Larry Williams Drive

 Te Pūkenga's Chief Executive is in hot water for the second time this week. Stuff reports polytech boss Peter Winder has given staff a list of words they should and shouldn't use. It includes calling staff 'learning facilitators' and using 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi'. Winder earlier told staff they should be politically neutral before this year's general election. Auckland University's Richard Easther says Winder is obliged to maintain academic freedom. "We have a key faculty duty to engage in public debate when it relates to our skills or experience, and you would expect the Chief Executive of your institution to have your back." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That didn’t take long. Six and a half hours, and Stuart Nash was gone. Just after half past 7, he went on Newstalk ZB and boasted about calling the police commissioner about a guy who got home D for illegal weapons and whether there would be an appeal. By 2pm, he’d resigned. Well, that’s the story anyway.   I suspect he might’ve been fired. He was still defending himself mid-morning, which says to me he needed someone else to point out how untenable his position was.  He needed to go. Not only because what he did was this morning was absolutely a sackable offence, but also because Nash has become a low level walking liability for Labour in the last few weeks. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but he’s been making a lot of mistakes in the last few weeks, especially since the cyclone. He's done some weird stuff. He took umbrage at the warning that power might be out for two weeks after the cyclone, he said it was alarmist and over the top based on who knows what, because some people are without power and i

President Joe Biden will be visiting Northern Ireland on invitation from Rishi Sunak. Sunak issued this invitation to Joe Biden as the pair met in San Diego to discuss the nuclear submarine deal with Australia.  UK correspondent Enda Brady says President Biden will be spending five days in Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and ZB host Nick Mills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day:  Orion Health's Ian McRae says Health NZ is the next policy that needs to go - Ian argues it's made the health system worse. What do we think, is this likely to change? KPMG has determined the banking profits aren't out of the ordinary compared to other S&P/NZ50 index. Is an investigation or market study still necessary? Last night's poll suggests that Labour might actually be back in the game to win the election. Hipkins has scrapped lots of controversial policies and seems more popular than Luxon- is this likely to change?  Should SUV's and other high emission vehicles be required to go slower on motorways to lower CO2 output?      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson has walked back his support of the TVNZ/RNZ merger. During an earlier session in Parliament, Jackson declared the merger was over and it wouldn't be brought back in the future. This comes six days after Willie Jackson defended the $16.1 million costs of the scrapped merger and hoped it could be resurrected. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Labour knew the merger would be cancelled months prior and the taxpayers were funding empty office space. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Black Caps managed to score a victory in the final moments of a test match for the second time in a fortnight. Kane Williamson guided New Zealand to a win on the last ball of the team's test against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained the highlights of the match. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aucklanders will have to prepare to pay more for their water services in the coming months. Watercare has locked in a 9.5 percent price increase on their water bills, starting from July.  Watercare Chief Customer Officer Amanda Singleton says the organisation has planned infrastructure developments for Auckland, which will cost $1 billion by the end of 2023 and $13 billion overall. Amanda Singleton says the increased water bills will help pay for these necessary developments over the next decade. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Norwood New Zealand Rural Sports Awards winners have been announced for 2023. The Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games returned to Palmerston North after an unplanned hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and drew a crowd of 45,000 people. The Country's Jamie Mackay highlighted Jack Jordan as the New Zealand Rural Sportsman of the Year, Megan Whitehead as the New Zealand Rural Sportswoman of the Year and Cameron Leslie as the Rural Sportsperson with a Disability, among others. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is projecting a trading loss of $1.6 million ahead of their next meeting. Thursday's meeting will "immediately" review their operations to find a more sustainable business model. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says these losses are tied to the two years of Covid-19 that the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron endured. Pattrick Smellie says that RNZYS have lost a huge number of members since the America's Cup left New Zealand for Barcelona, which likely contributed to financial losses. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Calls are growing for an investigation into the ongoing problems the Cook Strait ferries have faced. The current fleet has been hit hard by mechanical failures and KiwiRail has said it will be impossible to get any new Interislander ferries in until 2025. Transporting NZ CEO Nick Leggett says the KiwiRail's current model is unsustainable, and the lack of certainty is 'upsetting' for people. Nick Leggett says the Government needs to weigh in here to encourage KiwiRail to come up with a long-term plan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An environmental expert says there's an extra benefit to lowering speed limits- a reduction in carbon emissions. The argument being made is that cars that drive at slower speeds use less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide, which is better for the environment.  AUT professor of biogeography Len Gillman says SUV and other high-emission vehicle drivers need to do their part to cut CO2 output. Len Gillman says reducing speed limits is more equitable than taxing fuel, because low-income drivers will be hit the hardest. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is being urged to chuck our health reforms on its policy bonfire. The Prime Minister yesterday announced cuts to multiple transport initiatives, to free up funds for the cost of living crisis. Orion Health's executive director says the now-completed merging of District Health Boards into Te Whatu Ora should be next. Ian McRae says DHBs weren't perfect, but were locally led. He says the best example is Canterbury's quick response after the earthquake but now local decision making has disappeared.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister says retail crime is up because people are reporting lower end theft and shoplifting valued under $500. But the ACT Party says it has figures showing much of that crime isn't solved. Leader David Seymour says officers say closing a case - means no further action was taken. "Chris Hipkins may be right when he says that the retail crime numbers are going up because people are reporting more crime, but also at this point if that's true, it also seems they're doing less about it." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National has come out swinging, after the Government has voted against a select committee inquiry into banking. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister, Duncan Webb, accused the Opposition of planning a once over lightly review. But National's Finance spokesperson, Nicola Willis, says it's ridiculous to suggest Parliament doing its job is somehow untoward. "It's our job as members of Parliament to use the powers available to us, including summoning witnesses and acquiring information to get answers to the questions New Zealanders are asking." New Zealand banks made a record 7.18 billion dollars last year. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak to unveil details about their nuclear submarine project. This plan will be carried out over the next 30 to 40 years and cost Australia $370 billion dollars. Australia will receive at least five nuclear-powered submarines from the US by the end of the decade. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the Australian Government has stated that this plan is not about aggression, it's about enhancing Australia's capacity and defence posture. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rising living costs are pushing more Kiwis into looking for a second job, with fulltime workers picking up weekend and night shifts. OneStaff Tauranga Manager Nathan Lewis says they're usually finding low-skill jobs that can be picked up easily. "Some of these guys have come in, they're working sort of skilled day jobs and they're happy to kind of do anything, really, just to get a bit of an income top up." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, it might not be altogether a bad thing for Christopher Luxon that he’s got the ‘rona today and has to isolate. Because it means he didn’t have to front up for the media at Parliament and answer awkward questions about why there is a real chance now that he could lose the election to a party that has been so bad over the last six years, it’s been described as the worst Government in living memory. Because that’s happening isn’t it? Labour could actually win the election. Which is remarkable when you think that National was leading all the polls for a year, and now it is neck and neck with the worst Government in our lives. Hipkins is doing what it takes to win. He's nuking a lot of the stupid stuff you hated about his party, he seems like a nice enough guy with a friendly face, and he’s giving everyone money. Basically, when he’s finished with Labour, it will not resemble the unpopular, distracted, wasteful mess it was under Jacinda. Yeah, there’s still heaps for real die-hards to be grumpy about. Labour

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to boost defence spending over the next two years. Rishi Sunak made the announcement during a recent visit to the US, and promised to boost the UK's defence budget by 5 billion pounds to counter threats from hostile nations. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says that this announcement is part of the AUKUS pact, and will be officially confirmed tomorrow. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Herald senior writer Simon Wilson and Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day: How concerning is our falling birth-rate? Paul Spoonley says the birth-rate needs to be at 2.1 to replace the population and we're currently at 1.6. Who is going to pay for our retirement? What do we think of the latest policy bonfire? What will cutting the clean car upgrade and nationwide speed limit reduction do for the cost of living crisis?  Retail crime is up by nearly 40 percent, can we trust Labour to fix this issue? Fruit and vege prices are up 23 per cent - can the Government keep blaming outside problems for this? LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sydney Kings coach Chase Buford stormed out of a post-game press conference after taking aim at the refereeing at last night's Breakers game. The Kings were held to their lowest-ever score in a championship game and missed the opportunity opportunity to seal back-to-back titles in an 80-70 loss to the Breakers. Weekend Sport host Jason Pine says Chase Buford's reaction handed over any moral high ground the Sydney Kings had.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.