Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

GDP figures due to be released Thursday will confirm whether or not the country entered a technical recession. Opinions are divided, with ANZ forecasting a 0.2 increase, ASB forecasting a 0.1 increase and the Reserve Bank forecasting a 0.3 increase. But BNZ predicts GDP will decline 0.2 percent and Westpac expects a 0.4 percent drop. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says it doesn't matte...

Auckland Airport have revised their dividend policy and reduced their payouts to shareholders. The airport will pay out 70 percent to 90 percent of net profit after tax, instead of 100 percent. Milford Asset Management portfolio manager Mark Riggall says Auckland Airport has an 'ambitious' infrastructure plan, and it needs to pull some levers to fund it. "They've also hiked their prices and they m...

The International Money Fund is warning the Government to rein in spending. S&P Global Ratings is also saying the country's near-record trade deficit remains a “key credit risk” for New Zealand. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says the Government did a lot to stimulate the economy during Covid-19, creating more demand for imports. "What we saw was demand for imports shot...

Latest figures show New Zealand's current account deficit is $33 billion- 8.5 percent of GDP- in the year to March. That's down from $34.4 billion- or nine percent of GDP- in the year to December. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the current account deficit comes down to exports and that New Zealand is exporting more than it's importing. "For the IMF to come out and say that we'v...

The Government have walked back empty-handed from the latest carbon auction- creating a $500 million shortfall. Polluters had the option to purchase the 'rights' to produce units to offset their emissions. The Government could have earned $512 million by selling the 8.95m carbon units on offer, double the usual amount after losing the March auction. Climate Change Minister James Shaw explained tha...

The Greater Wellington Regional Council fears transport discounts will have to be delayed an extra month. In Budget 2023, it was announced half price public transport would be axed from July, but continue for under 25s and be free for kids under 13. Greater Wellington Regional Councillor Thomas Nash says there's no online age verification system, and the Capital will need extra time to implement o...

A Kiwi dad has bought his first car for a second time - 22 years later. Andre Hawke sold his brown 1978 Holden Kingswood in 2001, for $2500 dollars. In 2021, he found his copy of the original owner’s manual and posted a picture of the car on social media, asking if anyone knew its whereabouts. Hawke says within two hours he'd located the new owner, and two years later he paid $50,000 to get it bac...

The Prime Minister's confident he'll find common ground with farmers over He Waka Eke Noa, but has stopped short of promising it pre-election. He Waka Eke Noa is the Government sector group tasked with pricing agricultural emissions, meant to kick in from 2025. Chris Hipkins today ruled out a fertiliser tax after opposition from the industry, saying he wants instead to make the emissions scheme wo...

Anger from motorists on State Highway 2 in the Bay of Plenty while police shut roads to contain a gang procession to a tangi in Whakatane. Members driving to the crematorium were seen hanging out of cars, yelling and barking and driving on the wrong side of the road. Police say they stopped offending vehicles and collected footage- and could impound vehicles, or issue infringements or charges. Bay...

A historic day for the US, with Donald Trump appearing before in a Miami courtroom pleading not guilty to 37 charges. They relate to the former President's handling of sensitive classified documents after he left office, including information on military and nuclear capabilities. Trump is claiming President Joe Biden had him arrested on fabricated charges for political reasons, as his rival. US co...

Despite the price of goods and services rising sharply, new data confirms high business profits aren't the cause of inflation. A study commissioned by BusinessNZ and Sense Partners found that profit margins were lower than pre-Covid figures. Sense Partners economist Shamubeel Eaqub says the data speaks for itself- 'greedflation' is not to blame. "What we've seen is our farmers, our manufacturers,...

It must’ve sucked to be a police officer in Ōpōtiki today, having to provide traffic control for the Mongrel Mob so they could have total uninterrupted use of the road for the funeral procession. That must’ve been a really cool experience for our officers , providing an escort to a bunch of people who probably deserve to see the inside of a jail cell , rather than getting waved through like VIPs o...

Over 600 migrants crossed the English Channel earlier this week- the highest number reported this year. The previous daily high for this year was 497 migrants on April 22. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the UK Government has set itself targets to reduce migration through the Channel, so these figures will be concering. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Ben Thomas from Ben Thomas PR and Former Labour Chief of Staff and Director at Mike Munro Communications, Mike Munroe joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! 2degrees founder Tex Edwards says police are too busy to deal with his stolen Lexus and he's put out a $5000 reward for the return of the car- does that point to a wider problem that o...

Australian economists see a higher risk of recession after soft Q1 GDP report. RBA Governor Philip Lowe has talked about navigating a narrow path to lower inflation while keeping unemployment down for the past year- but his tone has changed. The central bank surprised markets by raising rates and warned it could tighten again to reduce inflation, even at the cost of preserving jobs. HSBC Chief Eco...

Fieldays 2023, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural event, returns to Mystery Creek tomorrow. From Wednesday to Saturday, politicians will be turning up to appeal to rural voters, with National already promising a u-turn on emission charging. The Country's Jamie Mackay predicts ACT's David Seymour will be the star of Fieldays 2023, because ACT may have given National a nudge. LISTEN ABOV...

Fieldays 2023 opens its gates tomorrow- and National is fighting hard for the rural and regional vote. National's new policy for the agriculture sector would see farmers paying for their emissions in 2030 instead of 2025. Federated Farmers have voiced their approval with this policy, with former president Andrew Hoggard giving it "5 stars". BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says Nation...

The driver of yesterday's fatal wedding bus crash in Hunter Valley has been granted bail. 58-year-old Brett Andrew Button was released with strict conditions, after appearing in court this morning. 10 people died in the crash, and 25 more were injured. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says Button's bail conditions require him to be home from 8pm to 6am and to surrender his passport. His li...

Former All Black Marc Ellis is taking an ownership stake in one of his former Super Rugby sides. Ellis, who played 11 games for the Highlanders in 2000 after a double-international sporting career across union and league heads a group to take a portion of the franchise. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's population continues to grow at pace. The latest Stats NZ figures show New Zealand had a net new migration gain of 72,300 in the year to April. Kiwibank senior economist Mary Jo Vergara doesn't think this increase will be as inflationary as economists predicted. "Migration has implications for both the supply side and the demand side of the economy, but we think it'll add to the boos...

National's Chris Luxon clarified that New Zealand is a country of 'endless potential' after yesterday's backlash. Luxon commented that the nation had become a "very negative, wet, whiny, inward-looking country" while chatting to farmers in Helensville. He says New Zealand is a well-positioned country with smart, creative, determined people- that isn't realising the endless potential it has. "We're...

2degrees founder Tex Edwards is offering a $5000 reward to recover his stolen Lexus. Edwards believes police have better things to do than hunt for the missing vehicle, which disappeared from outside his Grey Lynn home yesterday. He acknowledged he was lucky enough to be able to dig into his pockets and offer a reward to hopefully get the car back. "It's bad that we have crime, but on the whole, I...

A greener world could be within reach as Kiwi scientists develop a new recyclable battery. A Canterbury University researcher is working on perfecting redox-flow batteries that store energy in liquid electrolytes, rather than solid. People would be able to refill their tank with charged battery fluid, instead of waiting at a charging station. But Professor Deb Crittenden says redox-flow batteries...

New Zealand farmers have  called Labour’s bluff on the climate tax Labour was planning , and they’ve won this thing.  After yesterday’s announcement from the Nats,  there is now very little chance- actually probably no chance at all - that Labour will put any kind of tax on farmers before the election . Because what happened yesterday is that farmers got hope . All they have to do is hold on for t...

Kāinga Ora is defending its eviction policy in the face of criticism. Just three people have been evicted since a bad behaviour crackdown was announced in February of last year. That's despite 10,000 complaints in the same period. Kāinga Ora National Services Manager Nick Maling says there are problems, but they need to be considered in context. "85 percent of those complaints are about minor issu...