Larry Williams Drive

Republicans in the US aren't breaking out the champagne yet. Audiences hoping TV anchors will tell them who'll control the Senate are still waiting - but the Republicans seem likely to have won the House of Representatives. The Senate could come down to a December run-off election, in Georgia. Matt Terrill is a former campaign manager for Republican Marco Rubio. He says some of the Senate races are much tighter than expected. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in the UK, Rishi Sunak's Cabinet Office minister Gavin Williamson has abruptly resigned from Parliament following allegations of unethical behaviour. The allegations involve Gavin Williamson having many unpleasant interactions with fellow staff members, the most recent of which involved him allegedly telling a senior civil servant to "slit your throat". UK correspondent Gavin Grey explained the events further and highlighted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will likely also face some backlash, as he may have known about Gavin Williamson's history. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech company Pushpay is currently under offer, and new data from today suggests that the company will miss some long term targets. As such, people have raised concerns about the company's price, as they feel it doesn't match the current stock price on offer. Milford Asset Management Portfolio Manager Sam Trethewey explained why Pushpay is undergoing a downswing and why investors are concerned.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to new data, retail cart spending on non-essential items has gone up again this year. Stats NZ says that electronic card spending climbed an extra $88 million, across categories like appliances, furniture, liquor, and apparel. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen explained that this data is surprising, because it indicates that higher interest rates haven't hit yet. Brad Olsen suggests that people may need to be cautious in the future, but it's surprising that it hasn't hit Kiwi households at this point. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A $50 million Maari oil deal that has been in the works since 2019 has recently been axed due to regulatory uncertainty. Jadestone Energy was set to take a 69 percent stake in this deal, but initiated the axing of this deal in a statement they posted.  Andrew Jeffries, the managing director of New Zealand Oil and Gas explained the regulatory uncertainty established by the Government, and how disappointed he was that this deal fell through. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The High Court has recently ordered that the plans to burn and destroy some Department of Conservation-operated huts in the Te Urewera region be shut down. The Tūhoe settlement entity had planned on demolishing 48 huts, which inspired protests from hikers, hunters, and recreationists, as well as some Tūhoe members. Pete Shaw, a conservationist, says that destroying the huts was an insane decision, as people stayed at the huts and used them to take advantage of the wilderness environments.  LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: Mike Munro, former Labour Party Chief of Staff and Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR discussed the following topics- and more! How accurate were Allan Dick's controversial comments about the Northland region? Was it fair of him to compare it to third world countries? The Government has announced that they plan to give more power to the Commerce Commission when it comes to regulating fuel prices. It's meant as a protective measure, but will it scare off investors? Oliver Hartwich, the Executive Director for The New Zealand Initiative, recently wrote an opinion piece criticising our education system. Were his statements fair?  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel journalist Allan Dick has recently come under fire for his comments about the Northland region. He travelled around Northland in his motor home and compared some of what he witnessed to third world countries, with the heartbreaking conditions and squalor being described in his writing. Allan Dick says that New Zealand's far north region was set in two halves, and stood by his comments that a subset of the countryside resembled a tip. "I've seen it before, but I don't think I've seen it as bad as this. It would be hard to escape blaming P (methamphetamine) for a lot of what I'm seeing, I've got to say. It's not just the squalor." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lesley Murdoch, former international cricketer  and hockey player, has just been elected President of New Zealand Cricket. She will be the second woman in the history of the organisation to fill the role, following the previous President Debbie Hockley. Lesley Murdoch says she's excited to take up the position, but it won't interfere with her slot on ZB Canterbury's All Sport Breakfast. There's a lot going on in the world of cricket, and she plans on using her insider access to her advantage. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's rolling out a package to maintain supply stock resilience by telling importers and wholesalers they must keep minimum fuel stocks onshore. A regulatory backstop will also let the Commerce Commission set fair prices, if needed. But Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says it's not about intervening just because the price is too high. A new lever for setting fuel prices isn't about control, but for protecting customers. Megan Woods says if they're behaving in a way they shouldn't, or in a way that is unfair to consumers, then they have the ability to step in. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Republicans look poised to claim the US House of Representatives - but votes on the Senate are still too close to call. Results are flooding in as polls close for the nation's midterm elections, which decide who controls the two Chambers of Congress. A Republican-ruled Congress could leave Democrat President Joe Biden hamstrung and unable to pass laws. TVNZ US correspondent Anna-Burns Francis says the Republicans have already picked up five extra seats in the House. She says the party only needed to pick up two or three seats to get control - and any more is generous. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has leased commercial office space in Central Auckland for the Three Waters transition team at a $2 million per year cost. This lease is set to last until July 1st, 2024, with the potential to be renewed further in the coming years. This decision has been viewed as controversial. Political editor Barry Soper feels that this arrangement is Labour 'putting the cart before the horse' politically, especially with many local politicians taking a stand against Three Waters in its' current form. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US midterm elections are currently underway, and Joe Biden looks likely to become a broken wing President. The Democrats appear to be losing in plenty of key states, and Southern states in particular are favouring Trump-endorsed candidates. US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson says the Republicans are strong in the Senate, House and Governor races. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sepp Blatter, the former President of FIFA, has recently said that picking Qatar as a location for the upcoming 2022 World Cup was a 'mistake'. Sepp Blatter went on to say that Qatar wouldn't work for hosting the World Cup, as the region was 'too small' for football and the FIFA World Cup. D'Arcy Waldegrave, host of Sportstalk, addressed these statements and pointed out that the size of Qatar wasn't the biggest issue compared to the heat, homophobia, or workers' rights abuse record. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ Initiative Executive Director Oliver Hartwich recently wrote an opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald describing the current education system as a 'disaster'. The piece called for better educational training and more defined career structure for teachers in order to improve our nation's educational rankings in reading and mathematics. Oliver Hartwich went on to explain that this current educational crisis has been years in the making, and our decline didn't happen overnight.  "We have a curriculum that doesn't clearly spell out what students should really learn, we haven't really got an assessment system either, our teacher training doesn't really work. We are not good at delivering the basics of literacy or numeracy." LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Of course, the Prime Minster took a swipe at banks yesterday saying their profits are not ‘justifiable’.  Banks are easy targets. It’s good politics. But will she actually put her money where her mouth is and do anything to rein in banks?  No of course not. And actually nor should she.  What are banks actually doing wrong?  Far as I can see, they’re only doing what any good business would do. Which is to maximise profits for their shareholders. They don’t seem to be making excessive profits. ANZ, for example, has a return on equity of 13 percent, which seems unremarkable for a listed company. Compare it to F and P Healthcare- 24 percent, Mainfreight- 28 percent, Hallensteins- 29 percent.  $2 billion dollars sounds like a big annual profit, but then it is a really big company. Logic doesn’t have to stop the Government though.  It could, if it wanted to, either regulate banks to curb their profits, or they could tax through something like a windfall tax like the Greens want. But I’m not sure it’s worth the trou

Over in the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron are reaching a new deal to address the challenge posed by an uptick in migrant boat crossings. The deal will involve British border force officers in the French control centres in Northern France seeing the intelligence come through in real time in order to stop people being pushed out on boats in the first place. UK correspondent Enda Brady further explained the discussions and interactions Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron had. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell has recently announced that she plans on reversing the previous plan to sell 10 reserve sites off for housing development. The Rotorua council will meet to discuss this further on Thursday, where the proposal will be discussed further. In the leadup to this meeting, Tania Tapsell explained that the aforementioned decision wasn't made with the people of Rotorua in mind and isn't relevant to their concerns anymore. "This was one of those really bad decisions in politics where the politicians didn't listen to the people. The proposal was originally developed because of the housing shortage we have, but we received over 600 submissions of which the vast majority were against selling reserves."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Country's Jamie Mackay recently got into it with Minister of Agriculture Damien O'Connor about the best use for farmland. Jamie Mackay argued (and still agrees) that the best sheep and beef farming regions in New Zealand shouldn't be converted into land for pine trees.  Jamie Mackay further explained that New Zealand is the dominant force in low emission and high intensity meat production, so using the land for trees in inefficient.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Jordan Williams, Taxpayer Union Executive Director joined us to talk about the following topics- and more! Jacinda Ardern is criticising high profits yet not willing to do anything about it- Sam Stubbs wants a inquiry into bank profiteering, would he ever get one? Adrian Orr gets reappointed for another 5 years, was this a good or bad call on part of Grant Robertson?  The big headline out of COP27 involves a conference-wide food shortage, surely we have bigger problems than a lack of quiches to think about here? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.