Larry Williams Drive

Increased train frequency in Auckland's Mt Albert could mean crossings will close for 45 minutes each hour during peak times. That's on top of Auckland Transport's plans to put barrier arms and flashing lights on all city rail crossings over coming decades. Many need to be done before the City Rail Link is completed, scheduled for 2025. Auckland City Councillor Christine Fletcher says it's not good enough. "The CRL will not work unless we invest in comprehensive-grade separation, because every 10-15 minutes, these trains are going to be coming along, and you're going to have the barriers down." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour’s paternity leave policy is a good one. Finally. They’ll be relieved commentators like it- they’re clearly trying to change the subject from the GST off fruit and veges policy only two days ago, because it's gone very badly for them. But I'll happily play the game and change the subject for a bit. So what they’ve announced is that they’ll fund four weeks paternity leave for the second parent, which in most cases is a dad. They'll roll it out in stages, two weeks leave from next year, and then a third week in 2025, and the fourth week in 2026. The truth is that our paid parental leave in New Zealand is actually pretty miserable compared to other developed countries.  We get 26 weeks at the moment, which sounds not bad- but the amount we get paid is rubbish. And when you add the two together, there are only five countries in the OECD more miserable than us. Take what we get, triple it, and the Germans still get more than that. We can do better, and we have to, because we need Kiwis having kids. We need

A study by Resolution Foundation says 3.9 million working days to industrial action in the past year. Nurses, junior doctors, teachers, railway workers, and postal workers have all taken strike action over real-terms pay declines. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says industrial action has been confined to the public sector, and these workers have been responsible for 96 percent of the days lost. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and current affairs commentator Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Labour have officially confirmed that they plan to scrap the 15 percent GST from fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables. Will the regret this policy as the election draws closer?  NZ First is gaining popularity in the polls, but their Bay of Plenty candidate Kirsten Murfitt is in hot water for her documented views on Covid-19, vaccines, and 9/11. Is this a bad look for NZ First? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has announced a raft of tax policies designed to address the cost of living crisis ahead of the election. Hipkins has announced a boost to the In-Work Tax Credit, which will benefit about 160,000 families. The GST on fruit and vegetables will be scrapped, a cut to take effect come April 2024. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says there's room for other parties to introduce more optimistic, pro-business policies ahead of the election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister has labelled New Zealand's scrapping of all remaining Covid-19 restrictions a 'significant milestone'. Mandatory seven-day isolation periods are no more, as are masking requirements in health facilities. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the Government needed a distraction from the GST debacle 8 weeks out from the election- as evidenced by the post-Cabinet press conference. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One NZ, formerly known as Vodafone, has been handed a record $3.675 million fine for breaching the Fair Trading Act. The telecommunications company has reportedly mislead consumers in their marketing of their FibreX broadband service. Commerce Commission chair John Small says One NZ had the substantial financial resources to handle a fine of that size- as misleading consumers can't be a cost of doing business.  "We think it's important that all businesses appreciate the seriousness of the Fair Trading Act, because it's so important for consumer protection and for promotion of competition." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Migrant arrivals have continued to soar in the year to June 2023- but these gains are being offset as more Kiwis depart.  Annual net migration rose again in the year to June to 86,000, a figure made up of a net gain of 121,600 non-New Zealand citizens and a net loss of 34,800 New Zealand citizens. ASB senior economist Mark Smith says pent-up demand post-Covid is driving Kiwi departures, but the uptick in migrants adds to the nation's labour force. "What we're really seeing now is a lot of people coming in. Numbers on work visas hit a record high in the June year of around 74,000 people- a lot more coming in are linked to the labour force." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister is defending the Government's scheme to take GST off fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables. It's faced criticism from economists and opposition politicians, including a mistake on when the policy would come in- throwing the cost out by $235 million. There's also questions about exactly what will be left and left out under the system. Grant Robertson says that shouldn't be a barrier. "These kinds of decisions about what's in and out in a regime get made all over the world." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From midnight, there will be no legal barrier to someone going to work infected with Covid-19. The Government is dropping all isolation and mask-wearing requirements from midnight tonight. Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says they continue to recommend people with the virus stay home for five days. Verrall says it's a lesson the pandemic can teach us. "Maybe some of our behaviour in the past wasn't as considerate of everyone else as it needs to be, it is still good to stay home when you're sick and not go to work coughing and spluttering." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I went to the football at Eden Park on Friday night. It was great, an almost full stadium and probably -without a lie- the loudest roars from a crowd that I’ve ever heard. All of the tech was there, they had a drone above the grounds- and everyone who was anyone was there.  Government ministers, political figures, national sports bosses, small business owners, former national footballers, it was the place to be on Friday night. And the thing that occurred to me was that it could’ve been a men’s game- that’s how good the quality of everything was. And isn’t that the crucial point? The quality you get with women’s sport is different. If you want to watch a women’s Super Rugby game, you have to haul ass to Levin to watch an afternoon game in your gummies, like you're watching schoolboy rugby. Or you tune in to some grainy coverage that looks like something out of 1990s rugby coverage. But this tournament had good stadia, good kick off times, good commentators and good camera operators.  I had exactly the same th

A reminder the trial of triple murder-accused Lauren Dickason case is decided by a jury, not the experts. She doesn’t deny killing her three daughters in Timaru in 2021, but is mounting a defence of infanticide and insanity. The jury retired for deliberations just before 2pm - returning to again watch the police interviews with the accused, and her husband. The Herald's Anna Leask says Justice Cameron Mander told them to weigh up the evidence they've heard. "Don't get bogged down on what these leading experts and police and all sorts have told them- take the evidence into account that they think is right and go from there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Confusion from some smaller supermarket outlets, as the Government announces an election policy to remove GST on fresh and frozen produce. It says it would save the average household $20 a month, starting next April. Supie founder Sarah Balle says it'll add administration costs throughout the supply chain - which will reduce any savings. "To not just the fruit and vegetable growers themselves, but everyone else through the supply chain, whether it's the markets, the processors- and of course, us as a supermarket." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has voiced support for a national holiday if the Matildas succeed in the World Cup. Australia has made it to the semi-finals against England and could potentially make history if they advance to the finals and win. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson disagrees with this idea, saying the region doesn't need an extra public holiday. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Australia versus Europe in the final four of the FIFA Women's World Cup. The Matildas squeezed past France 7-6 on penalties in Brisbane, while England came from 1-nil down to beat Colombia 2-1. The semis will also see Spain tackling Sweden in Auckland and England taking on Australia in Sydney. Sportstalk host Jason Pine explains what we can expect come Tuesday. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZR seeks to make changes to provincial rugby, following chief Mark Robinson claiming the current model isn't 'fit for purpose'. The NPC was launched two weeks ago with minimal promotion or fanfare, and interest in the sport has been sparse. Former All Black Sir John Kirwan agrees with this assessment, and claims the NPC needs to be aligned closer to Super Rugby. "They play a curtain-raiser, they extend the squads and it all becomes part of the high performance. You'd have some semi-professional people and professionals." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The weekly grocery cost continues to sting Kiwis. Food prices dropped 0.5% from June to July, although they're still up 9.6% from a year ago. Meat, poultry, and fish increased 9.3% annually. Fruit and veggies is up 6.2 points, although July's costs dipped 4.1% from June. Vegetables NZ Chair, John Murphy, told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he thinks we are at the tail end of Cyclone Gabrielle's destruction, which wreaked havoc on growers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government insists it's not 'forcing change' to close New Zealand's gender pay gap. Instead, Associate Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan says companies are being given the opportunity to outline their gap in pay. She announced today nine-hundred entities —each with more than 250 workers— will need to report their pay gap before the requirement's expanded to organisations employing over a hundred people. But there's no specific timeline to get there, nor any drafted legislation. She told Heather Du Plessis-Allan that mandatory reporting values people for the work they do. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fatal wildfires in Hawaii's Maui caught thousands of people off guard. At least 53 people are dead and around 11,000 are without power, with the rebuild expected to cost billions. US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Heather du-Plessis Allan that a lot of bodies are washing up out of the water. He says the fire was so strong that it jumped the streets and made its way onto boats and the pier, so people were forced to swim for their lives. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big rebuild job ahead for Maui locals once the wildfires start to ease. At least 53 people are dead and around 11,000 are without power on the island as Hawaii faces one of the worst natural disasters in its history. Former Prime Minister John Key has a property there, but it's not affected. He told Heather du Plessis-Allan that having gone through the Christchurch rebuild, he understands the challenge ahead. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.