Sir Jim McLay discusses topics frankly and openly; as diverse as Public service, NZ local and national politics, leadership, conservation, whaling, climate, the UN and the law:

• How to spot and grasp opportunities to serve your community; the dos and don'ts,
• MMP vs. first past the post,
• Why he wouldn't recommend politics as a career but it’s worth doing for the right reasons and with life experience
• When to throw your hat in the ring for local or national government
• The minimum requirements for joining politics - local or other
• Creating opposition by "not saying yes enough"
• 3 vs 4 year government term - 4 years is too short for a good government, 3 years is too long for a bad government
• Why it’s good that youth are worried about climate change - which is a "risk management" issue based on the science
• The glacier in the Antarctic that is named after him and how it happened
• Whaling - the history and what next - Iceland, South Korea, Russia and other's stance and why it's a worry
• United Nations - The campaign for a seat on the security council, the veto, eating for New Zealand, Rwanda - the Singapore of Africa or nearly and why the 3rd largest standing force in the world deserves recognition and support despite sometimes failing.

Jim was born and educated in Auckland completing a law degree in 1967. He worked for a period in the profession before entering public service and successfully standing for the New Zealand Parliament as a candidate for the NZ National Party in the Birkenhead electorate in 1975. A long-time member of the National Party organisation he was clearly seen as a future minister and leader and within three years of his election to Parliament he was appointed by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon to the posts of Attorney General – the youngest ever to hold the role – and Minister of Justice. Six years later he became deputy leader of the Party and Deputy Prime Minister.

In that same year National lost power in a snap general election. Muldoon was seen to be out of touch by younger members of the party and was challenged for the leadership with our guest taking out the contest. In a difficult post Muldoon period there followed a further leadership challenge which he lost and our guest subsequently retired from Parliament in 1987. It was post Parliament that he began the most interesting period of his career working commercially in numerous board and advisory roles, serving as a permanent representative to the United Nations and winning a place for New Zealand on the Security Council of the organisation. He became New Zealand’s representative to the Palestinian Authority and acted as special advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has held and influenced at a national level through roles too numerous to mention.

He has received recognition and honours for his public service that range from honorary doctorate to knighthood and, significantly, has a glacier in Antarctica that bears his name. This recognises his work on the International Whaling Commission – particularly his advocacy that led to the establishment of a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean.

Sudesh is a New Zealander who was living "sustainability, accessibility and culture" as a way of doing business way before it was fashionable. A Be Accessible Fab 50 member and recipient of numerous awards, he has set his sights on scaling the business with family origins. Here he discusses his journey.

Born in the former Burma to Indian parents. He spent his childhood in Kathmandu and Hong Kong where his business career began. His grandfather, who started life as an accountancy clerk in Burma, began the family dynasty when he started his own company three years after that initial job. Two generations on our guest runs the New Zealand arm of the enterprise - a significant part of the family business - with the next generation in the wings preparing to carry it on. And the business runs with sustainability and longevity to the fore.

Sudesh completed a degree in business administration in Southern California and came to New Zealand for the first time on honeymoon with his wife. They both loved the country and vowed to make it their home in both residency and business.

Today he can be described as a business owner, a property investor, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and a practicing environmental advocate. One of the few hotel owners and developers based in New Zealand he is a sought after speaker in tourism and won the prestigious Environmental Tourism Award in 2017. Under his direction Sudima Hotels now includes three hotels with another three under development from Auckland in the north to Christchurch in the south. The group currently has other hotels under development including a new development in Kaikoura. All the group’s hotels have been rated bronze to gold for accessibility as you would expect from a Be Accessible business leader.

With a community focused ethos and an emphasis on sustainability with the country’s only carboNZero hotels, this is an industry leader who is a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion, and who provides free breakfasts for school children.

Peter Egan is a man who started his working life as an accountancy clerk, switched to the practical and trained as a butcher and subsequently became general manager of his family’s butcher shops in Gisborne. He moved on to larger roles in the meat industry, served on the national industry association executive and then drove the development of a mutton export business before embarking on the establishment of a sophisticated boneless meat processing operation to prepare pot roast product taking lamb from the farm to the United Kingdom customer as a packaged item. His work and standing in the industry saw him appointed as chair of Freesia Investments to focus on a restructure of a major portion of the New Zealand meat industry.

An influencer and force for change in the sector he was awarded the 1990 Commemoration Medal for Services to New Zealand. He subsequently became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 1993 our guest started a meat processing and exporting organization, Greenlea Premier Meats, and as chairman he drove that from concept to arguably the most efficient meat processing operation in the country. In terms of vision, utilization and yield it sets the highest industry standards. Where others in the business cry “difficult” the Egan management team guided by his philosophy find opportunity. Peter has served as a director on numerous boards and that includes those outside the industry he has made his life in. He has served as a director of NZ Rail and deputy chair of the State Owned Landcorp, our biggest national farm enterprise.

Actually it is outside the primary industry that this man has made his mark as someone special. He has worked for charities, mentored youth and set the benchmark for the term “corporate social responsibility”. He personally picked up responsibility for the rebuild of the Hamilton Cathedral and managed that project in a way the church described as “tough minded but compassionate”.