Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

A Wellington Council Building Compliance team is giving FENZ and MBIE information about the Loafers Lodge building, after this morning's deadly blaze. At least six people are dead - with eleven unaccounted for. Police believe the final tally will be under ten. The Council's confirmed the Lodge was issued a Building Warrant of Fitness in March. Herald reporter Georgina Campbell has been there. She...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting the UK to meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Zelenskyy has been meeting with Western leaders in recent weeks to bolster support for Ukraine's fight against the ongoing Russian invasion. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this will be the first time a foreign dignitary meets Rishi Sunak at prime minister's official country residence, Chequers. LI...

Tonight on The Huddle, current affairs commentator Josie Pagani and David Farrar, Kiwiblog contributor and Curia pollster joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! The latest Newshub-Reid political poll has Luxon and Hipkins neck and neck. Labour are at 35.9 percent and National are at 35.3 percent. Why can't Chris Luxon get ahead with voters? Chris Luxon today ann...

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan met investors and took part in roundtables on her week-long visit to China. Fran O'Sullivan observed that China aims to get back to the business of growth after years of Covid-19 lockdowns. "Lifting the zero-Covid measures now means China will post a rebound. After last year's slump, they're predicting 5.7 percent by the end of the calendar 2023." LISTEN A...

Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium will now officially be known as Go Media Stadium Mt Smart. Outdoor advertising company Go Media have secured a a naming rights deal with Auckland Stadiums. The deal will last one year, but both parties involved are keen to extend it after that timeframe. Go Media co-owner Mike Grey says he aims to bring more content to the stadium and get behind the events hosted at the...

The Finance Minister can't reveal the contents of Budget 2023- but unfunded tax cuts won't be in the mix. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has promised that this year's budget will invest in public services and address the cost of living crisis without adding to existing inflationary pressure.   Grant Robertson says tax cuts are not a priority for the incoming budget, and neither is adjusting curr...

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's future looks uncertain after being left out of the weekend's events. The 29-year-old didn't make the match-day 23 for the Blues in their loss to the Crusaders. Sportstalk host Jason Pine says Roger Tuivasa-Sheck should see out the last three games of the Super Rugby season and the last playoff matches for the Blues before departing. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

Ahead of this year's Budget Day, the Government have announced where they will direct extra funding. Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson have promised billions will be directed towards infrastructure, education and cyclone recovery and repairs. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the Government have made several announcements over the last few days, but history indicates they won't fo...

The Consumer Advocacy Council is calling for The Electricity Authority to make customer care guidelines mandatory. Electricity retailers have admitted to not fully complying with guidelines, including ensuring customers are on the best pricing plan and medically dependent customers can't be disconnected without notice. Council Chair Deborah Hart isn't surprised that only 18 of the 38 retailers wer...

An essential health service warns if they don't receive a cash injection in this year's budget, they'll have to make some tough choices. New Zealand's biggest hospices fear that they may have to cut services if they don't make the cut for further Government funding. Hospice New Zealand chief executive Wayne Naylor says hospices need double the funding they currently receive from the Government to...

One of the biggest problems Grant Robertson’s going to have delivering his sixth budget on Thursday is just getting us to believe to him. This budget- we’ve been told- is going to be about infrastructure. Hands up- who believes this Government when they announce they’re putting a huge of money into building infrastructure?  Yeah, probably not a lot of us.  We all remember the big song and dance an...

Road safety advocate Greg Murphy wants tougher laws on boy racing. On Saturday night, central Auckland's Quay Street was blocked by a large crowd, after a three-car crash. Murphy says the racers use social media to plan events, and listen to police scanners. "Unless we come up with regulations, rules, penalties that are actually going to stop them from doing it- it's only going to grow." LISTEN AB...

New Zealanders would get a 'taxpayers' receipt' under National. It wants Inland Revenue to give taxpayers an annual break-down, showing where money has been spent. Treasury would also need to report each year on the performance of major programmes, to show whether they're achieving results. National leader Chris Luxon says a lot of initiatives don't start off with a good cost-benefit analysis. "An...

Australia's Government is hitting resistance to its plan to deliver tens of thousands of affordable homes, as part of a $10 billion policy. It needs the Green Party's support to pass. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says they will only sign up if rents are frozen for two years. "Here's some sort of solution to try build 30,000 homes across the country as quickly as possible, and the Green...

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger has accused council staff of 'running amok' after a new cycleway was built on Park Tce. Phil Mauger and several Christchurch City Councillors are up in arms after council transport staff approved this cycleway under the guise of temporary traffic management. Fendalton Ward Councillor James Gough says council staff had submitted new safety enhancements on Rolleston Av...

After eight years, today marks the final day for the current CEO of the Electricity Network Association Graeme Peters, his final words being a warning that electricity bills will double within the next five years. Peters told Heather du Plessis-Allan that it’s due to decarbonizing, and the subsequent investment into infrastructure that will support electric vehicles. He says that the total cost wi...

St Cuthbert’s College is ditching Level 1 NCEA next year, finding the proposed changes to the curriculum concerning. President of the Secondary Principals Association Vaughan Couillault disagrees with criticisms that the new curriculum will leave children unprepared. He says that the point was to lower the stakes of Level 1, and align it more with the amount of work needed in Levels 2 and 3. Couil...

Aotearoa Ten Seven, formerly Police Ten 7, ended last week. The show introduced a format refresh after racism claims of unfair portrayal led to an independent review. However, former narrator Graham Bell disagrees that the show misrepresented the Polynesian population. Bell believes the series was killed by the "politically correct" and "wokester brigade". He told Heather du-Plessis Allan that the...

Transport Minister Michael Wood isn’t ruling out the delay of some major roading projects. Waka Kotahi is currently working on 19 projects, and are trying to see how to continue with them with only the money they currently have. Amongst these projects are the Otaki to Levin expressway, Wellington’s Melling Interchange, and Auckland’s Penlink. AA’s Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer Simon Douglas sa...

Federated Farmers says the slash inquiry report is brilliant. The report recommends an immediate halt on large-scale clear-felling of plantation forests. It also calls for a Woody Debris Taskforce to lead clean-ups, transitioning extreme erosion zones out of pasture, and turning production forestry into permanent forest. Federated Farmers Gisborne President Toby Williams told Heather du Plessis Al...

A British tabloid newspaper has apologised to Prince Harry at the start of legal proceedings against the company. Publisher Mirror Group Newspapers are being sued by several celebrities, including the royal, over alleged phone hacking, deception and other illicit means. UK correspondent Enda Brady says Prince Harry's lawyers argued in court that the publisher's unlawful information gathering led t...

Tonight on The Huddle, Chief Executive of Infrastructure NZ Nick Leggett and ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! A group of 97 wealthy New Zealanders have written an open letter calling on the Government to tax them more. Ecostore Founder Malcolm Rands says he doesn’t mind if it’s done through increased income tax, a wea...

Homebuilder stock prices in the US have risen to an all-time high. Limited resale inventory has inspired homebuilder sentiment to surge, and permits for future construction projects are increasing. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds says the Global Financial Crisis generated a shortage of houses in the US, leading to US homebuyers needing to build from scratch. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener f...

The new President of Federated Farmers, Wayne Langford, has released the organisation’s 'wish list' ahead of Budget 2023. Wayne Langford says farmers aren't asking for handouts from the Government, claiming all they really want is a stop to impractical, unpragmatic and unfair regulations. Langford also explained New Zealand needed farmers to be firing on all cylinders ahead of rising interest rate...

The Retirement Village Association has expressed puzzlement at the complaints that inspired the Commerce Commission probe into retirement villages. Both Consumer NZ and the Retirement Village Residents Association have voiced concerns about potential breaches of the Fair Trading Act. Retirement Village Association President Graham Wilkinson says the Commerce Commission's investigation into complai...