Matt Heath & Tyler Adams Afternoons

World Rowing champion Eric Murray believes athletes fronting media is a part of the territory.  Four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka will not subject herself to post-match press conferences In the French open.  She says athletes' mental health deserves more respect at such fixtures, and they often become a vehicle for "kicking a person while they’re down".  Eric Murray told Simon Barnett and...

Tasmanian devils have been born in the wild in mainland Australia, more than 3,000 years after they died out in the country. Seven baby Tasmanian devils -- known as joeys -- were born at the 988-acre Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary in New South Wales, Australian NGO Aussie Ark said in an Instagram post on Monday. Tasmanian devils died out on the mainland after the arrival of dingoes -- a species of...

Jason Wynyard is a wood chopping superstar, winning over a hundred world titles in the sport.   He’s won the individual world championship nine times and holds the world record for Single Buck sawing with a time of 9.39 seconds .  Wynyard also won the Stihl Timbersports Series 14 times, and In the 2017 New Year Honours was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the s...

Diners at popular restaurant chain Madam Woo will have to plan for a phone-free dinner.  The Malaysian-fusion restaurant, which has stores in Auckland, Hamilton and Queenstown, is encouraging people to leave their phones in a box when they arrive. In return, they will get a 15 percent discount. Madam Woo owner Fleur Caulton told Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford that it's just come up time and time a...

A British man saw his drug empire crumble after he was caught handling a very different product - a fine blue cheese. 39-year-old Carl Stewart, from Liverpool, used an encrypted network to share a photograph of himself holding a small block of the Marks & Spencer's Stilton. The network was more commonly used for drugs and was being watched by international police. As part of Operation Venetic, a c...

Wanaka skifields are getting rid of rubbish bins and asking those hitting the slopes to take their refuse home, all in the name of sustainability. As well as being encouraged to reduce their waste, visitors to Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone Cardrona Area this season are also being asked to think about more sustainable forms of transport. Rubbish bins will be replaced by recycling and compo...

Gareth Abdinor is an Employment Lawyer and Partner with Malley & Co solicitors. He regularly joins Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford to answer all listeners' employment related questions. Today, he joined the show to answer questions about being unrealistic clauses in contracts, redundancy and bonuses among other things. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank tomorrow will unveil it's second full Monetary Policy Statement of the year. While the focus is usually on the Official Cash Rate, many are wondering what the Bank will signal around inflation and interest rates. Writing in the New Zealand Herald, business editor-at-large Liam Dann said that "the biggest bet in global economics right now is on whether post-Covid inflation will pro...

The United Nations is calling on Samoa's leaders to come up with a solution in what has become a battle for leadership - as a new Prime Minister is sworn in, while another refuses to concede. In a statement released this morning, spokesman for the UN's Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said Secretary-General António Guterres has been following the development since the April 9 elections. "He u...

Former All Blacks Captain Kieran Read is quarantining in an Auckland hotel after ending his career in Japan. Kieran Read joined Simon Barnett & Phil Gifford from his MIQ room to talk about his time in Japan, hanging up the boots, his experience with Covid 19 and of course the current discussion around the future of New Zealand Rugby and the Silver Lake deal. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listene...

The Child Poverty Action Group wants the Government to do more - and faster. The Government says it will lift up to 33,000 children out of poverty by next year, with benefit lifts in today's Budget. Child Poverty Action Group researcher Caitlin Neuwelt-Kearns says it's a big step. But she told Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford it's still not enough. “We’re disappointed that the announcement is of a t...

There is dissappointment from the business sector over Budget 2021. $44 million over the next two years will go towards training courses, for about 30,000 SME sized businesses to digitally upskill. The Government's also pledging almost $4 billion dollars for rail, education infrastructure, DHBs and a redevelopment of Scott Base. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Simon Barnett and Phil Giff...

National is not a fan of Labour's 2021 Budget. National's shadow treasurer Andrew Bayly says there are good parts of the Budget, but they wanted to see a path towards recovery. He told Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford that, in terms of investment and direction, this Budget is slightly backward looking. "It's trying to pick what situation we're in. I think we should be asking ourselves 'how do we get...

Budget 2021 is being described as a very Labour Budget. Political editor Barry Soper told Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford the Government has no excuses this year, like a Winston Peters handbrake. "Labour's making no excuses. It is spendinbg money, it's not spending a lot of money - [Grant Robertson] is still being fairly fiscally prudent." Green Mount Advisory Managing Director Bruce Bernacchi says...

Rosemary Riddell sat on the bench at the Hamilton District Court for 12 years - starting law late after studying in her 40s before becoming a Judge 14 years later. Now retired in Central Otago, she's written her book “To Be Fair: Confessions of a District Court Judge” about everything she once wasn't allowed to say. She joined Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford to discuss her book and answer callers'...

Officials are forensically investigating the cause of the cyber attack afflicting the Waikato District Health Board. A DHB spokesperson says the working theory is the attack happened as a result of someone opening an email attachment. The entire District Health Board's IT services were brought down by hackers yesterday, affecting clinical services across all of its hospitals. Gorilla Technology Ch...

A former Finance Minister is not a fan of the Government's Fair Pay proposals.  A key manifesto pledge of the Labour Party in 2017, the agreements announced two weeks ago would aim to standardise and improve terms and conditions across entire industries or occupations. Labour says the agreements have "significant similarities" to Australia's modern awards system. As well as representing a step tow...

An alternative offer to Silver Lake, valuing New Zealand Rugby at a colossal $3.8 billion, has been tabled by local investment manager Forsyth Barr. The Auckland head-quartered company has conducted due diligence on the prospect of NZR selling a five per cent stake in its future commercial revenues through an NZX listing and believes investor demand could potentially raise as much as $650m. Under...

Tens of thousands of nurses from across the country are set to walk off the job for eight hours next month - "absolutely furious" at Government's three year pay rise freeze. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) union have confirmed 30,000 district health board nurses voted to strike on June 9. Those in Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) would not strike but those working as a part of the...

Watercare in Auckland, like water authorities nationwide, is having issues with people flushing all manner of things down the toilet. Watewater Operations Controller Sophie McGuinness joined Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford on the show with a guide on what (and what not) to flush. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today in ultra-billionaire news, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has purchased a modest 100-foot schooner as he looks forward to a quieter life and hours of reflection on the open seas...  The world's richest man is reportedly buying a boat, though that word feels inappropriately sensible for the monstrosity going to Captain Bezos: a 417-foot superyacht that's so massive it has its own "support yacht" w...

Off the back of the highly successful 2020 album “Out of My Province” and the sell-out 20 date ‘Reid & Ruins’  travelling roadshow,  Nadia Reid is back on tour presenting her full catalogue (plus some brand new gems) at some of her favourite venues in Aotearoa this May.  You can get your tickets now at www.banishedmusic.com Nadia Reid joined Simon Barnett and Phil Giffor in studio for a chat and a...

New Zealand has a declining birthrate and we are not alone in the world. 2020 saw our lowest birthrate average on record with just 1.61 births per woman. In comparison in the early sixties when women had an average of 4.1 children. Another surprise statistic revealed that more women over the age of 40 gave birth in New Zealand last year than those under 20. Massey University Distinguished Professo...

Simon called in to pick up some printer cartridges on the way to work this morning and was shocked to be charged a grand total of $617 for three units. That sparked a fascinating hour of talkback with callers telling us that they have found cheaper alternative and others saying using non genuine cartridges would damage the printer or void the printer warranty. Consumer New Zealand CEO John Duffy j...

Gareth Abdinor is an Employment Lawyer and Partner with Malley & Co solicitors. He regularly joins Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford to answer all listeners' employment related questions. Today, he joined the show to answer questions about being tracked in a work vehicle, the difference between a contractor versus an employee, getting paid for an extra stocktake among other things. LISTEN ABOVE See o...