Larry Williams Drive

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has scrapped the nationwide speed limit reduction and clean car upgrade to support Kiwis. When paired with the scrapped TVNZ/RNZ merger and the biofuels mandate, Hipkins said the total $1 billion sum of the reprioritisation would be directed towards “bread and butter” issues. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says Chris Hipkins' approach seems to be more pragmatic and less ideological.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today has been a roller-coaster for Kiwi businesses tied to Silicon Valley Bank. RocketLab, Comvita, Xero, and ikeGPS were among the businesses who were due to lose money from the collapse until US Treasury stepped in to guarantee all deposits. Glenn Milnes, CEO of ikeGPS was among the many business owners surprised by the sudden collapse of  Silicon Valley Bank. Glenn Milnes says ikeGPS was diversified in where they held their money, but it was concerning to have a percentage of their deposits on the line. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A star-studded Academy Awards ceremony has put New Zealand film on the map. New Zealander Mike Hedges is at the ceremony and says everyone's proud of Weta FX. Avatar: The Way of Water won Best Visual Effects at this year's Oscars. Hedges has been nominated for best sound. He says no one was slapped this year, so the biggest scandal is that the red carpet is light yellow. "The queues to get onto it were shocking and the colour was the only good thing, it didn't clash with any of the dresses."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A huge jump in supermarket food prices. Stats NZ says they rose by 12 percent increase in the past 12 months in the highest annual increase since 1989. Foodstuffs says Cyclone Gabrielle caused issues and road closures are still affecting the supply chain. Foodstuffs Chief Executive Chris Quin says it means people aren't buying as much fruit and vegetables. "The unfortunate outcome of this is that people are managing to their budgets and starting to cut some of these things." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On crime and the news that retail crime is now so bad we experience almost 300 incidents a day. Quite rightly when we talk about crime, our focus should be on the victims mainly. But spare a thought for the police as well, because they are clearly so frustrated by what’s happening. I spoke to an officer today, completely unrelated to the crime stats. He just wanted to get it off his chest how frustrated he is by Andrew Coster’s national headquarters stopping the front line officers from doing their jobs. I'm not going to say where this officer works, so he doesn’t get in trouble, but he told me today that in the area he patrols there are a couple of what he calls scroties. Guys who keep getting in trouble, getting bail and then doing it again. But this officer is getting really frustrated at Andrew Coster’s directive that they’re not allowed to chase these guys. So this is what really made this officer upset. Recently, these crims were in a car, officer wanted to chase so they drove directly at him, because t

Chris Hipkins has surged ahead as preferred choice for Prime Minister in the latest Kantar poll. Hipkins has risen by four points to 27 percent while National's Chris Luxon has dropped by five to 17 percent. Finance Minister Grant Robertson says these results show people are confident in Chris Hipkins, but he's not counting his chickens right away. Grant Robertson says Labour's recent popularity has been helped by their response to Cyclone Gabrielle, as voters trust Labour in times of crisis. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest One News Kantar poll shows Chris Hipkins is leading as preferred Prime Minister. Both Labour and National have fallen slightly, with Labour dropping two points to 36 percent and National falling three points to 34 percent.  The Greens have bounced back and risen by four points to 11 percent and ACT is up one to also sit on 11 percent. ZB's senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Chris Hipkins' popularity is still being affected by the 'honeymoon bump' of a new Prime Minister. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Predictions state the population of school-aged children will drop during the decade. Education Ministry projections state rolls at primary and secondary schools would fall 4 percent or nearly 30,000 nationwide. Wellington and Auckland schools will be hit hardest from the losses, and Canterbury will be the only region expected to have more school children by 2032.  Massey University sociologist Paul Spoonley says the fertility rate in New Zealand has dipped below replacement level in the last five years. Paul Spoonley says the only way New Zealand can top up their declining population is through immigration. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PM Anthony Albanese will meet with Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak tomorrow to confirm the next stages of the AUKUS submarine deal. The construction of these submarines is expected to cost $200 billion and create 20,000 jobs over the next 30 years. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says it's unclear how the construction of these submarines will be paid for. Oliver Peterson theorises that the Government will reallocate funding or tax Australians further. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced more policies will be scrapped to get Kiwis through the cost of living crisis. The $568 million clean car upgrade is gone, the plan to nationally reduce speed limits has narrowed, and an extra $2 billion will be spent on a welfare package. ZB's senior political correspondent Barry Soper says voters will have to wait until May to find out the full scope of the budget, but this refocus functions like a small-scale budget announcement. Barry Soper says that the Government has kicked climate change funding down the road by deferring several transport plans. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government wants to improve hospital waiting times after a data botch-up. Te Whatu Ora incorrectly released figures showing Northland's hospital had nearly perfectly managed waiting time targets. But waiting times have actually skyrocketed from five years ago and the Health Minister says it's because more people are going to Emergency Departments. But Ayesha Verrall says they're focusing on better prevention and treatment, so people don't need hospital-level care. "Pharmac has extended the criteria for flu vaccinations this year, we'll continue to be one of the few countries that makes sure RATs and antivirals are easily accessible and well-funded." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's Light Rail is still in the works, but it could take generations to complete. The Prime Minister today ditched some transport initiatives, including The Clean Car Upgrade and Social Leasing Car Schemes. Plans to drop speed limits have also been pulled back to now only affect the most dangerous one percent of our highways. But Auckland Light Rail will still be rolled out in stages, with the first to be announced mid this year. Transport Minister Michael Wood says it will be comparable to the Waikato Expressway. "Now that actually started in the 1990's, and it was done in about ten or eleven stages to make it more manageable in terms of how we deliver it and how we pay for it." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's all aboard for Christchurch. The city's getting 100 extra buses, 22-kilometres of bus lanes, and 470 more bus shelters - to the tune of 78-million-dollars. But the Public Transport Users Association is questioning who will drive the buses during a worker shortage. National coordinator Jon Reeves told Heather du Plessis-Allan that it's unlikely we'll find the hands. He says until wages and conditions improve, it will be hard to attract people who have other job options for better pay rates. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The popular Croc shoe might not be as safe for children as we once thought. One podiatrist is claiming the back strap of the shoe can easily get caught on escalators and playground equipment, potentially causing serious injuries. Auckland podiatrist Caron Orelowitz told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the trendy rubber clogs have been involved in a significant number of these incidents involving children. She says she knows of a case in Australia where a kid almost lost their foot in an escalator. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frustration rises over a blow to New Zealand's supply of meningococcal B vaccines. More than 35,000 vaccines have been affected after a cool store went outside the required temperature in the last week of February. 2,800 of those were meningococcal jabs, which are now being assessed to determine if they are still suitable to use. Meanwhile, two 18-year-old students have been hospitalised with meningococcal in Canterbury. Meningitis Foundation's Gerard Rushton says that he was told by Te Whatu Ora last week that vaccine supplies were good. But he says they were astounded this week to find out both the universities and many GP practices in Canterbury were experiencing shortages. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With less than a week to go until a nation-wide teacher mega-strike, unions say the potential to call it off is in the Government's hands. The primary and secondary school unions have both voted on industrial action after faltering negotiations.   It means that more than 50-thousand educators will be picketing on Thursday. PPTA Acting President Chris Abercrombie told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the offered payrise was a lump sum of six-thousand dollars over two years. Abercrombie says any resolution before Thursday requires the Government meeting their demands. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An outgoing Labour MP admits co-governance could have been promoted better. Waiariki-based List MP Tāmati Coffey's announced today that he'll be standing down at this year's election to spend more time with his family. Coffey's been questioned by Heather du-Plessis Allan on his six years in Parliament, including whether the Maori Caucus pushed a co-governance agenda too hard. He says perhaps they needed to sell it better and they wear that, but they also had an Opposition that was looking for political capital. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Manchester City's Kyle Walker is being investigated by police for indecent exposure. A video has been circulating of the footballer exposing himself in a bar. Police are saying enquiries are in the early stages and no arrests have been made at this time. Walker is reporting for training as usual. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this footage surfaced the day after Manchester City beat Newcastle in the Premier League. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Nick Leggett, Chief Executive of Transporting NZ and Georgina Stylianou, Director of Government Relations firm BRG joined in on a discussion about the following topics:  Te Whatu Ora has apologised after having inaccurate numbers that the Health Minister then used over E.D wait times, is this concerning?  The Green Party has dropped down to 5.7 percent in the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll. Labour is also taking the lead, but National is hot on their heels- how close will this election be? Lower-grade, 'uglier' fruits and vegetables may be filling the gaps on the produce shelves created by Cyclone Gabrielle- would you buy these? Does Air New Zealand need to update their uniforms? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia plans to purchase at least 5 nuclear-powered submarines from the US. The purchase is the beginning of an emerging defence partnership widely viewed as a bid to counter China's military goals in the Pacific. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will head to Washington next week to meet with President Joe Biden. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.