Holiday Breakfast

Kiwi UFC Featherweight Shane Young has given Auckland's City Kickboxing gym an extra boost. The MMA fighter famously trained with Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France. Shane Young says he got into the sport in order to improve his skills in self defence, and learned the value of discipline and self-discovery through training. Shane Young is scheduled to take part in UFC 284 on February...

National's Chris Luxon has come under fire for the language used during his speech in Waitangi yesterday. During his parliamentary Powhiri speech, Luxon called the Treaty a "little experiment", as he hoped to finalise all historic iwi settlements by 2030. Luxon said these comments weren't meant to belittle the significance of the Treaty, as every country started as an experiment. Chris Luxon today...

A review into the immediate response to the Auckland floods is set to answer some crucial questions. The probe will consider how well emergency management responded, and whether the state of emergency should have been approved earlier. Former Police Commissioner Mike Bush is leading the review, which is due to report back in a month's time. He says the review team will be getting copies of all com...

The truth about a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by the United States could be somewhere in the middle. China claims the balloon was an unmanned civilian airship that had blown off course, and says it now reserves the right to deal with similar situations. Strategic analyst Paul Buchanan says he believes two things can happen simultaneously. He says the balloon is probably a surveillance...

Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has questions regarding the proposed Voice To Parliament before he offers support. Peter Dutton wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a month ago with several questions regarding Albanese's Voice to Parliament referendum. Professor Megan Davis, one of the leading authors of the Uluru Statement of the Heart has since confirmed it would be difficult to an...

There's likely to be political fallout from America's decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the US East Coast. China has condemned the move, saying it now "reserves the right" to "deal with similar situations". Washington and Beijing were due to hold their highest-level talks in some years, but those meetings have now been put on ice. US Correspondent Richard Arnold says ther...

There's been a mood of celebration and a message of unity at this weekend's commemorations at Waitangi. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is among thousands of people who have been braving the rain to attend a dawn service and flag raising ceremony on the Treaty Grounds. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni is spending today at West Auckland's Hoani Waititi Marae, after spending the weekend at Waitang...

Reported job growth in the US is higher than expected for January. 2023 opened with 517,000 new employment opportunities created, surpassing growth expectations. Hospitality lead with 128,000 jobs created and business services, health care, and construction all reported an uptick in jobs. Greg Smith from Devon Funds says this puts America's unemployment rate at 3.4 percent, the lowest the region h...

NZ First leader Winston Peters —who served as Ardern's Deputy Prime Minister in her first term— isn't surprised by her resignation, which he's put down to failures in this term. He says the Labour Government has been in serious trouble post 2020, as has the Prime Minister. Peters had earlier ruled-out working with Labour, citing the He Puapua report which Labour kept secret from NZ First when they...

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark says polarisation has boiled to an irrational level of vitriol and hate on social media, which would take a toll on a leader. Clark thinks things have gotten worse since she left office. She says she was Prime Minister before social media really got underway, and the worst they had to endure then was the odd protest in front of parliament and what people said on t...

Neale Jones, a former advisor to Jacinda Ardern, says leading a nation through tough times has taken a toll on the Prime Minister. The former Chief of Staff's certain she made a personal, not political, decision. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacinda Ardern is receiving high praise across the Tasman for being a trailblazer for women in our part of the world. Correspondent Murray Olds says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is among a long list of politicians paying tribute to Ardern. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National leader Christopher Luxon says that her handling of the Christchurch terror attack made New Zealand proud. But he says there was an inability to just get things done. Luxon says resignation aside, the reality for New Zealanders is that business confidence is at an all time low while food prices are at a record high. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People are showing empathy for the vitriol Jacinda Ardern has faced during her time as Prime Minister. Te Pati Maori's Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told Tim Dower that you don't go into politics to play tiddlywinks, but there's been a tone and level of politics that went really low. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced today that she would step down from her role no later than February 7th. The two-term Prime Minister stated that she was unable to find the energy and heart to prepare for another term in Government over the summer. A caucus vote for a new leader is set to happen on January 22nd. Deputy political editor Jason Walls says this resignation was unexpected.  "I kn...

Next stop on our Summer road trip around New Zealand is the beautiful Southland District. We're heading to the mecca of Southland, Invercargill, this time tomorrow. But first what does the whole of Southland have to offer? Southland District Mayor Rob Scott joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have another New Zealand business superstar. Brianne West’s beauty and lifestyle company Ethique is on a roll, to put it mildly. They have eliminated more than 25 million plastic containers worldwide, creating concentrated beauty bars that are good for the planet and the user. Brianne's been featured in Forbes, has a fan in Britney Spears and is even immortalised as a Barbie doll. Brianne West...

A drug being sold as LSD turns out to contain a potent designer drug known as 25B-NBOH. It's a fairly new psychedelic substance, so little is known about it, but similar substances have been linked to hospitalisations and deaths. The Drug Foundation wants potential users to be wary and Executive Director Sarah Helm joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

This one takes the biscuit. The New Zealand delicacy Cookie Time has found a receptive new market in Japan. Just two days after the product hit Costco shelves there, an immediate re-order came in for four times the original amount. Exports are the big goal for the company this year, with a target of growing from 14 markets now, to 25. Managing Director Guy Pope-Mayell joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOV...

The political year is off to a strange start. Labour and National MPs are gathering in Napier this morning, for their party's annual caucus retreats. National could use the retreat to announce a caucus reshuffle, while Labour is due to make an announcement about election policy. Political Editor Jason Walls told Tim Dower having both parties meeting in the same city, on the same days, is completel...

Rescuers are continuing the search for a missing person, involved in a fatal water incident in the Coromandel on Wednesday. One person died at Opoutere Beach, a teenage boy is in a critical condition and four others sustained moderate to minor injuries. Emergency services, including three rescue helicopters, were sent to the scene just before 11.30am. Water Safety New Zealand ambassador, Rob Hewit...

A tech training company is so sure of the quality of its courses, its offering a full refund to graduates who don't get a job within a year of finishing. Mission Ready says it has an 83 percent job placement success rate. Co-founder Diana Sharma joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He's dubbed himself the People's Princess of New Zealand. Comedian Chris Parker had a hugely successful 2022, where he sold out his comedy tour and brought out his first book " Here for a Good Time ". And he has another tour for this year - " Lots of Love " is on the road in May and June. Chris Parker joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Summer road trip is nearing its final stop, rolling this morning into Dunedin, with its beautiful architecture, the Speight's brewery in the city, and the stunning Otago Peninsula.  Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders don't seem to be able to get off their phones, even when they're behind the wheel. A police operation in Central Wellington has caught 51 drivers using their mobiles in just a two-hour window. AA Road Safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen says using phones while driving is a high-risk behaviour. He told Tim Dower it takes a lot more attention and focus than things like adjusting the rad...