Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Government has recently stated that they will take the Three Waters legislation to parliament's Business Committee to discuss entrenchment. This entrenchment provision, if implemented, will require 60 percent of MPs to overturn the provision in the future, an increase to the previous threshold of 50 percent. Fran O'Sullivan, NZME business commentator says that it's important that legal experts...

Another Black Friday is over and done with for the year and the consumer spending numbers have gone down. According to data from Worldline, consumer spending on one of the busiest retail days of the year has dropped down by 7 percent from last year. Greg Harford, Retail NZ Chief Executive is disappointed with this information, as he had expected Kiwi shoppers to go out and spend more. But these nu...

The hit Broadway production Hamilton, a rap/R&B/jazz infused musical about America's founding fathers is premiering in New Zealand next May. The show will run for two weeks at Auckland's Spark Arena, following a successful run in Australia. Fans of the musical are very excited for this debut, including Victoria University theatre lecturer James Wenley, who saw it live before and look forward t...

Today on The Huddle: Cas Carter from Cas Carter Communications and Tim Beveridge, Newstalk ZB announcer, joined in on a discussion on the following issues of the day- and more! Jacinda Ardern announced a new crime prevention package that subsidies fog cannons for all small shops and dairies who may need to install them. Was this announcement made too late down the line? Three Waters is going back...

There are doubts the Government's latest retail crime measures will make much difference. A new $4 million dollar fund has been announced to support Auckland, Hamilton and Bay of Plenty councils with crime prevention programmes. The existing $6 million dollar fund will be opened up to include aggravated robberies, and small shops and dairies can now get $4 thousand dollars each to install a fog ca...

The Government says it will go back to parliament's Business Committee to discuss entrenchment in the Three Waters legislation. This entrenchment would make it very hard for future Governments to overturn anti-privatisation measures. 60 per cent of MP's would be needed to overturn it going forward. One of the constitutional experts who signed the open letter spurring this announcement, Edward Will...

The Police Minister is blaming insurance companies, for the lacklustre roll-out of ram-raid and burglary prevention defences. The Government has today announced a subsidy for small shops and dairies to install fog cannons. But according to figures from police, just eight businesses have been fully outfitted through the retail prevention fund, announced in May. Chris Hipkins says insurers taking to...

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has recently announced a package subsidising fog cannons to shops and dairies who may need one to combat crime. This announcement was made in the first post-cabinet press conference since the heavily publicised stabbing of a Sandringham shopkeeper. Political editor Barry Soper says it would have made more sense for this subsidy package to have been implemented several...

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to be officially censured, according to the federal cabinet.  This decision was made following the secret ministries scandal, in which the former Prime Minister was  appointing himself into multiple ministries and keeping this detail a secret from the voters. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson explained the parliamentary discussions surr...

The 2022 FIFA World Cup carries on, with the latest surprising match outcome happening when Morocco beat Belgium. This has been another World Cup upset for the books, with fans expressing confusion at this outcome, and riot breaking out following the win. Weekend Sport host Jason Pine explained the fan reactions to this result further.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

There are questions as to whether a Far North highway is ever going to be fixed. State Highway One from Whangarei to Kaitaia through Mangamuka Gorge has been closed since August. There is still no timeline from Waka Kotahi when it will be fixed, but it's hoping to apply for funding. Kaitaia Business Association Chair Andrea Panther says it could take a while to find out what's going to happen. LIS...

Black Friday shopping mania is expected to be clouded by the nation's dark economic outlook. The Reserve Bank has hiked the Official Cash Rate up 75 basis points to 4.25 percent - and is forecasting a recession will strike midway through next year. The governor has urged people to reign in on spending. Infometrics principle economist Brad Olsen says consumers will be more careful, knowing their mo...

ACT says dairy owners could start taking matters into their own hands if the Government doesn't come to the table. Police are still looking for the offender who stabbed a dairy worker to death outside Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham on Wednesday night. It took place in Jacinda Ardern's Mt Albert electorate, but she hasn't visited the community yet. ACT Leader David Seymour says she needs to...

A survey by the Institute of Directors has found company leaders are pessimistic about the economy. Two thirds of directors are expecting the country's economic performance to slide over the next year. But 50 percent are optimistic their organisations will be fine over the same period. Institute of Directors General Manager Guy Beatson says staffing is a major concern. He says 67 percent say labou...

The shooter who killed six people at a Walmart in Virginia on Tuesday was targeting co-workers. Survivors and investigators are now spending the Thanksgiving holiday questioning the motive of the employee who opened fire on co-workers, before fatally turning the gun on himself. Two people are in hospital in a critical condition. International Correspondent Kathryn Firkin says one witness saw the g...

A mining company in Perth is hoping to lure Kiwi workers over. Mineral Resources has launched an advertising campaign targeting New Zealanders...and is offering salaries of $150-thousand for some roles. Chief Executive Mike Grey told Heather du Plessis Allan that New Zealand has a high cost of living and wages that aren't great. He says this gives people who are willing to take a new lease on life...

Over in the UK, the latest group of workers announcing a strike is postal workers. Workers from the UK's Royal Mail have decided to strike over pay and working conditions. These strikes started in November and will continue into December.  UK correspondent Enda Brady explains why the postal workers are feeling the need to protest their working conditions. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr stated that New Zealand's relatively strict border rules were a handbrake on his ability to rein in inflation. Adrian Orr said that the border restrictions and subsequent immigration reset forced him to raise the mortgage rates higher than he otherwise would have gone for. Immigration Minister Michael Wood says that the immigration reset represents practical steps...

Fieldays is set to happen in Mystery Creek, Hamilton from November 30th to December 3rd 2022, after being postponed due to Covid-19. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been a regular fixture at Fieldays in previous years, but it's unknown if she'll be turning up this time round. Jacinda Ardern and Labour have expressed discomfort about going on public walkabouts, but Jamie Mackay says that Damien O...

The recent OCR hike by 75 basis points to 4.25 percent may spell out a concerning future for the economy, especially when paired with predictions for 2023. But NZ Herald business editor Liam Dann isn't too concerned about these statistics because these rates going high isn't exactly new territory. Liam Dann says a recession, or at least an economic downturn is looking likely, but economists have m...

Today on The Huddle: David Farrar, Kiwiblog writer and Curia pollster and Ali Jones from Red PR joined Heather du Plessis-Allan for a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! The fatal stabbing of a dairy shopkeeper in Sandringham was terrible- but with the state of crime in this country, was an attack like this inevitable? How does this look for the Government, by the way? This...

The Act Party wants to slash red tape around immigration. It's proposing a raft of policies- including changes to parent visas, and ensuring a cost benefit analysis for major policy decisions. Leader David Seymour also wants demand-based pricing of temporary work visas. He claims that's instead of letting bureaucracy decide who gets work in New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Road rage is on the rise in New Zealand , as new data from an AA Insurance study indicates. The study says that at least a third of Kiwi drivers have been involved in a road rage incident in the past year.  Beau Paparoa, Head of AA motor claims says that the results of the study may seem quite high, as the term 'road rage' covers a broad range of incidents. Beau Paparoa knows there's a big gap bet...

A high school has stopped a student from wearing crocs as school shoes. A woman bought a pair of plain black crocs for her son, who attends Whangarei Boys' High School, after the roman sandals she initially purchased fell apart within a few weeks. Principal Karen Gilbert-Smith says they don't comply with their uniform policy. She says they don't change their uniform policy every time something com...

Optimism from one economist, New Zealand will narrowly miss a recession. The Reserve Bank forecasts the nation will hit a period of negative GDP growth about midway through 2023. Its raised the the Official Cash Rate 75 basis points to 4.25 percent - and expects it will peak at 5.5 percent next year. But independent economist Tony Alexander says if there is a recession at all, it will be very shal...