Holiday Breakfast

New Zealand's Football Ferns are set to make history today. They're facing the top-ranked USA side at Sky Stadium this afternoon, in front of the biggest crowd in Football Ferns history. Newstalk ZB's voice of football, Jason Pine, told Tim Dower over 10,000 tickets have already been sold. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rising cost of living is continuing to take its toll on poor families. Wellington City Mission says more than 50 people visited its "social supermarket" foodbank last week. That's five times more than normal. City Missioner Murray Edridge told Tim Dower they're seeing more people show up for assistance who have never sought help before. He says they're seeing fully employed people asking for h...

Anxiety across the economy, about the business year ahead. New figures from NZIER show business confidence has plunged to its lowest level since records began more than half a century ago. Almost three quarters of businesses expect economic conditions to worsen in the coming months. BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope Tim Dower inflation and rising interest rates are taking their toll on consumer...

When we think of the great sporting moments of 2022, the Black Ferns win in the Rugby World Cup final has to be on the list. Hazel Tubic was part of it all and joined Tim Dower to look back and discuss what's next for her and the team. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeremy Clarkson has apologised to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, after widespread backlash to his column about the Duchess of Sussex. He stated he was dreaming of the day Markle would be paraded naked through the streets, among other controversial comments. Clarkson says he sent the piece in a rush without showing it to anyone else. UK Correspondent Enda Brady says it's clear Clarkson crossed the...

New Zealand patients with a debilitating illness say a gene-editing trial has relieved their symptoms and changed their lives. Hereditary angioedema causes unpredictable and often frequent swelling attacks, but those taking part in the trial are no longer getting attacks. Principal Investigator Dr Hilary Longhurst sees potential for the cutting-edge technology to have widespread applications in th...

We are just nine months out from the Rugby World Cup and the Wallabies have had a shake-up. Eddie Jones, the man they sacked in 2005, is back as coach and Dave Rennie has been shown the door. Former All Black coach Laurie Mains joined Tim Dower to discuss the move. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another bout of heavy rain is set to hamper recovery efforts in the Gisborne District. The region remains in a state of emergency with 21 local roads still closed and another 23 only open to four wheel drive vehicles. Civil Defence officials will decide today whether to extend that state of emergency, with more heavy rain forecast from tomorrow afternoon until early Thursday morning. Tolaga Civil...

There's concern serious violent incidents on public transport could be on the rise. An aggravated robbery happened on a Lower Hutt bus on Friday, allegedly the result of a mass brawl between 15 young people. Six people were taken into custody and one passenger had minor injuries. Public Transport Users Association Coordinator Jon Reeves told Tim Dower it's a big problem. He says potentially the gr...

Tourism destinations are buzzing again with the return of international tourists this summer. Central Otago's newest cycle trail is bringing in and smashing expectations for visitor numbers. More than 87,000 riders have visited the Lake Dunstan Trail since it was first opened in May, last year. Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan told Tim Dower it's been a great draw card. He loves that they're becomi...

Roman Travers talks to listeners about their interesting family histories and genealogy. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An earlier incident at a Lower Hutt bus stop where a group of 15 youths got into a mass brawl demonstrates that youth crime is a significant issue. Roman Travers asks what can be done to stop this and addresses the need for security to improve the public transport experience. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has been sacked, with Eddie Jones set to take over. Roman Travers asks what this means for rugby fans and what this decision may mean for the upcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're in the heart of South Canterbury this morning on our summer road trip. And we find ourselves in Timaru, which has been a golden light in the nation's economy, with data showing its growth is outpacing the national figure. Plus tourism spending is on the up, with it topping $168 million to the year September 2022, up from $159 million the year before. So what's the lure of Timaru? The distric...

Baynk is a Kiwi artist who just so happens to be nominated for a Grammy this year. Baynk a.k.a Jock Nowell-Usticke now boasts 2.5 million Spotify listeners and sells out shows all over the globe. Baynk joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three years after launching, New Zealand skincare brand Emma Lewisham will soon be selling through Gwyneth Paltrow’s powerhouse online lifestyle brand, Goop. The connection with Goop, founded by actor turned wellness guru Paltrow, is a coup for the Kiwi company as it expands into upmarket retailers around the world. Auckland-based Emma Lewisham, who co-founded the eponymous skincare company, said...

The search goes on for the New Zealand aid worker missing in Ukraine. Andrew Bagshaw and Britain's Christopher Parry went missing in or around the town of Soledar. Russian military firm Wagner Group claims to have the body of one of the pair. Former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp told Tim Dower there are grave fears for the men. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Party is giving the Ministry of Education a fail grade, for its spending on an abandoned head office. Newstalk ZB can reveal more than $2 million was spent over just four months on Mātauranga   House. The building was evacuated in May last year due to an earthquake risk assessment. National Education Spokesperson Erica Stanford told Tim Dower not enough has been done to reduce spendin...

There's more Auckland rail disruption as the network rebuild begins. The whole network was closed from Boxing Day until yesterday, for regular holiday maintenance. Stage One of the Rail Network Rebuild starts today, with Onehunga, Te Papapa, Penrose, Ellerslie, Greenlane and Remuera stations closed until March 19th. KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer David Gordon told Tim Dower it has to be done now...

The Aussie cricketers are back in the spotlight, but this time it's on screen. Season two of documentary series The Test is released today. It's a gritty, behind-the-scenes look at the team navigating the exit of captain Tim Paine and coach Justin Langer before last year's Test season. Batter Usman Khawaja joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By RNZ A rise in the number of townhouses and other multi-residential dwellings is driving the increase in consents for new homes, according to Stats NZ. Figures just released show there were 50,209 new homes consented in the year ended November 2022, up 3.2 per cent compared with the year before. Consents for multi-unit homes rose 24 per cent, hitting new annual records for townhouses, flats, uni...

Makers of a new vaccine say we shouldn't be complacent about Covid boosters. Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand is working through the final stages of the pre-clinical development of VAANZ-201. It's suggesting a long immunity against all variants, and unlike the Pfizer vaccine, can be stored at refrigerator temperatures. Malaghan Institute Vaccine Alliance Executive Director Kjesten Wigg told T...

Help is on the way for swimmers afraid of shark attacks. Auckland-based Ironskinn swimwear has created a range tested to resist shark bites. The product has gone through eight rounds of bite testing by great whites, bull sharks and tiger sharks. Executive Director John Sundnes told Tim Dower the high strength materials are layered up to be around five millimetres thick. He says the shark teeth wil...

Common factors may be contributing to the growing number of crimes involving children. In the latest case, Police say 10 young people, aged nine to 15, were involved in Wednesday morning's service station robbery at Whatawhata near Hamilton. Two women have also been charged over the incident. Youth development worker Aaron Hendry told Tim Dower young people involved in crime, often have lots of th...

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet's election chances have taken a hit after the revelation he wore a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party. He made a public admission yesterday, saying a colleague alerted him of knowing about the costume. New South Wales state elections take place at the end of March, with Perrottet currently in a close race for Premier. Australian correspondent Murray O...