Larry Williams Drive

Over in Australia, the flooding situation in Victoria is steadily worsening, with flooding levels set to peak by tomorrow.  Water levels are expected to rise, and people have evacuated their homes- which has drawn the attention of looters. The crisis is set to impact the upcoming Melbourne Cup, with walls being set up around the Flemington Racecourse to keep the water at bay come November 5th. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson explains how the people of Victoria are handling it all here. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Whites team coach Danny Hay is set to be leaving the position, and a replacement for the role is needed.  A potential candidate being considered to replace Danny Hay in the coaching role is Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay. Ufuk Talay has endorsement from the Wellington Phoenix team to apply for the role, and has expressed interest, provided he can also keep on coaching the team on top of any All Whites duties. Jason Pine, host of Weekend Sport, joined us to talk us through these discussions.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A concern the Bard of Avon has been unfairly slandered. Creative New Zealand has declined a funding proposal for $31,000 towards the Sheila Winn Shakespeare Festival. It's also called William Shakespeare's work part of a 'canon of Imperialism'. Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ CEO, Dawn Sanders, says that's completely untrue. She says the British Empire didn't exist in Shakespeare's time, so the description makes no sense. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farming protesters are preparing to make a stand over the latest Government moves on taxing livestock emissions.  Utes, tractors and trucks are being encouraged to converge in main city centres next Thursday.  They say the "We're Not Going to Take It' protest is in response to the Government's assault on food production and rural communities.  Groundswell's Bryce McKenzie told Heather du Plessis Allan farmers are very cross.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A governance and policy expert says National MP Barbara Kuriger has shown poor judgement in not earlier declaring a huge conflict of interest.   Kuriger has resigned from her spokesperson positions after revealing she's been embroiled in a family dispute with MPI.   She was spokesperson for agriculture, biosecurity and food safety.  Victoria University's Max Rashbrooke told Heather du Plessis Allan National should have processes in place to judge if there's conflicts of interest before appointing a spokesperson.   He says if the party's done that and Kuriger didn't disclose the conflict, it's all on her - but if they don't have those processes they should get them in place quickly.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A claim Auckland's new mayor needs to get some more political allies.   Wayne Brown has had a contentious first week as mayor calling for the resignation of Eku Panuku Development chairman Paul Majurey  Auckland Transport's Board Chair resigned last Saturday night.   Brown has also been reluctant to give interviews to media.   Former Auckland City Mayor John Banks says he doesn't need to cater to journalists but told Heather du Plessis-Allan he won't be able to make change alone.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Activist group Restore Passenger Rail has caused havoc on Wellington's motorways for the third time this week.  It wants the Government to reintroduce every passenger rail service that's been axed since the year 2000.  Six protesters, who helped grind traffic to a halt on State Highway Two, have been arrested, following five who were arrested in a similar protest on Wednesday.  Spokesperson James Cockle told Heather Du Plessis Allan the Government needs to make good on its climate change promises.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in the UK, health services have informed the nation that they're down to their last 72 hours worth of blood. No one saw this emergency coming, but UK health authorities are putting out an Amber Alert of sorts as they seek donors to counteract this situation.  UK correspondent Enda Brady explains the nature of this health emergency and how medical professionals are trying to mend this situation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank of Australia caught most by surprise a couple of weeks ago when it only hiked its OCR by just 25 basis points. Brazil also held their rates in their latest review, after 12 straight increases. Sam Dickie, Senior Portfolio Manager at Fisher Funds, explains the rate hikes, and what economic factors Brazil took into account when raising their basis points. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The general consensus from rural New Zealand when it comes to He Waka Eke Noa is fairly negative. Anger, frustration and discontentment are some emotions that the scheme inspired from the farming community. Jamie Mackay, host of The Country, is here to put all these emotions into context and explain that the backlash is less about having to pay for emissions and more about the nature of the bill- the tax scheme is unlikely to stop methane based damage. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August saw New Zealand get a net migration gain of 47 people. StatsNZ figures show that there were 7851 migrant arrivals and 7804 departures. Annually, we're sitting at a net loss of 11,000, with that figure being made up of 10,300 New Zealand citizens and 600 non-citizens. NZ Herald business editor at large, Liam Dann, explained what this all means for our economy. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In environmental news, Mount Ruapehu appears to be our country's first major casualty of climate change. The company behind the Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields at Ruapehu is in voluntary administration, thanks to no snow and two years of Covid. James Renwick, a climate scientist at Victoria University, explains how climate change will be impacting ski fields and nature based activities. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle- Georgina Stylianou, Director of Government Relations firm BRG, and Kaine Thompson, former Labour Press Secretary, discussed the following:  Should Chris Hipkins be supporting the police in their quest to keep taking photos of people who look suspicious with no other evidence? This is horrific - yesterday women were turned away while in labour from St. George's in Christchurch, we are now in worst case scenario short staffing of our hospital. Is the MOE being too pedantic with not allowing the pre-school to open? The entire pre-school is built, has teachers and kids ready to go, but still can't open as the noise would be annoying. What's going on with Wayne Brown still not talking to media and instead negative news just gets leaked? What's the plan?  Palmerston North council is the latest to ask people to stop filling in potholes themselves. People are doing bad jobs and the council has to spend more money. But at least it forces the council to do something, right? All of these topics are

Chris Hipkins deserves a lot of praise for backing the cops in this debate about whether they’re allowed to take photos of kids . This is not a natural position for a Labour MP to take. On one side you’ve got the police who’ve been taking thousands of photos of kids who haven’t yet committed a crime. And on the other side you’ve got the Office of Privacy Commissioner and the IPCA both of whom have slammed the police for doing this unlawfully, and you’ve got the media writing headlines about the fact that around half those kids were Maori, seemingly implying racism among the cops. I feel like it’s more natural for a Labour MP to come down on the side against the police, especially given his party has committed to doing "reducing the prison population" through "progressive policing". This is the opposite of progressive policing; this is just straight, old fashioned policing.  If Chris Hipkins is true to his word, the criticism he's copping isn’t over yet. He’s not ruling out passing a law to make it legal for t

Jetstar is in hot water after allegedly misleading customers. Consumer New Zealand has complained to the Commerce Commission about passengers not being reimbursed, when flight are cancelled or delayed, within the airline's control. Chief Executive Jon Duffy says in some circumstances Jetstar is denying they have an obligation to refund consumers what they're owed. He says they are also saying their liability is capped for things like accommodation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A wake-up call for New Zealanders, as extreme weather events become more common. A National Emergency Management Agency survey shows only two in five Kiwis feel well-prepared for a disaster. The 2022 Annual Disaster Preparedness Survey found while New Zealanders have a good understanding of natural disasters, it's not being followed through with action. Communications manager Anthony Frith says the problem is falling into the trap of complacency. "Whenever we have a large-scale event, such as the Canterbury earthquakes or the onset of the Covid pandemic, we see preparedness spike. Which is great, except it's the wrong way round. We'd like to see it spike before an emergency, not afterwards." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Police Minister's copping criticism after he admitted he's not ruling out a law change to support police continuing to take young people's photographs and fingerprints. A report, released last month, into photos taken of Wairarapa youth found the practice was illegal. But, at a police conference yesterday, Chris Hipkins said it's an essential part of intelligence gathering. Privacy lawyer Kathryn Dalziel says the police had two years during an inquiry to give evidence to say their practices were reducing crime. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Revelations women are being turned away from a private Christchurch Hospital whist in labour, because of staffing shortages. Newstalk ZB understands at least one labouring woman was sent from St George’s Hospital to Rangiora last night and her midwife missed her birth. Incoming Chair of the College of Midwives Sheena Ross says this is the most stressful outcome. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police Minister Chris Hipkins has recently suggested that police may be given the legal right to take photos of suspects to speed up the investigative process. This statement has inspired plenty of reactions, with police organisations being in favour of it, and Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman being against it, claiming the police didn't need the power to take or keep evidence. Political editor Barry Soper explained the discussion here, and highlighted what this legislation could do for police investigations.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, there has been a Government-wide discussion surrounding reducing methane emissions. Australia hasn't quite committed to a methane tax plan on the level of New Zealand, but current Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has committed to pledging to lower emissions. Australian farmers appear to be in support of the pledge, which promises to reduce global methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.   Australian correspondent Murray Olds explained these discussions and statements further. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.