Larry Williams Drive

Central banks across the world are cooling rate hikes down, but New Zealand isn't so lucky. The US Federal Bank says they're not predicting a recession, the Bank of Canada has stopped hiking rates and the Australian Reserve Bank says they're near the end of their rate hiking cycle. Meanwhile, New Zealand's OCR is still likely to grow and economists everywhere are still predicting a recession. Independent economist Tony Alexander says it's a 50-50 call for New Zealand falling into recession this year. Tony Alexander says people will still reduce their spending and more layoffs are likely, but the return of Chinese tourists and improving net migration figures will boost the economy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teachers everywhere are reacting and responding to National's new education policy outline. National leader Chris Luxon said if elected, the party would require primary school students to spend an hour per day on reading, mathematics and writing, with standardised tests twice a year. Auckland Primary Principal's Association president Kyle Brewerton says there are some good points in the outline and no-one can dispute wanting better outcomes for Kiwi students. Kyle Brewerton says that the outline could be improved by bringing down class sizes, because nothing has changed in terms of the classroom yet. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bad day in the Local Government New Zealand offices today, because Auckland Council just gave them the flick. This is what happens when you don’t read the room and try to force an unpopular policy like Three Waters on people. I'll explain to you what happened here; Local Government NZ is the body that is supposed to represent all the councils across the country and go in to bat for them. That's why these councils pay LGNZ huge amounts of money to belong to them  But LGNZ made a big mistake; they struck a secret deal with Nanaia Mahuta to allow her to confiscate the water assets off councils. All the while she kept pretending she wouldn’t do that. In simple terms, they sided with Nanaia against their own paying members.  Then the Taxpayers’ Union started campaigning against Three Waters, and so Local Government New Zealand banned the Taxpayers’ Union from attending their conference. A group of councils broke away and set up a rebel group called Councils for Local Democracy, it now represents more than a third

Visitors to Rotorua's Blue Lake will need to walk a little further to dispose of rubbish. Rotorua Lakes Council has removed all the rubbish bins around the lake with no consultation, saying that the rubbish was attracting wasps.  Last week the Council removed seven wasp nests from the area, and waste and climate change manager Craig Goodwin said it hoped people would take their rubbish with them instead. Blue Lake Top 10 Holiday Park owner Sheryl Murray isn't a fan of the removals, saying that recreation areas need rubbish bins. "We have one of the biggest event lakes in the Rotorua area, and it's just full all the time. The sun comes out, the locals come out and they enjoy the lake." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's Mayor has dubbed Local Government New Zealand "a waste of money". Wayne Brown used his casting vote on leaving Local Government NZ at a council meeting today. Brown says some councillors were treating the $640,000 membership like "coins down the back of the couch". "But if we don't start counting $650,000 coins regularly, we're going to end up with another $295 million dollar hole." LGNZ president Stuart Crosby says Auckland's membership would have given the city more than a million-dollars a year in savings. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warehouse Group has confirmed it's axing 340 jobs at their Auckland Support Office after a significant earnings drop. The company has reported Net Profit After Tax for the six months to January is down 60.9 percent compared to the same period in the previous financial year. Devon Funds Management retail head, Greg Smith says people's spending has changed as the cost of living has tightened. "30 percent of their turnover comes from Noel Leeming as well, so the spend on TVs, laptops, etc has certainly subsided." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Education Minister's musing about working on New Zealand's education system with National. National has released a plan, requiring schools to do at least an hour a day of learning in reading, writing and maths. The party would also require twice yearly standardised tests in Years Three through Eight. Jan Tinetti disagrees with the approach, but says she'd like to work together on solutions. "I want to have a discussion with National, I want to have a discussion with them about where we can find some commonalities because this causes disruption every time we have a change in Government." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Signs the Government may have a lead foot with its plans to boost EV infrastructure. Its' Charging our Future program includes a target of having charging hubs every 150 to 200 kilometres on main highways. Charging company Jolt NZ Country Manager Chris Monaghan says it's more like a plan for where the infrastructure needs to be in 10 years. He says right now they need charging infrastructure in the ground so everyone driving EVs can see there's an ability to charge up. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boris Johnson has submitted more evidence ahead of his televised grilling session. The former Prime Minister is expected to prove he didn't deliberately mislead Parliament over his appearance at a forbidden gathering during the Covid-19 lockdowns. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Boris Johnson has released and published a statement to a cross-party committee of his former MPs ahead of the hearing. Gavin Grey says the committee has also got their own evidence prepared ahead of tomorrow's hearing. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, ZB host Tim Beveridge and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: Posie Parker has gotten clearance to come to New Zealand, what kind of protests will come from this? Was it the right decision to let her bring her divisive rallies to our nation?  Chris Luxon says National plans to go back to education basics and improve declining educational output with tomorrow's policy announcement. Will these policy announcements boost National's position in the polls? Should Auckland Council quit Local Government NZ to save $400,000 in fees? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former President Donald Trump has braced himself for a predicted indictment today. Over the weekend, Donald Trump proclaimed on his social media platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT). So far, no charges have been filed. US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson says there is a chance an indictment could be handed down tomorrow, but what happens next is pure speculation. Dan Mitchinson says Donald Trump spent the day in Florida with his attorneys ahead of the predicted arrest. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Federal Reserve will hold their first meeting after two high-profile banking failures. The collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will introduce a 50 point rate hike to curb inflation. Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan says the Federal Reserve has a difficult choice to make between putting extra strain on the banks and bringing down inflation. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZX-listed retail businesses have been reporting their latest financial results.  Financial markets are focused on these results to track consumer spending trends to predict how close the nation is to the predicted recession. Milford Asset Management equities analyst Jeremy Hutton says there are some early cracks starting to form in consumer spending. Jeremy Hutton says that Briscoes and The Warehouse Group have bleak outlooks for 2023, as consumers pull back on purchasing big-ticket items. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Households may need to tighten their belts further to adjust to the cost of living. ASB's latest economic research confirms debt servicing, food prices, and transport costs will raise weekly household outgoings by an extra $150. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says mortgage increases are the primary factor in these predicted rising living costs. Jenee Tibshraeny says the average mortgage rate has risen by 45 percent over 2022, but they're coming off a historic low period. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ministry of Social Development is the first in the world to launch an approach to family harm prevention. The $6.4 million "Love Better" campaign is aimed to help young people through break ups and develop positive life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. Associate Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan says the campaign was wanted by the 1200 young people they surveyed. She says it's about youth, for youth. "It's real, it's raw, it's not staged or scripted and it's really equipping them with the skills to be able to navigate that, to deal with it. That sets them up for the future as well and that's powerful." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Party is planning for a big shake up in schools. It wants to prioritise the teaching of reading, writing, maths and science , saying those are the essential subjects to set children for life. Leader Chris Luxon says our standards on the world stage have fallen after we were previously in the top 10 globally. He says the current situation can't continue. "Last year for the first time we had 15 year olds, year 10s who took a basic maths, reading and writing test and two thirds of them failed. Essentially, we're delivering kids who are functionally illiterate and functionally innumerate as a result." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch surgeons are urgently trying to find a solution to the uptick in cancelled surgeries. Several senior surgeons met with Christchurch health officials today to discuss the increase in cancelled operations and ever-growing wait lists. Surgeons are claiming 50 percent of planned cancer surgeries have been cut. Colorectal surgeon Chris Wakeman was among the concerned experts at this meeting and says the discussion was meant to inform health officials about the crisis. Chris Wakeman says more locum anaesthetic technicians will be brought in to fix the current shortage. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A red flag's been raised over a lack of tug boats fit for work in Cook Strait. Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor, and Greater Wellington Regional Chair Daran Ponter, have written to Transport Minister Michael Wood raising concerns. In January, Interislander's Kaitaki drifted toward Wellington's South Coast after losing power with more than 800 people on board. Ponter says it's likely the port's tugs couldn't have saved the ship if it hadn't restarted. "They may have been able to hold it for a period, but ultimately had that continued, the ferry would have been on the rocks." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rainbow community is preparing to face off with anti-transgender activist Posie Parker. Immigration New Zealand is not withdrawing Parker's visa-waiver status, despite her rallies in Melbourne attracting neo-Nazis. Now, protesters are organising demonstrations against her events in Auckland and Wellington this weekend. Auckland Pride executive director Max Tweedie says they'll follow a successful strategy seen in Hobart. "There was only about 10 people who showed up to listen to Posie speak, and the rest were about 400 to 500 activists just peacefully chanting messages of support for trans communities."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi long-distance runner Zane Robertson has been suspended from the sport for 8 years for EPA use. The former Olympian and 5000m Glasgow Commonwealth Games bronze medallist tested positive for the prohibited substance and was caught tampering with the investigation. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says this 8-year ban will also include his coaching role within the industry.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.