaster with over three decades of experience, chatting with a wide range of guests and experts who bring their wisdom and insight to a huge variety of topics, including politics, psychology, societal trends, theology, geopolitical analysis, social policy, and spirituality. We&rsquo;ll give you something worth thinking about! Thoughts &amp; Comments with Andrew Urquhart, wherever you get your Podcasts.

Thoughts & Comments

Buyer's Market, Seller's Headache: Housing & Rates Outlook

Consultant and columnist Jonathan Ayling discusses Labour's continued opposition to charter schools, despite New Zealand data showing they operate at lower cost than the state system. He notes the irony of Labour candidates Willie Jackson and Andrew Coster having personal links to successful charter schools, even as party policy would see such schools shut down if Labour forms the next government.



Ayling argues charter schools offer vital innovation and competition, allowing different approaches for students poorly served by the mainstream system, particularly Māori learners and those with diverse needs, while facing greater accountability than state schools. He suggests opposition is driven less by ideology than by teachers' unions protecting their influence and funding model, and calls for cross-party agreement based on outcomes rather than repeated policy reversals, pointing to recent PISA and PAT results as evidence the current curriculum reforms are already lifting achievement.



Tune into Thoughts & Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.

For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Consultant and columnist Jonathan Ayling discusses Labour's continued opposition to charter schools, despite New Zealand data showing they operate at lower cost than the state system. He notes the irony of Labour candidates Willie Jackson and Andrew Coster having personal links to successful charter schools, even as party policy would see such schools shut down if Labour forms the next government. Ayling argues charter schools offer vital innovation and competition, allowing different approaches for students poorly served by the mainstream system, particularly Māori learners and those with diverse needs, while facing greater accountability than state schools. He suggests opposition is driven less by ideology than by teachers' unions protecting their influence and funding model, and calls for cross-party agreement based on outcomes rather than repeated policy reversals, pointing to recent PISA and PAT results as evidence the current curriculum reforms are already lifting achievement. Tune into Thoughts &amp; Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.For more from the show, visit the <a href="https://www.rhema.co.nz/listen-on-demand/video-podcast/thoughts-and-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thoughts &amp; Comments</a> page at rhema.co.nz.Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Charter Schools: Innovation Or Ideology?

Barrister and former Free Speech Union council member Douglas Brown discusses the prosecution of Bishop Brian Tamaki, who faces court over inflammatory podcast comments suggesting New Zealand retaliate against mosques and temples in response to Christian persecution in India. Andrew Urquhart and Brown examine the charge under Section 131 of the Human Rights Act, a provision covering incitement of hostility on grounds of race or ethnicity.



Brown argues the charge is effectively a "backdoor blasphemy law", since Tamaki referred to religious buildings, not any ethnic or national group, and Parliament had previously rejected adding religion to this section after the 2019 mosque shootings. He warns this sets a troubling precedent of "two-tier policing", pointing to unprosecuted anti-Semitic rhetoric in recent years, and urges the public to keep pushing back against hate speech measures entering law through the back door, as the Free Speech Union (FSU NZ) has successfully done before.



Tune into Thoughts & Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.

For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Barrister and former Free Speech Union council member Douglas Brown discusses the prosecution of Bishop Brian Tamaki, who faces court over inflammatory podcast comments suggesting New Zealand retaliate against mosques and temples in response to Christian persecution in India. Andrew Urquhart and Brown examine the charge under Section 131 of the Human Rights Act, a provision covering incitement of hostility on grounds of race or ethnicity. Brown argues the charge is effectively a "backdoor blasphemy law", since Tamaki referred to religious buildings, not any ethnic or national group, and Parliament had previously rejected adding religion to this section after the 2019 mosque shootings. He warns this sets a troubling precedent of "two-tier policing", pointing to unprosecuted anti-Semitic rhetoric in recent years, and urges the public to keep pushing back against hate speech measures entering law through the back door, as the Free Speech Union (FSU NZ) has successfully done before. Tune into Thoughts &amp; Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.For more from the show, visit the <a href="https://www.rhema.co.nz/listen-on-demand/video-podcast/thoughts-and-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thoughts &amp; Comments</a> page at rhema.co.nz.Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Tamaki's Charge: Blasphemy Law by the Back Door?

Host Andrew Urquhart is joined by John Cowan to discuss how to be a better grandparent without undermining the parents doing the hard daily work. Cowan reflects on how grandparents often soften with age, enjoying "all care, no responsibility" moments with grandchildren, while needing to take seriously the discipline, safety and diet standards their own children now uphold.



Cowan argues the key to a lasting relationship with grandchildren is respect: backing children's parenting choices rather than allying with grandkids against them, and asking what advice or resources parents are already using before offering opinions. He contends modern parents are, in general, more intentional and better resourced than previous generations, and warns that an attitude of "I've done this before, I know best" is the biggest threat to grandparents staying closely involved in their grandchildren's lives.



Tune into Thoughts & Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.

For more from the show, visit the Thoughts & Comments page at rhema.co.nz.

Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Host Andrew Urquhart is joined by John Cowan to discuss how to be a better grandparent without undermining the parents doing the hard daily work. Cowan reflects on how grandparents often soften with age, enjoying "all care, no responsibility" moments with grandchildren, while needing to take seriously the discipline, safety and diet standards their own children now uphold. Cowan argues the key to a lasting relationship with grandchildren is respect: backing children's parenting choices rather than allying with grandkids against them, and asking what advice or resources parents are already using before offering opinions. He contends modern parents are, in general, more intentional and better resourced than previous generations, and warns that an attitude of "I've done this before, I know best" is the biggest threat to grandparents staying closely involved in their grandchildren's lives. Tune into Thoughts &amp; Comments from 10:00am - 2:00pm on the Rhema Media App.For more from the show, visit the <a href="https://www.rhema.co.nz/listen-on-demand/video-podcast/thoughts-and-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thoughts &amp; Comments</a> page at rhema.co.nz.Produced using AI tools under human supervision.

Buyer's Market, Seller's Headache: Housing & Rates Outlook

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