Larry Williams Drive

British Prime Minister Liz Truss took office last month with hopes and promises of reinvigorating the British economy and putting it on the path to long-term success. It didn't go to plan. Instead, Truss’ tenure was scarred by turmoil as her economic policies threatened the country’s financial stability, driving the pound to record lows, sparking chaos on bond markets and increasing mortgage costs for millions of people. Though Truss took office amid a cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, her decision to announce 105 billion pounds ($116 billion) of tax cuts and spending increases without providing details on how she would pay for it unnerved investors, who warned of soaring public debt. That undermined confidence in the government’s ability to pay its bills and raised questions about the economic credentials of a new prime minister who took office after a deeply divisive contest for leadership of the governing Conservative Party. The disarray surroundi

The Transport Minister says changes to the way Kiwis pay for public transport will help boost patronage. Michael Wood announced this morning that from 2024, people in some parts of the country will be able to pay for bus, ferry and train rides with an EFTPOS or credit card. There's been some criticism this is too long of a wait for many. But Wood told Andrew Dickens that's because there's a lot of work to do to set the system up. “And we’re also conscious we want to measure twice, cut once. We want it to get this right when it’s rolled out, we don’t want there to be mistakes so we’ll take a little bit longer to get it right.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A federal judge rejected a lawsuit brought by six Republican-led states challenging President Joe Biden's student debt relief program. US District Judge Henry Edward Autrey said Thursday he was dismissing the case because the states had not overcome the procedural threshold known as standing, which requires that plaintiffs show that a policy is causing them direct and traceable harm. Student loan cancellations, worth up to $20,000 per eligible borrower, could begin on Sunday. The states are expected to appeal the judge's ruling, sending the case to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, where it is likely to face a panel of conservative judges. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Missouri last month by state attorneys general from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska and South Carolina, as well as legal representatives from Iowa. The states had argued in court documents that the Biden administration does not have the legal authority to grant broad student loan forgiveness, as well as that the program would

Former Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard is challenging resigned former Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma to release the full recording of a prior conversation between the pair which Mallard claims will prove Sharma breached privilege. Sharma, who announced his shock resignation from Parliament on Tuesday, yesterday released a 54-second audio clip on social media of a conversation he'd had with Mallard about Sharma's request for an investigation into claims the former Hamilton West MP had made about staffers and Labour Party members. In the recording, Sharma could be heard telling Mallard about written complaints he had made about staff members who didn't turn up to work or those who had arrived at work intoxicated. "I'm at a point when I'm just hitting a stone wall," Sharma said to Mallard. Mallard responded by saying he would ask Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero to compile a report on the matter. At the end of the clip, Mallard referenced the potential impact of making false claims a

The Sky Sport Breakers have crashed back down to earth after a thrashing from South East Melbourne Phoenix. The Phoenix scored 38 as they cruised to a 99-77 victory in Trusts Arena at in Waitakere last night. Meanwhile, it's a big weekend of sports ahead for New Zealand, but there might be a few dampeners on the weekend's entertainment. The Black Caps will hope to kick off their T20 World Cup against Australia provided the rain holds off, the Kiwis play Jamaica in the Rugby League World Cup, the Black Ferns take on Scotland, the NPC Final between Wellington and Canterbury, and the Silver Ferns are off to Australia for the next round of the Constellation Cup. But by far the biggest event that is happening this weekend is the FIFA Women's World Cup, where the world's footballing eyes will set on Eden Park to see who defending champions the United States and the Football Ferns will take on in the group stages next year. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave joined Andrew Dickens. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/lis

As benefit numbers fall, the Green Party says keeping that support going is vital. There are more than 13,000 fewer people on a benefit compared to September last year. But the money being given out for one-off payments has increased to nearly $100 million dollars. Green Party Social Development spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March told Andrew Dickens we need to remember that people on benefits can be performing useful labour. “Many of them are full-time parents or people who have picked up caregiving because somebody else in the family isn’t able to do so.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in the UK, the current situation going on with the Government has been described as 'chaos'. Home secretary Suella Braverman has recently resigned, and multiple Labour MPs are claiming that Tory MPs were manhandling rebel MPs into voting with the Government on fracking bills. UK correspondent Enda Brady joined us to explain the situation and speculate that Liz Truss's days as Prime Minister were numbered. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most people believe it's a good time to buy a house, according to Trademe data out today. Meanwhile, the national median weekly rent increased by 7.5 per cent year on year, whereas inflation was 7.3 percent. Gavin Lloyd, Trademe's property sales director joined us to put this into context. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Groundswell protests happened today, where farmers across the country got in their vehicles and drove to New Zealand cities to spread a message. The farming community aren't happy with Jacinda Ardern and Labour's plan to tax methane emissions generated by farms and livestock. Jamie Mackay, host of The Country, joined us to talk about the turnout in rural communities and what the protest accomplished. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's the 35th anniversary of Black Monday, the day in 1987 where the world experienced a brief, but violent stock market crash. The odds of a crash on this level happening again are extremely low, but we've had plenty of smaller-scale stock crashes happen since that day. New Zealand Herald business editor Liam Dann joined us to weigh up the risks of this happening again. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle, New Zealand Herald Senior writer Simon Wilson and Ben Thomas, self-employed PR expert joined us to talk about the following:  Winston Peters is feeling validated! He's handily released this court verdict on the day of Mallard's valedictory. How effective are these Groundswell protests? How reflective is Groundswell of the community? Police have proactively put out their own data on how many people are being arrested and charged over ram raids, presumably to front foot it. Hundreds of ram raiders with thousands of charges in Waikato and Auckland alone. MyFoodBag pulls advertising from Fboy Island, was this a good move? Auckland Zoo is finally finishing off a $62 million dollar revamp- when's the last time you went? All of these topics and more were discussed today on The Huddle! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacinda Ardern met with her old Parliamentary sparring partner in Auckland this morning. The Prime Minister sat down with Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO, and former National Leader, Simon Bridges to discuss issues facing Auckland. Bridges says on the whole, Ardern does have a good handle on many issues - but says there are a number of pressures on businesses that the Government needs to address. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A petition to Parliament today asking the Government to address ethnic and gender pay gaps. MindtheGap says the first step needs to be mandatory paygap reporting for businesses with more than 50 workers. Co-Founder Jo Cribb says the gender pay gap is at 9.2 percent, and is even higher for Pacific women. She says there are measures we could take, to fill these gaps. Cribb says we should get rid of clauses which prevent employees from discussing their salaries. The petition has just under nine thousand signatures. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Zoo's Indonesian swamp forest will open on Saturday. It is the last piece of the puzzle in the South East Asia Jungle track - and provides a tropical experience with a climate-controlled dome. Auckland Zoo's Don McFarlane says the climate-controlled environments were a necessity to make sure all the animals with different needs were taken care of. "It covers that huge diversity of animals that have to modify their behaviours to the environment to get either warm or cool. To bask or seek shade, or regulate their body temperature. It includes multitudes of things, the reptiles, the fish, the amphibians, the invertebrates. Literally millions of species." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Trevor Mallard says goodbye to the Beehive, Winston Peters is buzzing about a court ruling. A high court's ruled his order to trespass the former Deputy Prime Minister from Parliament in May, for speaking to anti-mandate protesters was unjustified. Winston Peters says it was extraordinary. "If you were able to defend yourself, you'd have to say that you acted in a reasonable way given the circumstances. And that you acted in a rational way. I don't think you're going to see too many court judgements explaining that someone has acted irrationally." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The turn-out may not have been as big, but the organisers are still deeming today's protests a success. Thousands of farmers have revved their tractors, trucks and utes in protest to the Government's proposed livestock emissions plan. Groundswell New Zealand co-founder Bryce McKenzie says they're pleased, considering they had eight days to prepare. He says it's the busiest time of the year, with lambing season in full swing and farmers planting crops and vegetables. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The date for the Hamilton West by-election is officially confirmed to be December 10th, according to a statement from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The by-election was triggered by Gaurav Sharma's abrupt resignation earlier in the week, and deputy political editor Jason Walls has observed that Labour isn't loving their chances.  Jason Walls also explained why Labour might have felt the need to soften the blow and deflect ahead of the election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, the deputy leader of the Greens, Lidia Thorpe, resigned from her position following her failing to disclose a relationship with a former biker gang leader.  Lidia admitted to briefly dating the former head of the Rebels biker gang and remaining on friendly terms with him after the fact. She viewed not disclosing the relationship as a lapse in judgement. This was viewed as controversial, as it indicated a possible conflict of interest within her duties on the joint parliamentary law enforcement committee.  Australian correspondent Murray Olds explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Women's Rugby World Cup carries on, with the Black Ferns set to play against Scotland this Saturday. The match is happening at Northland Events Centre, Whangarei, and the team is speculated to do well, even with unexpected changes impacting their rhythm.  D'Arcy Waldegrave, host of Sportstalk, explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly 350 people are facing more than two-thousand charges in relation to youth offending across Waikato and Auckland. Police are cracking down on recidivist offenders by opposing bail for some. Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says the average age of those involved, is 15. Chambers says their motivation continues to be money, peer pressure and social media notoriety. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.