Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

A technology expert doubts that New Zealand will follow Montana in banning TikTok. The US state is the first to officially crack-down on the platform, banning both Google and Apple from offering it from next year. Gorilla Technology Chief Executive Paul Spain told Heather du Plessis-Allan there are some privacy concerns with China, but he doesn't expect similar action here. LISTEN ABOVE See omnyst...

Five people have gone to trial in Germany over an alleged far-right plot to topple and overthrow the Government. The group planned to kidnap the health minister and trigger civil war-like conditions in protest of Covid-19 protection measures. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says they believed that the German empire of the 19th century was the country’s true system of Government, and they hoped to esta...

Grant Robertson explained that Budget 2023 would boost infrastructure, education and households- but farmers appear to have been left out. Federated Farmers previously released a statement saying they weren't asking for a Government hand-out, they just wanted a stop to 'unfair' regulations. The Country's Jamie Mackay says aspects of this year's budget were 'stupidly targeted', claiming the $619 mi...

The grim economic outlook for 2023 could have set New Zealand up for an austerity-focused Budget. Instead, Grant Robertson said today's numbers show New Zealand's economy will avoid a recession and the Government will return to a wafer-thin surplus in 2025. NZ Herald business editor Liam Dann says the Government could have been more cautious with this year's Budget, but Labour took the polls into...

Australia's unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent, surprising economists. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, an estimated 4,300 jobs were lost in the last month. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says economists are hoping this slight rise in unemployment will help inflation ease. Murray Olds says the Reserve Bank of Australia is due to meet next month,...

Finance Minister Grant Robertson unveiled the 'no-frills' 2023 Budget today. Prescription medicine co-payments will be axed, free early childhood education will be expanded and children under 13 will be able to access free public transport in the coming months. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the Budget is exactly what he expected. "It's a Labour Budget through and through, full...

The PFU disagrees with Fire and Emergency's claims that they had enough resources for the Loafers Lodge fire. FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory gave a media address stating there were enough crews and specialist appliances to respond to the Wellington blaze, amid concerns. Professional Firefighters Union President Ian Wright disagrees with Gregory's comments, labelling them 'inaccurate'. "We were...

New Zealand's video game industry will be able to survive and thrive thanks to a 2023 Budget boost. The Government announced $160 million would be allocated to the sector and a 20 percent rebate would be available for game development studios that met the expenditure threshold. New Zealand Game Developers Association chair Chelsea Rapp is excited about this development and says the sector has been...

The Government is cracking down on perceived unfairness in the tax system by increasing the trustee tax rate. The trustee tax rate will be hiked from 33 percent to the top personal tax rate of 39 percent by April 2024. Olivershaw tax advisor Mike Shaw explained that if the trust was invested in term deposits or listed shares, owners will be able to easily restructure their investments to sidestep...

Former Warriors star and TV personality Manu Vatuvei will take on a mentorship role within the team after completing his prison term. Vatuvei was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment for importing methamphetamine in 2022. After today's Parole Board hearing, Vatuvei is expected to be released at the end of the month. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE...

Tonight on The Huddle: former Labour Chief of Staff and current director at Mike Munroe Communications, Mike Munroe and Kiwiblog contributor and Curia pollster David Farrar joined in on a discussion about the following issues on the day- and more! Today was 2023 Budget day- what did we think? Did it live up to the 'no-frills' promise? What's in here for voters? Will this get Labour another term? H...

Delight at the Government's decision to scrap the $5 prescription fee. The move, which kicks in from July, will cost nearly $620 million. Prescription Access Initiative spokesperson Vicky Chan says it's a no brainer. "It is obvious that the $5 prescription payment has been a barrier for a lot of our patients and the communities out there, so we obviously welcome this fantastic move in the Budget."...

Drama on the streets of New York, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly in a 'catastrophic' car chase for two hours. The taxi driver involved later told reporters that the couple seemed nervous on the journey, but the chase wasn't as dangerous as they claimed. US correspondent Mitch McCann says there's no denying paparazzi were following the couple, but the NYPD and New York City mayor...

The Finance Minister is confident he's struck the right balance in his sixth Government Budget. Grant Robertson has today unveiled a family-focused spend-up, which includes a scrapping of prescription fees and free public transport for under 13s. From next March, 2-year-olds will also be eligible for 20 hours free early childcare. He says there are a zillion things they could do, but it's about we...

Families with young children will receive a helping hand from the Government as part of Budget 2023. $1.2 billion will be spent over 4 years to extend 20 hours of free early childhood education to 2-year-olds. Previously, only children aged 3 to 5 were eligible. Early Childhood Council CEO Simon Laube says a lot of children will benefit. "It will lead to other children coming in that aren't in ECE...

I'm sorry if you were, in the end, expecting something big in this Budget.  I certainly was, given it is election year, but unfortunately there is absolutely nothing big here. A very small group of people will be happy with what they get, but the vast majority of us get absolutely no help at all with the cost of living crisis that we're all going through. Let me run you through the details. What y...

Albanian authorities have confirmed that the UK Government has paid Albanian prisoners £1,500 ($3000 NZD) to return home. A BBC report has confirmed that some of the criminals who were offered money to leave plan to return to the UK. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this new scheme was originally designed to free up prison space, but will likely be extremely unpopular in the UK. LISTEN ABOVE See o...

Tonight on The Huddle, Cas Carter from Cas Carter Communications and Ben Thomas from Ben Thomas PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: Christchurch have had their application to be exempt from water chlorination, forcing chlorine into the rest of their water supply. Was mayor Phil Mauger right to be disappointed, or do they need to accept this? The Government has annou...

Budget 2023 is due to be released tomorrow afternoon, and experts have expressed their hopes about the outcome. Investors will be looking to see how this Budget impacts New Zealand's debt to GDP ratio, especially following the last three years. Milford Asset Management's Mark Riggall says New Zealand is in a more favourable position compared to Australia, the US and the UK, and investors won't wan...

ANZ are the latest major bank to release their revised prediction for the OCR. The bank forecasts that the RBNZ will raise the OCR by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent next week and again in July, peaking at 5.75 percent.  NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibrshraeny says ANZ economists know the economic picture is currently as 'clear as mud' because of all the variables. "They're really f...

It's officially Budget 2023 Eve, and experts are speculating about what to expect. Budget 2023 will be announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson tomorrow, and Robertson has spent the last few days explaining this will be a no-frills budget focused on recovery. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper predicts there will be extra surprises in this year's Budget. "I've talked around the Bee...

US President Joe Biden has cancelled his planned trip to Papua New Guinea. It comes as debt ceiling negotiations continue in Washington - with congressional leaders due to speak to Biden. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says the US is two weeks away from potentially defaulting on debt payments, and Biden hopes to meet Republicans halfway to fix this issue. Dan Mitchinson says Joe Biden will still...

The NRL have dropped referee Todd Smith and bunker official Gerard Sutton after a series of controversial calls in Melbourne's round-11 defeat of Brisbane. Todd Smith will not referee any games in round 12 this week, but will be stand-by referee for Cronulla's Saturday match against Newcastle in Coffs Harbour. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains how this doesn't make One NZ's Jason Paris ri...

The Government will be making moves to monitor key building supply prices to improve competition and transparency. Last December, the Commerce Commission made some recommendations to improve competition in the building supply sector, and the Government agreed to 8 out of the 9 suggestions. These include supporting alternative products and lifting offsite manufacturing at least 10 percent year on y...

Australian carrier Jetstar will require passengers to check-in earlier after a major shake-up was announced. The airline has announced that from May 23, bag drop times will close 10 minutes earlier and gates will close 20 minutes before departure.  Aviation commentator Peter Clark says this will only improve punctuality if the whole airport infrastructure is working. "I see Auckland being a major...