Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and former Labour Press Secretary Kaine Thompson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: Labour held an emergency hui on Friday night with the Maori Caucus and there are rumours Nanaia Mahuta may be next to defect after Meka Whaitiri. Does this seem likely? Did we watch the coronation this weekend? Why/why not? W...

Following Meka Whaitiri's resignation, the Maori caucus called an emergency meeting on Friday. Political commentator Shane Te Pou says several MPs were unsettled and there was a lot of tension and negative emotions at the meeting. Finance Minister Grant Robertson says Labour have worked with the Maori caucus for a long time and says it's unlikely there will be more defections. "We've been doing a...

The Australian Government have unveiled a detail in the federal budget that will alleviate the rising cost of living. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed $14.6 billion will be allocated over four years for cost of living relief for families and businesses. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this feels contradictory shortly after the Reserve Bank of Australia has warned households to ti...

One NZ CEO Jason Paris took to social media after the Warriors' 18-6 loss to the Penrith Panthers on Saturday night. Paris described referee decisions as “cheating of the highest order”, and the NRL has since launched a review into Paris' tweets. Weekend Sport host Jason Pine says the NRL refs aren't cheating, but Paris' comments have opened the door for a conversation.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudi...

MBIE have announced a review will be held into out of hours compliance visits carried out by Immigration NZ. The head of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says there will be a pause on visits by immigration officers following concerns raised by the Pacific community. MBIE CEO Carolyn Tremain says the Pacific community and several ministers have voiced feedback about the recent ac...

Tourism Minister Peeni Henare has claimed prices faced by tourists in New Zealand are too steep and he is monitoring them closely. Peeni Henare appreciates that operators are making up for lost earnings after the Covid-19 pandemic, but wants to ensure travellers can enjoy what New Zealand can offer without overpaying. Haka Tourism Group general manager Eve Lawrence says New Zealand's 'harsh' immig...

Tell you what- rugby bosses can ignore us fans all they want. Just write us off as a bunch of grumpy buggers. But they should be worried when Wayne Smith, the professor, says that he turned a game off in frustration at what he was watching. The game was the Highlanders-Force match in Perth last month, where the ref handed out 5 yellow cards. Wayne Smith has vented in a podcast about it. He said: “...

The ACT Party wants to build juvenile detention centres to tackle youth crime. ACT says its Alternative Budget due out next week will include putting half a billion dollars into 200 new beds in juvenile detention. Leader David Seymour says youth offenders are currently sent to a facility they can simply walk out of. "Ultimately, I think there has to be a better way, and that is facilities that kid...

Free coffee and snacks at work may soon be a thing of the past, as businesses look to cut costs ahead of the looming recession. A Frog Recruitment survey of more than 500 workers found for a quarter, employee benefits like complimentary coffees and gym memberships were scrapped in the past six months. Frog Recruitment managing director Shannon Barlow says companies are cutting smaller perks, and s...

Frustration in Auckland as the Council rules out compensating homeowners whose properties were devastated earlier this year. Mayor Wayne Brown released a statement today saying that Auckland Council was 'not a guarantor of private property interests' and weren't responsible for compensating property owners. West Auckland Is Flooding spokesperson Morgan Allen isn't surprised by this statement, give...

A suggestion others in Labour's Maori caucus could follow Meka Whaitiri out the door. The Maori caucus called an emergency meeting on Friday. Political commentator Shane Te Pou says MPs, including Nanaia Mahuta, are unsettled, and there were a lot of hurt feelings at that meeting. He says Mahuta's dealt with a lot, but were she to leave it wouldn't necessarily be a shift to Te Pāti Māori. "She's b...

RNZ's released part of a controversial speech by Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan - at the farewell from RNZ for her partner, Mani Dunlop. Allan's comments included saying: "We are looking at these two, and we are looking at this organisation and how it treats its talent." She claimed RNZ can't keep Maori talent. Allan apologised last month. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the commen...

The CEO of the Warriors' primary sponsor is standing by his accusations against the referees after Saturday's loss. The NRL have been made aware of One NZ's Jason Paris describing decisions against the club as “cheating of the highest order” on social media, and will review them closely. One NZ Chief Executive Jason Paris is hopeful that this review will start a debate that determines whether ther...

Excitement continues to build for the King's Coronation tomorrow night. It's the first coronation in 70 years following Queen Elizabeth's 1953 event. A group of people have already gathered at the Mall near Buckingham Palace. Newshub Reporter Lisette Reymer is there and says the crowd is stretching 100 metres down the Mall, and still growing. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Tensions between the Maori King Movement and the Government are expected to be patched up quickly. A function at the High Commission in London for the King's Coronation didn't follow tikanga, prompting a Kingitanga spokesman to interject. High Commissioner Phil Goff started the ceremony without a karakia, and didn't acknowledge the prior coronations of Maori Kings and Queens. Professor of Indigeno...

Members of the Proud Boys have been convicted for their roles in the Capitol riots. Following a longer than expected trial, four of the far-right extremist group's members —including their leader— face jail time after being found guilty of seditious conspiracy for planning. International correspondent Dan Mitchinson says it was a complicated case for jurors to work through due to online threats, i...

A Palmerston North homeowner is taking a risk on a dollar reserve auction. James Faber's three bedroom property is valued at 580 thousand dollars, but only one person came to the first open home. He told Heather Du Plessis-Allan that he just wants it sold and sold quickly. The auction will be run on May 10. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KiwiRail's Chief Executive is praising his team even as the company's been forced to apologise twice in a week. A fault in Auckland this morning caused chaos for commuters as the power had to be turned off, halting services. It was because of contaminant found on an insulator, which was caused by humidity and bad weather. It follows a problem which affected Wellington's system earlier in the week....

Invercargill City Council is moving forward following sexual harassment allegations. In a letter of resignation from her job at Stadium Southland, an 18-year-old alleged that the manager, Councillor Nigel Skelt, asked her if she wanted to do 'jelly wrestling' naked. Skelt has resigned from his role today - weeks after he retired from the stadium on medical grounds and for personal reasons. Inverca...

Days ahead of King Charles' coronation, royalists are already queuing up. At least 15 people are reportedly braving the chilly London nights to secure prime spots in Westminster Abbey to see the coronation unfold. UK correspondent Enda Brady says rehersals are underway for Saturday's ceremony. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe has said he won't release his correspondence with Meka Whaitiri after she jumped ship from Labour to Te Pāti Māori. How dodgy does this look? Is Meka's privacy more important than any public interest? Health Mini...

US earnings season is still underway, and plenty of companies are celebrating- others may have a darker outlook. An expert from Fisher Funds explained that this earnings season has become a case of haves and have nots, with tech companies like Meta and Microsoft reporting high profits and growth. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds says energy stocks and oil equities are seeing earnings downgrades and fa...

A new report from BusinessNZ shows rural communities will be 'devastated' by agricultural emissions pricing. The regions affected include Southland, Waimate, Wairoa and South Taranaki, which has prompted concern from Federated Farmers Vice-President Wayne Langford. The Country's Jamie Mackay says thousands of jobs are vulnerable if agricultural emissions become subject to pricing. LISTEN ABOVE See...

BNZ made an after-tax profit of $805 million in the last six months to the end of March. This represents a 13.5 percent rise in profit on the same period last year when BNZ made an after-tax profit of $709m. BNZ chief executive Dan Huggins explained that a strong banking sector was important for New Zealand’s economy. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says the larger banks have been mak...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he plans to pledge allegiance to King Charles during the upcoming coronation. Albanese is among the Commonwealth leaders who've flow into London to attend King Charles' coronation at Westminster Abbey. During an interview with controversial TV personality Piers Morgan, Albanese declared he would declare his allegiance to the new sovereign. Australian corres...