Larry Williams Drive

The Ngāti Toa Rangatira iwi isn't impressed with David Seymour's contentious Treaty Principles Bill. The three principles to be included in the bill have been released today - including 'Civil Government', the 'Rights of Hapū and Iwi Māori' and the 'Right to Equality'. Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chief executive Helmut Modlik says Seymour's proposition is lacking. "Tino rangatiratanga speaks to the ability to continue to live your life according to your customs, to have responsibility for your people, your place to live according to your own tikanga. That's what was agreed - that's the only thing that makes sense." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Contact Energy has confirmed it reached an agreement to take over electricity generator Manawa Energy in a near $2.3-billion merger. Contact would pay a combination of cash and its own shares to the equivalent of $5.95 for each Manawa share - and it hopes to finalise the arrangement by early next year. CEO Mike Fuge says this investment will help diversify Contact's generating portfolio. "What this enables us to do is to firm up our wholesale portfolio and provide more products to commercial industrial New Zealand." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Plymouth's mayor is blaming the last Government's gas policy for Methanex's proposal to scale down. The country's largest gas user plans to move from a two-plant operation to one, and lay off staff for the foreseeable future. Its managing director says policy settings since 2018 haven't been conducive to sustaining gas supplies for more than one plant. Neil Holdom says it'll be a blow for the region, but the writing's been on the wall. "We saw this coming in 2018, with the last Government's flawed energy policy. This is a direct and logical consequence that was always going to happen - we told them it would happen." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's recent report into the East Coast floods concludes action is urgently needed. The review in part points the finger at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the Wairoa District Councils for poor management of the river mouth and bar. Wairoa mayor Craig Little is relieved with this report - and claims the bar should be cleared more often. "No one's rung me from the regional council or anything - except to say that they're going to have a recce in Wairoa on the Friday." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's action-packed Presidential debate has wrapped, leaving many convinced it was a victory for Kamala Harris. She and Donald Trump traversed a battlefield covering inflation, abortion and foreign policy. The contrast between the two was clear - with Harris more future-focused, and Trump hailing back to his Presidency. US historian Allan Lichtman says Harris's win was crystal clear. "She was good, maybe very good. Trump was abysmal - he got baited by Harris time and time again." Lichtman says Trump's off-the rails comment about migrants eating pets will stick in people's brains. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taylor Swift has come out and endorsed current Vice-President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for President. Shortly after the first debate between Harris and Donald Trump wrapped up, Swift released an Instagram post confirming she would vote for Harris and Tim Walz. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says this is good marketing for the Harris-Walz campaign.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi mixed martial artist Navajo Stirling is being unleashed on the UFC. The light heavyweight's knockout win over Phillip Latu on the latest Contender Series card in Las Vegas has earned him a contract with the company. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over 50 high-profile sporting identities and former Olympians have signed an open letter urging the Government to rethink the guiding principles for transgender athletes participating in sports. The letter claims Sport New Zealand’s guidelines disregard the rights of female athletes and go against scientific evidence. Former Olympian Dave Gerrard says allowing athletes to compete under self-identification ignores the science - and dismisses female athletes. "I'm not, for one moment, trying to exclude transgender individuals from participating - I'm just trying to get some logic to this. How far do you allow somebody to go?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Princess of Wales has confirmed she's completed her chemotherapy treatments in an emotional video message. Kate Middleton says she's focused on staying cancer-free and will be making more public appearances in the coming months. UK correspondent Enda Brady says there's concern Kate may not be as well as she's letting on. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi sheep famers will have to brace themselves for another tough earnings season. Beef and Lamb New Zealand’s new season outlook says farm profit margins were being hit by high costs, especially interest payments, reaching low levels similar to those seen in the 1980s and 1990s. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains the issue further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ruapehu district has been dealt a huge blow - as Winstone Pulp International confirms it will close the two mills in the region. Over 230 workers will lose their jobs, and mayor Weston Kirton is 'gutted' the Government couldn't broker a deal and save the mills. Infometrics principal economist unpacks the economic impact of this announcement. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One council member believes Auckland Council needs to rethink its plan to slash transport emissions by 2030. The council aims to halve car use, encourage a 13-fold increase in cycling, and increase public transport trips from 100 million a year pre-Covid to 550 million. Auckland Councillor Daniel Newman says these ideas need to be shelved in favour of something more realistic. "What we have is a multi-billion dollar price tag for investment in public transport infrastructure, for the reallocation of our road corridors for cycleways, for the kind of intensive urban design planning that would be necessary to give effect to that - much of this is unfunded." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Nick Mills from ZB's Wellington Mornings and Toby Manhire from the Spinoff joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Courts will be able to ban gang members from wearing patches in the home thanks to an amendment the Government made to the bill. Is this a step too far? Winstone Pulp International announced its pulp and saw mills in the Ruapehu District will close indefinitely - putting more than 200 people out of work. Should the Government have gotten involved and saved the mills? Are we getting too gloomy? A new piece by Pattrick Smellie from BusinessDesk says New Zealand's gotten too unhappy recently. Are we right to complain about the economic and social issues? The Australian Government is looking at banning social media for kids, with legislation to arrive by the end of the year? Is this the right move? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 10 September 2024, hundreds of people will lose their jobs in a huge blow to the Ruapehu district. Mayor Weston Kirton tells Heather he's gutted the Government wasn't able to broker a deal. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are about to square off for the first time in a presidential debate. Former debate moderator Dominic Carter reckons Kamala has a lot to lose. Australian kids are going to be banned from using social media - but will this ban actually be enforceable? Plus the Huddle debates whether New Zealanders just need to cheer up a bit and stop being so gloomy. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Experts believe a changing retail market and the evolution of influencers have forced online companies to make some changes.  British e-retailer ASOS has confirmed it plans to charge shoppers to return items unless they keep £40 of their order. Meanwhile, Boohoo recently introduced a freight charge into New Zealand, Nike has stopped shipping here altogether and other brands have reduced their availability for Kiwi customers.  Chris Wilkinson from First Retail Group says consumers need to accept that this is the way of the future. "Abuse is certainly causing most of these retailers in the UK big challenges." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Law Society says pumping up the proposed gang patch bill gives police intrusive search powers. Cabinet has agreed to add a clause to the bill banning patches in public to ban them in the homes of members repeatedly defying the public ban. It was added in August, after the bill had gone through the Select Committee process, even though Ministers were briefed on options in March. The Society's Chris Macklin says this change shouldn't have been added without some scrutiny. "The reaching into homes is a pretty big concern - and it's exactly for that reason you'd expect that it would have been consulted on rather than put into a late amendment." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Chrono-working' could be the next employment fad to wash up in Aotearoa. It lets workers choose their hours dictated by their circadian rhythm, instead of the usual nine to five. Robert Walters Commercial Director Stuart Nash says people have worked to circadian rhythms for thousands of years. He says working this way optimises output. "What we're saying now is - you know what, the best way to get productivity out of the workers is to let them work when they're productive. I will say - this is not an excuse to be lazy." Nash says this is really another way of describing modern workplace flexibility. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pattrick Smellie, who has been a regular contributor to this show, is back from his long European sabbatical - and he reckons we need to cheer up in New Zealand.He's written a piece for BusinessDesk saying that the headlines he’s seeing here at home suggest we’re as miserable as we were back in the early 1990s during Ruth Richardson's recession. And he points out that all 9 countries he visited actually had the same problems - race relations, violent crime, failing infrastructure, countless crises, countries going backwards, but they were dealing with it without the same sense of fatalistic despair that we have over it.Now I've thought about this a lot overnight, and I agree that we're extremely gloomy. And I would be the first to tell us to give ourselves an uppercut if I thought we were being unreasonably miserable, but I think we’re justified in feeling like we do.Because- and I can't speak for other countries - we have gone through a massive shift in the last few years. We went from being the rockstar eco

An epic showdown is expected at tomorrow's presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The VP and former President are facing off in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Millions are expected to tune into the ABC-broadcast clash - which has no live audience, with microphones muted when candidates aren't explicitly in speaking time. Former US debate moderator Dominic Carter says it's the pair's first face-to-face moment. "Trump - he's done many presidential debates. It's the first time for Kamala Harris, the Vice-President at the top of the ticket."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two North Island mills have failed to strike a deal to save their operations. Winstone Pulp International announced its pulp and saw mills in the Ruapehu District will close indefinitely, putting more than 200 people out of work. Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton says they'd been talking with Government Ministers and electricity providers trying to save the mills, but with no luck. He says he's devastated. "We've had our ups and downs, as you know, but this is a big hit. I'm really taking it personally." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.