Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

New Zealand has struck an FTA with the EU. The Government say this will grow exports to the EU to $1.8 billion a year by 2035, but the meat industry says we've got a raw deal from it, while the dairy sector hasn't fared much better. Some clarity on Ihumatao. The Government stepped in to buy the land from Fletcher back in 2020, and today Maori Development Minister Willie Jackson has appointed two c...

The Supreme Court curbed the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to broadly regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants, a major defeat for the Biden administration's attempts to slash emissions at a moment when scientists are sounding alarms about the accelerating pace of global warming. In addition, the court cut back agency authority in general invoking the so-called "major quest...

The All Blacks' test series with Ireland kicks off tomorrow night and it couldn't be tighter. Although recent history favours the Irish, with 3 wins from the last 5, the All Blacks haven't been beaten at Eden Park for 28 years. The Warriors make their long-waited homecoming these weekend. It's been over 1000 days since the team played at Mt Smart and are playing the Tigers in front of a sellout cr...

Stratford District Council has introduced a targeted rate for forestry plantation owners to repair damaged roads. It says the roads can't cope with large trucks and owners should be doing their part on upkeep. District Council Mayor Neil Volzke told Heather du Plessis Allan there's a huge amount of damage happening. “An example recently was one small wooden bridge that had the signs taken off it b...

Should we be outraged at Geoff Ross for their farming techniques? The entrepreneur has been labelled woke for his sheep shearing techniques on his carbon-zero Lake Hawea farm. These include having sheep bouncing on mattresses and playing classical music while shearing. The Country host Jamie Mackay joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ Herald journalist Megan Wood has reported she has had to see private tuition after learning her 9-year-old son couldn’t read. It comes as our literacy rates have significantly dropped off since changing learning to read from phonics to word association in 1970. Epidemiologist Michael Baker has suggested isolation for the flu and treat the disease similar to Covid with recovery.     He says we n...

Prince Charles has denied any wrongdoing in accepting money as a charity donation from a Qatari politician. Cocaine smugglers have been bribing port staff. Captain Tom Moore's charity will face a formal inquiry over management concerns. UK correspondent Enda Brady joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The investing landscape has changed pretty dramatically over the last 12 months. This time last year, global inflation was running at around 2 percent, central banks talking raising interest rates wasn't on the cards and global stock market volatility was low. Today, inflation is running at 9 percent, interest rates have gone up 6 times in the US and the market is expecting another 8, and volatili...

Journalist Megan Wood says she’s having to pay $120 a week if she wants her 8-year-old son to be able to read. She’s gone to private tuition after trying for two years to work out why her son wasn’t picking literacy up in school. Megan Wood joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trade negotiations with the European Union are down to the wire. The Prime Minister is in Brussels with an aim to conclude talks over a free trade deal with the EU which have continued for roughly for years. A senior political reporter travelling with the delegation says the European negotiators are running down the clock until the very last minute. The Herald's Thomas Coughlan told Heather du Ple...

I don’t know why we try to reinvent the wheel sometimes. It’s becoming more and more obvious that we made a huge mistake 50 years ago changing the way we teach kids to read when we stopped teaching phonics. There’s a great article in the Herald today written by Megan Wood. She is a journalist and she’s also a mum. She tells the story of her almost 9-year-old son. He can’t read. He’s a really cleve...

The June ANZ Business Outlook survey showed firms are increasingly pessimistic about the outlook for activity and profitability. However, it is the ongoing issues of inflation and an economy running at capacity causing most headaches, not recessionary forces. The data would do nothing to ease RBNZ concerns about the potential for a wage-price spiral developing, said ANZ chief economist Sharon Zoll...

An Auckland University professor says his students have come back to uni despondent after the Covid lockdowns. Professor Robert MacCulloch says students can no longer see a future and have also lost their buzz and mojo. Auckland University macroeconomics professor Robert MacCulloch joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A wake-up call for landlords, with property managers warning the market has changed. Rentals are staying vacant for 1 to 2 months before being re-tenanted because of a lack of inquiries. Residential Property Managers Association chairman David Pearse told Heather du Plessis-Allan there are multiple reasons why the market has turned - including a lack of overseas students. “But we’ve got an oversup...

A top epidemiologist is urging flu patients to manage their illness the same way as with Covid-19. Otago University's Michael Baker has raised concerns about the number of people going out and about with flu symptoms. He says we need to promote an environment whereby people are supported not to go to work if they are sick. Baker told Heather du Plessis-Allan people need to stay inside just the sam...

The head of New Zealand's foreign ministry says there is "no question" Russian troll farms have been spreading disinformation online here under direction from the Kremlin. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade chief executive Chris Seed said intelligence provided by the Five Eyes security alliance showed a "high degree of assurance" Russian-sourced disinformation was being pushed into New Zealand....

Anthony Albanese has joined world leaders in sending a “strong message” to Russia and China, as the world warns the rules-based order is under significant threat from ‘barbarism’. On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, the Prime Minister joined his New Zealand, Japanese and Korean counterparts – the AP4 group – to discuss the threats facing the Asia-Pacific region. The group, who had been...

The All Blacks have named their starting XV for their first test this year. In a Covid-hit team, Leicester Fainga'anuku is the only debutant, while Richie Mo'unga will come off the bench and Scott Barrett starts in the No 6 role. Scrum coach Greg Feek is also now the latest to sit out Saturday with after testing positive for Covid, while Mark Telea has been called up for injury cover. Meanwhile in...

A Country Calendar episode about Australasia’s first certified carbon-zero farm has received a tsunami of backlash. The episode about Geoff and Justine Ross’ Lake Hawea farm has become the most viewed episode of the series. The farm uses alternative techniques in the wool shed as well. Entrepreneur and farmer Geoff Ross joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The Kiwi owners of a laundry detergent brand labelled "worse than water" in a recent Consumer NZ tests are disputing the results and could take legal action. Grant Taylor and Renee Lee's Re. Stor laundry sheets performed "terribly" at removing stains according to the Consumer NZ test published this week. According to the Consumer NZ tests the tropical scented Re.stor Concentrated Laundry Detergent...

The Government has announced its plan to get Wellington moving. A light rail from the city to Island Bay and a new multipurpose tunnel under Mt Victoria is also being built with two lanes each for cars and public transport. Andrew Little has said the health system is 'managing'. It comes in response to a letter from the country's DHB warning of "critical workforce issues", calling it an "unsustain...

We're past the halfway point of the year. So far sharemarkets are predicting a major economic slowdown, due to effects from Covid-19 and inflation rates. The first six months of this year is one of the worst starts in history for shares and bonds. Milford Asset Management portfolio manager Stephen Johnston joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

New analysis from Infometrics is pointing to higher levels of infrastructure investment over the next decade. $172 billion is expected to be invested by 2031. The money is expected to go into roading, electricity generation, and water systems in particular. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scotland's leader told lawmakers in Edinburgh Tuesday that she plans to hold a fresh referendum on Scotland's independence on Oct. 19, 2023 — even though U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson maintains it wasn't the right time for such a vote. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the question to be asked will be the same as that in Scotland’s first independence vote in 2014: “Should Scotland be an inde...

ASB and ANZ are both pausing their mortgage lending again for anyone who has less than a 20 percent deposit. Meanwhile, Westpac is now limiting availability. The three banks reckon they're coming up against the limits the Reserve Bank has set for them on the amount of high-risk lending they're allowed to do. NZ Herald Wellington Business Editor Jenée Tibshraeny joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LIS...