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Bank profitability hit an eight-year high in the December quarter when measured by net interest margin. According to Reserve Bank data, banks’ net interest margin rose by 6 basis points, to 2.37 per cent. The margin last reached this level in December 2014. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says the net interest margin is just one way of measuring bank profitability, with retur...

ChatGPT has overtaken TikTok as the fastest growing app of all time. The chatbot service has passed the 100 million user milestone less than three months after launch. ChatGPT has received over a billion visits since its launch in November 2022, giving it an adoption rate three times higher than TikTok and ten times higher than Instagram. Deborah Lambie theorises that ChatGPT resonates because of...

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has confirmed more police resources will be sent to Hawke's Bay to deal with the escalating crime wave. Last night, residents packed out Crab Farm Winery in Napier’s Bay View during a community meeting where they explained their need to take up arms to stop looters and intruders Hawke's Bay community meeting organiser Louise Parsons said the extra police caravan w...

Tourism Minister Peeni Henare has revealed a new roadmap to strengthen the tourism workforce. This plan includes a voluntary Tourism and Hospitality Accord, allowing companies to set the bar for employment and on-the-job training. The tourism and hospitality sector has reported high rates of harassment and bullying and low pay. AUT senior lecturer in hospitality David Williamson says this accord w...

Labour might have brought themselves a bigger problem firing Rob Campbell than not, because he is clearly not going to go quietly. He's spoken to most media major outlets, sometimes more than once in the last 24 hours. He's considering releasing the legal letter he sent the Health Minister before she sacked him.  And probably more worrying to Labour long term, he’s made it clear he’s going to keep...

There are calls for the Government to pull funding for creative works in the lead-up to Tusiata Avia's latest project. Tusiata Avia's 'The Savage Coloniser Book' is being adapted into a stage show for the Auckland Arts Festival. The play's premise of murdering James Cook and other white colonisers has generated controversy and criticism. Creative New Zealand CEO Stephen Wainwright has defended fun...

Ian Foster has released a statement confirming that he won't be reapplying for the All Blacks coaching job. This statement comes after NZ Rugby announcing they would select a new coach within the next six weeks. Ian Foster says his goal is to ensure the All Blacks win the upcoming Rugby World Cup and do New Zealand proud. NZ Herald rugby writer Liam Napier says that the relationship between Foster...

Police are increasing visibility by moving a Mobile Police Base into Petane War Memorial Park in Bay View. It will be available 24 hours a day and is on top of another base deployed to Puketapu last week. A third base is arriving in coming days and the bases will begin moving around the region as roads reopen. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says they will continually review resources. "We have...

Embattled civil servant Rob Campbell's role as Environmental Protection Authority chair looks to be on shaky ground. Newstalk ZB understands the now-former chairman of Te Whatu Ora is soon to be sacked from his second public service position. Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper says Environment Minister David Parker has written to Campbell. "I would think he'd get the exact same reply that...

NZ Rugby chair Dame Patsy Reddy has confirmed that they will appoint a new All Blacks coach within the next six weeks. Ian Foster will stay on as the current All Blacks coach until the 2023 Rugby World Cup concludes. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says NZ Rugby had to give audiences a definitive lead by this point, but this announcement isn't giving away any new information. LISTEN ABOVE   See...

Deep concern as the number of Kiwis behind on their mortgage repayments rises to a near three-year high. Centrix data shows more than 18,000 households are behind. The number of people behind on general loan repayments has jumped 20,000 since December to 430,000. Centrix Managing Director, Keith McLaughlin says it's worrying. "We know 18,400 people are behind on their mortgages, but we know that t...

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has struck a deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland. Sunak confirmed that he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to ease trade rules for the British province. UK correspondent Enda Brady says that this result is being spun as a big win for Rishi Sunak, but many groups are divided on the trade agreemen...

On today's edition of The Huddle, Sam Johnson, Projects Director at Still and independent journalist Clare de Lore joined in on a discussion about the following topics: Rob Campbell has been fired as Chair of Te Whatu Ora by Health Minister Ayesha Verrall. Was this the right decision? What did we think of his earlier interview? Should National have been more direct and said they'd fire Rob Campbel...

The latest Taxpayers Union/Curia poll states that National is more trusted to oversee the economy. Chris Luxon and Nicola Willis narrowly beat out Chris Hipkins, with 43 percent of respondents preferring National and 39 percent preferring Labour. ZB's senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the economy is one the bigger issues concerning voters, and the most trusted economic team will like...

Cyclone Gabrielle has covered Hawke's Bay farmland and orchards in up to two meters of silt. The silt was washed down from nearby hills by torrential rain, and forces farmers to work quickly to restore their land.  The Country's Jamie Mackay says there's been research into silt over the last three decades, prompted by an uptick in floods. According to Jamie Mackay, soil scientist Dr Ants Roberts r...

Former MediaWorks CEO Cam Wallace will join Qantas as group chief executive of Qantas international and freight. His new job will pit him against former employer Air New Zealand, whom he worked with for two decades prior to MediaWorks. BusinessDesk editor Pattrick Smellie says that Air New Zealand would have expected Cam Wallace to return to the aviation industry, as he only left the company in a...

New Zealand may have to pay out billions of dollars to meet our carbon slashing target. The Government raised New Zealand's 2030 Paris Agreement carbon-slashing target and reaching that target would require paying other countries to slash emissions on New Zealand's behalf. Treasury estimates this will cost $12.8 billion by the end of the decade. Dave Frame, Director of the NZ Climate Change Resear...

Federated Farmers is calling for the army to be deployed to flood-hit rural communities. This comes amid increased reports of post-Cyclone Gabrielle crime spikes in the East Coast, despite police saying they have the situation under control. Federated Farmers CEO Terry Copeland says that people in these isolated communities have been hit hard by the weather and intruders may be the last straw. "Wh...

National’s performance on the Rob Campbell issue is an example of why it’s level pegging with Labour in the polls, and why there are questions about the leadership of Chris Luxon. Because National seems scared of having an opinion.  Asked by Mike this morning whether Rob Campbell would be fired by National, the  party's Public Service spokesman  Simeon Brown couldn’t say yes. He made excuses, he h...

Rob Campbell is out as the Chair of Te Whatu Ora, given the sack by Health Minister Ayesha Verrall. It follows Campbell publicly criticising National's Three Waters policy, and leader Chris Luxon. Verrall says he broke the Code of Conduct he signed when appointed to the role, and she no longer has confidence in his ability to exercise political neutrality. Rob Campbell says he hasn't decided wheth...

The Problem Gambling foundation is taking issue with the proposed fundraiser for Cyclone Gabrielle's rebuild. A special Lotto draw will be held on March 18, with half the ticket sales going towards the recovery from the cyclone. Problem Gambling spokesperson Andree Froude says gambling can be harmful and should be separated from community fundraising. Andree Froude says it's disappointing that Lot...

The Black Caps have pulled off one of the all-time great test cricket victories, beating England by one run on the final day of the second match at the Basin Reserve. Neil Wagner finished with four wickets for the innings and took the final scalp of James Anderson, caught behind by Tom Blundell. New Zealand have become only the fourth team to win a test after following on. Neil Wagner says today's...

Aussies with superannuation balances more than $3.2 million dollars will have their concession tax rates doubled by 2025. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the change, after a week of fierce debate about the sustainability and fairness of superannuation tax breaks. Correspondent Oliver Peterson says although it only affects 99.5 percent of Australians, it's a broken Government p...

Wellington's Mayor is backing a 12.9 percent rates rise. The Council's draft annual budget was voted in today, despite two pages of amendments challenging it. The rise works out to be another $390 dollars a year for homeowners. Mayor Tory Whanau says the cost saving proposals put forward by councillors were considered. She says in the end, it was between increasing rates or cutting projects import...

Many people were calling for Rob Campbell to be sacked as Health NZ board chair following his LinkedIn rant about National's policies.  Former Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says by this point, Rob Campbell needed to be sacked. Jonathan Coleman says Rob Campbell presented a challenge to Chris Hipkins and set up a stand-off that needed to be dealt with. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener fo...