Larry Williams Drive

Well, it's day one back at work for me which means it's day one for Barry on fulltime daddy duty. So, we thought we'd check in with him to see how he's going. Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China is ramping up plans to test 20 million people living in Beijing in an effort to stamp out the Covid outbreak.  There are worries of a looming lockdown... After 33 new covid cases were reported yesterday.  David Mahon is a kiwi living and working in private equity investing in Beijing. He joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The price of cooking oil is about to go through the roof. Keep an eye out tomorrow for the government’s consultation document on climate change adaptation. Businessdesk’s Pattrick Smellie joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Revenue Minister reckons the wealthiest New Zealanders are not paying their fair share of tax... And he wants a debate on whether that's fair.  David Parker said today the government is committed to last election's promise of no new taxes this term and would not introduce a capital gains tax while Jacinda Ardern is the Labour leader. Minister of Revenue David Parker joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How many minutes in an hour? Apparently, our teens can't solve the most basic numeracy and literacy questions. How have we got to this? Māori Co-Governance was put back on the radar by Willie Jackson on Friday – and at the same time Attorney General David Parker has labelled a bill by Rotorua City Council as "discriminatory". Are we seeing some tensions in Cabinet playing out here?  Donald Trump claims if he was president, Russia's war in Ukraine would not have started. Do you think he's right? Elon Musk has bought Twitter – should we be scared? Is it ruder to show up early at a dinner party or late? Trish Sherson, Sherson Willis PR, and Matthew Tukaki, Māori Authority, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on the Huddle. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fears many students could fail new NCEA literacy and numeracy standards – which become a co-requisite next year. Assessments have found many teens struggled with aspects of literacy and numeracy. Some didn't know there were 60 minutes in an hour.  New Zealand Initiative senior fellow, Michael Johnston, told Heather du Plessis Allan many students leave school without basic skills. “Also, we’ve seen in the PISA results over the last 20 of years continuing decline in the proportion of New Zealanders that, at 15, can do fairly basic kind of literacy tasks.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waka Kotahi is planning to spend at least a million dollars on temporary fences along the Harbour Bridge to keep cyclists safe. They put the fences up every time cyclists and walkers use the bridge during events next summer. A report in 2019 recommended permanent barriers for suicide prevention... At an estimated cost of about 13 million dollars. Chair of Bike Auckland Tony Mitchell joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shootings in Wellington over the weekend have left two people in hospital and seven people have been arrested. It's believed the shootings are gang-related. Chris Wilkinson, Managing Director of First Retail Group, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world's richest man stunned everyone this morning when he announced he's taking over Twitter for 66 billion NZ dollars.  Elon Musk says he's taking control of "the digital town square". He's promising new features to protect freedom of speech and disclosing algorithms to increase trust. Katie Harbath, a former director of public policy at Facebook, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Parker's speech on tax fairness. Government stomping up $27 million for two electric ferries in Auckland. Peacekeeping missions extended. Political reporter Aaron Dahmen joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labor spells out its plan for the South Pacific – they're still ahead in the polls despite Albanese's stuff-ups. Inflation numbers are out tomorrow and economists are already picking it'll be bad enough that interest rates will be hiked in June. Chinese Covid troubles causing problems for the ASX. Australian correspondent Murray Olds joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warriors performed abysmally against the Storm. What's next for Tyson Fury? D’Arcy Waldegrave joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The produce industry is blaming rising costs for peak vegetable prices.  Citizen initiative The Facts has analysed the highest and lowest 15 Food Price Index changes over the past 15 years.  A kilo of cabbage rose 262 percent from March 2007 to this March – and lettuce went up 229 percent.  Vegetable NZ Chair John Murphy told Heather du Plessis Allan many things are more expensive. “We’ve seen a lot of increases in fuel, where we haven’t had cost release from government for on-farm use, as well as costs of fertiliser and significant staffing costs.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday he is seeking to deepen trade and defense ties during his visit to India, and will also bring up the situation in Ukraine during talks with his Indian counterpart.Johnson landed in the western state of Gujarat on Thursday, kicking off a two-day visit that will see him meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday. The two countries are expected to announce new deals in defense, green energy and jobs, and complete a new trade agreement that is to be signed later this year.Apart from discussing trade, Johnson is expected to encourage India to distance itself from Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.Johnson said he was aware of the close ties that India and Russia have shared.“We have to reflect that reality. But clearly, I’ll be talking about it to Narendra Modi,” he told reporters in Ahmedabad, where he landed.Modi has called the situation in Ukraine “very worrying” and has appealed to both sides for peace. While India has condemned the ki

Hong Kong relaxed pandemic restrictions on Thursday, with Disneyland and museums reopening and nighttime restaurant dining resuming as the city's worst COVID-19 outbreak appears to be fading.Enthusiastic visitors ran into Disneyland the moment the gates opened after a three-month closure.Popular theme parks were ordered to close in January as Hong Kong's fifth wave of the coronavirus took hold. Nearly 1.2 million people in the city of 7.4 million were infected in less than four months, and nearly 9,000 have died.“Since Christmas we haven’t been back here, my daughter’s really happy, she’s been waiting so long,” said Joyce Mak, 36, who brought her young daughter to Disneyland. “Last night she was so excited, she didn’t want to go to sleep.”The city was caught off guard as the surge, driven by highly transmissible omicron variant, overwhelmed hospitals. At the peak of the outbreak, bodies were stored in refrigerated containers because mortuaries were overwhelmed.The easing of restrictions came after officials a

Yesterday saw inflation figures rise to 6.9 percent.It comes after predictions of as high as 7.4 percent, which is seemingly better than the actual result.While the figures don’t look good, there may actually be some good news with inflation.Business commentator Rod Oram joined Andrew Dickens.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand Cruise Association has been putting big pressure on the Government to open our maritime borders.Meanwhile, a tourism lecturer reckons we shouldn’t rush to get cruise ships back.He says we need to take a look at the industry’s environmental and economic records and the costs and the benefits.Otago University tourism lecturer James Higham joined Andrew Dickens.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacinda Ardern has met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida overnight.Both countries have agreed on a security sharing deal, which ranges from standard information sharing to exchanging top secret information.China so far have been publicly quiet on this new agreement.Newstalk ZB Chief Political Reporter Jason Walls joined Andrew Dickens.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dame Patsy Reddy is set to join the NZ Rugby board.The former Governor-General is one of three new members who will be joining at next week’s AGM.The appointment comes after the Black Ferns coaching saga.Wayne Smith has been appointed as Glenn Moore's replacement after his resignation following a review into the culture of Black Ferns' environment.Super Rugby goes to Melbourne this weekend.This weekend sees a Super Round which sees the New Zealand and Australian teams clash for the first time this season.Phil Gifford and Jim Kayes joined Andrew Dickens to discuss the week's sports newsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy has a new role lined up.Reddy has just been appointed as a new member to the NZR board.She'll be officially on-board from next week's AGM, serving as one of three female members joining next week.Dame Patsy Reddy joined Andrew Dickens.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.