Larry Williams Drive

The UK has managed to escape Donald Trump's recent executive order doubling steel and aluminium tariffs from 25 percent to 50 percent.  The order raises import taxes for US-based firms buying metals from other countries going forward.  UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the UK evaded these tariffs as a result of the trade deal between both nations. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former market darling Ryman Healthcare's recently had a tough time financially - and the share price has dropped. Investors are already down over 30 percent, and experts have raised concerns. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Homeowners need to brace for another cost increase, this time to help fund the state disaster insurer, the Natural Hazards Commission. The minister responsible for the commission, David Seymour, says levies will 'almost certainly' need to rise, with Cabinet set to decide the changes in the coming months. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, former Labour Minister Stuart Nash and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The Government wants state owned enterprises to pick up its game - or else? Chris Luxon has ruled out asset sales this term, but do we think they're on the horizon? The Privacy Commissioner has given the thumbs up to Foodstuffs' facial recognition software. Would we mind if this technology was rolled out nation-wide? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT leader David Seymour has claimed 99.5 percent of the submissions received on the Regulatory Standards Bill were created using 'bots'. The Ministry for Regulation received approximately 23,000 submissions regarding a discussion document about the bill in January, with submissions on the bill currently open until June 23. Dr David Wilson, Clerk of the House of Representatives, says he's confident the cyber-security team involved haven't reported any bots making submissions to Parliament. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business leaders across New Zealand have voiced concerns that Donald Trump's tariffs could have a more severe global impact than the Covid-19 pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis.  The months since Trump’s 'Liberation Day' announcement have seen sustained market volatility, tit-for-tat trade wars and fears of a resurgence in inflation. New Zealand Initiative executive director Oliver Hartwich says experts are right to be concerned - as Trump's tariffs could potentially derail the economy for years to come. "The GFC and the pandemic were over after three of four years, whereas the destabilisation of globalisation with the tariffs Trump is imposing - that could derail the economy for decades to come. There's so much uncertainty about it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's belief state-owned enterprises need to go back to basics in order to up their game. New Treasury documents show the Government's told New Zealand Post and Landcorp it's not impressed with their recent performance. Simeon Brown - the Minister responsible for State-Owned Enterprises - has told them to deliver bold turnaround plans. Northland MP Grant McCallum says Lancorp's lost its purpose. He says previous leadership and ministers haven't helped - but rather, encouraged a move away from the basics of New Zealand farming. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis may get her wish to see the latest move in the Avatar franchise premiere in the capital at the end of the year. That's due to a decade-old agreement between the producers of the Avatar franchise and the Government. It states at least one of the films produced here must hold a local premiere - if the studio wants to receive its rebate payment - worth about $60 million. Former Arts and Heritage Minister Chris Finlayson says an event like this will be huge for Wellington. "If it means the red carpet can be rolled out in front of the embassy, that's fantastic." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've had a case of conflicting polls over the last twenty-four hours, with two completely different Governments predicted. But if there's one thing you can take from these polls, which they both agree on, it's that the pay equity revamp hasn’t turned into the circuit breaker that the left clearly thought it was going to be. The polls are almost identical in the proportion of people who oppose the revamp. The One News poll had 45 percent, the RNZ poll had 43 percent. That is not big. It is absolutely a plurality - in both polls, more people oppose it than support it. I’ve seen polls where 70 percent, 80 percent of people oppose something. Someone pointed out to me the polls that were done after Hekia Parata used Budget 2012 to announce class sizes would change - about 80 percent hated it. So 45 percent is nothing. It certainly isn’t the circuit breaker and make-people-hate-the-Government moment that Labour and the Greens and the unions were hoping it would be. Why? I don’t know. I thought it was a slam dunk f

A closed court has seen graphic video of a 2021 terrorist attack in Auckland at New Lynn Countdown.  A coronal inquest began today into the stabbing of six people at the supermarket. Officers monitored Sri Lankan Islamic State supporter, Ahamed Samsudeen - then shot him dead. Newstalk ZB's Jordan Dunn has been at the inquest. He says police revealed why they didn't originally follow the 35-year old into the store.  "They didn't think it was a target-rich environment, which essentially means that they knew he was capable of carrying out an attack. They thought if he were to do that, that it would be in a more densely populated area." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Foodstuffs is hoping to bring retail crime down after a successful trial of live facial recognition technology. The Privacy Commissioner has deemed Foodstuffs North Island's trial compliant with the Privacy Act, and effective in reducing harm.  But his report states there's more work to do. General Counsel for Foodstuffs North Island, Julian Benefield, says retail crime has put staff at risk - and the company's hoping to change that. "Our trial has been a success, it found that technology was effective in reducing harm. Our independent evaluator found a 16 percent reduction in serious harm incidents across the trial period - and over 100 serious incidents avoided." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two starkly different outcomes from the latest poll numbers. The latest RNZ Reid Research poll - out this morning - has the right bloc on 46.4, behind the left bloc on 50.3. But the latest 1 News Verian poll - released last night - has the right bloc on 50-percent, well ahead of the left bloc on 45. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan unpacked the implications of what these results showed. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk has come out swinging against US President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax and spending bill.  In a post on X this morning, the Tesla CEO called the bill an 'outrageous, pork-filled, disgusting abomination'.  Musk added those who voted for it knew it was wrong - and should be ashamed.  US correspondent Dan Mitchinson weighs in on these events - and wonders if this is an attempt on Elon's part to redeem himself. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No hard feelings from Gary Stead with New Zealand Cricket rejecting his proposal to job-share the Black Caps coaching role. His seven-year tenure will conclude at the end of this month - with NZC deciding to stick with an all-format mentor. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further, LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's helping protect a tourism crown jewel - with a cash injection for Milford Sound. It's putting more more than $15 million into a new alpine walk, clearing landfills and upgrading amenities and flood protection - much coming from the visitor levy. Cruise ships will be permitted back into inner parts of the Sound.  Southland Mayor Rob Scott says it's essential the ships don't take away from the experience for others. He explained if lots of cruise ships are blocking the view of Mitre Peak, no one gets the experience.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Portugal police have announced a fresh search for Madeleine McCann. The British three-year-old disappeared 18 years ago from a resort in Praia da Luz - one of the most high-profile missing person cases in history. The search centres around the resort - and chief suspect Christian Brueckner's former home. UK correspondent Elizabeth Callaghan says this search is designed to gather more evidence about the case. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data shows more Kiwi farmers are satisfied with their banks - pointing to improved communication and less 'undue pressure'. Federated Farmers’ latest Banking Survey shows 60 percent of respondents are 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with their bank. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Rob Campbell and Maurice Williamson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Will we read Jacinda's new book? What are we expecting? Are we annoyed there's no apology over the Covid response? The new WorkSafe changes kicked in - are we glad the Government is dialling back on the health and safety enforcement or do we think this is a step too far? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Looks like nothing's changed in camp Jacinda, has it? You will get no admission that she and her Government got anything wrong during Covid, from what I can gather. Now, this is my disclaimer - I haven't actually read the entire memoir just yet. But from what I've skim read and from what I've read and heard in the reviews, and what I've read and heard with her interviews promoting the book, if you are looking for her to admit that she got anything wrong at all during Covid, you're not going to find it. The closest thing I found is on page 309, where she admits that she made 'imperfect decisions', but that's really underselling the massive balls-up that was our Covid response, wasn't it? What you get instead is multiple excuses, heaps of verbal fluff to avoid answering hard questions and, regularly, the defence that we saved 20,000 lives. Here's an example - she gave an interview to RNZ's Jessie Mulligan where he asked her about vaccine mandates, which we now know, of course, was a huge mistake

Canadian billionaire Jim Grenon and former Finance Minister, Steven Joyce, have won positions on integrated media company NZME's board.  Board positions were voted on today in a shareholder meeting - where current chair Barbara Chapman stepped down. Joyce is set to chair, and he says he's got an eye on the company's future. "It's about not necessarily slavishly following social media - it's striking your own path." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.