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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...

Tonight on The Huddle, Mike Munroe, former Labour Chief of Staff and current Director at Mike Munro Communications and Ben Thomas from Capital NZ joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: A damning review has confirmed that mayor Wayne Brown, Auckland Council, and Auckland's emergency management system were not properly prepared for the January floods- how surprised are we b...

NBA player Steven Adams has invested in Kiwi 'brain drink' company Ārepa. The basketball star has bought 1.44 percent of the company, saying the science behind the drink was 'fascinating'. Ārepa co-founder Angus Brown says Steven Adams is already an investor in several agri-tech businesses and approached Ārepa directly to ask about the product.  "He got to using the product, and then his agent kin...

The housing market is slowing down- and experts are claiming NZX-listed companies are being affected.  Jeremy Hutton from Milford Asset Management says the sliding housing market has caused several sectors to decrease in value, highlighting the recent underperformance in the retirement sector. Jeremy Hutton also says Fletcher Building has been affected by the current housing market, with sales slo...

The Government's plan to prevent carbon prices from rising is costing taxpayers half a billion dollars. In late 2022, Cabinet rejected Climate Change Commission advice to change Emissions Trading Scheme settings to enable the carbon price to rise more than it had in the past. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained that Cabinet's decision to prevent the carbon price from ri...

The leaking of various Pentagon documents has been traced to an unlikely source. The batch of top-secret documents may have been initially shared on video game chat platform Discord, according to open-source intelligence analysts.  US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says there's speculation that the child of a Pentagon employee may have gotten access to the documents and used a Discord chat to show t...

It's less than 100 days until the FIFA World Cup, and the Football Ferns have taken another hit. The Football Ferns have lost to Nigeria 3 goals to nil in Turkey, having conceded 21 goals in 7 games this year so far. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says this is an unfortunate contrast to Australia's Matildas, who recently defeated England 2- nil. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

The International Monetary Fund is warning of a grim outlook for the economy. Its 2023 outlook forecasts New Zealand will have one of the lowest GDP growth rates and one of the highest inflation rates in the Asia Pacific region in the coming years. Infometrics chief economist Brad Olsen says it's highlighted the vulnerabilities New Zealand faces. "The IMF has highlighted that there are risks, give...

A report out today on the response to Auckland's Anniversary Weekend floods is critical of Council leaders, mayor Wayne Brown, and the city's emergency management systems. The independent panel led by former Police Commissioner Mike Bush, has found the Council was unprepared for the flooding's magnitude and speed. It also notes Council already knew about gaps in preparedness as far back as 2016. B...

A freshwater scientist says it's impossible for New Zealand to maintain its dairying practices and clean up rivers. The latest report by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ reveals 45 percent of the nation's rivers are too polluted to swim in. Two thirds of native birds living near rivers are at risk of extinction and 45 percent of lakes are now more polluted than a decade ago. Victoria...

17,000 Wellington streetlights are not fit for purpose, with some smashing to the ground. Since the LED lamps were installed in 2018, 17 have fallen because their adaptors can't cope with Capital's blustery winds. They will now all be replaced within a year. Council Chief Infrastructure Officer Siobhan Procter says problems immediately surfaced in 2018, but leadership teams weren't told. "These op...