Larry Williams Drive

The number of school aged kids being home-educated has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, with an 80 per cent increase overall.  Figures from Stuff indicate that there are at least 11000 children currently being homeschooled. President of NZ Principals' Federation, Cherie Taylor-Patel, is here now to put these numbers in context and explain why more parents have made this choice.  "There's always been a group of students that have had high health needs, or have been neurodiverse, or have needed the curriculum adapted. And one of the ways you can do that well is to go the homeschooling route." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got the Warehouse Group's financial results today. Frances Sweetman from Milford Asset Management joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s good to see Kelvin Davis has apologised.   He called ACT’s MP Karen Chhour to apologise for essentially saying she wasn’t Māori enough . She’s accepted the apology.  Yesterday in the house, he said she was “looking at the world from a vanilla lens” And when he was challenged on it later, he didn’t realise. He doubled down and said “She does whakapapa to Māori, but she was raised in a Pākehā world. “  An apology is a good start. But I reckon Jacinda Ardern might need to have a chat to her Māori caucus about knocking this stuff off.  Because this is not the first time that a senior Māori minister in the Labour Party has said something like this. The last one was Willie Jackson back in May who basically did the same thing to David Seymour - who whakapapas to ngapuhi - calling him a “useless Māori.” Back in 2010 he said Maori on TV - like Mike Mcroberts specifically - were just Māori faces.  The reason the PM might need to knock this on its head is because there’s a risk this happens again.  It’s not a mista

In economic news overseas, the Bank of England has had to step in to help fix the UK economy. On September 23rd, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled her economic strategies, which included excess borrowing and tax cuts for the wealthy. Our UK Correspondent, Enda Brady, joins us here to explain how this affected that nation and forced the Bank of England to step in, as Liz Truss's strategy was set to cause a financial crisis. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 percent of Auckland's speed limits are about to be reduced.  Auckland Transport made this announcement earlier today, without much fanfare.  Simeon Brown, National's Transport Spokeperson is here to voice his thought on the matter, and highlight his disapproval of the decision. "The reality is, that's going to have a huge impact on people getting around our biggest city. People are finding it hard enough already, this is only going to make it worse."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand is joining forces with exporters to launch beef and lamb filled vending machines in China. This project will begin with two machines being rolled out into Shanghai, one of China's top business districts. The vending machines will be filled with ready to eat beef and lamb meals, and aimed at workers in need of a convenient meal. Michael Wan, Beef + Lamb New Zealand's Global Manager, is here to talk about what these meals will do for workers and consumers overseas. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this week, we found out that the Government plans on letting in 3000 more RSE workers to fill the gaps in the agricultural industry. Jamie Mackay, host of The Country, joins us in discussing whether we can take proper care of that many workers, and how we can make sure they're treated with due respect. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle, we have Tim Beveridge, Newstalk ZB host and Simon Wilson, Herald senior writer to talk about the following: Nanaia Mahuta still hasn't recieved her voting papers among other Kiwis - we're at record low voting turn-out, how do we begin to solve this mess? Kelvin Davis has apologised to Chhour over yesterday's comments - was Kelvin out of line? The future of the Kiwi water park is uncertain as the owners wait for the government approval to open. How do we keep ending up in these situations? Nurses want to turn down extra shifts next week, which Te Whatu Ora says is illegal. What does that 40 hour contract really expect us to do? Would you eat beef and lamb out of a vending machine? NZ Beef and Lamb now have their meat selling out of vending machines in China. All of these will be discussed here today on The Huddle! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Kiwi dollar dropping has been a big topic of conversation this week. So how is it faring against the U.S dollar relative to everyone else? The NZ Herald business editor at large, Liam Dann, explains how it measures up here. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Council needs an extra $20 million dollar boost to their Economic Development agency to promote the city and encourage major events to be set in the region. In order to plug up the gap, they've turned to asking local Auckland businesses to contribute financially. Here to offer his take on this imperfect solution is Gavin Oliver, managing director at Waiheke island's EcoZip. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The current local body elections are up and running, but the low voter turnout is a significant issue. Many people also haven't received their voting papers in the lead up to the election.  Grant Duncan, political commentator, is here to offer some solutions to people who might not have gotten their papers, as well as explain why the voter turnout is the way it is. "If you haven't got your paper, it could be at your old address if you've shifted. Or if it's really just gone, lost, you could go down to the council office. I know people are saying yeah right, but you could go to the council office and lodge a special vote." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World of Wearable Arts festival is back tonight after two years of cancellations. It’s running for three weeks at the TSB Arena, with more than 100 finalists from 20 countries. The director for the festival, Malia Johnstone is here to talk us through it. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Te Whatu Ora is warning nurses that their decision to turn down extra shifts next week could be illegal. The Nurses Organisation has told their members to just work their contracted shifts next week. Te Whatu Ora's saying that could be an unlawful strike, because it's refusal to do something that's a normal part of the job. Employment expert, Max Whitehead, is here to explain why this strike is lawful, even if it conflicts with the nurses duty of care.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelvin Davis has issued an apology to ACT MP Karen Chhour following his controversial comment about her seeing the world through "vanilla eyes" despite Karen Chhour being Maori. Our political editor, Barry Soper, is with us to explain why Labour definitely motivated him to make the apology for their sake. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Crown is appealing teen rapist Jayden Meyer's nine month home detention sentence. This is despite the Crown originally submitting that a home detention sentence would be most appropriate. This was the sentence that created protests around the country. Victims advocate, Ruth Money, is here to talk us through the appeal and what we should expect now. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eden Park is unlikely to get the chance to host any more All Blacks test matches next year. This is due to the rules surrounding exclusivity that FIFA has in place for the Football World Cup. Jason Pine, host of Weekend Sport, explains why this news isn't surprising to learn about here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Among the many personal details that got leaked during the infamous Optus data breach, one notable aspect of the leak involved many customers having their passport numbers released. Replacing a passport is a costly thing for many people, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants Optus to cover all these charges for their customers. Australian correspondent Murray Olds is with us to explain further.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi Water Park, one of the country's biggest water parks, may be forced to shut down before the upcoming summer season. The attraction won't be able to open up again unless a state highway with a right turning bay is implemented by November.  Kiwi Water Park co-owner Emily Rutherford explains what this all means here, and how the water park had dealt with an unconventional pre-planning due to Covid restrictions. "We did all our consent through lockdown, and no one thought anyone was going to come, quite honestly. And then a huge amount of people came, it was extremely popular with New Zealanders. And all of a sudden NZTA was like, hang on a minute, we need to put a right turn bay in there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle, Nick Leggett, Chief Executive of Transport NZ and Jack Tame, host of Saturday Morning and Q&A join us to talk about the following:  The petition about alcohol sponsorship being banned in sports. At 8000 signatures strong, will it go through? And aren't there bigger things to worry about? Local Government voting is at a record low, did councils and central Government do enough to get us engaged? Plus, some people didn't get their papers, which is a problem. Costco NZ opened today, with one lady travelling up from Riverton to do some bulk buying. How on Earth was this cost-effective? Why does One New Zealand sound like a fringe alt-right political party? What a terrible name! All of these and more will be discussed today on The Huddle! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IMF has criticised the current UK Government over its' plan for tax cuts. They've asked current Prime Minister Liz Truss to reconsider her current plan, which is based on offering tax cuts to the wealthy. Our UK correspondent, Gavin Grey, is here with us now to talk about the IMF's unusually direct criticisms, which state that these tax cuts will further exacerbate income inequality. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.