Larry Williams Drive

Immigration NZ has given anti-trans activist Posie Parker clearance to enter the country. The agency has ruled there's no reason to believe Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker will threaten public order or interest. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Immigration Minister Michael Wood had condemned Posie Parker's behaviour as 'inflammatory' and 'vile'. Barry Soper says Minister Wood also claimed he'd prefer she never set foot in the country, but her Auckland and Wellington rallies are set to go ahead. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long distance runner Zane Robertson has been issued an 8-year ban for doping. Zane Robertson tested positive for a prohibited substance, EPO, and was found to have tampered with the doping control process. Drug Free Sport Chief Executive Nick Paterson says they'd been monitoring their overseas athletes during the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing intelligence led to them testing Robertson. "We didn't necessarily have specific worries about him, but in the high-risk environment, we thought it prudent to do some testing." LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boris Johnson has submitted evidence to MPs investigating whether he misled Parliament over Covid rule-breaking parties in Downing Street. The former Prime Minister has denied misleading MPs and wanted his defence to be published as soon as possible. UK correspondent Enda Brady says the televised investigation will run for five hours and will attract a large audience curious to see whether or not he gets to stay in Parliament. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle: Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute and Nick Leggett, Transporting NZ Chief Executive joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day:  How suspicious is the story about Andrew Kirton's former role as a lobbyist on behalf of liquor firms and the container return scheme getting dumped? Scott 'Razor' Robertson is the new All Blacks coach-in-waiting after months of speculation. Is this the right choice? Did NZ Rugby even have other options at this point? Kieran McAnulty met with several mayors who didn't like Three Waters to try and sway their opinions and reconsider aspects of the reform. What new information could these mayors give Kieran? Is it a positive he's at least trying to be proactive? What can National do to boost their position in the polls? Hipkins has surged ahead of Luxon again- is there hope for National? What is this election going to come down to? LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anti-trans activist Posie Parker's Tasmania rally went ahead, despite concern from Tasmania's transgender community. Posie Parker's Victoria rally inspired a group of neo-Nazis to perform Nazi salutes outside Parliament, sparking calls for her Tasmania rally to be shut down. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says counter-protesters from Tasmania turned up to the rally to drown out her comments. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oat milk production is set to return to New Zealand shores. New Zealand firm Free Flow Manufacturing is establishing the country's first plant-based milk facility and signed oat milk company Otis as its foundation customer. This will allow Otago-based Otis to return its oat milk manufacturing from Sweden to New Zealand. Otis co-founder Chris Wilkie says the company started out in Otago and despite the silver linings in moving to Sweden, they were adamant about moving production back to New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand and Australia's Reserve Banks may be pausing the OCR hikes following recent financial meltdowns.  The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the near collapse of Credit Suisse has inspired these Reserve Banks to wait and watch before any future OCR hikes. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham says the events offshore will definitely slow any future OCR increases for the moment. Paul Bloxham says the tightening global financial conditions will likely bring down inflation, speeding up the end of this hiking cycle. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwifruit giant Zespri is forecasting exports will be down by 18 percent this season. Due to a combination of floods, extreme weather and a labour shortage, Zespri predicts the kiwifruit output will be roughly 30 million trays less than 2022. The Country's Jamie Mackay says the kiwifruit industry has had a rough 2023, but there's light in the end of the tunnel in the form of supply and demand and labour returning to the industry. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More public embarrassment for polytech merger Te Pūkenga today after a budget bid was accidentally published online. The budget bid had no redactions, revealing that the organisation believes it needs another $420 million over the next four years, half of which will be spent on IT. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says the costs of marrying up the various IT systems that exist in the country’s 16 polytechs add up to $285 million. Pattrick Smellie says this sounds like a huge amount to spend on IT over training the telecoms engineers, builders, plumbers, and mechanics New Zealand is desperately short of. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even Chris Hipkins may not have known much about Ginny Andersen before her recent appointment. Chris Hipkins said that Ginny Andersen would be suitable to take over as Police Minister because of her decade of experience working with the police. ZB's senior political correspondent Barry Soper observed that Hipkins was unaware of what Ginny Andersen actually did for the police. Barry Soper says Chris Hipkins was unable to tell press that Ginny Andersen had worked within the policy unit following Monday's announcement.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Crusaders coach Scott 'Razor' Robertson has been announced as the next All Blacks coach. Robertson missed out on the role after the 2019 World Cup and again in 2021, making this appointment feel like a long time coming in the eyes of experts. Sportstalk host D'arcy Waldegrave says Scott Robertson had other coaching options after he left the Crusaders but coaching the All Blacks was his first choice. D'arcy Waldegrave says Scott Robertson has always been loyal to New Zealand rugby and he seems excited about the role. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions are being raised about the Government's scrapping of its container return scheme. The policy would have encouraged consumers and businesses to return beverage bottles and cans for recycling and reuse. RNZ has revealed the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff lobbied against the policy in his previous job on behalf of liquor firms. Zero Waste Network's Marty Hoffart says it's bizarre when 83 percent of Kiwis supported the scheme. "South Australia had these schemes up and running forty years ago, so did most of the Canadian provinces and much of Europe, and the proof is in the pudding." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today marks a major milestone for the quake-damaged Christ Church Cathedral. A small group of community leaders and media gathered inside the Cathedral, the first event held in the damaged building in 12 years. Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement chair Mark Stewart says today was a momentous day in the history of the Cathedral. "We've had a number of events there today to show people the work we've been doing and to celebrate the fact that the stabilisation phase of the Cathedral Reinstatement is now complete." Phase two of the reinstatement is due to begin next, with a reopening date in 2027. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kieran McAnulty has been tasked with improving Three Waters in the eyes of local Governments.  The Local Government Minister today sat down at the Beehive with several mayors who opposed the current Three Waters reforms. Waimakiriri mayor Dan Gordon was at the meeting and appreciated the chance to be part of the discussion, however he says there are some aspects that need to be reconsidered. Dan Gordon says Kieran McAnulty didn't propose any changes to the confiscation of assets, which is a key issue for local Governments. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson will become the All Blacks coach after this year's World Cup. After months of speculation, NZ Rugby has appointed Scott Robertson to coach the team for the next four years through to 2027. NZ Herald rugby writer Liam Napier says Razor was the best call, but reckons other contenders Tony Brown and Jamie Joseph were viable alternatives. "Scott Robertson has six Super Rugby titles, he's been head coach for ten years, he's got a strong team around him, he's been passed over for the role twice so this has been a long time coming for him." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott 'Razor' Robertson has been newly appointed as the next All Blacks coach. Scott Robertson will be taking over from Ian Foster in 2024 after the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France. Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says that he planned to get behind whoever NZ Rugby chose for the job to support the team. Steve Hansen says both candidates had outstanding records and good management skills. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The alleged ‘Mr Big’ arrested in Spain over one of our largest drug busts has been extradited to New Zealand. About half a tonne of meth was smuggled into Bay of Plenty in 2019. Five men were charged with possession for supply over huge stashes found in Auckland and Hamilton and two other men face importation charges. The Herald's Jared Savage says it's a big deal for our police. "What this does show to me is that the police have been putting in a lot of effort into building relationships with overseas law enforcement and working together to bring about results like this." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If we don’t watch out, we are going to end up in a situation, if we haven’t already, where we make the gap between getting the dole and getting paid for work become so small, that it again ends up being a smart move to just stay at home and collect free money rather than work for a living. Right now, the Government is considering a change to Working for Families that will only exacerbate this problem. Working for Families is money that is paid to families who work; the clue is in the name. But now the Government’s considering also giving the in-work tax credit to families who don’t work, families on the dole. Because a review on the desk of the Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says anti-poverty groups argue this tax credit “should be paid to all families and not just those who are in paid work”. They argue the "payment was discriminatory or unfair, particularly given children were unable to choose whether their parents were working."  That's true. But there are other ways to support those children, like

The French Government will face a no-confidence vote over lifting up the pension age to 64. French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to raise the pension age without a Parliament vote has inspired widespread protests over the weekend. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the politicians involved have received death threats and their constituency offices have been vandalised by protesters. Gavin Grey says that despite the mass outrage, the no-confidence vote is unlikely to go through because the opposition parties are extremely divided. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On tonight's edition of The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Mike Munroe, former Labour Chief of Staff and Director at Mike Munro Communications joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day:  Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has waged a war on road cones, and Vector is standing by in support of this move. Will Wayne Brown get something done to improve Auckland traffic management? Ginny Andersen is the new Police Minister- what do we think? Is her limited experience in Cabinet and low ranking a concern? Is it the best look for Chris Hipkins to defend her? The Pakeha foster parents of a young Maori girl, 'Moana' have made the tough decision to return her to state care as Oranga Tamariki and the girl's mother are concerned about the couple not meeting her 'cultural needs'. What do we make of this case? Is it sexist to offer a $10,000 prize to the first person to complete the 100km South Island Ultra Marathon in eight hours?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa