Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Post-election coalition talks are still under way, with leaders from all three parties meeting at Auckland's Cordis Hotel. National's Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon have claimed that negotiations are heading into the final stages. ZB political editor Jason Walls says leaders from all three parties seem to agree talks are progressing well- but it's too soon to know for sure? LISTEN ABOVE See o...

A Catholic school in NSW's Southern Highlands is the latest to allow students to take a four-day week. Chevalier College will permit students from years 10 to 12 to learn from home on Mondays from 2024, as part of a new set of educational measures. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says these privileges will only be granted to a select few students, who have proven they can learn without superv...

India have beaten New Zealand by 70 runs at Mumbai to advance to the Cricket World Cup final. The key wicket in the chase for 398 was a cramp-riddled Daryl Mitchell, who reached 134. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains the mass reaction to the team's loss. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daryl Mitchell has addressed the debilitating cramps which crept into his heroic innings against India as the Black Caps fell in the Cricket World Cup semifinals in Mumbai. The 32-year-old's 134 wasn't enough to help New Zealand into their third straight final, coming up 70 runs short after the hosts posted 397. He says the team tries to prepare for environmental factors that might impact them, bu...

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart discussed climate change, in a first bilateral meeting in seven years. The pair sat down together ahead of the APEC Summit in San Francisco. Biden says Xi Jinping agreed to help disrupt fentanyl drug production, resume military communications and assess AI risk. Herald business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says they also talked about a combined app...

Winston Peters is expected to emerge from a meeting with National soon, as Government-forming talks continue. NZ Herald political reporter Adam Pearse is outside the Cordis Hotel in Auckland, and says Peters has been with National's leader Chris Luxon for more than two hours. He says the meetings are getting longer, which could mean they are getting into the detail. "The latest we've heard is that...

A Māori academic says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reducing Te Reo usage is deeply disappointing. Stuff reports the Ministry has removed Māori from some official documents, anticipating an incoming National-led Government. A leaked email from its chief executive discusses the decision to remove Te Reo headings from submission templates. Rapata Wiri says the agency is trying to appease voters. "...

Auckland Council's Transport and Infrastructure Committee has endorsed having a team work on timed congestion charges. Mayor Wayne Brown wants to have the charges in place as soon as possible, potentially with discounts for Gold Card holders and people on low incomes. Public Transport Users Association Chair Niall Robertson says it can't be done until public transport options are in place. "If you...

The implementation of a controversial new science curriculum has come to a halt- both delighting and frustrating educators. A leaked early version of the curriculum upset some for its lack of any mention of physics, chemistry or biology. Consultation has been put on hold for a second time, with the Ministry of Education waiting to engage with the new Government before it's sent out. St Cuthbert's...

Probably the most interesting development of the day kind of related to the coalition negations is the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been busted deliberately ramping down its use of Te Reo Māori to make the incoming Government happy. At MFAT, if staff want to write a formal message to a Minister, they use a template. Until about a couple of weeks ago, that template told s...

Former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman has hit back with a 'scathing' open letter to Rishi Sunak. Braverman was recently sacked after she accused the Metropolitan Police of bias in the policing of protests. UK correspondent Enda Brady says people believe Braverman's setting herself up for future leadership in the Conservative party, with many voicing support for her views. LISTEN ABOVE   S...

Tonight on The Huddle, Business Mentors Chief Executive Sarah Trotman and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Luxon, Seymour and Peters finally got in a room today to sort out a new coalition Government. The three leaders met for half an hour- and then Winston and Luxon and ACT and National went on to have lon...

Electronic card spending data recorded the first significant drop since mid-2022 this October. Spending in retail industries fell 0.7 per cent compared to September, down by $44 million, Stats NZ said in a press release. Demand for larger items has declined by 7.8 percent, and spending on apparel has fallen 8 percent. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen says retailers are staring down the b...

Latest data shows market confidence has returned to New Zealand. Stats NZ's monthly price report showed airfares, petrol and food prices were down across the board, and the NZX has shot up by 5 points in November. Milford Asset Management Jeremy Hutton explains what this means for the coming months. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The incoming Government is expected to contend with a billion-dollar hole in its books created by the upcoming ETS auction.  The final auction of units under the Emissions Trading Scheme for 2023 isn't expected to clear on December 6. Most participants in the carbon market expect this auction to fail, on the grounds that a full year's worth of units will need to be sold. NZ Herald Wellington busin...

All sides of the soon-to-be Government want talks completed as soon as possible. David Seymour, Winston Peters and Chris Luxon sat down together this morning for the first time, in Auckland. This meeting will be the first of several collaborative meetings in the city centre this week. ZB political editor Jason Walls says nothing significant has been divulged- but all three parties are keen to get...

President Joe Biden hopes to put the shaky US-China relationship in a better place at APEC. The summit for Pacific Rim leaders will include a highly anticipated meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping- the first on American soil in over 7 years. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says security has been tightened in the Bay Area ahead of the meeting. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/list...

Weeks on from a controversial Rugby World Cup final, just-retired referee Wayne Barnes has released a new autobiography. ‘Throwing the Book’ examines the highs and lows of officiating rugby at the top level- and takes shots at New Zealand and former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains the mass reaction to this book. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener...

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has pulled a controversial video campaign accused of mocking fraud victims. As part of Fraud Awareness Week, the FMA partnered with comedian Tom Sainsbury to depict a 'Boomer Dad' getting scammed out of his planned trip to France. New data released from banks showed that New Zealanders lost almost $200 million in scams in the year to September. Financial advis...

New Zealand's hard road to the Cricket World Cup final will become impossible if they don't hold their chances. The Black Caps will face off against hosts India in tonight's semi-final in Mumbai at 9:30pm. There's controversy brewing ahead of the match, with reports claiming India have switched the pitch to favour their spinners. Former Black Cap Peter McGlashan says this is a sign India feels thr...

Doctors Without Borders is outraged patients and medical staff are being put in harm's way, as Israeli military forces raid a hospital in Gaza. Israel says it's carrying out an operation against Hamas at Al-Shifa Hospital - the largest medical complex in the Gaza strip. Doctors Without Borders' Simon Eccleshall says staff were given just minutes warning before the raid. "And the indiscriminate bom...

New Zealand's migration has hit record levels, as Kiwis flock overseas. The year to September had a historic net loss of 44,700 citizens. Overall annual net migration was at a record near 119,000 for the same period. Demographer Paul Spoonley says they're extraordinary figures, unlike anything seen before. "Last year, the Productivity Commission did a fantastic report, which looked at migration. O...

A political commentator says leaks from post-election talks are rife this year. The leaders of National, ACT and New Zealand First have now all sat around a table together, a first in their negotiations. Prime Minister elect Chris Luxon has wanted talks to stay private. But Ben Thomas says that hasn't been the case. He says it may reflect the parties playing off against each other. "There's the qu...

Fresh from hanging up the whistle after last month's Rugby World Cup final, referee Wayne Barnes detailed the trials and tribulations of officiating at a professional level. In his new autobiography 'Throwing the Book', Barnes took aim at former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry and his response to the All Blacks' upset loss to France in 2007. Former All Black Sir John Kirwan says it's likely Barn...

It’s time that we stop making excuses for why we can’t make it a crime to stonewall the cops. And instead just do the right thing and make it a crime for every adult in the house to stonewall the cops if someone has bashed a baby to death. This is becoming a pattern with child deaths in New Zealand. Just off the top of my head, I can give you four cases where babies have been bashed and the adults...