Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Help and support for exploited migrants will be delivered in a new Government scheme. The Government has confirmed a package of basic financial support, for accommodation and essential living costs. It plans to stop 90-day trial periods for employers using the Accredited Employer Work Visa. Immigration Minister Andrew Little says they're tightening the scheme meant to fill gaps by letting business...

Another snapshot of how political parties are faring in the polls is out at 6pm - in another One News -Verian poll. Its figures last week had National leaps and bounds ahead of Labour, which have been on stubbornly low 20s for weeks. Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Aaron Dahmen says even a one percent bump would help Labour. National has been criticised for not releasing costings for its mult...

Elon Musk has hinted that Twitter, now X, could soon go behind a paywall. Currently, the platform only charges users for the service X Premium, which offers benefits such as a verification badge. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says Elon believes the fee would keep bots and artificial accounts away, an issue that has plagued the platform.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

Chris Hipkins revealed an unexpected policy announcement in last night's debate. During last night's event, Hipkins said he wanted to ban sugary drinks in secondary schools- claiming they already were in primary schools. Today, he claimed he'd misremembered banning sugary drinks from primary schools, but had consulted on this issue as Education Minister. Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Boyd Swi...

The Black Caps will decide whether senior pace-bowler Tim Southee will be available for next month’s ODI  Cricket World Cup  in India. The veteran seam bowler will have surgery on his broken thumb tomorrow, with a decision on his availability for the World Cup to be made early next week. Sportstalk host Nick Bewley explained Southee's selection will swing on whether he can tolerate the pain when h...

London police have received an accusation of sexual assault dating back 20 years, following media reports about accusations against comedian and actor Russell Brand. The statement from the Met Police says the assault took place in 2003 in central London's Soho. Brand's accused of sexual assaults and rape dating from between 2006 and 2013. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this has led to several st...

Tonight on The Huddle, Neale Jones from PR firm Capital and Paddy Gower from Paddy Gower Has Issues joined in on a discussion about the following topics- and more! Labour appears to have quietly scrapped their prison reduction target- is this a big deal? They had achieved a 30 percent drop in the last two terms but it's since climbed again to 20 percent. Does it seem to you also that Hipkins accid...

A leading economist believes New Zealand's economy is at the "bottom edge" when compared to other developed countries. This follows the Government laying out their Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update and revealing a surplus has been pushed out an extra year amid a lower tax take. HSBC's Paul Bloxham says inflation isn't coming down fast enough, when compared to other countries. LISTEN ABOVE Se...

Last week, political parties polling above five percent squared off at Hamilton's Mystery Creek Events Centre. Labour's Damien O’Connor, National's Todd McClay and others faced off in the Rural Issues debate, hosted by ZB's Heather du Plessis-Allan. The Country's Jamie Mackay recapped the highs and lows of the debate. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour and National are facing scrutiny as they promote their respective tax policies ahead of the election. Both parties will also have the additional challenge of getting New Zealand back to budget surplus by 2027. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie explains why both parties should release a pre-Christmas budget ahead of the election. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Australia's NSW south coast has had its fire danger warning upgraded to 'catastrophic', following high winds and soaring temperatures. The upgraded warning came as Sydney airport recorded its highest temperature since 2000 and several schools in the area were forced to close. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says this warning comes 4 years after the infamous fire storms wreaked havoc across th...

A dark web ransomware site claims to have stolen user data following a cyber attack on Auckland Transport. The transport agency's ticket payment system was temporarily shut down following last week's attack, and hacker group Medusa is demanding a ransom. Darkscope technical director Joerg Buss says there's no indication that the group found any personal information at this point. "We haven't found...

Petrol is expected to rise to $3.50 a litre for 91 octane by Christmas. High oil demand globally is a contributing factor - as well as a weak New Zealand dollar - trading for about $59.2 US cents. AA principal motoring affairs policy advisor Terry Collins says prices for crude oil have steadily increased in the last few months. "The scary part is, in the last few weeks, it's gone up 14.5 percent....

Chris Hipkins has just confirmed Labour is dropping its plan to get people out of jails . When they first took over six years ago , Labour set a target of reducing the prison population by 30 percent in 15 years . That target is now gone . Hipkins was asked about it today, and says there is no target for the next term . This is massive, because Labour was celebrated for this . On November 29, 2018...

One City Councillor reckons the Wellington mayor's business delegation could've been cheaper. Tory Whanau and several council officials are visiting China, Japan, and South Korea to promote Wellington as a city to live and do business. It comes at a cost of around $50,000. Councillor Ray Chung says not everyone who's on the trip needed to be there. "What reason would a wellness manager have to go...

The countdown is on to this election's first Leaders' Debate. Labour's Chris Hipkins and National's Chris Luxon go head-to-head on TVNZ from 7pm. Former National Prime Minister, Sir John Key, says Luxon's the under-dog - and may have the tougher job. "There are actually a lot of people who want to vote for him and want to vote for National- so they will just be making sure he's the real deal. So t...

Expect a full-strength Warriors side to be named for Saturday's NRL preliminary final against the Broncos in Brisbane. Halfback Shaun Johnson and forwards Marata Niukore and Mitch Barnett trained separately from the team as they nurse injuries, but all are set to play. ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave shares his line-up predictions here. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Expect a full-strength Warriors side to be named for Saturday's NRL preliminary final against the Broncos in Brisbane. Halfback Shaun Johnson and forwards Marata Niukore and Mitch Barnett trained separately from the team as they nurse injuries, but all are set to play. ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave shares his line-up predictions here. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A u-turn from Labour. The Party says it'll dump its 2018 target of reducing the prison population by 30 percent within 15 years. It says the crisis has been averted and a target's no longer needed. National Party Corrections spokesperson Mark Mitchell says it's an extraordinary change. He says it's been Labour's core justice policy for the past 6 years. "At the same time, they had no plans to keep...

Prison population targets will be no more if Labour gets back in Government, because it says they've served their purpose. In 2018, the Labour Government promised to reduce the prison population by 30 percent within 15 years. Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says the target was set because prisons were bursting at the seams when Labour took office, describing scenes of triple bunks and mattresses...

A Christchurch City Councillor is firmly against new city speed limits. The Council's 'Draft Safer Speed Plan' includes a reduction to 30 kilometres an hour in residential areas - and 50 on roads like Blenheim Road and Memorial Avenue. Its Transport Operations Manager, Stephen Wright, says the evidence shows safer speeds save lives. Councillor Aaron Keown disagrees. He claims there's no evidence l...

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent  Barry Soper  has been admitted to hospital and is to have open-heart surgery to remove a blockage. “I’d been feeling a bit out of breath walking up hills over the past few weeks and decided to go to my doctor for a check-up,” Soper said today. “They ran some tests and it turns out I have a blockage near my heart, which needs to be removed through surgery...

Nurse Lucy Letby seeks to appeal against her convictions after murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another six. Letby was sentenced last month to life in prison with no chance of release after a jury found her guilty of the seven murders between June 2015 and June 2016. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this news comes after another hearing was confirmed to determine whether the Crown Pro...

It's been rumoured in business circles that Luxon is scoping top Kiwi figures as part of his potential administration.  Fraser Whineray and Andrew Grant have reportedly been courted by National's leader ahead of the election. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says the pair have declined so far, but Luxon has expressed interest in partnering with Whineray and Grant. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystu...

A2 Milk has cancelled the exclusive manufacturing supply arrangement it has with infant formula maker Synlait Milk, citing a decline in delivery standards. Synlait's shares fell 10 percent following the cancellation of the deal. Dairy Insights Consultant Stuart Davison says this isn't good for the company, but they will be able to bounce back quickly. "They're definitely in trouble- but let's be c...