Larry Williams Drive

Manly-based NRL team, the Sea Eagles have decided to give former coach Des Handler the sack, with one term left in his contract. The team had experienced a turbulent season, with seven of the team's best players withdrawing from matches to protest the inclusion of rainbow pride jerseys. Des Handler had also locked horns with the club over this. His contract would have been extended into the 2024 season if if Manly had reached the top-six in 2022. Instead, he felt the pride jersey boycott ruined his chances of the contract getting renewed. D'Arcy Waldegrave, host of Sportstalk, explained the termination further here. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The toys are on the shelves but the doors to a new Christchurch daycare won't be opening just yet. BestStart's new Riccarton Park centre hasn't been granted noise compliance, due to concerns sound in the outdoor play area will affect children's hearing. There are already at least three other daycares that operate near Riccarton racecourse. Chief executive Fiona Hughes says testing shows they're only a couple of decibels off the World Health Organisations standard, and that they've never been faced with noise compliance regulations before. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in the UK, mortgage rates are on the rise. Recently, they've shot up to 6 percent. This is set to have a significant effect on house prices, and people are having a harder time selling their homes due to buyers having products withdrawn.  UK correspondent Kay Oliver explained the knock-on effects these mortgage rates will have on the overseas housing market here. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pound is falling sharply against the dollar after the Bank of England confirmed it would end bond buying this week. Mark Riggall from Milford Asset Management explains what happens next- and how the UK got to this point financially. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some encouraging tourism numbers are starting to come to light. 130,000 tourists arrived in August - Queenstown in particular is now at 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Infometrics Principal Economist, Brad Olsen, explained to us that these numbers are encouraging and that this growth gives the economy a necessary 'shot in the arm'. "This is a good early sign, it shows that people are willing to get out and about, at least globally." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's going on inside the Reserve Bank? The company appears to have been hit hard by staff turnover. 22 percent of staff left in the previous financial year, the highest portion of staff since records began in the 1990's. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained why this staff turnover may be happening. The Reserve Bank is not immune to similar issues impacting companies in a post-Covid world, but these staffing changes go deeper than regular employees feeling free to change workplaces. "The Reserve Bank started doing a restructure at the end of last year, and at this point we saw a bunch of really senior people leave. Including the Deputy Governor, Geoff Bascand and the Chief Economist Yuong Ha. In the last six months of last year, 10 out of the Reserve Bank's 26 most senior people handed in their resignations." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Electricity Authority is proposing ways to help investment in renewable generation. A new paper stresses the critical role new entrants play in the renewable electricity generation market by encouraging competition. Market Policy General Manager Andrew Doube says the entry or threat of entry by competitors is one of the most powerful forces to mitigate the exercise of market power. He says they're seeing a surge in investment interest from independent developers keen on pursuing new generation projects and that they're committed to getting the settings right to ensure as many projects see the light of day. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle- Jack Tame, host of ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A, and Clare de Lore, journalist are here to talk about the following- Ruapehu ski-fields are on a knife edge - but why should taxpayers keep paying the ski field out if we're seeing nothing in return? Skilled migrant visa category is back open, so is the parents visa. Is this enough change to start to plug the huge gaps? When will Michael Wood admit that they left this re-opening far too late? Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger would like the neighbouring councils to pay for the stadium, Ashburton's mayor is more worried about just getting his second bridge. Why should the likes of Ashburton pay for it? After a very sub-par press release from AG spokesperson Barbara Kuriger yesterday - National have come out this morning saying they will repeal the Government emissions plan. The Restore Passenger Rail protests were out in force again this morning, closing the Welly motorway from 7:45 until 8:30. Is this an effective campaign?? Glad they wer

Voluntary administrators have been appointed to Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited, which will keep it trading while trying to figure out the best way forward. The company runs Mt Ruapehu's Whakapapa and Turoa ski areas - currently employing 196 staff. Covid-19 and poor weather has meant the fields have significant cash flow issues. Ruapehu mayor-elect Weston Kirton is most worried about those who work there and he'll be doing everything he can to cater for them using the mayoral taskforce. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mad Butcher's warning ram-raiders who stole from his jersey collection displayed at Mount Smart Stadium this morning to tread carefully. Sir Peter Leitch says he was called today and told 14 Warriors jerseys had been taken. He says they're collectors' items, and people won't be able to wear them in public. Peter Leitch is warning the thieves he's made a lot friends over the years. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's new plan to make farmers pay an emissions tax isn't being well-received so far.  In the interest of maintaining a positive reputation with the farming community, National Party Leader Chris Luxon says that National will repeal this tax scheme if elected in 2023. Chris Luxon went on to state that this tax plan is bad for the state of the farming industry, jobs, and rural communities.  "We're talking about one fifth of our sheep and beef industry being decimated by 2030, just in seven years time. That's a big problem for us economically. This is an industry that generates basically $9,000 dollars for every man, woman, and child in the country." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's today resumed selections for skilled migrant and parent visas - key residence categories effectively closed during the pandemic. It's also starting consultation on a simplified points system, where artificially constraining regulations will take a backseat to an applicant's skills. For instance, applicants won't get 30 extra points for living somewhere besides Auckland anymore. Immigration Minister Michael Wood says unless we target top talent, our economy will go backwards, so focus on worker's specialised skills is critical. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maori sheep and beef farmers could receive taxpayer assistance to meet emissions targets. Information has come to light that farmers of a Maori background may be at a disadvantage, as they have fewer assets and will be disproportionately impacted by emissions taxes. Barry Soper, political editor, explained how the feedback generated from this study could impact the development of this emissions tax plan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in America, Joe Biden's approval ratings are getting lower, and members of the Democratic party are looking towards newer, younger candidates. The midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race are on people's minds, and prominent Democratic senators have observed that younger candidates for president could be the shake-up the party needs. Dan Mitchinson, US correspondent, explained why younger candidates may not have felt ready to run for office over the last few years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Danny Hay, coach of the All Whites, will be leaving his tenured position at the end of the month.  His contract has almost expired and he declined the chance to reapply for the role ahead of the 2026 World Cup campaign.  Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained it all here, and went over some theories as to why Danny Hay may have walked away from renewing the position.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ashburton's Mayor says the town's unlikely to chip in for Christchurch's new stadium. Just days into the job, the Garden City's new mayor, Phil Mauger is asking neighbouring councils to help with the 150 million dollar budget blow-out on the sports facility. He wants Environment Canterbury - the regional council - to bring in a levy. Ashburton's Neil Brown says rate payers won't be keen. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This can’t happen: The plan the Government has to force farmers to pay for their emissions. They cannot persist with this plan as it is. In its current form it is going to be a devastating for farming communities…and given how important farming is to our national income… it’s going to be terrible for our economy. If they persist with this, they will shut down up to 20% of lamb production, 20% of our wool, and 14% of our beef.    If it translates directly into the number of farms that go under, that’s one in five sheep farmers who are not going to be able to keep farming. Think about what that means for everyone else who relies on those farms:  The meat processors? We won’t need as many of them.  The transportation companies? We won’t need as many of them. They will close. The rural communities? They will die as people pack up and leave. The schools? They’ll shut. The shops? They’ll shut.  Sheep and beef accounts for 92,000 workers in this country.  If this leads to a straight 20% loss of workers, that’s 18 an

It's not quite Braveheart level, but Nicola Sturgeon's latest speech was similarly focused around Scottish independence. The Scottish National Party leader has vowed to host another referendum on Scottish independence, and she wants the discussion to take place on October 19th, 2022.  UK correspondent Enda Brady explained further, as well as explain what's likely to happen in the discussions and hearings. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has outlined their new agriculture emissions scheme, where farmers will be expected to pay for their methane emissions in order to counteract climate change. This strategy, the He Waka Eke Noa report, has been met with some backlash from farming communities and lobby groups. Jamie Mackay, host of The Country, explains that the farmers aren't against reducing agricultural emissions, but this taxation strategy is counterproductive. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of the 2023 election, Labour have refused to comment one way or the other about focusing on tax cuts. Both ACT and National have promised to include tax cuts as part of their campaigns. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Labour hasn't created their election policy on tax yet – so the option hasn’t been ruled out. Independent economist Cameron Bagrie commented on the issue by stating that tax cuts aren't the way forward for New Zealand's future and that we should instead focus on investing in New Zealand's future. "I'd prefer money got spent on education, I'm viewing it as a ten to twenty year investment on where New Zealand is going to be, as opposed to tax cuts." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.