Holiday Breakfast

The war in Ukraine has had the world's attention for most of 2022. Russia invaded from the east in February, and the war has dragged on all year. In recent months, Ukraine has taken the ascendancy and is claiming back territory. Newshub's Europe Correspondent Lisette Reymer was one of the few New Zealand journalists to get into Ukraine and cover the war. Her coverage helped Newshub win Best News C...

Janet Thompson, chair of alcohol rehabilitation organisation The Retreat weighed in on whether restricting the supply of alcohol can stop problem drinkers. Janet says that alcoholism is an addiction, and treating it will require external support and positive influences to push someone in the right direction. "My brother is an insulin-dependent diabetic and no one would say to him- just try to do w...

Comedian Tom Sainsbury gained national fame five years ago through his daily Snapchat videos. These included parodies of real people such as Simon Bridges, Paula Bennett, Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins, and made-up characters like Skeet the Subantarctic Skua, foul-mouthed cat Gingerbread and audience favourite Fiona the wine critic. He also writes and stars in multiple TV projects, plays, stand...

Ashley Bloomfield is swapping news conferences for lectures in 2023. The former Director-General of Health has accepted a professorship at Auckland University in the School of Population Health. He will be the first chair of the university's Public Policy Impact Institute, using his expertise in hopes to improve equity across the country. Bloomfield says it's an honour to return to the university....

It seems we're becoming more aware of how much social media is impacting our lives. Southern Cross has found almost two thirds of people are willing to admit they're spending too much time on their devices. More than a third think that's affecting our real world relationships. Chief Medical Officer at Southern Cross Health Insurance Stephen Child says for some people, it's an addiction. LISTEN ABO...

ASB is urging New Zealanders to prepare for a challenging year ahead. The bank's latest economic forecast expects the economy will contract 1 percent by the end of next year, driven by falling consumer spending and declining building activity. It anticipates the Official Cash Rate will peak at 5.5 percent mid next year. Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says the pressures are going to see consumer spen...

Health workers in holiday hotspots are preparing for increased demand as Covid cases steadily climb. Some Covid-19 models show one in 20 people could catch the virus over the holidays. Community case numbers have been steadily rising, with nearly 600 people in hospital right now. NZ College of GPs Medical Director Bryan Betty says hospitals are stretched during holiday periods anyway. LISTEN ABOVE...

Sending a letter, taking a train or going to the hospital in the UK may prove challenging, as thousands of workers strike. Royal Mail workers are downing tools tomorrow over job security and pay, after four days of industrial action in late August and early September. Rail workers, university staff, teachers, civil servants, ambulance workers and the Royal College of Nursing have all been doing th...

France is curbing single-use plastic in fast-food restaurants. From January 1, people will no longer be able to use disposable containers, plates, cups and tableware when eating in. It's the latest measure from a 2020 law to combat waste and encourage recycling. European correspondent Catherine Field says businesses say this has come at the wrong time. She says they have to change their business m...

Whangarei is one of the fastest-growing tourist districts in the Northland region, and mayor Vince Cocurullo confirms the region has a lot to offer. The beaches, waterfalls and weather are the obvious draw-cards, but the town centre and art galleries show that the area has a range of attractions to experience.  Vince Cocurullo, the new mayor of Whangarei, says the Hundertwasser Art Centre  gives W...

Argentina have officially been crowned the 2022 Fifa World Cup winners! This morning's final match was a close call, with Argentina set to dominate until France scored in the last minute of normal time. Both teams scored a goal in the extra time, and a penalty broke the 3-3 tie. Newstalk ZB sports editor Matt Brown joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss this nail-biter of a match after the fact. LISTE...

New Zealanders are being reminded of a hidden gem just north of Auckland. As people begin their summer holidays, Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson is encouraging people to put his district on the "to do" list. He says the popular Kai Iwi Lakes are just one of the draw cards. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NZ Blood Service is urgently calling for more Kiwis to roll up their sleeves before Christmas. The service needs another 7000 eligible blood and plasma donors in the next fortnight so it can meet demand for the holiday season. Blood need is currently on the rise, and is projected to increase by 4 percent this summer. New Zealand Blood Service spokesperson Asuka Burge says a donation would be a...

After months of negotiations and strike action, firefighters have finally won their pay deal. Almost 98 percent of professional firefighter union members have voted to accept settlement of a new collective employment agreement. It includes pay rises of up to 24 percent, backdated to 2021 and blood screening for early detection of occupational cancer and illness. Union national secretary Wattie Wat...

Dairy workers continue to sing the same tune, saying violent robberies won't stop unless the Government gets tough on crime. A Hamilton dairy worker has had his thumb and finger reattached after machete wielding robbers attacked him in his store over the weekend. Dairy and Business owners group Chair Sunny Kaushal says they met with Police Minister Chris Hipkins two months ago and nothing has chan...

Victory for Argentina in the 2022 Fifa World Cup! This morning final match was a nail-biter to watch, and it looked to be game over for France until they scored in the last minute of normal time. A goal each in extra time made it 3-3 and the final score came down to penalties. Former All White Fred de Jong says it was an amazing final to watch and both teams played with resilience until the very e...

Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered through the lens of her iconic and beloved Christmas messages in a special Newstalk ZB broadcast presented by Mike Hosking this Christmas Day. The monarch, who died in September, delivered a Christmas Day message from the beginning of her reign in 1952, right up until her final Christmas last year. Over a remarkable seven decades of Christmases, the Queen used...

New records are being set for the amount of plastic being intercepted, and avoiding landfills. It's down to more local councils expanding the types of plastic they collect, and recycle. Polypropylene is now taken by nearly nine out of ten councils - that's the likes of ice cream and margarine containers. Plastics NZ CEO, Rachel Barker says 97 percent of Kiwis can now recycle the plastic, up from 8...

Crime on the streets of Auckland- it's no longer just about the central city or some of the grittier districts. People in leafy St Heliers are calling for visible police out on the beat, to act as a deterrent. Just this weekend, there was an apparently random and unprovoked stabbing, but in the past few months there have  been 11 ram raids and burglaries in the shopping village. The Business Assoc...

Could pokie trusts be doing a better job of scrutinising where their grants are going? There are alarm bells over a so-called Children Education Foundation in Auckland as it's banked nearly one million dollars in pokie grants over three years. Yet, there's new evidence suggesting it doesn't actually operate the services it claims. Chief executive at Pub Charity, Martin Cheer, spoke on the wider is...

More uncertainty for the tertiary education sector, with the nationwide polytech provider Te Pūkenga looking to slash $35 million dollars from its budget. Acting Chief Executive Peter Winder says redundancies can't be ruled out, he's picking a $63 million dollar deficit for 2022. National's tertiary education spokesperson Penny Simmonds explained what exactly is going wrong here. LISTEN ABOVE See...

Former British Chancellor Rishi Sunak has forged ahead of his rivals in the contest to replace Liz Truss as Prime Minister. Sunak has about 150 Tory MPs in his camp, including some who previously allied themselves with Boris Johnson. Candidates need 100 supporters by Monday afternoon (UK time)  to qualify for the next stage. Our UK correspondent Vincent McAviney explained further. LISTEN ABOVE   S...

Matthew Perry, mostly known for his role as Chandler Bing on Friends, is set to release a new memoir. The book, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, is set to release November 1st, but he's already opened up about what prospective readers can expect to get from it. Matthew Perry has opened up about his alcohol addiction that was a big behind-the-scenes element during the earlier seasons of...

There's a consensus New Zealand came through the COVID-19 pandemic fairly well, but are there further consequences yet to come? Compared to a lot of other countries our death rate was low. Now we're open again and mostly back to work, and some interesting projections of what the post pandemic phase will look like are emerging. The in-house actuary for insurance company Partners Life, Kate Dron, ex...

The celebration of Matariki is open to all New Zealanders, regardless of ethnic or cultural background. Speaking to the Front Page podcast, author and host of the Flava Breakfast show Stacey Morrison says the message is universal. "The values of Matariki are very much in tune with our environment," says Morrison. "It asks us to be grateful for the crops we've been enjoying and to be mindful of the...