Larry Williams Drive

Westpac has increased their interest rates following the OCR increase announcement, making them the second bank to do so after ANZ. Both special rates for these banks for one year are sitting at the 6.5 percent mark, with the expectation that they'll go up to 7 percent in the first few months of 2023. Brad Olsen, Infometrics Chief Economist says that these rates will be stressful for borrowers, as 46 percent of them will be expected to spend half their income on mortgage payments. Brad also states that employment numbers are still at a high point, but that's not expected to be a buffer for long based on economic predictions for 2023. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ANZ released their latest business survey and it's showcasing a bleaker look at the economy than in previous years.  The survey states that the expected own activity outlook is at its' lowest level since September 2020 and that employment intentions have dropped down to negative for the first time since October 2020. There is also a broad weakness across various industries, especially construction and agriculture. According to Milford Asset Management's Mark Riggall, the outlook for businesses next year has deteriorated sharply with the expected recession. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this year’s budget, the Government said it has increased Pharmac's funding by 43 percent over the last 5 years. To get that huge increase, the Government simply took money from the DHB Hospital Medicine budget and gave it to Pharmac, according to new data from NZIER. The NZIER Principal Health Economist, Sarah Hogan, is among the people who have been looking into this. "There has been a little bit of new money going into Pharmac to fund new medicines and other things that fall under the combined pharmaceutical budget, but most of the increase we've seen has been the transfer of medicines that were purchased by DHBs for use within hospitals." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should our banks be doing more to help cover the cost of money printing? The RBNZ is holding $49 billion dollars of banks' reserves, thanks to all the money printing of 2020. The problem is, the RBNZ is now having to pay interest on that at the rapidly rising OCR rate. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny weighed in on this issue. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: Nick Leggett, Chief Executive of Transporting NZ and Jack Tame from Q&A and ZB's Saturday Mornings joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  An urgent court hearing has been called for Tuesday following a set of parents requesting unvaccinated blood for their baby's open-heart surgery and Health NZ seeking court guardianship. What do we make of this? The Prime Minister of Finland arrived in New Zealand and spent her first day in Auckland with Jacinda Ardern. The question on everyone's minds is- why did she visit? And was it fair to draw attention to the fact that they're the same age with similar values? Was is right to cancel 2023's edition of The Block NZ, given the predictions about next year's economic state?  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An urgent court hearing has been set for Tuesday following a set of parents refusing to allow blood from Covid-vaccinated people to be used in their baby's heart surgery. Health NZ is seeking court guardianship of the unwell four-month-old, and their lawyer flagged the urgency of this situation.  The parents' lawyer, Sue Grey, says that treating the baby is an urgent matter here, as it would be easier to treat the health issues while the baby is in a stable condition. "It looks like over time he definitely will go downhill, and that is being treated as the priority emergency as soon as this issue can get resolved." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The country's housing market challenges have hit The Block NZ. Warner Brothers Discovery has revealed the show won't be back in 2023, even though it was announced as part of the network’s annual showcase at the beginning of this month. It will be replaced by a Kiwi version of Australian format, House Rules. OneRoof property commentator, Ashley Church, says it's a wise decision. "It's probably just an exercising of caution, the concern these guys are going to have is that given the statements coming out of the Reserve Bank over the last couple of weeks indicating that they're going to drive the country into recession. That's going to impact on house prices." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's set to be a big day for unions with the Fair Pay Agreements system coming into effect tomorrow. It means eligible unions can apply to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for approval to begin bargaining for a specific industry. The Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff says he understands many unions are ready to hit the ground running. "Once they've initiated, then we'd expect the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to verify their signatures and then there will be a process where employers will be notified." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warnings letting a couple reject "jabbed" blood donations for their baby would set a dangerous precedent. It's understood Health New Zealand is seeking court guardianship of the unwell four-month-old, with a court hearing set down for next Tuesday. The parents won't allow doctors to use blood given by people vaccinated against Covid-19 for his crucial heart surgery. Instead, the pair want to use their own donors. The Immunisation Advisory Centre's Nikki Turner says it could create the wrong assumptions. "We've got to match the individual and then we've got to screen the blood for a whole lot of real scary issues like viruses, like HIV, and hepatitis. There's a proper process to go through to ensure our people have safe blood." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin met with Jacinda Ardern in Auckland earlier today. This is the Finnish PM's first visit to New Zealand, and she's also expected to travel to Australia later in the week to deliver a speech on the Russia-Ukraine war. Political editor Barry Soper says that this visit is also supposed to be good for Jacinda Ardern, as it will strengthen international trade relations. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Senate has passed new legislation that will protect same-sex and interracial marriage. The bill is known as the Respect for Marriage Act, and the Democrats are hoping Joe Biden will sign it into law before Republicans take over the House. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson explained how this legislation would work tokeep same-sex and interracial marriages recognised by law. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Black Sox are on the upswing, having bounced back from their loss against Argentina to defeat the Philippines 8-1. This upcoming round against Cuba will determine whether or not the Black Sox will advance over to the Super Round, the next phase of the Softball World Cup. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave weighed in on the Black Sox's chances of winning and moving forward.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport has told 475 property owners that their homes will be affected by the new Botany to Auckland Airport transport route. Residents say they're shocked by this, with some being told to hand over their homes for the construction of the project. They've written to Auckland Transport and MPs in hope of stalling this, while more information is found out. Ali Shakir is a resident whose home is in the way of this project, and he didn’t approve of the lack of communication surrounding this. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spent his first major foreign policy speech warning people about Chinese President Xi Jinping's regime. Rishi Sunak went on to describe China as a “systemic challenge to our values and interests”. UK correspondent Enda Brady says that between the current anti-government protests and the recent assault on a BBC journalist, Rishi Sunak may have been holding on to these statements for a while. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's Reserve Bank Governor is apologizing for not being clear enough with when interest rates would move. As late as November last year, Governor Philip Lowe said the bank was likely to hold the OCR steady, at record lows. HSBC Chief Economist Paul Bloxham explained how this communication error may have happened. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2022 edition of the National Agricultural Fieldays show begins tomorrow, after being postponed due to Covid-19.  The Country's Jamie Mackay spoke to ZB ahead of the event and addressed the question on people's minds- will Jacinda Ardern make an appearance this year? There's no confirmation either way.  Jamie Mackay says appearing at Fieldays after all the regulatory changes the Government has directed at farmers would be a gusty move for any Labour politician at this point. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big moves for Meridian's green hydrogen project in Southland, as they have picked a collaborator off a shortlist. Meridian Energy chose the Australian oil and gas giant Woodside Energy as their preferred partner to develop this plant. It would produce hydrogen and ammonia from renewable energy on a wide scale. Pattrick Smellie, BusinessDesk managing editor says that Meridian's final decision was unexpected, as Fortescue Metals Group was assumed to be a shoo-in. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: Jordan Williams, Taxpayer Union Executive Director and Neale Jones from Capital PR joined in on a discussion on these issues of the day- and more! The fleeing drivers policy will be revised, but Police Commissioner Andrew Coster won't say what it will change to. Does the law need to change? Can New Zealand afford to keep the retirement age at 65?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m going to hold off on celebrating the police announcement this morning that they’re reviewing their pursuit policy. Because I smell politics all over this, and I want to see what they’re doing before I give Police National Headquarters any praise. What’s changed? Nothing, nothing’s changed. They’re still not chasing cars that are fleeing from them, are they? They’re just thinking about it. Just overnight, there were two incidents in Auckland that we know of, where the cops weren’t allowed to chase. One started in MT Eden. Police told them to stop, car took off and police didn’t chase, got the helicopter up and eventually found them in person.  Another, cops got info that someone was interfering with a vehicle in the central city. Fled the scene, police saw the car later in Grafton.  They wouldn’t stop, cops didn’t chase, Eagle spotted the car in Newmark, and two young people were arrested. We clearly have a serious crime problem, serious enough for the police to feel like they need to front up in media. To

Some local councils are complaining they haven't been given enough time to give their views on RMA reforms. The closing date for submissions on new Resource Management legislation is January 30, right after the summer break. The Government promises the law changes will provide a faster, cheaper system. Rangitikei District Mayor Andy Watson says his team will be under incredible pressure to get their submission in on time. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.