Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins today explained military presence doesn't necessarily signify militarisation. Chris Hipkins is at the US-Pacific Summit in Papua New Guinea on the same day America's expected to ink a cooperation deal with PNG. The agreement has prompted concerns about increased militarisation. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says there are concerns surrounding the Papua...

The United States and Papua New Guinea are set to sign a bilateral defence cooperation agreement. The region has taken on renewed importance for the US as it seeks to bolster influence in the Pacific amid rising tensions with China. Victoria University professor of Strategic Studies Robert Ayson says this deal is significant, as Papua New Guinea is the largest and most important country in the Sou...

Do you feel safe in this country right now? Safer than you did five years ago?  The Police Minister thinks you do. She went on TV yesterday, and when asked if we feel safer she said: ‘More police on the beat make our communities safer’ and then tried to gaslight you into thinking that the crime isn’t as bad as you think it is. The reason the retail crime numbers are up is because there is this gre...

Alarms over a borer infestation have been raised after a Northland mother found holes and sawdust in her recently purchased wooden serving tray. Kmart has recalled the line, and has warned customers to be on the lookout for any signs of the invasive insects. Consumer NZ's Jon Duffy told Heather du Plessis-Allan that it's important to report situations like this to MPI, so that they can track the d...

Lock it in ; it looks like a very good chance that your mortgage rate is going up, because Grant opened the money hose too much yesterday. The economists at almost every one of our big retail banks   have come out in the last 24 hours now predicting a bigger hike in the OCR either next week when Adrian Orr resets it , or in July when he comes back for round two . BNZ says the Budget is the straw t...

A 48-year-old man has appeared in court in relation to the Loafers Lodge fire today. He's charged with two counts of arson, and Police haven't ruled out more serious charges in relation to the deaths in the blaze. Herald reporter Melissa Nightingale was in court. She told Heather du Plessis Allan that the man stomped back and forth in the dock and made strange wavy motions with his hands. She says...

The Budget's being described as the straw that will break the camel's back on pushing up the Official Cash Rate. Bank economists are predicting bigger interest rate hikes after the release of Finance Minister Grant Robertson's annual spending programme yesterday. BNZ Head of Research Stephen Toplis says that there were already several reasons for the Central Bank to keep lifting the OCR. He says t...

A technology expert doubts that New Zealand will follow Montana in banning TikTok. The US state is the first to officially crack-down on the platform, banning both Google and Apple from offering it from next year. Gorilla Technology Chief Executive Paul Spain told Heather du Plessis-Allan there are some privacy concerns with China, but he doesn't expect similar action here. LISTEN ABOVE See omnyst...

Five people have gone to trial in Germany over an alleged far-right plot to topple and overthrow the Government. The group planned to kidnap the health minister and trigger civil war-like conditions in protest of Covid-19 protection measures. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says they believed that the German empire of the 19th century was the country’s true system of Government, and they hoped to esta...

Grant Robertson explained that Budget 2023 would boost infrastructure, education and households- but farmers appear to have been left out. Federated Farmers previously released a statement saying they weren't asking for a Government hand-out, they just wanted a stop to 'unfair' regulations. The Country's Jamie Mackay says aspects of this year's budget were 'stupidly targeted', claiming the $619 mi...

The grim economic outlook for 2023 could have set New Zealand up for an austerity-focused Budget. Instead, Grant Robertson said today's numbers show New Zealand's economy will avoid a recession and the Government will return to a wafer-thin surplus in 2025. NZ Herald business editor Liam Dann says the Government could have been more cautious with this year's Budget, but Labour took the polls into...

Australia's unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent, surprising economists. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, an estimated 4,300 jobs were lost in the last month. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says economists are hoping this slight rise in unemployment will help inflation ease. Murray Olds says the Reserve Bank of Australia is due to meet next month,...

Finance Minister Grant Robertson unveiled the 'no-frills' 2023 Budget today. Prescription medicine co-payments will be axed, free early childhood education will be expanded and children under 13 will be able to access free public transport in the coming months. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the Budget is exactly what he expected. "It's a Labour Budget through and through, full...

The PFU disagrees with Fire and Emergency's claims that they had enough resources for the Loafers Lodge fire. FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory gave a media address stating there were enough crews and specialist appliances to respond to the Wellington blaze, amid concerns. Professional Firefighters Union President Ian Wright disagrees with Gregory's comments, labelling them 'inaccurate'. "We were...

New Zealand's video game industry will be able to survive and thrive thanks to a 2023 Budget boost. The Government announced $160 million would be allocated to the sector and a 20 percent rebate would be available for game development studios that met the expenditure threshold. New Zealand Game Developers Association chair Chelsea Rapp is excited about this development and says the sector has been...

The Government is cracking down on perceived unfairness in the tax system by increasing the trustee tax rate. The trustee tax rate will be hiked from 33 percent to the top personal tax rate of 39 percent by April 2024. Olivershaw tax advisor Mike Shaw explained that if the trust was invested in term deposits or listed shares, owners will be able to easily restructure their investments to sidestep...

Former Warriors star and TV personality Manu Vatuvei will take on a mentorship role within the team after completing his prison term. Vatuvei was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment for importing methamphetamine in 2022. After today's Parole Board hearing, Vatuvei is expected to be released at the end of the month. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE...

Tonight on The Huddle: former Labour Chief of Staff and current director at Mike Munroe Communications, Mike Munroe and Kiwiblog contributor and Curia pollster David Farrar joined in on a discussion about the following issues on the day- and more! Today was 2023 Budget day- what did we think? Did it live up to the 'no-frills' promise? What's in here for voters? Will this get Labour another term? H...

Delight at the Government's decision to scrap the $5 prescription fee. The move, which kicks in from July, will cost nearly $620 million. Prescription Access Initiative spokesperson Vicky Chan says it's a no brainer. "It is obvious that the $5 prescription payment has been a barrier for a lot of our patients and the communities out there, so we obviously welcome this fantastic move in the Budget."...

Drama on the streets of New York, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly in a 'catastrophic' car chase for two hours. The taxi driver involved later told reporters that the couple seemed nervous on the journey, but the chase wasn't as dangerous as they claimed. US correspondent Mitch McCann says there's no denying paparazzi were following the couple, but the NYPD and New York City mayor...

The Finance Minister is confident he's struck the right balance in his sixth Government Budget. Grant Robertson has today unveiled a family-focused spend-up, which includes a scrapping of prescription fees and free public transport for under 13s. From next March, 2-year-olds will also be eligible for 20 hours free early childcare. He says there are a zillion things they could do, but it's about we...

Families with young children will receive a helping hand from the Government as part of Budget 2023. $1.2 billion will be spent over 4 years to extend 20 hours of free early childhood education to 2-year-olds. Previously, only children aged 3 to 5 were eligible. Early Childhood Council CEO Simon Laube says a lot of children will benefit. "It will lead to other children coming in that aren't in ECE...

I'm sorry if you were, in the end, expecting something big in this Budget.  I certainly was, given it is election year, but unfortunately there is absolutely nothing big here. A very small group of people will be happy with what they get, but the vast majority of us get absolutely no help at all with the cost of living crisis that we're all going through. Let me run you through the details. What y...

Albanian authorities have confirmed that the UK Government has paid Albanian prisoners £1,500 ($3000 NZD) to return home. A BBC report has confirmed that some of the criminals who were offered money to leave plan to return to the UK. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this new scheme was originally designed to free up prison space, but will likely be extremely unpopular in the UK. LISTEN ABOVE See o...

Tonight on The Huddle, Cas Carter from Cas Carter Communications and Ben Thomas from Ben Thomas PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: Christchurch have had their application to be exempt from water chlorination, forcing chlorine into the rest of their water supply. Was mayor Phil Mauger right to be disappointed, or do they need to accept this? The Government has annou...