Larry Williams Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, North Shore Councillor Richard Hills and Trish Sherson of Sherson Willis PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day, and more! Grant Robertson's copping flack from National over yesterday's heated interview over Labour's GST-free fruit and veg policy. National's Nicola Willis says it's completely over the top for Robertson to hit back. Why did Robertson react so emotionally? Labour's new election promise will allow partners to take multiple weeks of paid parental leave. It would start with two weeks and go up to four weeks by 2026. Is there merit to this idea? The last FIFA Women's World Cup match in New Zealand is on tonight- why are we so into it? Have we just missed big events? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cyclone Gabrielle damaged property, closed 30 sections of state highways, and killed 11- and the recovery is still ongoing. It's been six months since the cyclone ravaged the East Coast, and residents are still working every day to pick up the pieces The Country producer Rowena Duncum says farmers in the region haven't been able to get machinery or equipment in to fix the extent of the damage.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister lost patience with ACT's David Seymour during Question Time. Seymour accused the Government of using race to divide New Zealanders, citing pregnant Maori women being given Prezzy Cards and ethnicity being included in surgical waitlists.Hipkins fired back he rejects the premise of Seymour's questions as plain racism. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Labour's under a lot of heat, especially following the backlash to their GST policy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Federal Police have charged a Canberra man, after he was aggressive on a plane from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. Video taken on the Malaysia Airlines flight showed a man wearing a backpack threatening passengers and staff with explosives. No explosives were found, and the man has since been charged with providing a false statement of a threat to an aircraft and not complying with the crew. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says it took police three hours to arrive and arrest the man after the flight was turned around. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sky TV are on the receiving end of backlash over their recent business decisions.  The Herald's Chris Rattue has labelled the Sky Box an 'absolute dog', lambasting its recording abilities and 'general clunkiness' Sky have also announced that their broadband and entertainment package prices will increase by 10 percent, starting October 1. Tech commentator Paul Spain says Sky is moving towards a new era, and any change is going to seem inconvenient or jarring. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New REINZ figures show the housing market is still subdued- but some buyer confidence is returning. Their house price index shows the national median house sale price has dropped 1.3 percent in the month to July and sales have declined 15 percent. Despite this, REINZ chief executive Jen Baird says there's been a clear uptick in buyer activity. "More people are showing up at open homes, more people are showing up at auctions and we are starting to see that in sales volumes." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis is rejecting accusations she lied about internal tensions among Labour over its tax policy. Willis claims Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins had a disagreement over the start-date for Labour's promise to remove GST from fruits and veg. Robertson denies that's true, but Willis says she was only providing a theory - after Hipkins said he would 'aim' to have the policy in place by 1 April. "Why were their numbers put out that suggested the policy wasn't going to start until potentially October?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's concerns about aspects of Labour's Paid Partner's Leave policy. It will give partners four weeks of paid leave by 2026, on top of the primary caregivers' existing 26 weeks. Parent support group Crayon says it's a step in the right direction, but the pay is below the minimum wage. CEO Stephanie Pow says that doesn't align with other countries offering partner leave. "That's because partners, particularly fathers, are less likely to take this leave if it's not paid at close to the full rate." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's Eden Park is set to play host to another record-breaking Women's World Cup match. Spain will face off against Sweden for a chance in the final, and the final match hosted in New Zealand is predicted to make history for the stadium. Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner says the success of the Women's World Cup has shown the world what's possible for the region. "It's certainly exceeded a lot of people's expectations. We knew this was the biggest women's sporting event in the world and the biggest event to come to our shores." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The jury in Lauren Dickason’s triple murder trial has gone home for the night. She admits to killing her daughters in Timaru in 2021 but denies it was murder, by reason of insanity. The jury has wrapped up their second day of deliberations after 9.5 hours, and will resume at 10am tomorrow. The Herald's Anna Leask says there are many unknowns ahead if the accused is found guilty of infanticide. "An application may have to be made to have her detained at a mental health facility, but it'll all come out." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spain and Sweden are set to battle it out for a spot in the Women's World Cup final tonight. New Zealand hosts its 29th and final match tonight, where thousands of fans will watch one of the most competitive matches of the tournament. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains what we can expect from tonight's match- and why Spain are the favourites to win. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.