Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Jan Tinetti maintains Labour serious about reducing class sizes, despite flunking a previous promise. While in Opposition in 2014, Labour campaigned on having 26 students for every one teacher. Education Minister Tinetti today revealed a scaled-back plan, with one teacher per 29 year 4 to 8 children dropping to 28 by 2025. She says this time, Labour’s in Government and has funding to back up its a...

Dunedin taxpayers have forked out a substantial amount to eradicate the region's wallaby population. The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union confirmed that over $2.7 million has been spent on a wallaby control program that killed just 18 wallabies This was divulged in an OIA to Biosecurity NZ by the Taxpayers' Union. Taxpayers' Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says this was part of the Jobs for N...

A big education announcement from the Government- they’re reducing class sizes for primary and intermediate schools. Classes will drop from 29 to 28. You cannot make this stuff up. They slipped the news to media so they could start previewing it this morning. They wheeled out the Education Minister, they flew the Prime Minister to Auckland, and they hauled out the reporters who got the live stream...

Keen trampers will have to fork out a bit more for their favourite walks, with the Department of Conservation announcing that it will be hiking hut and camping fees. Hut fees will double to $10 a night from July, and serviced huts will rise to $25. The Department of Conservation’s Steve Kerr says that it's due to increased budget pressures, reduced revenue, and extreme weather events. He says many...

New Plymouth's Mayor is calling for more change to the Government's water assets policy, previously known as Three Waters. There will now be 10 regionally-directed water entities rather than the original four, as well as more time provided to adapt to the changes. Neil Holdom told Jack Tame that they need to go back to the drawing board and make things cheaper. He says his council has asked the Go...

A win for Dunedin council. The Government is reversing 10 million dollars of hospital budget cuts after a council campaign this year. Some of it will go towards the purchase of an MRI machine, as well as collaborative workspaces. Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich told Jack Tame that construction has begun. 97 million dollars will also be put towards data and digitalisation infrastructure. LISTEN ABOVE Se...

A major investigation is in progress after a Bay of Islands boat crash has left a skipper fighting for his life. A recreational launch slammed into a passenger ferry that was travelling from Paihia to Russell about midday yesterday. Passengers had to clamber on to a third vessel before the ferry sank. Police, Maritime NZ, and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission are gathering evidence....

A 21-year-old has been arrested on the suspicion of leaking classified US documents; possibly compromising intel and relationships with allies. Massachusetts Air National Guard, Jack Teixeira is suspected of posting the data on a gun enthusiast site. Waikato Law Professor Al Gillespie told Jack Tame that leaking information about special forces could affect the war between Russia and Ukraine.  He...

We’re six months to the day from October’s election and the latest economic forecast from Infometrics paints a bleak picture for Labour’s strategists.  Infometrics is forecasting high inflation will persist, stuck at 6.6% at the end of this year with a return to a one-to-three percent target not forecast until mid-2025.   That’s a notably bleaker picture than the Reserve Bank, Treasury, and all th...

Prince Harry has been confirmed to appear at King Charles' coronation- but Meghan Markle won't be joining him. After months of speculation, the Duke of Sussex will make a short solo visit to the UK to watch his father's coronation at Westminster Abbey. UK correspondent Enda Brady notes that this will be the first time Harry will be seen with the royal family in public after the release of Spare. E...

Tonight on The Huddle, ZB host Tim Beveridge and Cas Carter from Cas Carter Communications joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has come out to address the findings of the review into Auckland emergency management's handling of the January floods, claiming he was guilty of assuming his team were on top of things. What do we think of this respo...

Tonight on The Huddle, ZB host Tim Beveridge and Cas Carter from Cas Carter Communications joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has come out to address the findings of the review into Auckland emergency management's handling of the January floods, claiming he was guilty of assuming his team were on top of things. What do we think of this respo...

Two months from Cyclone Gabrielle, some forestry crews are still without work.  Forest Industry Contractors Association chief executive Prue Younger stated about 60 workers have had no work for nearly four months and the contracting business owners are losing money. The Country's Jamie Mackay says some of these crews have been out of work since late 2022 due to lack of export market demand and inf...

US inflation data was released this morning, and the figures have surprised experts. The US CPI inflation rate slowed down to 5 percent in March, the lowest level recorded in nearly two years. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann was pleasantly surprised by these inflation figures, saying some core inflation data wasn't as good, but it was headed in the right direction. LISTEN ABOVE   See...

Eyebrows have been raised over the confirmation that the Black Ferns will receive an all-male coaching staff. Tony Christie, Steve Jackson and Mike Delany are set to join head coach Allan Bunting in guiding the World Cup-winning rugby team. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave weighed in on whether this is evidence of lagging support for female coaches. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The chief economist at Australia's Commonwealth Bank has advised the Reserve Bank to start cutting interest rates. Stephen Halmarick says the RBA may have to reduce interest rates by Christmas because high inflation and interest rates will lead to a collapse in household incomes. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says many Australians are already struggling on the ground, and the IMF paints a g...

Uber is incentivising drivers to go green and slash emissions. Drivers can earn an additional $10,000 over two years if they make the switch to a fully electric car. The company has estimated only around two percent of New Zealand Uber drivers are rolling around in zero-emission vehicles. Uber Australia New Zealand Managing Director Dom Taylor says the incentive helps them meet their goals. "By 20...

A hearing that determines whether or not Otago University will renew their liquor licence concluded today. One student group has pushed back against the renewal of the university's liquor license, objecting to a perceived lack of information.  Students for Sensible Drug Policy president Jai Whelan says the group wanted to raise some concerns about the information in the licence itself. "We're havi...

Relief the co-governance aspect of the Government's water infrastructure reforms will remain. Under Three Waters, water assets will now be divvied up between 10 regional boards rather than four mega entities. The strategic oversight groups which the boards report to will be represented half by mana whenua. Waikato-Tainui chair Tuku Morgan is going to be part of the Northland Auckland entity, and s...

Three Waters is no more, as the reforms have been rebranded to Affordable Water Reforms. The Government has scrapped the 4 mega entities in favour of 10 entities, with their boundaries established roughly along the lines of New Zealand’s 16 regional councils. ZB Political Editor Jason Walls says the new entities will allow local councils more direct engagement with the water entities that manage t...

Auckland's mayor is giving the Council until mid-October to implement recommendations from the report into the devastating January floods. It found council emergency management was unprepared for such a quick and massive event, and pointed out communication issues from leaders. The Council has been told it needs better communications technology, more community outreach and to practice emergency ex...

The Local Government Minister's continuing to distance himself from the phrase 'co-governance'. Kieran McAnulty's revealed the new-look Three Waters policy, which splits the proposed four entities into ten and renames the scheme Affordable Water Reforms. The boards are ultimately responsible for the governance of water entities, which will have a 50/50 mana whenua and councils split, but McAnulty...

The Black Ferns now have an all-male coaching team. The trio of Tony Christie, Steve Jackson and Mike Delany will join Black Ferns Director of Rugby Allan Bunting to round off the coaching staff for the World Cup winning team. Sports journalist and former player Alice Soper isn't surprised by the all-male lineup, as they didn't have any credible women short-listed for the Black Ferns coaching role...

I’m the first person to accuse this Government of lacking political courage.   They lacked courage on tax reform. They lacked it on climate change. Jacinda Ardern even lacked the courage to say which box she’d be ticking in the cannabis referendum, lest her position cost Labour a few votes.  But you’ve gotta hand it to it this time, regardless of how you feel about co-governance, keeping the 50-50...

US President Joe Biden has touched down in Belfast, Ireland. Joe Biden is expected to stay in Ireland for four days, where he'll meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, deliver an address at Ulster University and visit Louth. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Joe Biden is visiting Ireland to commemorate 25 since the signing of the Good Friday agreement, and a huge security operation has been put in p...