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A former mayor is coming to the defence of Wellington's under-fire leader Tory Whanau. Mayor Whanau has admitted she has a problem with alcohol- and is getting help. Councillor Nicola Young is calling on her to resign, citing concerns about the City Council's reputation. It comes after another incident in which Whanau is alleged to have been publicly intoxicated. Former mayor Justin Lester says Wh...

Brittany Higgins today admitted to getting some key details wrong while being cross-examined in court. Lehrmann has brought a defamation case against media figures over an interview with Higgins in which she alleged she was raped in Parliament House. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Higgins admitted to not having the best memory- but her evidence is as true as she could get it. LISTEN ABO...

Wellington Rugby is planning a shift away from Sky Stadium for home matches after a 24 season association. Discussions between the union and the Porirua council are advanced to hold all Lions and Pride games at Jerry Collins Stadium from next year. The move comes as provincial unions battle low crowds and challenging finances to connect the provincial game with stakeholders and fans. Sportstalk ho...

Consumer NZ is accusing Z Energy of profiting from misleading sustainability messaging.  The organisation teamed up with the Environmental Law Initiative and Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand Inc to seek a High Court declaration for Z's breaches of the Fair Trading Act. Chief executive Jon Duffy says the evidence contradicts Z Energy's climate-focused public messaging.  "We don't think that s...

Over in the UK, courts could be handing out rehabilitative community sentences over short-term jail sentences. The Sentencing Council for England and Wales says judges and magistrates should focus on reforming offenders, amid an overcrowding crisis in prisons. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says courts are also being encouraged to rethink jailing women because of the long-term impact on children. LIS...

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Kiwiblog contributor and pollster David Farrar joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has admitted to having an alcohol problem, after another incident of public drunkenness got recorded. Is this acceptable behaviour for an elected official? How sympathetic should we be? Prime Minister...

The incoming Government has agreed to disestablish the Productivity Commission, as ACT requested. Staff are disappointed, yet unsurprised, as many were concerned the agency had become too politicised. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says there were already tensions between chair Ganesh Nana and former staffers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister has come to the defence of his deputy's scathing attacks on the media. Winston Peters has been accusing reporters this week of taking bribes, in reference to the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. Applicants to the fund were asked, when appropriate, to produce funded content to support NZ identity, culture and public interest requirements, including support for the pri...

Retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare has posted a lower-than-expected half-year profit. The company had earned $186 million after tax for the six months to September, a 4 percent decrease from 2022. Chief executive Richard Umbers says this loss is driven by a more subdued housing market.  "The housing market is under pressure. That impacts our ability to sell, which inevitably has a flow-t...

The Reserve Bank left the OCR at 5.5 percent during today's review, in line with predictions. The Bank also issued a hawkish statement about future hikes, claiming further hikes would be needed if inflationary pressures got to be stronger than anticipated. Infometrics chief economist Gareth Kiernan says there's a good chance the OCR will need to go up between now and 2025. "Economic activity is ru...

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has admitted to having an alcohol problem. This statement follows another incident of drunken behaviour- which was recorded at a popular Cuba St establishment two weeks ago. Wellington City Councillor Diane Calvert hopes she's getting the necessary support, but acknowledges the risk this poses. "We need to make sure we've got people with the right skills and the right...

A cable car company is pitching gondolas as public transport solutions for a number of cities. A case has been presented to multiple councils by Austrian company Doppelmayr Urban Transport Solutions. Aerial cable cars are being touted as options for Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown. Doppelmayr CEO Garreth Hayman says it would be good for getting people to and from airports. "Ther...

Despite some setbacks, Luxon has unveiled his Government's 100-day plan. The plan features 49 action points, including repealing the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, the Clean Car Discount scheme, and Fair Pay Agreement legislation- and setting new targets for the health system. Political commentator Grant Duncan says the Government's next phase will need to do more to fix the issues they planned to ad...

The Reserve Bank says there may be a need for more interest rates hikes. It has held the Official Cash Rate at 5.5 percent, and their forecast track suggests no rate cuts are on the horizon until mid-2025. Independent economist Tony Alexander says he doesn't think the Reserve Bank will actually do that- or really believes it will have to. "I think today's statement was all about a signal to the ma...

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was honoured today at a memorial service. Her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, led other political figures in tribute- including Joe and Jill Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Laura Bush. Melania Trump also attended, and caused a bit of a stir. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson said American media zeroed in on her unique choice of outfit, a...

All Blacks captain Sam Cane believes New Zealand Rugby needs to have a conversation about allowing international players to play their club rugby abroad. The flanker's fronted media with new Japan League One club Suntory Sungoliath - where he was alongside South Africa's Cheslin Koble. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains the wider implications of this idea. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/l...

Sam Cane is the latest to suggest opening up the All Blacks’ eligibility to New Zealanders playing for overseas clubs. The current All Blacks captain has asked NZ Rugby to consider allowing players overseas to be eligible for national selection. Former Springbok and rugby commentator Kevin Putt approves of this idea, claiming it's been successful for South Africa. "What we've got to look at is- wh...

Greece's Prime Minister has criticised Rishi Sunak's last-minute cancellation of an anticipated meeting. Kyriakos Mitsotakis had hoped to raise the issue of returning the Elgin Marbles amid heated disagreements. UK correspondent Enda Brady says the Greek Government have been trying for years to get the collection back after the British stole them. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Tonight on the Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  Winston Peters is under fire for attacking the media and making inaccurate statements about public funding on the new Government's first-ever Cabinet meeting session. Does Winston have a point? How does th...

As part of the coalition agreement, the Government revealed some new changes for the Reserve Bank. Its dual mandate will be ditched- and focus will return to keeping inflation between one and three percent. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham says reduced priorities means the Reserve Bank will only have one clear goal to meet. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's newly appointed Agriculture Minister has promised to review several on-farm regulations before the end of the year. Todd McClay plans to implement new changes to freshwater rules by Christmas- to the approval of the region's farming community. Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford welcomes the arrival of McClay and says he and his associate ministers Nicola Grigg, Andrew Hoggard an...

A date has been set for disgraced businessman Eric Watson's bankruptcy case to be called. The liquidators of Watson’s company, Cullen Investments, have chased him for roughly $57.4 million, plus interest. Auckland's High Court confirmed that the bankruptcy proceeding will be called on February 1, 2024. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says Watson's been staving off problems for over a...

Winston Peters has doubled down on conspiratorial comments about the media, and gone further. Yesterday, he called a $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund a Government 'bribe'. Today, ahead of the Government's first Cabinet meeting, Peters asked media to tell the public what criteria had to be signed up to- to get the money. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Luxon will likely be annoyed w...

The Government's plan to slash the public sector is having an adverse impact on Wellington's property market. According to ANZ's latest property report, Wellington's housing market is lagging behind the rest of the country as people brace for job losses. ANZ economist Andre Castaing says housing markets all over the nation are expected to go sideways within the next year. "The housing market in We...

Pharmac is about to run out of a crucial pain relief drug. The drug-buying agency was warned two years ago the Pfizer factory producing one-milligram liquid morphine is closing. But it hasn't found a replacement before New Zealand's supplies run out next month. Analgesic Advisory Committee member Catherine D'Souza says Pfizer promised to help find alternatives, but didn't. "Which is really disappo...