Larry Williams Drive

Still no confirmed meeting with Biden – but the PM spent the day touring the US Capitol. Who did she talk to? What did Jacinda Ardern say in response to China's deal with the Pacific nations? She’s doing the Harvard commencement speech tomorrow – what are you expecting? Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Penny Wong is in Fiji to combat China's influence in the pacific. Peter Dutton knows he has an image problem and is trying his best to fix it. Mark McGowan has gone after Daniel Andrews. Australia correspondent Murray Olds joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters says we've known for some time a new infection has arrived in the Pacific....and we have to be aware of it. China has sent a draft security agreement to 10 Pacific countries, ahead of a meeting Foreign Minister Wang Yi is hosting in Fiji next week. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters told Heather du Plessis-Allan this sort of outside offer of assistance gives the island nations options. “But if they’re taking that option because we have failed to pool our resources and work together in a way that Kurt Campbell is acknowledging the United States should have, if we have failed to do these things then what happens after that is foreseeable.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sue Gray's big report is due... And this could be a tough day for Boris Johnson. Railway workers in the UK have voted to go on strike this summer. Why did the BBC have to apologise? UK correspondent Gavin Grey joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rotorua Lakes Council has finally taken action on the emergency housing situation there. They've gone to the Environment Court to get enforcement orders against nine emergency accommodation providers. There have been concerns from the community that bad behaviour by emergency housing tenants is ruining Rotorua's reputation and scaring tourists off. Tania Tapsell is a Rotorua Lakes councillor. She joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did markets react to the OCR hike?Katlyn Parker, Milford Asset Management, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you have a spare room? Do you live near a snowy mountain? Well, the local ski field owner may want to have a chat with you. Ski areas around the country are having to work with hostels and local homeowners to find accommodation for their staff. Workers at Cardona and Treble Cone have taken over an entire backpackers in central Wanaka.  Laura Hedley, GM of Experience for Cardona and Treble Cone, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is warning it's looking to go harder and faster than previously thought in its fight against inflation.  Governor Adrian Orr increased the official cash rate by half a percent to 2 percent today... But with a warning that there's much more to come.  Brad Olsen, Infometrics principal economist, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Members of the public got caught up in last night's gang turf-war. How do we deal with this? The Human Rights Commission has issued some guidelines to schools on school uniforms... they say schools should give students the option of gender-neutral uniforms, question some rules (like hair length and nail polish), and make sure affordability of uniforms is top of mind. What do you reckon?  Is our Foreign Minister letting us down? The PM has just had her appearance on Stephen Colbert's show in the US... as much as some may cringe at this, we need this kind of exposure, don't we? Shortland St turns 30 today. Do you ever watch? Trish Sherson and Jack Tame joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on the Huddle. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland has been hit by seven shootings in one night.  Police say they are not aware of any injuries, but several houses have been damaged. The attacks are believed to be part of a feud between two gangs: the Tribesmen and the Killer Beez. Jarrod Gilbert is a sociologist and gang expert, he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can we all accept now that Nanaia Mahuta is not great at her job? It is astounding that she hasn’t once spoken to our ambassador in Russia since the start of the invasion. Never mind the fact that – apart from one letter – she also hasn’t been in contact with our diplomats in the Solmons since its pact with China. That’s pretty bad as well. But not speaking to our woman in Russia is astounding given the magnitude of the invasion of Ukraine and the impact it’s having on everything from food prices, fuel prices, the security of Europe through to the possibility it emboldens China. If that’s not enough to get the Foreign Affairs Minister on the phone, god only knows what is. Frankly, the fact that Nanaia is not up to the job will not surprise many people. She’s been in parliament for 26 years but what has she achieved? Not a lot. And this term might end and still the answer will likely be 'not a lot'. She’s supposed to get the Three Waters Reform through but don’t hold your breath on that one.   And she’s the on

Shortland Street is turning 30 today.  At 7462 episodes ... if you were to watch every single episode back-to-back without a break, it would take you about 124 days. The longest-serving cast member is Michael Galvin, aka Dr Chris Warner. Michael joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has just wrapped up and Jacinda Ardern was the special guest. Although Jacinda Ardern was in New York – a lot of her focus today was overseas. What did she talk to the UN Secretary-General about? And tomorrow's a big day – Ardern's off to the Capitol.  Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been a school shooting in Texas. Joe Biden wraps up his Asia tour. Jacinda Ardern is in the US... And she turned Dan down for an interview.  US correspondent Dan Mitchinson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott Dixon is looking down the barrel of a lot of records this Indy 500 – and he's joining D’Arcy on Sportstalk after 7! Golden State Warriors coach weighs in on the Texas shooting. Host of Sportstalk D’Arcy Waldegrave joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Official Cash Rate has reached a six-year high at two percent. It rose 50 basis points today. NZIER principal economist Christina Leung told Heather du Plessis-Allan another double hike's likely in July. She says the Reserve Bank has a tricky balancing act as it tries to quell inflation, which is sitting at 6.9 percent.  “There is a risk of a wage-price spiral developing, so that’s when workers seek higher wages to make up for the increase in living costs and businesses start to put up prices in anticipation of that high inflation down the track.” The Reserve Bank expects the OCR to be 3.25 percent by the end of the year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Auckland Councillor says people should feel safe in their own city, after shootings in seven suburbs last night. The shootings are being attributed to rising gang tensions between the Killer Beez and Tribesmen. Josephine Bartley told Heather du Plessis-Allan people have every right to be worried – and it's deeply concerning for everyone. “And we already knew that there were going to be issues with the 501s coming from Australia, it would be good to know if they have been involved in these shootings as well.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

School uniforms are back on the agenda. The Human Rights Commission has put out a set of guidelines for schools and boards of trustees urging them to make sure uniforms are consistent with the Bill of Rights and the Treaty of Waitangi.  The commission says affordability of uniforms should be top of mind for schools and schools should consider non-gendered uniform options that are suitable for all students no matter their ethnicity, gender or health condition.  Meng Foon, Race Relations Commissioner, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boris Johnson thought he was clear but then those pictures appeared of him drinking red wine at a party. Now there are fresh calls for him to resign. The Queen uses a buggy to visit the Chelsea Flower Show. A prankster fools passengers landing at London’s Gatwick Airport with fake sign. UK correspondent Enda Brady joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research shows that businesses are losing faith in the Commerce Commission. The New Zealand Initiative has surveyed a number of businesses and found that fewer than thirty per cent of them thought the Commission was meeting the required standard. New Zealand Initiative chair Roger Partridge conducted the study. He joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.