Larry Williams Drive

Over in Australia, Treasurer Jim Chalmers in under pressure to ease the rising energy bills affecting people, as that was a campaign promise offered by Anthony Albanese during elections. Since coming into power, the current Australian Government never followed through on that promise, and energy prices may even go up by 50 percent. Since then, Treasurer Jim Chalmers  has alluded to offering the Australian people a means of lowering energy prices by the end of the year. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says the solution is most likely to be a regulatory one, as opposed to legislative. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Calls to give Mount Ruapehu a break. Ruapehu Alpine Lifts recently went into receivership, after years of financial difficulties. Life Pass Holders have been asked if they'd support a new entity, paying two and a half thousand dollars to continue skiing on Mt Ruapehu. Ongoing maintenance would also be funded by an up-to-250 dollar levy, for two or three years. Uenuku Charitable Trust chair Aiden Gilbert says  he supports giving the maunga space for a while. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks played against England in Twickenham early on Sunday morning (NZ time), and the final score was tied at 25-25. The general consensus is that the All Blacks played well in the first half, but lost momentum around the second, which ultimately caused the tied score. Jason Pine, host of ZB's Weekend Sport, weighed in on the All Blacks performance from Sunday's game. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has confirmed an extension is being considered for all landlords, including private rentals and Kāinga Ora, to meet minimum Healthy Homes standards. Auckland Property Investors President Kristin Sutherland joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin has been watching drama 'She Said' and biographical drama 'Emily'. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Australian restaurant is fighting the nation's worker shortage with grey power. Three-Sixty Q Restaurant in Queenscliff, Victoria put the call out to hire seniors - and now has 12 working on the roster. Owner Barry Iddles says there's no backpackers or international students to fill the gap. He says they're fantastic and customers love it - with every table that came in today saying they read it in the paper or heard about it on the radio. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ongoing road works in Tauranga and the resulting speed limits are being described as bedlam. Frustration among residents is reportedly so bad, security staff could soon be deployed to stop workers from being abused. The owner of Academy Motor Inn on Cameron Road, Simon Dreissens says it's worse than traffic in central London. He says looking out from his conference balcony now, all he can see is orange - with 100 road cones, 25 barriers - and it's driving the city crazy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Businesses in Auckland's Remuera are taking matters into their own hands to fight crime. The local business association has spent 180-thousand dollars installing a security system that can track the movement of vehicles and people. Remuera Business Association's Natalie Wright says it's all about safety. She says these youths are running around town, smashing and grabbing, and it's making tenants and shop owners scared. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National is receiving minimal support for their youth crime policy, the proposal of boot camps and ankle monitors being called a ‘cliché’ and ‘a joke.’ Former Chief Science Officer Sir Peter Gluckman told Heather du Plessis-Allan that taking young offenders out of environments from which they can return to is unlikely to work, as it hasn’t in the past. He says any proposed solution needs to be independently assessed, and more transparency is needed on the outcome. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The mother of a 29-year-old Kiwi killed in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, says today's verdict does "nothing" to bring justice or closure. 29 year old Wellingtonian Robert Ayley was on board when the plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine in July 2014. A Dutch court has now convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist of the murders of the 298 passengers who died. Wendy Ayley says she's not looking for answers or closure, just that the guns fall silent. She would rather see an end to countries trying to invade other countries, as opposed to having a court case find people guilty in absentia. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A shifting of the guard in the Democratic Party. US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has announced she'll be stepping down from party leadership but will remain in Congress. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Heather du Plessis-Allan like her or not, she's been able to unite the party over the last two decades. He says she is a heck of a fundraiser, and the Democrats are going to need a lot of money going into the 2024 election - which is why she's going to stay on represent her district, San Francisco. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don’t blame you if your first reaction to National’s boot camp idea was to roll your eyes because, well, this is hardly a new idea from National is it?  They ran it out at the 2008 election, then closed the camps. They tried it at the 2017 election, but never got a chance to do it because Winston chose Jacinda. And frankly, it is a pretty old fashioned idea that gets trotted out by conservative parties pretty frequently.  But, hmmm... it might be worth hearing National out on this. It sounds like they might have the right idea to make it work this time around. First of all, we know we need to do something. We have a problem. Kids out ram-raiding at 2am, kids beating up young victims on video for social media fame, a 14 year old robbing a Queen Street jewellery store with a hammer. These kids need a circuit breaker. We don’t want to leave them with their families; parents who don’t mind or don’t know that they’re out in the middle of the night are not doing a good job. But we don’t want to send them to jail

Over in the UK, the annual Budget Day lead-up is promising a 'stormy' future for the public. All eyes are on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who has to fix the financial issues inflicted by the previous Liz Truss government. UK correspondent explained that this paired with Covid-19 doesn't paint a positive picture for the future.  Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has promised to lower the threshold from which people start paying the highest rate of income tax and include some Government spending cuts to clamp down on inflation, but Edna Brady observes that things still look bleak. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: David Farrar from Kiwiblog and Cuira pollster and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following topics- and more! National has recently suggested military bootcamps to cut down on our youth crime problem- is this more trouble than it's worth?  Phil Twyford's hired a mediator to sort out Christchurch council not passing the housing intensification regulations, how necessary is this move? Wellington Council is ripping up a $900k cycleway after four years for drainage repairs following safety concerns. Is a four year lifespan for a cycleway good news? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the last week, the cryptocurrency exchange FTX imploded after marketing itself as the safest and easiest way to get into crypto-based investing. The second biggest crypto exchange sought bankruptcy last week, and then company CEO Sam Bankman-Fried  resigned. Turns out, FTX had just $900 million dollars in liquid assets against  $9 billion in liabilities. Sam Dickie, Fisher Funds Senior Portfolio Manager theorised as to what something like this means for the crypto market going forward.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomorrow marks the final day farmers can submit feedback on He Waka Eke Noa, the agricultural emissions tax plan. Ever since this bill was first brought forward on October 10th,  it has inspired widespread outrage and protests from various sectors from the farming community. The Country's Jamie Mackay has noted that it doesn't seem likely that the Government will make any drastic changes, as all the minor tweaks they've made haven't addressed the issues farmers have brought up.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is set to meet next week, and speculation suggests rates may be hiked again. Liam Dann, NZ Herald business editor at large is among the many who assumes a 75 basis points hike is looking likely. Liam Dann notes that this basis points hike is high, and that it could put the OCR at a level we haven't seen since the global financial crisis. Even the less likely 50 percent basis points hike will hit the economy hard. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A cycleway located in Wellington's Oriental Bay is being ripped apart for repairs after just four years. Water had been pooling on to sections of the cycleway after rainstorms, which was putting less experienced users off the track.  Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean confirmed that these repairs were needed to improve drainage and stop the track from flooding. Richard MacLean knows this isn't optimal, but the complaints were consistent enough for Wellington Council to want to make a change to fix any safety issues. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A major drop in national smoking rates means Smoke-Free 2025 is looking much more attainable. The annual New Zealand Health Survey shows about one in eight adults smoke cigarettes daily,making it one of the lowest in the world. There has also been a drop in smoking rates for Maori, with women now less likely to smoke daily than men. ASH Director Ben Youdan says the big drop is very, very encouraging. He says it's not just about getting the whole population's smoking rate down, it's about getting the rates for the most vulnerable populations down. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of 28 are set to play a game of football that will last until Sunday to raise money for Gumboot Friday. This match starts tomorrow, and is designed to break a world record for 'longest game of football played'. One of these 28 players, Phil Chapman, says that this match is expected to last 45 hours, and that they have to break that to reach the world record. They've raised $42,000 in donations so far, and gotten an extra $28,000 from their local sponsors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.