Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

On April 26th, New Zealanders will get to find out how much tax the wealthiest citizens pay. Separate studies by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and the Treasury are expected to provide both a guide to and rationale for any tax reforms the Government may announce in the budget. BusinessDesk commentator Pattrick Smellie says this release isn't a response to the recent OliverShaw report into our...

The Wellington Phoenix today appointed Giancarlo 'Chiefy' Italiano as their new men's coach. Giancarlo Italiano will replace Ufuk Talay when he departs at the end of this season for the next two A-League seasons. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says as far as a seamless transition from the voice that runs the team goes, appointing Giancarlo Italiano is a good idea. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.co...

Former Labour Cabinet minister John Tamihere recently claimed that water is a Māori-owned asset. In an opinion piece written for Stuff, Tamihere argued that Pakeha had taken control of a '100 percent Māori-owned' resource, citing the Treaty of Waitangi. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says John Tamihere's piece was written to be provocative, but if he had courage in his convictions,...

National has promised to enact a Free Trade Agreement with India, if elected in October. Recent reports say India is poised to overtake Germany and Japan to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030. Leader Chris Luxon says Australia, the UK and the EU have easily been able to close trade deals with India, and New Zealand needs to 'hustle' and build this international relationship. "Yo...

A hunting competition is at the centre of controversy over whether kids should kill feral cats. The annual North Canterbury Hunting Competition is offering under 14s a $250 prize for killing the most feral cats. It's a fundraiser for the Rotherham School and community pool. Former event sponsor Margaret Maguire says she's worried kids will shoot people's pets. "It is very hard- or virtually imposs...

Auckland Council's boss has defended going home the night the city flooded on Anniversary Weekend. Jim Stabback and the Director of Governance have apologised, after the release of a damning report on the flood response. Shortly after 5pm that day, Fire and Emergency put out a statement revealing every single crew had been called out. Stabback had left the office 15 minutes earlier- and didn't go...

New Zealand war veterans say they feel undervalued. The RSA believes Anzac Day is only about Anzac forays, and smaller wars don't get the same recognition. National President Sir Wayne Shelford says some soldiers feel their service seems less important. "ANZAC is really about the first and the second World War, but we see very little about the most modern vets." He estimates about 60,000 people se...

Netball NZ's CEO has voiced her disappointment with World Netball after last year's Jamaican visa debacle. Games were cancelled and Netball New Zealand would have lost over $400,000 if not for creative thinking amid the chaos. Jamaica's team, The Sunshine Girls, have since been fined $9800 by World Netball for failing to arrive on time for their series with the Silver Ferns. Netball New Zealand Ch...

Australian Opposition leader Peter Dutton has unveiled a shadow Cabinet reshuffle in wake of MP Julian Leeser's resignation. This reshuffle was prompted by Leeser resigning as a shadow minister for Indigenous Australians to campaign in support of the Indigenous voice to Parliament. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Peter Dutton reinstated former attorney-general Michaelia Cash and promoted...

Poland and Hungary have banned imports of grain and other food products from Ukraine. Both regions have claimed this decision was necessary in order to protect their agricultural markets from destabilisation. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says large quantities of the grain were delivered to central Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, bringing down the price and impacting Polish farmers. G...

Tonight on the The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Trish Sherson PR and former Labour Press Secretary Kaine Thompson joined in on a discussion about the following topics: A 25-year-old man was stabbed at a service station in Whangārei after reportedly stepping in to help a woman being robbed at an ATM. How scary is this? Can we trust the police do to their jobs? Do you feel safe in your community curre...

One Wellington school principal has expressed disappointment with today's education announcement. Labour has said they will reduce the teacher/student ratio from 1:29 to 1:28 for year 4- 8 pupils in order to reverse declining achievement during those years. Lorraine Taylor, principal at Wellington's Silverstream school says this announcement is somewhat disrespectful to teachers. Lorraine Taylor s...

Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty raised a few eyebrows after his appearance on Q&A to explain Affordable Water Reforms. The 10 regionally owned public water entities would now report to a local representative group that was jointly comprised of council representatives and mana whenua. Kieran McAnulty claimed that the 50/50 representation on the local groups didn’t reflect a “one-perso...

An Australian senator is facing backlash after a confrontation outside a strip club. Lidia Thorpe has been banned from the club for life after a verbal conflict with a group of men, while celebrating a friend's 50th on Sunday. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says it's put her reputation in doubt. "An Australian senator out until the smaller hours of the morning at a strip club- horrible l...

All Blacks star Rieko Ioane has signed a contract extension with NZ Rugby until 2027. This makes Rieko Ioane the second All Black signed to NZ Rugby until the end of the next World Cup cycle. Weekend Sport host Jason Pine says this is great news, as Ioane is likely the type of player who could make money overseas. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Government watchdog is taking legal action against Bachcare, claiming their contract terms could cause financial harm to consumers. The Commerce Commission today filed civil proceedings under the Fair Trading Act to prove that Bachcare's previous and current cancellation policies are unfair. Consumer NZ CEO Jon Duffy explained complaints about Bachcare's cancellation policies peaked during the h...

Minister Kieran McAnulty has sparked concerns following his recent comments about Affordable Water Reforms. The Local Government Minister said on TVNZ's Q&A that the local representative groups comprised of council representatives and mana whenua didn't reflect a "one-person, one vote" model. He says that because the proportion of mana whenua in the groups is higher than the proportion in New...

$100,000 is up for grabs for psychics who can prove their skills, but no one's taking up the challenge. New Zealand Skeptics have recognised three psychics with claims like predicting earthquakes and speaking with the dead. Chair Craig Shearer says it wants to develop fair tests for them to demonstrate their skills but no one's engaged yet. "These three people that we've recognised, who are actual...

Whangarei's mayor wants more support for police after a man died outside a Raumanga petrol station on Saturday. The 25-year-old was killed after allegedly intervening in an attempted robbery of a woman withdrawing money at an ATM. Police say they don't think gangs are involved, and are asking anyone with footage not to post it on social media. Mayor Vince Cocurullo says police don't have enough re...

Suggestions some Rotorua motels are keeping rooms empty to rake in Government cash. The city's Temporary Housing Dashboard shows the numbers of people in emergency housing motels have nearly halved since last year. It's prompted calls to return some facilities to the market with available motels struggling to meet high demand. Wylie Court manager Judith Cunningham says it's a waste of taxpayer mon...

Jan Tinetti maintains Labour serious about reducing class sizes, despite flunking a previous promise. While in Opposition in 2014, Labour campaigned on having 26 students for every one teacher. Education Minister Tinetti today revealed a scaled-back plan, with one teacher per 29 year 4 to 8 children dropping to 28 by 2025. She says this time, Labour’s in Government and has funding to back up its a...

Dunedin taxpayers have forked out a substantial amount to eradicate the region's wallaby population. The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union confirmed that over $2.7 million has been spent on a wallaby control program that killed just 18 wallabies This was divulged in an OIA to Biosecurity NZ by the Taxpayers' Union. Taxpayers' Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says this was part of the Jobs for N...

A big education announcement from the Government- they’re reducing class sizes for primary and intermediate schools. Classes will drop from 29 to 28. You cannot make this stuff up. They slipped the news to media so they could start previewing it this morning. They wheeled out the Education Minister, they flew the Prime Minister to Auckland, and they hauled out the reporters who got the live stream...

Keen trampers will have to fork out a bit more for their favourite walks, with the Department of Conservation announcing that it will be hiking hut and camping fees. Hut fees will double to $10 a night from July, and serviced huts will rise to $25. The Department of Conservation’s Steve Kerr says that it's due to increased budget pressures, reduced revenue, and extreme weather events. He says many...

New Plymouth's Mayor is calling for more change to the Government's water assets policy, previously known as Three Waters. There will now be 10 regionally-directed water entities rather than the original four, as well as more time provided to adapt to the changes. Neil Holdom told Jack Tame that they need to go back to the drawing board and make things cheaper. He says his council has asked the Go...