Afleveringen
-
On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday 6 June 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown details his $4 billion spend to fix and prevent potholes on the nation's roads.
With further calls for an investigation into Te Paati Māori and alleged misuse of personal information, the issue has reached a point where a broader inquiry can be justified.
The Huddle considers if Covid tests should be free.
Plus, male contraception is on the way to shoulders around the world.
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
New information has been revealed about Christian Brueckner, the lead suspect in the long-running Madeleine McCann case.
German police have claimed Brueckner had an email account containing messages related to the killing of McCann.
UK Correspondent, Enda Brady told Jack Tame “Police have discovered a Hotmail account and external hard drive, which they say link him to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.”
Brady says “We’ve long suspected the German police know a lot more than they’re going to tell the public – but this is the first time that they’ve acknowledge this link.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
-
Infometrics predict the official cash rate (OCR) won’t move until February next year - rather than this November.
Non-tradeable inflation (inflation that is domestic and not influenced by international factors) has caused issues for the Reserve Bank – say business commentators.
It makes up almost 60% of the consumer price index (CPI), which the Reserve Bank is trying to reduce.
Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Jack Tame “We kept looking out at the economy and we can’t support our previous view.”
Olsen says “You’re not going to use monetary policy to get local government rates under control, or insurance premiums.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
University of Otago research revealed last year that twice the number of under 30-year-olds living in rural areas die compared to those in cities.
It’s the strongest evidence yet that the health of rural Kiwis is worse than those who live in the city.
The Country Host Jamie Mckay told Jack Tame “The rural male suicide rate is 64% higher than in cities.”
Mckay said “Māori living rurally are twice as likely to die of preventable causes than their urban counterparts.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Good news for motorists: the price of oil has gone down around 7 percent in the last week.
The Brent Crude oil price dropped below US$80 a barrel at the weekend, after OPEC+ came to a deal to extend voluntary production cuts.
NZ Business editor-at-large, Liam Dann told Jack Tame “That’s good news for motorists – and good news on the inflation fight.”
Dann said “We want to see renewable energy – but everything in the economy is underpinned by the price of oil.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
The Bank of New Zealand is extending the opening hours of part-time branches.
The bank put an emphasis on call centres and digital services after closing 38 branches during the height of the pandemic.
BNZ Chief Executive Dan Huggins told Jack Tame “We’ve heard from our customers – particularly small businesses – that they want to talk to our people more often”
Huggins said “four or five years ago, we saw a demand for digital – now we've taken the feedback, we’re putting more people into our branches.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
On The Huddle: Health funding in this year’s budget
The government will fund $22m to train 25 more doctors each year through the existing medical schools at Otago and Auckland universities.
Although, Waikato University's plan for a new medical school - which had support from National - is not in the Budget.
The Maxim Institute’s Tim Wilson told Jack Tame “It’s probably not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things, but it does fill out a narrative of a series of broken promises.”
Former staffer for Jacinda Ardern Mike Munro said “50 doctors is not a lot – but we do need everything we can get right now.”
Munro says “It comes back to the reckless promises they made in opposition.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
The government will purchase an additional 9 million rapid antigen tests (RATs), extending freely available tests by three months.
Health Minister Shane Reti announced today that nearly $200m of the funding will go towards vaccines and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test processing.
Health Minister Shane Reti told Jack Tame “I believe Kiwis want to do the right thing and follow their isolations.”
Reti says “We want to get through this at-risk period. It peaks at mid-year and end-of-year.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Male birth control may be on its way – in gel form.
It’s a hormonal gel that men rub on their shoulders, which has been developed at the University of Southern California (USC).
USC Obstetrician-Gynaecologist, Dr Brian Nguyen told Jack Tame “It’s very similar to female contraceptive methods – we have so much experience with it.”
Nguyen said “The entire factory is left intact, you’re just telling factory to stop production.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Te Pāti Māori is facing allegations that personal information collected by a Manurewa marae during Covid immunisations was used for political campaigning.
The marae was also controversially used as a polling booth in last year’s general election.
Te Pāti Māori has denied the allegations.
Taxpayers Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, told Jack Tame “At the end of the day, this information isn’t in the government’s hands.”
Williams said “The Census is such a core function of government – and public must have confidence that the data is protected.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
The Government will spend $4 billion over the next three years fixing and preventing potholes on state highways and local roads nationwide.
Auckland will get a $478 million boost in pothole funding; Waikato will get $214m and Canterbury has been allocated $187m in funding.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown told Jack Tame “The real focus here is preventing them.”
Brown said “The NZTA board allocates the fund based upon need.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
The Government is putting $30 million towards free and timely access to radiology services including X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds across the country.
Health Minister Shane Reti made the announcement this morning during a visit to Waikanae Health Centre.
Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Jack Tame “The biggest problem has been in the provinces.”
Soper said “At the moment, you’ve got to go to a specialist, to be referred for X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds. You can imagine how long that can take.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Australia's cyber safety regulator has dropped a case against Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter) over the removal of videos of the stabbing of an Assyrian church bishop in Sydney.
Australia Correspondent Murray Olds told Jack Tame “It was seen as a test of Australia’s ability to enforce online safety rules against these giant companies.”
Olds said “The video was removed in Australia – but X has said it’s an attack on free speech.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has insisted his knockout tackle on Reece Walsh was an accident.
Suaalii apologised to the whole of New South Wales, after being sent off at the beginning of his State of Origin debut.
D'Arcy Waldegrave SportsTalk host told Jack Tame “Seven minutes into the game - the oxygen goes out of the place.”
Waldegrave says “He just turned around in the tackle. Reece slipped a bit, but he should’ve kept the tacklee safe.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
It’s the fifth straight month of slow new car sales, and it’s likely for more dealers to close.
This comes after the Government removed the Clean Car Discount – stating the Clean Car Standard will achieve results.
Motor Industry Association CEO Aimee Whiley told Jack Tame “It feels harder right now, than it did during the GFC.”
Wiley said “Consumer demand has shifted too – the kind of vehicles Kiwis want has changed.”
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
A fascinating interview on the Mike Hosking breakfast this morning, with the lawyer acting on behalf of former workers at Auckland's Manurewa marae, where it is alleged that private information was improperly accessed to help with election campaigning.
Now these are really, really serious allegations and it is just so important to note that Te Pāti Māori and John Tamihere have denied all allegations of wrongdoing so far. At the moment we have Stats New Zealand investigating, the police are investigating as well. Health New Zealand is involved and now the privacy commissioner is considering what, if any steps to take.
But I for one think it's probably reached a point with this issue where a broader inquiry can be justified. Not only to restore public confidence in the census and in election processes, but also for Te Pāti Māori and for John Tamihere to have the opportunity to be publicly cleared of wrongdoing.
You see, there are several issues with this. We have, for starters, several interrelated allegations - which are in themselves a little confusing and a little murky. We have a government department that is investigating, while a legal representative for some of the workers at the centre of these allegations says that another government department, the MSD, has acted improperly. And I think that having won the Government Department essentially investigating another department's role risks perceptions when it comes around a lack of independence, at least in the eyes of some voters.
It's interesting, Christopher Luxon says he's not ruling out a public inquiry, but at the same time he probably needs to be pretty careful to be seen not to be using (as yet unproven) allegations for political advantage. So he suggests the current processes need to be seen through. But I think we probably need something broader. I think we need something broader, something with clear terms of reference, something as transparent as possible. Because it is in the best interests of the voting public, but also the best interests of clearing those who say they've done absolutely nothing wrong.
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Several major hospitals in London have been impacted by a cyber attack - which led to operations being cancelled and emergency patients being diverted.
The incident has had an impact on the delivery of key services, including blood transfusions and test results.
UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains the widespread damage being caused by the attack.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
A 20-year deal with Southland's Tiwai Aluminium Smelter could be good news for everyday New Zealanders.
The agreement signed by Meridian, Mercury, Contact Energy and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters will guarantee supply until 2044.
Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton says this is positive news for the electricity sector.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
The Government's tax take has surpassed Treasury’s expectations for the first time in a while.
This positive result was found to have come from efforts to minimise the amount of tax trustees pay.
NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says this shows how hard companies worked to flush out their retained earnings.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Parts of the new Cook Strait mega ferries had already been built and tested, before the contract for the ships was canned.
The Government announced last year that it would not give Kiwirail more money for the new ferries, but a written question to Paul Goldsmith revealed some engine parts had been built.
ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explains that this will likely cost Kiwis.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Laat meer zien