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A jury will be asked to decide if the woman accused of murdering her three children in their Timaru home was insane at the time. Lauren Dickason allegedly killed 6-year-old Liané and 2-year-old twins Maya and Karla in September 2021. She appeared in the High Court at Christchurch today, where it was confirmed she'll mount a defence of insanity and infanticide at her trial, which begins next month....

Congress has approved the debt ceiling deal, the motion passing through with 63:36 votes. This has been done almost a hundred times previously. US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Jack Tame that politically, this is like shooting yourself in the foot. He said that coming into the election season this will become fuel for politicians on both sides of the divide to use against each other. LISTEN AB...

Shock continues to reverberate around the Northland town of Kaikohe after a woman died in an apparent home invasion. Police have launched a homicide investigation after they were called to reports of an intruder at the property around 11.30 last night. Our newsroom understands a dialysis patient was seriously injured in the ensuing struggle and died at the scene. Far North Mayor Moko Tepania told...

It’s interesting how much the prescription fee contraceptive debate has really ticked off the National party. Several of the party’s most prominent female MPs have come out firing over the last couple of days, accusing Labour of having overstepped the line for what is and isn’t appropriate in an election campaign. I think Megan Woods’ social media post comparing New Zealand under National to The H...

This evening on The Huddle, Director of Government Relations for BRG Georgina Stylianou and ZB’s Wellington host Nick Mills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Wayne Brown put forward his final proposal for Auckland’s Budget in an invite only press conference earlier today. In a comment to Stuff, the Mayor’s press secretary said they invited those they felt “...

Despite the commentary over the last year that New Zealand has become an unwelcoming or undesirable place for migrants, figures show otherwise. Annualising the immigration rates from the last four to five months reveals a net population gain of over 100-thousand. NZ Herald Business Editor Liam Dann told Jack Tame that it’s unknown whether this current rate of immigration will last, but in the shor...

The Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor is looking into the idea of implementing a fertilizer tax, costing as much as $150 per tonne. This tax would replace He Waka Eke Noa, as there are reports that the Government is becoming frustrated with its lack of results. West Coast farmer and former Federated Farmers President Katie Milne told Jack Tame that this isn’t reflected in the statistics, as...

US former vice president Mike Pence is expected to throw his hat in the ring and run for President in the next election. Former Communications Director of the Republican National Convention, Doug Heye told Jack Tame that he has a chance, but he’ll have to go through Donald Trump to get there. He says Pence is striking a delicate balance between taking credit for the successes from the Trump-Pence...

Auckland's Mayor has called out councillors by name as he seeks support for selling council airport shares. Brown took aim at councillors, John Watson, Wayne Walker, Mike Lee and Christine Fletcher, for pushing back on share sales. Councillor Mike Lee told Jack Tame that the people of Auckland have expressed that they don’t want the sale to go ahead, and he is on the side of the people. LISTEN ABO...

Te Whatu Ora is holding off decisions regarding the fate of hundreds of jobs. It had indicated June 2 as "D day" for a mass restructure involving about 1600 jobs. However, the National Health Agency has confirmed today that it's postponing any announcements about what it would do next. Public Service Association National Secretary Kerry Davies told Jack Tame that they're pleased that Te Whatu Ora...

Former Australian army solider Ben Roberts-Smith has been at the center of a months long defamation case, alleging that that articles published in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Canberra Times have wrongly accused him. The allegations published in these articles were that Roberts-Smith —a Victoria Cross recipient— committed war crimes in Afghanistan, as well as acts of bullying, and d...

The mayor of Hastings says locals have faced an awful wait for certainty in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. The Government revealed today that it'll join councils to fund voluntary buyouts of homes that were hit hard by severe flooding. That applies to Category 3 properties —where the risk from future severe weather is too great— estimated to be about 700 properties nationwide. There are up to 10-t...

Sam Whitelock is heading off after the Rugby World Cup, having signed a two year deal with the French Top 14 Club Pau. The 34 year old is in line to surpass Richie McCaw in being the most capped All Black of all time, with 143 test caps before the World Cup. Newstalk ZB Sports reporter Nathan Limm says that he can’t recall an extended time that Whitelock was out with injury, the rugby player seemi...

At first blush, the government’s plan to buy out homeowners affected by this year’s extreme weather events makes a lot of sense. It would be the absolute height of stupidity to be rebuilding houses in places that are inevitably gonna’ be hammered again the next time there’s a significant rainfall or storm. Everyone is desperate for certainty but the real test of the scheme will come down the line....

Consultations are being held on how to make online spaces safer. The Department of Internal Affairs wants to make social media subject to regulation similar to traditional media platforms. It aims to make it less common for people to see harmful and illegal content. Free Speech Union CEO Jonathan Ayling told Jack Tame that he doesn't believe the DIA has made a good enough case on why this is neede...

The EU are threatening to take action against Poland after MPs approved a new commission to probe into 'Russian interreference'. The commission could bar people from public office for having links to Russia. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the critics think the panel- dominated by Government MPs- is designed to attack opposition leader and former Prime Minister Donald Tusk. LISTEN ABOVE See omnys...

This evening on The Huddle, Still projects director Sam Johnson and Jack Tame, host of Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Education Minister Jan Tinetti has been referred to Parliament’s Privileges Committee after she failed to correct a false statement about school attendance she made in the House quickly enough. Either she del...

Job growth continues to shoot up, with April's 0.6 percent increase continuing the trend of previous months. The largest reported increases were in accommodation, food services, healthcare and manufacturing, with only agriculture, forestry, and fishing trending down. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says these growth figures are a double-edged sword, as they don't signal that the economy...

The retirement age debate is a talking point in this year's election- but one KiwiSaver provider founder says the discussion is useless. National and ACT claim they will increase retirement age to 67 to increase contributions to the NZ Super Fund, and Labour confirmed it will stay at 65 under their Government. Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says neither option is an affordable one for New Zea...

Economists and the Reserve Bank have been laying out their predictions on house prices. The RBNZ recently increased their house price forecast track in their Monetary Policy Statement- but they still expect some house price falls. ANZ economists followed suit, raising their price forecasts and citing positive net migration as a key factor. Milford Asset Management Equities Analyst Jeremy Hutton sa...

Confidence in the economy is rebounding- but this positivity will make things harder on the Reserve Bank. According to ANZ's Business Outlook survey, business confidence lifted 13 points from -43.8 to -31.1, while expected own activity rose from -7.6 to -4.5. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says this is a double-edged sword for the economy, as the Reserve Bank is still trying...

Former Warriors league player Manu Vatuvei has returned to society- and social media. He's been released from prison on parole after getting sentenced in March 2022 for importing methamphetamine. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says the videos he shared to Instagram may not have been the best start to his comeback. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economic experts are predicting an increase in house prices if National and ACT take over in October. Commentator Bernard Hickey says house prices could rise by 10-20 percent under a National-ACT Government after some key policy changes are implemented. Bernard Hickey reckons both parties will likely make changes to interest deductibility, bright-line property rules and introduce a tighter fiscal...

The Dairy Companies Association of NZ welcomes the beginning of the nation's Free Trade Agreement with the UK. It came into force today, and the wine, honey, red meat and dairy sectors all set to benefit from significantly improved access.  DCANZ Executive Director Kimberly Crewther says this is a really significant day for the dairy industry and presents good news to struggling Kiwi farmers. "The...

Consumer NZ says Countdown's second winter product price freeze is better this year, but it's lacking fruit. Out of more than 300 individual items, only two are fresh vegetables- potatoes and mushrooms. It did the same last winter. Consumer CEO Jon Duffy says it'll be interesting if Foodstuffs doesn't follow suit. "It would really underline many of the issues that my organisation and many others h...