Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Business Mentors CEO Sarah Trotman joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds have been unexpectedly stripped of their portfolios today - what do we think of this? Is this good leadership from Luxon?

Elon Musk has been clashing with the Australian Government over the Sydney church stabbing videos appearing on X. Can a Government tell a company what content it can display online? Why is Elon doubling down?

People are protesting Auckland Council's removal of rubbish bins by leaving their dog poo bags at the park. Should the council just put the bins back?

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As Netflix releases their results for first quarter, they've promised some new changes to the service.

The company's shares have dropped by nine percent, and speculation indicates the company could introduce ads to the service.

Milford Asset Management's Deborah Lambie explains further.

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There's been more light shined on the conflicting coverage of public sector job growth.

Labour's Chris Hipkins has justified the growth of the public sector under the previous Government- does he have a point?

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains both sides of the issue.

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Prime Minister Chris Luxon has revealed surprise tweaks to Cabinet.

Melissa Lee's lost her Media and Communications portfolio and been booted from Cabinet and Penny Simmonds' Disability role has gone to Louise Upston.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper dissects Luxon's reasons for the reshuffle.

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New reports show Tesla is experiencing a steep decline in profits and revenue - but the company's shares jumped 10 percent.

The electric vehicle manufacturer posted a lower-than-expected $21.3 billion in revenue and 55 percent decline in profit from the first quarter of 2023.

AJ Bell financial advisor Danni Hewson says investors believe CEO Elon Musk aims to focus more attention on Tesla, with more projects in the pipeline.

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New Zealand has achieved its first trading surplus since last May.

Stats NZ trade data for March 2024 shows a monthly surplus of $588 million.

Goods exports rose 3.8 percent in March on March 2023 - driven by fruit exports, which rose $170 million.

ANZ economist Henry Russell says this is down to a post-pandemic bounce-back - and a weakening domestic economy.

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The Defence Force is facing an unexpected challenge ahead of ANZAC commemorations in Gallipoli.

About half the luggage of the 40-strong team is lost in transit at Dubai, including uniforms and instruments.

RSA CEO Marty Donoghue says he expects the team will come up with a backup plan ahead of tomorrow's event.

"I think the contingent will be really gutted it doesn't have its instruments and uniforms with them - but there is always a way you can solemnly remember and do a remembrance activity."

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American comedian Arj Barker is on the defence after last weekend's incident

Barker has sparked controversy across the Tasman after he asked a mother and baby to leave his Melbourne comedy show on Saturday, because the baby was disrupting his performance.

He says he had no interest in shaming the woman or her child - but he wanted to create a quiet soundscape. 

"I just wanted to create an uninterrupted soundscape so I could do my show. This was a very quiet theatre... it's a beautiful theatre, but you could hear a pin drop in there." 

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Dog walkers in Auckland's Remuera and Pt Chevalier have been leaving poo bags where rubbish bins used to be.

The council's been removing bins with low historical use since last November to save money.

Orakei Local Board member Troy Churton says the protest is duly noted, but it's no reason to keep dump dog faeces.

"I can definitely raise this with my board - and will do so - that some of the bins we've taken can be reinstated."

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The Prime Minister is defending today's surprise Cabinet reshuffle.

Luxon has demoted Melissa Lee from Cabinet and stripped her of the Broadcasting and Media portfolio, giving it to Paul Goldsmith.

He's also sacked Penny Simmonds as the Minister for Disabilities, handing the role to Louise Upston.

Prime Minister Luxon says he needs the right people in the right assignments at the right time - and both roles have gotten more complex.

"They're good, hardworking ministers, they've still got my full confidence, they've still got key roles to play with portfolios on our team and key roles to deliver on - but this is really just acknowledging both of those portfolios have changed."

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New US-based research suggests women are less likely to die when treated by female doctors.

A study has followed people 65 and older, observing data on those who died within 30 days of seeing a doctor.

8.15 percent of women who died had been treated by female physicians, but that rose to 8.38 percent for women who'd been seen by a man.

For male patients, their doctor's gender made no difference.

US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says the numbers may seem like a tiny gap, but it could save 5,000 lives each year.

"The study suggests that they are less likely to have experienced miscommunication and misunderstanding and bias." 

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The Warriors have an eye to the future with another landmark signing.

19-year-old halfback Jett Cleary - younger brother of Penrith halfback Nathan and son of former Warriors and current Panthers coach Ivan - has signed a three-year deal from next season.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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There's growing calls for transparency and clarity around anti-doping processes.

This comes after the revelation that the World Anti-Doping Agency cleared 23 Chinese swimmers to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, despite testing positive for a banned substance.

Former World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman says aspects of this don't pass the 'smell test'.

"They could be better in terms of disclosure, be transparent and they should provide more clarity as to the actual process that was followed." 

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I have got nothing bad to say about Chris Luxon demoting Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds today.

This is exactly the kind of performance management that the country deserves, don't you think?

Obviously on a human level, I feel sorry for both of those ministers because this will humiliating - but don’t tell me this wasn’t deserved.

Melissa Lee has done an appalling job of looking like she knows what she’s doing with media, with senior commentators going on the radio to say - "She doesn't know what she's doing."

And Penny Simmonds oversaw one of the biggest stuff ups for the Government, with the cutting of disability-related funding.

So Melissa Lee's been stripped of the media portfolio and kicked out of Cabinet and Penny Simmonds has lost the disability portfolio - and she was already a minister outside of Cabinet.

Now this does two things: 

Firstly, it signals to voters that are there are standards in this Cabinet and incompetence will not be tolerated. That is a great signal to send to voters, it will likely lift the public regard of Cabinet.

Secondly, it sends a very important message to other ministers that if you stuff up in public, this will happen to you. Luxon's made it clear we're going to see more of this as the Government goes along, and there is nothing like the threat of losing a job to make someone pull their socks up.

What's happened today will shock a lot of people, because over the last few years we've got used to Prime Minsters just putting up with their ministers doing a bad job or behaving badly in public.

Kiri Allan, Phil Twyford, Michael Wood, Clare Curran, even Nanaia Mahuta - the Foreign Minister who didn't like international travel.

It took forever for Hipkins or Ardern to demote the under-performers, and they suffered for it - public opinion of them was tainted.

That is clearly not how Chris Luxon operates, and it’s a good thing.

Because who doesn’t want performance from the people that we pay to run the country?

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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is pushing back at a proposal by the Commerce Commission to increase competition in the banking sector.

The Commerce Commission has made multiple suggestions, including asking the Reserve Bank to tolerate more risk so that smaller banks and lenders have a chance to add competition in the market. 

Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby spoke with Heather du Plessis-Allan about the decision. 

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Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore and former Chief of Staff to Jacinda Ardern, Mike Munro, joined in on a discussion about the issues of the day and more!

The Government has proposed a ban on gang patches, but will it work?

The Wellington Reading Cinemas deal is officially off the table - is it surprising that it took so long?

And is comedian Arj Barker in the right for kicking a breastfeeding mother out of his show?

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The controversial Reading Cinemas deal is off.

Wellington City Council announced this afternoon that it's ended negotiations because they couldn't get the best possible outcome for Wellingtonians.

Under the proposed deal, Wellington Council was set to buy the Reading Cinemas land for $32 million, then sell it back to Reading after a decade as a way to finance a future refurbishment.

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The Government has promised to install 10,000 EV chargers by 2030... and EV charging company Jolt has suggested lines companies should pay for the investment.

CEO of Vector, Simon Mackenzie, spoke with Heather du Plessis-Allan about who is responsible for covering the costs. 

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Comedian Arj Barker has hit back at criticism after he asked a breastfeeding mother to leave his show in Melbourne over the weekend. 

Arj said the seven month old's sounds were distracting him and "ruined his train of thought."

The NZ International Comedy Festival is about to kick off and the Chief Executive, Lauren Whitney, joined Heather to discuss what happened. 

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This morning I was listening to the radio, and I was quite shocked when I heard Labour’s Justice Spokesperson, Duncan Webb, talking about the Three Strikes Law. 

He said judges and lawyers hate it so much, they will find ways around it so they don’t have to implement it. 

He said because the law will now only apply to crimes with sentences over two years – 24 months, “we will see a lot of sentences at 23 months because judges and lawyers... hate this.” 

Now... that’s a shocker. 

Because what that tells you is that it’s just accepted that if judges and lawyers don’t like a law, they’ll find a way around it. 

It’s so widely known that Duncan just says it on the radio and nobody blinds an eyelid. 

It’s the reason, apparently, that when we had Three Strikes last time, no one ever made it to their third strike fully. 

There were 29 people on second strike, and even after eight years of the law, no one on a full third strike. 

The only guy who did make it to the third strike - the Wellington Kisser – only got a half punishment, because he was given permission to apply for parole after a third of his sentence. 

Now, the reason I’m telling you about this is because this is a live debate... the conduct of judges. 

What with the Waitangi Tribunal judges thinking it’s acceptable to summon a minister to answer to them, and the Supreme Court judges’ quite radical moves to insert Tikanga Maori into law, and the Law Society on Friday telling us off for criticising judges and calling them activist judges. 

That’s exactly what we’re talking about. 

Voters wanted the Three Strikes Law, all three parties in Government promised to bring it back; so when voters voted for them... they knew they were voting for the Three Strikes Law. 

This Government has a mandate to bring it back. 

But apparently it’s widely known... the courts will ignore it because they know better. 

No. That is not how our system works. Voters are the boss, Parliament has supremacy. 

Judges are expected to implement the law, and if the Law Society is worried about people losing trust in judges, it could be that criticism isn’t the problem – the way the judges ignore the intention of Parliament might be the problem. 

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The Justice Select Committee heard submissions on Tuesday on the Government's proposed ban on gang patches. 

Chris Macklin, Convener of the Law Society's Criminal Law Committee spoke to Heather du Plessis-Allan about why he critiqued the proposal. 

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It has been an eventful day in New York as the prosecution and defence laid out their cases in Donald Trump's hush money trial. 

The former president is accused of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Heather spoke with criminal defence attorney Joseph Tully.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and journalist Patrick Gower joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! 

The government is bringing back the Three Strikes law - but will it work? 

Air New Zealand is hiking domestic airfares - should people be getting angry on how expensive it is to travel within New Zealand? 

And is Woolworths making the right move in bringing in body cameras for staff? 

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Air New Zealand is warning travel agents that it's about to put domestic airfares up.

It comes at the same time as the national carrier has downgrades its full-year earnings guidance by 10 million dollars.

The fare structure for flights to Australia and the Pacific is also getting a revamp.

Aviation Commentator Peter Clark told Heather du Plessis-Allan the airline doesn't have a choice - as it's own costs have skyrocketed. 

He says people will simply have to suck it up. 

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The Finance Minister admits there's still a way to go get inflation under control. 

Statistics NZ data showed headline inflation has dropped to 4 percent - the lowest number in nearly three years. 

But domestic inflation, otherwise known as non-tradeable inflation, is remaining sticky. 

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan the country isn't out of the woods yet. 

Willis says non-tradeable inflation is still sitting at 5.8 percent - which is still too high. 

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Labour's calling for the Government to recognise Palestinian independence.

Opposition spokesperson David Parker's written to Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, noting Israel's attacks have killed 32 thousand people in the past six months.

He says the country's ignored two UN resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire, and is in breach of international law.

Parker told Heather du Plessis Allan most other countries recognise Palestine, and we should follow suit to progress towards a two-state solution.

He says affirming Palestine's right to exist as a separate state is a fundamental building block.

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The world's warming - but concern about it may be cooling.

An Ipsos survey's found numbers are falling of New Zealanders saying we're failing future generations by not acting on climate change - down nine percent since 2022.

It also found fewer Kiwis believe businesses not combating global warming, are failing staff and customers.

Managing Director Carin Hercock told Heather du Plessis-Allan it seems to be a global trend.

She says it's a post-Covid and high-inflation impact, as countries with higher inflation experience a softening in climate commitment.

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Body cameras are being rolled out across all Woolworths' New Zealand stores.

It's introducing a suite of new security measures to de-escalate violent customer confrontations.

Physical assaults on staff have risen 75-percent over the past three years - and serious reportable events are up 148-percent.

Head of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Denva Wren says a lot of work's gone into meeting privacy requirements, and footage will only go to Police.

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan Woolworths wants to hold offenders to account and assure they can prosecute to the full extent of the law.

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The Minister-in-charge of bringing back Three Strikes Laws is hitting back at claims will worsen inequality in the justice system.

The Government is preparing legislation to bring back mandated prison sentences for violent and sexual criminals for their third offence.

Labour ended the law in 2022 and says it will result in unfairly long sentence, while the Greens say it will disproportionately impact Maori.

But Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee told Heather du Plessis-Allan this is about incarcerating the most serious, violent offenders.

She says she doesn't care what their ethnicity is - if they do the crime - they need to be locked up.

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Children's Minister Karen Chhour is facing the Waitangi Tribunal in the High Court today,  in a challenge to her summons.

The tribunal summonsed the ninister to respond to their concerns over plans to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act.

It ensures the ministry has regard to a child's whakapapa, and the whanaungatanga responsibilities of whanau.

Commonts on the unfolding situation from Shane Jones and David Seymour have been criticised by Prime Minister.

Newstalk ZB's Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's a tricky case - but the government is standing firm on its changes to the law. 

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Health New Zealand appears to be making cuts to frontline services despite a government promise this wouldn't happen.

The agency is telling hospital management to encourage staff to take leave, ban double shifts and to not cover sick staff.

It's also asking managers to wipe unfilled roles as part of the budget process.

Chief Executive of Health New Zealand Margie Apa told Heather du Plessis-Allan they need to live within their budget.

She says staff leaders are asked to make sensible decisions.

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As promised the government's bringing back the Three Strikes law.

The Prime Minister and the Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today it’ll be in Cabinet by mid-year.

And they’re changing it just a wee bit. 

One of the criticisms of the law is that it sent a guy to jail for kissing a woman on a street in Wellington without consent, but because it was his third strike, he was sent away for the maximum sentence which was seven years.

But that was way too harsh because he had mental health issues and it was a kiss, which is a pretty low-level indecent assault.

So, this government is fixing that up by only applying the Three Strikes law to higher level crimes. The crimes that would qualify, once sentencing principles are applied, will be for two years in jail or more.

We're talking things like aggravated injury, wounding with intent to injure, indecent assault and so on.  

Now, this is not our first rodeo with the Three Strikes law, is it? So, we already know the arguments about this, don’t we? 

Labour has come out saying it won’t work and it doesn’t deter criminals.

The Greens say it will lead to grossly unfair results that disproportionately impact Māori. 

And probably both are true. But that’s not the point, is it? The critics of this law completely miss the point.

The point of the Three Strikes law is to punish criminals who keep on hurting people.

And that’s okay. We don’t need to apologise for sending bad people to jail.

This is such a good example of how the crime and justice argument has for years lost the plot. This always turns into an argument about the rights and dignity of the criminal.

Is it too hard on them? Is it bad for their rehabilitation?  

Of course, we want to rehabilitate. But that’s an add on. That’s not the reason we put them in jail.

We put them in jail to punish them for what they do and to keep us safe from them.

And if they don’t get the message the first time and they don’t’ get the message the second time, frankly, they should go in longer to keep us safe from them for longer.

So, there is nothing to be ashamed of for, as the Greens say “the Government [being] hell-bent on funnelling more and more people into prisons.” 

If they’re committing serious crimes, repeatedly, that is exactly where they should be funnelled. 

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Google has dominated the search market for almost 20 years, but with the new introduction of generative AI, does the company face an existential crisis?

Fund Manager Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss his thoughts. 

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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has met the President of the Philippines, and promised to be more engaged on the defence front and on trade. 

Plus, two ministers questioning the value of the Waitangi Tribunal continuing are rebuked by Luxon. And, Wellington feels the pinch of public servants being laid off. 

ZB Senior Political correspondent Barry Soper wraps the political week. 

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Meta has begun incorporating new versions of its AI-powered smart assistant software across its apps, which include Instagram, Whatsapp, Messenger and Facebook. 

Users can ask the software to create images, write love letters, write a cover letter and more... 

Tech commentator Paul Spain of Gorilla Tech tells Heather du Plessis-Allan that the software being used inside apps by Meta makes AI more accessible. 

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Sport journalist Jim Kayes and Newstalk ZB sport news director Clay Wilson join Heather du Plessis-Allan for the Sports Huddle.

Is James Fisher-Harris the best signing in Warriors history? 

Do women need a smaller rugby ball?

And, will NZ have enough netball players to make up three teams?

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The Law Society has penned an editorial saying we should be less critical of judges to protect democracy. The editorial warns being overly critical of judges could cause the public to lose confidence in the judiciary system. 

President of the Law Society Frazer Barton tells Heather du Plessis-Allan that it is okay to analyse, discuss and debate decisions but it is not okay to personalise it. 

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Taylor Swift’s much hyped new album has dropped. The Tortured Poets Department features 16 songs, at one hour and five minutes duration. 

Newstalk ZB intern Ava Whitworth gave it a listen and tells Heather du Plessis-Allan just what the lyrics reveal. 

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Angela Blackmoore’s murderers have been sentenced to life in prison. 

David Hawken and Rebecca Wright-Meldrum were found guilty of her murder last year and had their sentences handed down today, almost 30 years since the slaying in Christchurch. 

Angela’s former partner Laurie Anderson read a victim impact statement at the sentencing. He tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the family feel relief and a sense of closure. 

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A US official has reported Israel has bombed Iran. Damage is being assessed as the world watches on at how Iran is going to react. 

Meanwhile, a complete jury has been selected in the criminal trial of former US President Donald Trump. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson tells Heather du Plessis-Allan that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has not let the defense know who the first witness is due to concerns the former president may post on social media about them. 

And, Elon Musk is funding a campaign to combat “relentess attacks on free speech”. 

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New Zealand’s track and field team has been named for the Olympics. 

Sportstalk host Jason Pine gives Heather du Plessis-Allan the lowdown on the 15-strong squad. 

Plus, Supercars are in Taupo this weekend, with five kiwis on the grid. 

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Israeli missiles have reportedly hit a site in Iran, beginning a counter-attack after Iran fired dozen of missiles. 

A senior United States official has reportedly said missiles have hit a site in the Iranian city Isfahan. However, Iran is downplaying the attack saying the strike was not successful. 

Professor for International Relations at Otago University, Robert Patman tells Heather du Plessis-Allan that the strike is very significant on many fronts with reports that Israel may have targeted nuclear facilities in Iran. The Biden administration have warned Israel not to retaliate against Iran and have expressed fears of the rise of the price of oil. 

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Let's talk about judges for a minute. 

So, the Law Society today has come out in defence of judges and in the face of all the criticism that they've been copping lately. The Law Society has asked that we please stop criticising the judges. It's in an opinion piece written by Fraser Barton, who is the president of the Law Society. He says the way that we're talking about the judiciary and their decisions might be harmful to this important institution. He says we are wrong to accuse especially the Supreme Court of Judicial activism. And, if we carry on the way that we are, it might end up with people losing confidence in the judiciary, which means that they won't trust the courts to look after them. 

Now, in a nutshell, I think what Fraser is arguing is that it is absolutely fine to criticise judges decisions, but we're not ok to criticise the judges themselves - including by using phrases like activist judges. 

Look, as a general rule, I think Fraser's got a point here, right? 

You should always try to play the ball and not the man, but sometimes the man is the problem, right? Some judges are going to be great and some are just going to be rubbish and that's how it is in any profession. And it is ok to say that person there is rubbish at their job and equally some judges will follow the rules and some judges will push the hell out of the boundaries.  

Some judges will do that consistently. 

They are called activist judges. 

I think it's also ok to point that out... otherwise, what are you supposed to do? Pretend it's not happening?  

Just look at every decision coming from a particular judge, say that decision's a bit dodgy, that decision is a bit dodgy, and that decision is a bit dodgy... but not point out that they're all coming from exactly the same judge and not point out that they're all coming from exactly the same court. 

For example, the Supreme Court - the Supreme Court is the problem right now. 

The Supreme Court is a very, very serious concern to a lot of commentators who are writing opinion pieces about this. So, basically in a nutshell, what they're doing is they're making law and they're introducing Tikanga Māori into existing law, which is a discussion for another day about how weird and wild that is. But it's actually the job of parliament to be making law. Not so much the Supreme Court judges who are not above criticism, right? 

We criticise absolutely everybody - we criticise the police, we criticise the hell out of the MP’s, we criticise each other in the media, criticise the public servants, we get criticised.  

That's healthy, that's how it should be. 

Otherwise, it's just a free for all, isn't it? 

What is unhealthy is pretending that there's a group of people who are so special that they are somehow above criticism. They are not above criticism, not when they're actively changing the laws in the country, which is not their job. 

They are absolutely 100 percent open to being criticised.

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Residents of a 16-floor apartment building in central Auckland, have been ordered to evacuate.

Auckland Council issued City Gardens Apartments a dangerous building notice, citing fire safety concerns.

City Garden must carry out repairs to meet standards - and if work's still incomplete people will have to move out on Monday.

One resident says the building's always had issues - and during one fire drill the fire escape was even locked.

Auckland Council Building Control General Manager Ian McCormick told Heather du Plessis-Allan it was a significant enough issue to take action. 

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Labour's accusing the Government of demonising beneficiaries - while people are being laid off.

Figures out today show 20-thousand more people are drawing JobSeeker benefits than a year ago.

Minister Louise Upston says that underscores the need for her policies - which include cutting JobSeekers by 50-thousand, by 2030.

Carmel Sepuloni says Government cuts mean thousands of public service workers are losing their job.

She says it's unfair for the Government to stigmatise beneficiaries -- both for people on welfare, and those that might end up there.

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The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the system police use for stalking allegations isn't up to standard. 

This is after the murder of a 21-year-old in Auckland who had reported to police eight weeks before her death that her killer was harassing her.

The woman's file was inactive for six weeks after she made the report, then it was forwarded to another police station. It was not progressed further before she died.

Ruth Money is a Victims Advocate and told Heather du Plessis-Allan she is 'horrified' by the outcome. 

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Sydney police are continuing to identify people involved in a riot after Monday's church stabbing.

The 16-year-old suspect remains in hospital under police guard for the alleged terrorist attack.

A 19-year-old has been placed under house arrest over his alleged role in the riot.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb says they're arresting people as they're identified.

She says they believe there could be up to 50 people to identify, maybe more.

Webb says 51 officers were injured in the riot, and are recovering.

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The Privacy Commissioner wants to review the Privacy Act and introduce a right to be forgotten.

He's concerned social media is posing a major risk for children's privacy and parents need help navigating it.

A survey by his office raised concerns around young people not having the capacity to make fully informed decisions about their digital footprint and its implications later down the line.

Michael Webster told Heather du Plessis-Allan the right to be forgotten should be a fundamental one.

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Police hope to go to arbitration over pay next month.

More than 75 percent of members have voted NO to the latest pay offer, which included a new overtime rate, a pay increase and a cash payment.

They say it doesn't remedy the decline in salaries.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell says it's disappointing - and will draw out an already lengthy process.

Police Association President Chris Cahill told Heather du Plessis-Allan they want pay increases to match the rate of teachers.

"They received 6 percent last July, which is when ours (agreement) ran out," he said. 

"They received another 4 percent at the start of April and they'll receive another 4 percent at the start of December this year."

Cahill says those are the figures his members want to talk about. 

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Inflation is proving to be a hard dragon to slay. 

Annual inflation has dropped to 4%, sitting above the Reserve Bank forecast of 3.8%. 

Non-tradable inflation —on final goods and services that don't face foreign competition— remains very high at 5.8%, well above the Bank's forecast of 5.3%. 

Kiwibank Chief Economist, Jarrod Kerr, told Heather du-Plessis Allan that inflation is now being driven by domestic factors. 

He says migration is pushing up rents, climate change is pushing up insurance, and infrastructure problems are pushing up council rates. 

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Guess what: the smaller ruby ball for women is already controversial. 

I was telling you about this last week because World Rugby is spitballing the idea of giving the female rugby players a ball that's about 3% smaller and lighter than the standard ball. 

Because their hands are smaller than male hands, and it would make kicking and passing easier for them. 

Because let's be honest, kicking a rugby ball is ever slightly more difficult for a female rugby player than a male rugby player because she's smaller. So it would simply be balancing that out. 

Well... This is not gone done well with Bonnie in the Herald sports department, who reckons this is a classic case of men sitting around thinking up ideas for women that women don’t actually want. 

And all that this is going to do is give detractors of the women’s game another thing to undermine the game with by basically writing off any record that they might set by saying it doesn’t count because the ball is smaller. Who cares! 

I love it, because it’s true. 

Women are smaller and weaker than men on average, and that is a fact. 

So, if we’re playing with the same size ball, we are having to work harder. 

Cricket accepts this fact, the boundaries are smaller for women. Same with basketball, the ball is smaller. 

Let's be logically consistent about this.

Sporting bodies around the world have just banned transgender women from competing at the international level against biological women because they accept that the male body is bigger, stronger, and faster. 

So, give women a smaller rugby ball. 

If it makes the women’s game faster and better, and that then brings in more viewers... that cannot be a bad thing for women’s rugby, can it? 

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The Children's Minister says no frontline roles are being axed in widespread public service cuts. 

Oranga Tamariki is proposing a total loss of 447 jobs, and the Education Ministry says more than 500 jobs will go. 

It's in response of the Government's demand for 6.5% savings. 

Karen Chhour told Heather du Plessis-Allan that they've been adamant no frontline jobs would go in the OT restructure. 

She says they need to make sure their frontline is resourced with the tools they need, and that's what part of this restructure is about. 

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Shane Jones seems to be in trouble with the Māori Law Society.  

They’ve written to Christopher Luxon about his comments surrounding the Waitangi Tribunal and their review into Oranga Tamariki. 

He effectively said the Tribunal has no business in running operations like some sort of star chamber, delivering summons for ministers to rock up and be cross-examined. 

ZB’s Senior Political Correspondent, Barry Soper, told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he’s absolutely right, as it’s not a judicial body as such, but rather a commission of inquiry. 

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A judge has warned former US President Donald Trump over commenting on jurors on the second day of his criminal trial. 

Trump's accused of falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. 

Seven jury members have been selected after doing a rigorous survey. 

US correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Heather du Plessis-Allan the repeated warnings aren't slowing Trump down. 

He says Trump has continued to make comments despite gag orders, claiming the trial has been biased against him since the start. 

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The Warriors have made quite the acquisition with the signing of James Fisher-Harris. 

Fisher-Harris is in line to replace departing prop Addin Fonua-Blake, the club securing his services on a four-year contract. 

Elliot Smith told Heather du Plessis-Allan that this is a huge signing, Golden Boot player of the year and Kiwis Captain, they couldn’t get much bigger. 

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Is it time to introduce a begging ban? 

Locals in Rotorua and Christchurch are debating the necessity of one, Rotorua Councillor Don Patterson calling for a bylaw after reports of tourists being accosted. 

Despite the Rotorua Lakes Council saying that begging is down, business owners are still struggling to stop it from happening near them. 

Reg Hennessey, Hospitality NZ Bay of Plenty President, told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the incoming council promised there would be huge changes, and he’s disappointed they’re starting to let them come back again. 

He said it’s sad, and a lot of longtime residents have left Rotorua because of it. 

Rotorua Lakes Council says it's not currently contemplating a begging ban. 

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Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who held office for a record 49 days, has recently released her new book.

The former UK leader has hit out at civil servants, the Bank of England, several political colleagues - and the fleas in Downing Street.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says it's clear Truss has no regrets.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Josie Pagani from Child Fund and Ben Thomas from Capital joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! 

Minister Shane Jones plans to scrap 'red tape' to make coal mining easier. The Greens have already voiced their disapproval- what do we think? 

Warner Brothers Discovery signed a deal with Stuff to produce and provide a daily 6pm bulletin, hopefully saving some jobs in the process. Will this merger address the wider issues with the media industry? How hopeful are we?

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Tomorrow's CPI data release is expected to reveal how close the Reserve Bank is to pushing down inflation.

During last week's OCR update, the Bank was confident restrictions would get CPI back to the target one-to-three percent this year.

HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham predicts that inflation would have slowed down this quarter.

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The Country celebrated 30 years last week, and the celebrations have recently wrapped up.

Host Jamie Mackay looked back on the full three decades of rural broadcasting today.

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BusinessDesk's Pattrick Smellie is off on a European sabbatical- and he's hopeful an interest rate cut could come before his return.

He outlined his predictions for the coming months here today.

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Resource Minister Shane Jones is dismissing what he calls green 'catastrophising' over coal mining.

As part of upcoming RMA amendments, Jones will remove the extra controls on consents that he says only apply to coal.

He says the industry's treated differently to other types of mineral extraction, and red tape is hurting the sector.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper unpacks these new changes.

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Union workers at Fletcher subsidiary EasySteel have blamed the company's recent mismanagement for a looming restructure.

Fletcher has cited market conditions for this restructure, and jobs are on the chopping block.

First Union spokesperson Justin Wallace says 50 to 60 jobs could be scrapped.

"The interesting part is- this is not only being targeted at union members, it's also being targeted at management, marketing and other areas that are outside the union coverage." 

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Air New Zealand has signed its largest deal yet for sustainable aviation fuel.

The airline purchased 9 million litres of fuel from provider Neste, which is expected to reduce carbon emissions up to 80 percent compared to fossil jet fuel.

Chief Sustainability Officer Kiri Hannifin supports mandating other airlines follow suit to decarbonise.

"All of aviation is required to decarbonise, so we all have to do it, and there's only very limited ways to do it.

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The Government is being accused of throwing coal on the climate crisis fire.

A new Resource Management Amendment Bill to be introduced next month will ease consenting for coal mines.

Labour brought in the controls to end consents for existing thermal coal mines after 2030.

Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says New Zealand has been phasing out coal over the last few years.

"The last time Shane Jones was in Government, in 2017, New Zealand signed up to be a member of the international Powering Past Coal Alliance, which was an international commitment to phase out coal."

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The Telecommunications Commissioner says he's disappointed about alleged breaches of the 111 Contact code by telco One New Zealand.

The code is designed to protect consumers without copper landline connections.

One New Zealand has been accused of failing to provide customers with a way to call 111 in a power cut.

Commissioner Tristan Gilbertson says the company would have been aware of its obligations.

"Despite having been very closely involved in the co-development process over two years before the code went live in 2021, One has failed to implement and discharge its obligations."

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There's more details on the finances of Stuff's new agreement with Warner Brothers Discovery.

The Newshub owner signed a deal with Stuff yesterday to produce and provide a daily bulletin on TV Three from July 6, following Newshub's closure.

Stuff CEO Sinead Boucher says they'll bring over some Newshub employees, but fewer than the 40 or 50 proposed by staff.

Herald Editor-at-large Shayne Currie says Stuff is unlikely to get a cut of the advertising money.

"I think it's a flat annual fee for Stuff- and Warner Bros. Discovery takes all the revenue."

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The stabbing at a church in Sydney's west last night has been labelled a terrorist act.

New South Wales police have revealed a young person's been arrested after three people were stabbed at Wakeley's The Good Shepherd Church last night.

A graphic video of the attack shows a person lunging at the Bishop during a mass.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says religious leaders across Australia have stood by the church as more updates come to light.

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Confidence the Hurricanes can cope without Jordie Barrett for one Super Rugby campaign.

The midfielder has re-signed with NZR until the end of 2028, but the new deal does include a six-month sabbatical at Irish club Leinster next year.

Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explains further.

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Finding a jury for Donald Trump's hush money trial is proving tricky.

The former US President has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Already on day one, 50 prospective jurors have been dismissed after saying they couldn't be impartial.

Cornell University law professor Randy Zelin says potential jurors are asked personal questions to determine their suitability.

"You're trying to get little pieces of insight into whether this person is going to be a free thinker, good for the defence - or a by-the-book person."

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So, the 6pm bulletin on TV3 is saved after all.

It's been announced this afternoon that that Stuff is going to make the bulletin for the owners of TV3, Warner Brothers Discovery.

If you’re a fan of Newshub and this news gives you hope, I would very much urge you to temper that expectation. Because this is not going to be what you are used to.

It sounds very much like it's going to be quick and dirty. It's gonna look very different.

They are promising us it’s not going to be cheap news - but I'll tell you what, I'll have to see that to believe it, because everything points to that. That's the whole point of this exercise, making it cheaper.

The news was too expensive for Warner Brothers to justify continuing to make it, so the only way this works is if Stuff can do it for less.

The Stuff boss today was talking about some of this news being filmed by reporters on their cell phones.

Now times have changed, and the idea of a Zoom video call or the odd bit of footage filmed on a phone is not that intolerable any more. But how much of it are you prepared to tolerate?

At the moment, you see the odd bit here and there, but how much of it needs to be filmed on reporters’ cell phones to make this news affordable?

And then, how much of that is the audience going to tolerate? Cause it’s ugly. Let's be completely honest, it's ugly watching stuff that was filmed on a cell phone expanded out to a big TV.

And that is very different to the TV news product that we’re used to in this country. We're used to very slick news bulletins, which is probably part of the problem with the 6pm news.

But what happens if we’re offered up a bulletin put together on the cheap, filmed by reporters who aren’t trained camera people - on their phones?

6pm news audiences are already declining, so won’t this just make the audience leave faster?

Now, there is an argument to be made that that’s actually not the most important thing here and this is really about digital innovation using that video content in other ways on other platforms.

But that's another debate altogether, and we should probably be having that some other day.

For the 6pm news bulletin on TV3, it feels like this deal can only delay the end, it can’t prevent it.

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It's been confirmed a number of British fighter jets helped shoot down the drones fired at Israel from Iran. 

The UK was among several countries which helped counter Iran's unprecedented attack - the first direct strike onto Israeli soil.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains further.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Auckland Councillor Richard Hills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

Is the escalating conflict in the Middle East something we should be worried about? Iran sent a barrage of drones and missiles to Israel this weekend- should this be a bigger point of concern?

The Government has announced changes to tenancy laws, including pet bonds and making tenants liable for all pet damage above fair wear and tear. Will these make a difference for tenants - or landlords?

Brian Tamaki has come out in defence of a Destiny Church member who vandalised Auckland's K Road rainbow crossing. He's been slapped with a $16,000 fine- was this the right call?

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The Prime Ministers of New Zealand and Singapore have agreed to streamline flows of critical supplies during crises.

Chris Luxon sat down today in Singapore with his counterpart Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss supply chains and maintaining green economy initiatives.

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan explains further.

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Prime Minister Luxon is eyeing up the opportunities and potential to be found in South East Asia. 

Luxon's leading a 24 person business delegation to Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines over the course of the week.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explains the benefits of New Zealand building more trade relationships.

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The Warriors wound up with a 22-all draw with the Manly Sea Eagles in last weekend's match.

As the team trailed 22-20 with seconds left on the clock, Johnson's attempt at a two-point field goal fell short.

Sportstalk host Jason Pine weighs in on whether the Warriors should be proud of this.

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Private healthcare is experiencing a surge in demand as public wait-lists keep expanding.

A new private hospital has opened in central Auckland, and Epsom's Mercy Hospital is expected to add dozens more beds and at least 10 new operating theatres.

At least 1 third of Kiwis now have private health insurance, with Southern Cross reporting a 3.5 percent increase in memberships over the past year.

Otago University's Robin Gauld says more people are worried about accessing healthcare as stories surface.

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The Finance Minister's excited ahead of her trip to Washington DC.

Nicola Willis departs tomorrow for a meeting with her counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

She says she's looking forward to being in the same room as Janet Yellen, who she describes as a 'Queen' of international economics and finance.

"She is an incredible person who has advised successive American presidents and been on the Federal Reserve - and having a moment to pick her brain will be a very special moment indeed."

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The Housing Minister says introducing pet bonds will make landlords more likely to accept cats and dogs in their properties.

The Government's bringing in changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to make it easier for pet-owning tenants to find rental housing.

It includes paying an extra bond of two weeks rent, to cover potential damage.

Minister Chris Bishop says he's spoken to many landlords who support the extra security of a pet bond.

"At the moment, a lot of landlords just say - nah, it's all too hard, I'm just going to say no, it's my property, I can't be bothered. But we know there are a lot of tenants out there who want to have a dog or a cat or a pet in their property."

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The Foreign Affairs Minister says the Middle East conflict is reaching an uncertain, dangerous and difficult point.

It's yet unknown whether Israel will heed America's warning not to respond to a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Iran.

The attack was in retaliation to Israel bombing Iran's embassy in Syria, and most of the hundreds of projectiles were intercepted.

Minister Peters says everyone who wants peace in the world has a clear message.

"And for goodness sake, don't escalate this matter. That includes the neighbourhood, the many Middle Eastern countries around the world as well."

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Brian Tamaki claims the public is on his side on rainbow issues.

A member of his Destiny Church has pleaded guilty and been convicted of vandalising Auckland's K Road rainbow crossing.

Tamaki claims there's public concern about drag queens reading stories to children in libraries and the state of relationship and sexuality education in schools.

He says this was a drastic measure.

"When you have a protest action like that, you're not sorry to actually get the attention of the councils."

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Israel's war cabinet is due to resume debating how best to respond to Iran's attack on Sunday.

Most of the 300 missiles and drones fired towards them were shot down by its Iron Dome.

US President Joe Biden has already ruled out any involvement in Israel's response, to avoid worsening the conflict.

Reuters correspondent James MacKenzie says Israel do have the weaponry to hit back, but that wouldn't achieve much in the long run.

"There's the danger the Iranians are going to retaliate - and then you'll get into this cycle that will expand into a regional war."

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Over in Australia, a judge has made a civil court ruling that it's likely former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann raped colleague Brittany Higgins.

He'd taken a multi-million dollar defamation case over Network Ten's reporting of Higgins' allegations in 2021.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says the judge has described Lehrmann as having escaped the lion's den - but making the grave mistake of coming back for his hat.

"In other words, he was not convicted of rape at the criminal trial due to jury misconduct and a mistrial, but in suing for defamation- he was found, on balance, to be a rapist."

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The rollout of fishing vessel cameras has come with more vigilant reporting of ocean wildlife deaths.

MPI data from its 127 vessels with monitoring cameras suggests deaths were under-reported before their use.

Reports of dolphin captures have risen nearly seven-fold since cameras were introduced, compared with 2018, and volumes of discarded fish are up nearly 50 percent.

Forest and Bird's Geoff Keey says these findings weren't unexpected, given data from other countries.

"We saw similar numbers in Australia, when Australia put cameras on boats. We actually went and did the math and found that in-shore boats were between 5 and 9 times more likely to report- if there was an observer on board."

Seafood NZ Chief Executive Jeremy Helson says fishers have been paying more attention.

"There's a lot going on on a fishing vessel, there's catch coming on board, there's fish to sort and different priorities at different times. Most fishers, I do believe, do the right thing, they want to do the right thing."

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Turns out, the person who painted over the rainbow crossing on Auckland's K road 3 weeks ago is related to Brian Tamaki by marriage - what a surprise.

He is married to Brian Tamaki’s granddaughter and is the father of, I think four, of Tamaki's great-grand kids. The reason I'm not surprised is - of course Destiny Church was doing this with the rainbow crossings in Gisborne earlier.

Anyway, today he appeared in court and pleaded guilty - and was convicted, discharged and fined $16,000.

Now as far as I can tell,  this is the toughest sentence given in recent times to a protestor who caused damage, but is it really tough?

A $16,000 fine sounds a lot, until you hear they’re not particularly worried about the fine because already a supporter has pledged $5,000 to help out.

And sure, a criminal record sucks - but not that much when your daily life doesn’t even break its stride because you’re not going to jail or do anything as punishment.

I'm going to repeat myself because I've said this before - the courts need to impose sentences that will deter other protestors who damage stuff from doing it as well. And yet, at the moment, that's not what I'm seeing.

Remember the climate protestor who sprayed red paint all over the luxury car sales yard in Wellington? She was discharged without conviction, ordered to pay half the water-blasting bills, plus give another $500 to charity -and that was about it.

Protest has, particularly in recent years - and particularly led by the climate activists - gone from being peaceful marching and waving of placards and shouting to now including damage of property, kind of as a matter of course.

This is a big problem overseas with the climate activists throwing paint at valuable pieces of art on display. And here in New Zealand, it's kind of being imported.

We had the spraying of the car yard in Wellington, the spraying of a car yard in Auckland, we had the abseiler deface the Treaty exhibition at Te Papa, we had the Destiny Church guys vandalise the rainbow crossing in Gisborne- and now this. 

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you don't adequately punish something, it will be repeated. You just have to be a human to know that because it's human behaviour.

Case in point today - Brian Tamaki is proud of what his grandson-in-law did. They don't really care about the fine. 

Now tell me if that's going to deter others from, next time they're really angry about something, just damaging some property to prove how angry they are.

Probably not, so expect more until we start properly punishing people who deliberately damage other people's stuff in the name of protest.

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Russia-China relations have reached unprecedented levels according to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov arrived in Beijing for a two-day official visit on Monday with the two countries looking to further solidify diplomatic ties. 

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Food price data showed prices in March were up just 0.7 percent compared to a year earlier – the smallest increase in food prices in three years. 

CEO of Foodstuffs North Island Chris Quin tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the business must keep challenging itself to evolve every way it can to remove costs. 

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Sport journalist Lavina Good and ZB Rugby commentator Paul Allison discuss the need for a shake-up in domestic netball and World Netball’s decision to ban transgender athletes. 

Also, has the NRL had its best start to the season at the expense of a long injury list? 

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Pseudoephedrine will be back on the shelves quicker than previously thought. MedSafe has approved 11 medicines that contain the chemical and suppliers say stocks should be in New Zealand by June. 

Pseudoephedrine-based treatments were banned in 2011, but the new Government has overtured the ban. 

Owner of Mangawhai Pharmacy Lanny Wong tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the move is a good one – offering alternatives for cold and flu treatments. 

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A 15 year-old boy has been critically injured after being run over multiple times on Wednesday evening in Ngaruawahia. Police are currently treating it as a targeted attack. 

Detective Inspector Darrell Harpur wants to reassure the community that the attack is not random. He tells Heather du Plessis-Allan police are appealing for information on the vehicle. 

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New Zealand has firmly shifted further to the US after Winston Peters met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken overnight. 

Former NZ Ambassador to the US Tim Groser tells Heather du Plessis-Allan that the move is not a new direction from where we were before the change of government. 

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New Zealand has given the nod to the US Secretary of State that we will sign up to AUKUS, following Winston Peters’ visit to Washington DC. 

Senior political correspondent Barry Soper tells Heather du Plessis-Allan we could be biting the hand that feeds us as the latest trade figures between New Zealand and China reach over $40 billion. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has told journalists that a hammered media is not something the government can do much about. 

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US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson reflects on the trial of O.J. Simpson, and his time working with homicide detective Mark Furham. 

Plus, New Zealand wine is making more inroads into the United States with a new campaign ‘Pour yourself a glass of New Zealand’. 

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A sleep-in my have helped Ryan Fox forget his recent woes as he recorded a red hot 31 on the front nine to hold the lead through 12 holes at the opening major of the year before carding a three-under 69 at Augusta National. 

Plus, Piney predicts the Wellington Phoenix’s highest ever regular season finish. 

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O.J. Simpson, the American football star and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend in a trial that mesmerised the American public but was later found liable in a separate civil case, has died aged 76. 

Lawyer and commentator Charles Rosenberg tells Heather du Plessis-Allan that celebrities often enter criminal trials with an enhanced presumption of innocence. The controversial figure’s reputation never recovered and the question now is how he will be referred to in history – as a footballer or as a murderer. 

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Over in the UK, there's concern around an uptick in counterfeit stamps.

Consumers have been warned to be on the lookout for these fake stamps- which investigations indicate have been sent through by China. 

UK correspondent Enda Brady explains why China could be doing this to the nation.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

Shortland Street is the latest program set to be cut, as TVNZ considers the fate of the series. Is this proof our viewing habits have changed? Could it be saved?

Labour's Willie Jackson has fired off against Minister Melissa Lee in the House today- what do we think of this? Was this out of line?

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After Japan's massive asset bubble burst in 1989, the region experienced 30 years with inflation, interest rates and wage growth remaining near zero.

That seems to be changing, with speculation suggesting Japan could develop a 'normal' economy in the post-Covid years.

Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains what this means for investors.

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A day full of reminiscing for The Country radio show today as it celebrates 30 years on air.

The programme formerly known as the Farming Show had humble beginnings at the Gore Showgrounds, on Radio Hokonui in 1994.

Producer Rowena Duncum recapped the station's biggest moments.

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