Larry Williams Drive

A former National MP has revealed details of being targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers in 2021. Simon O'Connor and former Labour MP Louisa Wall claim they were specifically hit in the cyber-attack, revealed last month. Both say they weren't informed by the current or previous Government - and want an investigation. Both represented New Zealand on the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. O'Connor says the hackers sent a dodgy pixel in an emailed image. "If we'd opened it, it would have sent information such as what browser we'd been using, what's our IP address - and that's then sort of the first steps for a further attempt to be made to extricate more information from our systems." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economists forecast unemployment will climb higher. New data shows it reached 4.3 percent in March, up from 4 percent in the December quarter. This comes at a time where higher interest rates are biting, as the Reserve Bank tries to rein in inflation. BNZ Head of Research Stephen Toplis says it could go as high as 5.5 percent. "We're really sort of experiencing, I think, the worst of things at the moment. But before the labour market turns around, you're probably looking at another six to nine months after that. So I think the unemployment rate keeps rising until the middle of next year." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in the US, police are still out in full force at New York's Columbia University. Hundreds of officers have cleared a campus building occupied by students holding a pro-Palestinian protest. US correspondent, Dan Mitchinson, says police have been asked to stay through the middle of the month. He says it's sparked activism on dozens of campuses. "I don't think we've had demonstrations like these probably since the 60's - not since the Vietnam war protests." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kirk Penney has become just the second New Zealander to earn selection in international basketball's Hall of Fame. The Tall Blacks icon will join Pero Cameron - selected in 2017 - as a FIBA Hall of Famer. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's disappointment a Bill that would have regulated property managers more has been withdrawn. Housing Minister Chris Bishop has scrapped the Property Managers bill, saying the cost-benefit was marginal at best. He says it would have cost tenants and landlords. Real Estate Institute CEO Jen Baird says the figures involved were small. "Some of the numbers that I've seen have been 43 cents per property per week, up to about $2.50 per property per week." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prince Harry is set to visit the UK for the Invictus Games's 10-year anniversary - but he won't be meeting with his father. Reports suggest King Charles' diary is full and the monarch will be 'too busy' to see Prince Harry this time. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this shows tensions are still high between the rest of the royals and Harry. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey shows confidence is declining. Business confidence dropped 8 points to +15 in April, expected own activity fell 9 points to +14, and past own activity dropped 13 points to -20. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen explains what this means for the state of the economy.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian financial markets appear to be bracing themselves for bad news. They've made a sudden shift from pricing in rate cuts to pricing in potential rate hikes, and economists fear increases to the OCR are coming. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham says interest rates aren't likely to be dropping any time this year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's farmers have been struggling under ongoing droughts and low rainfall. The unfavourable weather conditions have led to farmers de-stocking or selling their stock at a significant loss. The Country's Rowena Duncum warns it'll take more than one rainstorm to address this. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A newly-released report from the entity tasked with setting MPs' pay has recommended multiple pay rises over the coming three years. The Remuneration Authority's recommendation would see the Prime Minister's salary incrementally go from $471,000 a year now, to $520,000 a year in July 2026. ZB political correspondent Barry Soper says the perception is this is concerning, in light of recent cuts to the pay of medical workers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A 17-year-old girl has shocked NSW authorities by stabbing her younger sister to death. Emergency services were called to a Boolaroo address to address a stabbing that occurred at 3:45pm on Monday. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says police were mystified by this case - and haven't uncovered a motive. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 30 April 2024, the Prime Minister and all MPs are in for a significant pay rise. Remuneration Authority Chair Geoff Summers tells Heather how he determined how much more they should be paid. Exclusive revelations about the Christchurch Call. Whistleblower Milton Mueller from the Georgia Institute of Technology reveals how the Christchurch Call's independent advisory network was pressured to bury reports that were critical of how call members were implementing their commitments. The Huddle debates whether Air NZ is an embarrassment given that Jetstar is now more reliable than our national airline. And Qatar wants to host Rugby's Nations Championship. Heather argues we can't ignore $1.68 billion on offer despite Qatar's questionable human rights record. 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

New anti-scam measures are on the way for online banking. The New Zealand Banking Association has today announced our banks will roll out a 'confirmation of payee' service by the end of the year. It will make direct cash transfers more secure, by cross checking names registered to accounts when transfers are made. Chief executive Roger Beaumont says this project has been in the works since September 2023.  "This is something that takes time, it has been progressed since we announced that in September - and we're moving at that pace."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Kaine Thompson and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Do we really need to keep funding the Christchurch Call? It's been revealed the Christchurch Call Secretariat pressured an independent advisory network not to publish critical reports into members of the Call. Should we scrap it? Despite the tough economic climate, it's been confirmed MPs are getting a pay rise. Do they deserve this? New reports have revealed Jetstar is now more reliable than Air New Zealand. Is this surprising? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB can reveal allegations the Christchurch Call has silenced members of its Advisory Network - and pressured them to not release critical reports of member countries. Because of that, a group called the Internet Governance Project, has quit. Project founder and Network reviewer, Milton Mueller says India wasn't honouring its commitments. "They really didn't seem to have much of an official commitment to go along with the Christchurch Call at all, so we simply wrote that up." Meanwhile, the Government says it will soon reveal whether it will keep paying Dame Jacinda Ardern to work on the Christchurch Call. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rugby could be headed to the Middle East for the new Nations Championship, according to new reports. Qatar has reportedly made a bid to host the three-day finals event - a bid that promises commercial returns of $1.68 billion (NZD). Former All Black Sir John Kirwan is hopeful the power of sport can create a platform to address the outside issues in Qatar. "You'd be hoping that our leadership across rugby - World Rugby and New Zealand Rugby - are putting some pressure on. They want the rugby to come there, they have oil money, but we also need to use that platform to ask serious questions." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air New Zealand's reliability has fallen - and it's trailing Jetstar in figures for last month as it grapples with engine problems. Only 77 percent of its domestic flights arrived within 15 minutes of scheduled times last month, down from 88 percent in January. Jetstar reported no domestic cancellations last month and almost 79 percent of flights were on time. Consumer NZ CEO Jon Duffy says it's good opportunity for Jetstar to boost their reputation. "It's a great opportunity for them to show that they're lifting their game - and become more of competitive threat to Air New Zealand." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Remuneration Authority says the Prime Minister's pay increase is fair. Chris Luxon's turned down the $50,000 salary boost over three years, and promises to donate it to charity. Chair Geoff Summers says a lot of work's gone into determining the figure - including job comparisons. He says our MP pay is relatively low internationally. "It's behind most other Westminster democracies - we had a good look at that, the tables are in the report. They're even behind most of the state MPs in Australia, except for Tasmania." Chris Luxon's salary would riss from $471,000 to $520,000 in 2026. Normal MPs' 163-thousand-dollar pay packets would rise to $181,000. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Rugby has shouldered arms to reports Qatar has offered up more than a billion-and-a-half dollars to host the finals of rugby's new Nations Championship from 2026. A new report claims the gulf state wants the rights to 'finals weekend' of the tournament across four editions spanning eight years. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains the situation further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brace yourself, because it looks like we’re about to have another debate about whether sport should be taking money from Qatar. And this time, we’re probably going to care more about this as a nation, because this time - the sport is rugby. It's being reported that Qatar has made an offer to host the new upcoming Nations Championship, which is the tournament that basically combines the Six Nations up in Europe and the Rugby Championship down in the Southern Hemisphere - and then possibly adds in Fiji and Japan just to get to 12 nations. It’s supposed to happen every couple of years, played across the winter rugby window and then culminating in a finals weekend in November. This is what Qatar has offered to host, that finals weekend. They will bill it as a sort of 'Super Bowl of rugby' and they've promised commercial returns of $1.7 billion (NZD). Come on, the rugby bosses would be idiots to turn this down, wouldn't they? Unless they know that they can get better money elsewhere - and where are they going to g