Larry Williams Drive

Auckland Council CEO Jim Stabback resigned halfway through his five year term for personal reasons. Stabback began the role in 2020, and it is understood that there has been conflict between him and the mayor since Wayne Brown won the mayoralty last October. NZ Herald Super City reporter Bernard Orsman says Jim Stabback has not commented any explanation beyond 'personal reasons' for his resignation. Bernard Orsman has observed that there has been tension between Stabback and Brown on both sides, but that doesn't signify that the mayor had a hand in Stabback resigning.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank has hiked up the OCR by 50 basis points, despite the economic damage left by Cyclone Gabrielle. This takes the OCR to 4.75, with the Reserve Bank predicting a further peak at 5.5 percent. ASB senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown says going forward with the OCR increase was a pragmatic move from the Reserve Bank. Chris Tennent-Brown says that today's hike was smaller than predictions from 2022 expected, which is a sign the Reserve Bank may be at the end of this cycle. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Blacks coach Ian Foster has fired back at NZR's reported timeline for appointing a new coach for 2024 and beyond. Foster claimed NZR wanted their 2024 All Blacks coaching group contacted by April, a move he deemed 'unnecessary'.  Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says NZR is to blame, as it's their role to select a new coach within an appropriate time-frame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of Auckland homeowners have joined to ask authorities to buy out their houses after repeated flooding. West Auckland Is Flooding spokesperson, Amrita Ajula says in the two years she's owned her property, she's had three major floods, and two smaller ones. She says they want insurance companies, local councils and the Government to contribute to a solution and pay for yellow and red-stickered homes. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Bulley's family has fired back against the media and speculators weighing in on her death. Nicola's body was discovered in the River Wyre after a lengthy investigation following her disappearance on January 27th. UK correspondent Enda Brady says the media hasn't been covering the story with the appropriate level of respect and care. Enda Brady highlighted that reporters have fired accusations at Nicola's partner after her body was discovered. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is predicted to announce their latest OCR hike tomorrow. Rabobank is the latest economic expert to predict that the OCR will go up by at least 50 basis points. The Country's Jamie Mackay says the predicted OCR hike could signal further tough times for the farming community. Jamie Mackay hopes the Reserve Bank doesn't negatively affect farmers when it comes to risk margins, as they're still struggling with the after-effects of Cyclone Gabrielle. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Small to medium business owners thinking of selling may be in luck. The average sale price for an SME business has increased by 30 percent over the last three years, with the single biggest quarterly jump occurring in 2022. ABC Business Sales Managing Director Chris Small says more buyers are seeking higher quality businesses, and that's driving the average price up. Chris Small says there's also a 'flight to quality' rationale impacting the rise in prices, especially following the uncertainty of recent years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today marked Parliament's first full day, but the ongoing state of emergency was top of mind for everyone. Luxon and Hipkins discussed the heartbreak they felt upon seeing the worst of the extreme weather damage and talked about their planned efforts to rebuild. Barry Soper suggested that Chris Hipkins' plan to prioritise 'urgent' rebuilds over 'worthy' ones means road reconstruction will take a backseat. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is expected to deliver their latest OCR announcement tomorrow. Economists are still predicting a a rate hike of 50 basis points, but many are calling for the announcement to be delayed. Kiwibank in particular has insisted that the predicted rate hike should be delayed altogether in wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. HSBC Chief Economist Paul Bloxham says that The Reserve Bank will go ahead with a rate rise because inflation is still too high and getting it down is the Bank's main long-term goal. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi golfer Danny Lee has reportedly joined the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Tour. Lee is one of three new players announced to join the LIV Golf team roster. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says Danny Lee stands to make more money off the LIV Golf Tour than he would by playing another PGA round. D'Arcy Waldegrave says Danny Lee's choice isn't without consequences, as Saudi Arabia's human rights record could reflect badly on the LIV players. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United Nations has cancelled a trip to inspect Australian detainment centres after it was denied full access to detention and mental health centres. A planned visit last year was suspended after the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture was prevented from visiting several jails and detainment centres. New South Wales has said it required more funding from the federal Government to comply with international detainment obligations. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Australia is only one of two nations to have their inspections outright cancelled, the other being Rwanda, and it's not a good look for the region. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute and NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! The Interislander ferries aren't in good shape, with multiple breakdowns and cancellations leaving people stranded. Why can't we fix this? What's the solution? Cyclone Gabrielle is likely to set the economy back by hundreds of millions and taxes may need to be raised to fix all this- what do we think of this? Chris Hipkins has announced a $74 million truancy package and created over 80 new attendance officer positions to fix the falling school attendance rates. Is this going to help, or is this another election bribe?  National's Maureen Pugh told reporters she 'had yet to see evidence humans contributed to climate change'. She has since been pulled into line and been given some reading material by Chris Luxon and Nicola Willis- but how does this make National look? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Power company Vector is asking the Commerce Commission to review the electricity distribution sector’s expenditure settings, to support more climate resilience, and a more affordable climate change transition. The Commission sets the revenue lines companies can earn from their customers, which has an impact on electricity bills. Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie says the company is looking at spending more than their current $400 million per year to prepare their network for climate change. Simon Mackenzie explained that Vector's overall objective is to transition the company to greater resilience at the least cost to customers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mechanical issues on Cook Strait ferries are having a ripple effect on passengers. At one point today only one ferry was carrying passengers between the North and South Islands, with a number of engineering issues at Bluebridge and Interislander. It's triggered a wave of cancellations, with two more Bluebridge sailings being canned tomorrow. Passenger Robert Cross says he travelled from Tauranga to Wellington before finding out his trip across the Cook Strait wasn't going ahead. He says the lack of customer support is surprising, given he received no notification his journey would be cancelled. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police may be getting a bit more grunt to go after street racers in Waikato's Waipā District. The Council is proposing banning non-exempt cars on a number of rural roads between 9pm to 4am. It would boost police powers to impound on any cars breaking the rules. District deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk says some people have had really bad experiences with those drivers. Liz Stolwyk says residents have been disturbed by the noise of burnouts and speeding, and police need more power to stop these gatherings. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has introduced a $74 million dollar package to tackle high truancy rates.  More than 80 new attendance officer positions will be created to work with the thousands of students who skip class on a regular basis. National's education spokesperson Erica Stanford is unimpressed with Chris Hipkins' proposed solution to falling attendance rates. Erica Stanford says this problem is complicated and that a more flexible solution is required. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Napier Golf Course says it's been hit twice by looters since Cyclone Gabrielle. President Riki Mitchell says equipment has been stolen from the shop, and another night people took hand tools from the mower sheds. Riki Mitchell expressed frustration at the looting attempts and says it adds extra stress to the process of trying to resurrect the course. Police says officers remain highly visible, and they've done more than 500 proactive community-based jobs in one day. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Look, I really want to believe that 82 new truancy officers are going to turn around our falling attendance rates at schools.  But we live in the real world, so here are some real world facts: We have 2500 schools and 815,000 students in this country. That means each of those officers is going to have to cover 31 schools each. Each of those officers is responsible for 10,000 students each. If the figures are to be believed and 54 percent were truant in term three last year, then each of those officers are supposed to chase up 5400 students regularly. Obviously, there are already some existing truancy officers trying to do the job, but the trouble is; we don’t how many, because the Government doesn’t know how many. And it’s probably not a lot. The reason that this is one of Chris Hipkins’ first announcements in the first month of his Prime Ministership is because he knows it’s a vote winner. He knows we’re worried about our kids and he knows cracking down on truancy will be popular.  But it’s only popular if i

Three district councils haven't ruled out appealing their failed High Court challenge to the Three Waters reforms. The court has ruled Parliamentary sovereignty, meaning legislation can be passed to enact the reforms. It acknowledged local authorities will lose ownership rights of those infrastructure assets without compensation. Timaru District mayor Nigel Bowen says the councils are disappointed with the High Court verdict, but they will consider the option to appeal the ruling this weekend. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police searching for missing woman Nicola Bulley have discovered a body in the River Wyre. Financial adviser Nicola Bulley went missing on January 27th when she was walking her dog in the northern English village of St Michael's. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this will likely be the most bizarre missing persons case in the history of the UK. Gavin Grey says police had to intervene on social media due to the mass interest in this case. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.