Larry Williams Drive

Television operator Sky is reporting decreasing half-year profits, as extra costs offset the gains from increased subscribers. The delayed releases of the new Sky Box and Sky Pod have created extra operating costs for Sky. CEO Sophie Maloney says that Sky has retained solid subscriber growth and they've secured all the content they targeted. "Our delay in delivering the new Box and the new Pod has meant we've had some additional costs to continue with the Vodafone TV platform. That's had a slight impact on our profit number but overall, we're headed in the right direction." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has ordered an inquiry into forestry slash's capacity for damage following Cyclone Gabrielle. Forestry Minister Stuart Nash says current forestry practices have clearly caused more damage in Hawke's Bay and Gisbourne. Lincoln University professor Dr Jacqueline Rowarth says an inquiry into forestry practices should have been carried out years ago. "What we've seen from this recent event is that it's not just slash, it's actually the silt. We have fragile, recent soils in New Zealand and they come off the hills when there's bare soil. We've got to get some cover on there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air New Zealand is recovering with a strong half-year profit of $299 million. The airline confirms that this growth was boosted by sustained demand and high ticket prices after three years of Covid-related losses. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran acknowledged the increased ticket prices were as much a factor as the lack of low-cost seats and high inflation. Greg Foran says they're working hard to get their service back to pre-Covid standards again and travellers can expect to see progress over the course of the year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Southern Lakes Ultra Marathon organisers are standing by their safety plan after a mass rescue yesterday in hills near Arrowtown. Eight people were evacuated and taken to hospital with mild hypothermia after ten personal locator beacons were activated during heavy rain. Crew member Glenn Marvin says they followed all the right procedures, but he understands why family members were concerned when they heard the news. "The people in charge of this event have been part of, and helped organise multiple events, and there is an absolutely iron-clad full health and safety plan that was independently audited." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greater Wellington Regional Council are proposing ways to offer free weekend public transport for children. Police raised concerns today at a council meeting about the idea, fearing young offenders will use the free travel to escalate anti-social behaviour. Regional Councillor Thomas Nash says they're now looking at policy to let kids travel free on weekends up till 7pm. He says police supported that move. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Napier traffic management supervisor claimed weapons, including a shotgun were pointed at them out of a car window at Pakowhai Roundabout. Liam Harvey, the traffic management supervisor in question, says the incident happened last Friday evening, and the police have since ran inquiries and taken statements. Liam Harvey says this threat was carried out by a gang and the rest of his crew were 'shaken' by the encounter. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pleas for a forestry slash inquiry on the East Coast have been heeded following damage from recent disasters. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced the review from cyclone-hit Hawke's Bay this afternoon. Tairawhiti residents have been calling for it since woody debris littered landscapes and clogged waterways after last month's Cyclone Hale. Forestry Minister Stuart Nash says the Government's listened to the 10,000 residents, who wanted an independent inquiry and the recommendations that could be implemented. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was asked about his Government's approach to taxation in his first question time, but got caught out making a mistake. Hipkins was asked about the proportion of taxation compared to national GDP and incorrectly stated the current Government was taking less tax out of the economy as a proportion of the economy. Treasury figures showed this was inaccurate, as GDP rose from 27 percent to 30 percent under Labour. Barry Soper, ZB's senior political correspondent says Chris Hipkins was forced to eat his words in front of National's Nicola Willis and Finance Minister Grant Robertson. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Transport Minister says Auckland's Light Rail project is long overdue. Physical work began today on the network to connect Wynyard Quarter, Mount Roskill, South Auckland and Auckland Airport. Michael Wood says this beginning sets the project in stone, although details of the route and cost haven't been finalised. Wood says it's a big investment, but the Government's not forgetting regional projects. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm gonna come to Air NZ’s defence. As expected, the airline just reported a decent profit of $213 million dollars, which is a whopper when you consider the $725 million dollar loss this time last year. It means that business has just done a billion dollar a turn around. They're already copping it from some for charging too much, and actually have been copping since analysts first started predicting this result two weeks ago. There is no denying Air NZ has made this money off the back of charging a lot more than they used to. Domestic ticket prices are 15-20 percent higher than last year.   They're managing this by reducing the number of flights, which means because there are fewer seats, you have to pay more to buy one of the few seats available. Basic supply and demand. It is frustrating to fly Air NZ at the moment, I agree. The staff are often under the pump, the flights are late, they’re chocka. You struggle to get a seat and if you do, you struggle to change to a different flight on the day because of t

Nurses in the UK are set to pause their strike to hold 'intensive talks' about the long-running pay dispute. The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) have called off a 48-hour walkout planned next week, which was said to include intensive care and A&E nurses for the first time since the strike began. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this will be the first detailed pay negotiation since nurses started striking last December. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former US President Donald Trump is visiting the Ohio town of East Palestine tomorrow. A train derailed two weeks ago, leaking toxic matter in what's been considered one of the worst environmental disasters in recent memory. US correspondent Katherine Firkin says Trump's been a vocal critic of President Biden's handling of the disaster. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Telco giant Spark is reporting an $837 million dollar half-year profit.  This bumper profit is largely due to a $584m gain from selling a majority stake in their cellphone towers to a Canadian investment fund. Setting that sale aside, Spark's net profits actually fell by 7.8 percent. Spark CEO Jolie Hodson says that Spark had a strong performance in mobile, but cost of living pressures affected their broadband sales. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank has lifted the OCR by 50 basis points to 4.75 percent. In the lead-up, plenty of people were calling for the Reserve Bank to pause the rate hike in wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Milford Asset Management's Katlyn Parker says that both the Finance Minister and Governor of RBNZ agreed that a targeted fiscal policy would best assist with recent tragic events. Katlyn Parker says that inflation is still running too high and it was important for the RBNZ to stay the course. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank has hiked the OCR up by 50 basis points to 4.75 percent. That's a total of 450 basis points since October 2021 and the Reserve Bank sees the OCR going up further in the coming months. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says this OCR increase comes with a silver lining for mortgage holders. Jenee Tibshraeny says banks predicted this increase and would have likely priced this in, meaning mortgages are unlikely to go up off the back of this hike. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: Ben Thomas from Ben Thomas PR and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following topics: Ian Foster did an interview this morning about his status as the All Blacks coach- how bad do we feel for him? Is NZR a bad employer? Should the OCR hike have happened today in wake of the cyclone? Was the Reserve Bank in a no-win situation no matter what?  Auckland Council is being urged to charge an annual $500 fee for the right to park on the streets of Auckland- is this a good decision?  Is Christchurch a cooler city than Wellington? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ports of Auckland are reporting a half-year profit of $20.8 million and an interim dividend of $15 million. A turnaround in container traffic and higher prices have contributed to these improved earnings, compared to $14.8 million from the year before. Ports of Auckland CEO Roger Gray forecasts that they'll meet mayor Wayne Brown's expectation of a $30m dividend within the year. Roger Grey says mayor Wayne Brown 'couldn't complain' that the Ports were bringing in more money. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, this All Blacks coach uncertainty has got to stop, doesn’t it? I think most of us listening to Fozzie this morning talking to Mike would have felt sympathy for him, the man sounded gutted having to publicly admit that he thinks it’s ‘highly unlikely’ he’s going to be in his job next year. Let’s be honest about what is happening to Fozzie right now; Fozzie is probably being publicly fired for the second time in six months. Now, no-one’s saying it, but it looks like it, and clearly judging by the fact that he doesn’t think he’s going to keep the job, Fozzie thinks it too. This is actually terrible from NZR, these guys are shocking employers. This is not fair on either Fozzie or Razor anymore. Personally, you know how I feel about this: I don’t think Fozzie is the right coach. I think the job should go to Razor, who is the most successful coach in the country right now.  And I think if we are going to lose Razor overseas, which apparently is a possibility, the decision need to be made before the Rugby Worl

NZ Rugby has yet to provide any real information on the process of selecting an All Blacks coach for 2024 and beyond. A frustrated Ian Foster commented in an earlier interview that NZR's decision to announce the next All Blacks coach before this year’s World Cup has become a 'distraction for the team'. Foster also stated it was highly unlikely he’ll be in charge of the team at the end of his current contract Former NZ Rugby CEO David Moffett says that he's unsure why anyone would want to apply for the All Blacks coaching role the way it's currently being run. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mass rescue was carried out after 110 athletes were trapped by bad weather and floodwaters near Arrowtown. The athletes were taking part in the Southern Lakes Ultra Marathon, and 8 have since been hospitalised after the rescue. Queenstown mayor Glyn Lewers is unsure as to what went wrong during the marathon, as a heavy rain warning was in place. Glyn Lewers says emergency services were working as they should have during the rescue. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.