Larry Williams Drive

The Chief Ombudsman is urging school boards to take accountability for decisions. Peter Boshier has made his case notes public relating to his recommendations not being followed - by the boards of Auckland's St Peter's College and Christchurch's Cashmere High School. St Peter's refused to apologise for excluding a student for buying and smoking marijuana - and Cashmere didn't apologise or take steps after declining an out-of-zone enrolment without explanation. Boshier says the schools should have apologised for the inadequacies in their responses. "We recommended that these students' disciplinary records be amended and have nothing attached to it - and then we said the board, when it's doing a decision like this, should have a clear process." St Peters principal James Bentley has refused to apologise. "Marijuana buying and using is an illegal activity - we hold the view, as many schools do, that this has no place in our schools. We'd hoped the Ombudsman would have supported us on this, but unfortunately he to

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has hit back at Elon Musk over claims that a 'civil war' may break out in the UK. On a video of rioters setting off fireworks at police, Musk commented that civil war was 'inevitable'. UK correspondent Vincent McAviney says Starmer and his team have been working to get a grip on the riots - and social media responses. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's Reserve Bank has taken on a grim tone with today's OCR update - and warned rate cuts aren't on the horizon. The Bank considered hiking rates today, but moved to keep them in place at 4.35 percent. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham says inflation is still running too far above expectations. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three major New Zealand banks have slashed their rates ahead of next week's OCR review. Both Kiwibank and BNZ have urged the Reserve Bank to cut the cash rate down - months ahead of predicted forecasts. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen explains why there's a case for the Reserve Bank to move quicker. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 6 August 2024, Health NZ's Richard Sullivan explains the u-turn to give some cancer patients early access to Keytruda treatments after all. Smith & Caughey's chairman Tony Caughey explains the decision to keep the business going after he thought he would have to close just a few months ago (and his hot take on interest rates). There's a warning that Kiwi kids who spend too much time on screens are displaying behaviour that mimics the symptoms of ADHD. The Huddle debates whether PM Chris Luxon is right when he says we might have to teach less arts and music and teach more maths. 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.

There's another crucial Global Dairy Trade auction taking place tonight as a new season kicks into gear. Rabobank analyst Emma Higgins has predicted WMP and SMP will move lower overnight. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Kiwiblog writer and Curia pollster David Farrar and Toby Manhire from The Spinoff joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Prime Minister caught a bit of backlash after suggesting schools might have to defer arts and music to focus on teaching more maths. Do we agree with Luxon? Health NZ has done a u-turn on Keytruda - allowing some cancer patients to get early access. Was this the right call? Winstone's pulp and timber mills have seen their power bills jump by 600 percent and are closing their mills for a couple of weeks because it's too expensive to keep going. Should the Government intervene? New research shows children who spend too much time on their screens display behaviours that mimic ADHD. How can we manage this? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones is calling the possibility two mills could close - 'hideous' - with the loss of 300 jobs. Winstone's says ballooning energy bills could force the Ohakune pulp and timber mills to shut. Jones is urging the energy companies to offer these industrial players a deal to keep them going.  "My problem is - if they don't start to engage and actually look after New Zealand firms and New Zealand employers, then I fear for the industrialisation."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Historic Auckland department store Smith & Caughey’s is living to fight another day. The 144 year old business announced in May it would close next year - but today revealed measures to let it stay open. It will downsize physical trading to the ground floor of its Queen Street store, cut about 100 staff and close the Newmarket branch, and ramp up online operations. Chair Tony Caughey says the reality is fewer people shop in the city and they must adapt. "There'll be different ways of doing things - and I think it will evolve. We won't see the old days of how it was, but we'll see a new, different sort of Queen Street." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business owners in Wellington’s Courtenay Place hope to boost the area's image with a New Year’s Eve street festival. 35 businesses have come together to pitch an outdoor event offering food, drinks and entertainment - and all they need is approval from the council. Courtenay Place business owner Greig Wilson says they're putting extra pressure on the council to ensure it gets approved on time. "It's a model that's worked really well in the past, with Sevens parties and Lord of the Rings premieres." LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Japanese market is clawing its way back, after an epic tumble overnight. Its Nikkei had a historic one-day drop - the first in a volatile chain of global financial markets. It's now starting to stabilise, sitting about nine percent up on yesterday. Matt Goodson from Salt Funds Management says Japan's weakness began a couple of days ago, when the central bank hiked up cash rates. "The Japanese market had been pretty strong all year, the yen had been really weak - and that just turned everything around, the market fell hard, the yen really strengthened." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health New Zealand has explained a U-turn to give a small group of cancer patients early access to Keytruda treatment. It had earlier said it would wait to offer patients the drug, until Pharmac funding started in October. Chief Clinical Officer Richard Sullivan says up to 30 people can get the drug this month. "After reaching out to our clinical colleagues in our cancer centres, recognising the number of patients we could bring in early under this access program - is a small number we felt the system could do." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker Gerry Brownlee is warning MPs against bad behaviour after last week's drama in the House. ACT clashed with the Speaker over wearing party-logo pins, and the Children's Minister broke down in tears, feeling bullied - and her leader later criticised the Speaker. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says today's session was much more orderly. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Reserve Bank has moved to leave rates on hold at 4.35 percent. Figures from the June quarter showed inflation has stayed in line with market expectations - but the bank is holding on before making bigger moves. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Australians are still on edge, as a cut is unlikely to happen until early 2025. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warriors star Shaun Johnson has announced his retirement after 14 years are the top level. The halfback will conclude his NRL and international career after the Warriors' final four games of the season. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One neuroscience expert claims Kiwi kids who spend too much time on their devices have developed behaviours that mimic ADHD.  This comes as teachers are forced to adapt their teaching methods as children display behavioural issues as a result of excess screentime. Educational psychologist and neuroscience trainer Kathryn Berkett says these kids are unable to concentrate or sit still - which are behaviours experts use to diagnose ADHD. "We're never letting our kids spend time without external stimulation into their brains." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 5 August 2024, terrorism expert Greg Barton speaks with Heather after Australia raised its threat level , saying an attack is "probable". Finance Minister Nicola Willis on her plans to make Kiwibank more competitive - will she sell parts of it to raise more capital? Cancer advocates are upset that Health NZ has declined a drug company's offer of free treatment for cancer sufferers. Act leader David Seymour responds to John Key's plea to lower the temperature on race relations. Plus the Huddle debates whether the BBC should be removing old footage that includes disgraced ex-presenter Huw Edwards. 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.

Nicola Willis appears intent on making Kiwibank a bigger player in the banking sector The Finance Minister told the National Party's annual conference yesterday she wants to look into privatising the New Zealand-owned bank. It comes only a couple of years after the previous Government secured complete state ownership for 2.1 billion dollars. Willis told Heather du Plessis-Allan she's not proposing selling off the Government's share - she just wants to add to it with new capital. She says the motivation isn't about getting more cash out of Kiwibank - it's about growing it by having other people putting cash in. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Act's leader's standing by his controversial Treaty Principles Bill, under criticism from Sir John Key. At National's conference in the weekend, the former Prime Minister said the temperature should be turned down on race relations. He suggested the Bill isn't workable, because the principles of Te Tiriti change over time. David Seymour told Heather du Plessis-Allan problems need open discussion. He says the Bill is about what the founding document really means, and will find out how to make New Zealand a place for all. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has come down in favour of dairy companies - opting out of an international infant formula proposal. Rules designed by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand restrict labelling - and only let pharmacies and healthcare providers sell specialist formula. Industry giant Danone threatened to withdraw from New Zealand if it went through - taking away 441 jobs. Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard told Heather Du Plessis-Allan they want New Zealand products to remain competitive. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.