Larry Williams Drive

Brendon McCullum has been named test coach for England.The former Black Caps captain will take up the role ahead of the Black Caps test series against England in June.In other cricketing news, the Black Caps have announced their 20-man contract list.The most notable omission was fan favourite Jimmy Neesham, while Michael Bracewell was offered a contract for the first time.The Blues CEO has taken a crack at Super Rugby.Andrew Hore has said the competition has got to have a balance from being a high-performance product that underpins the All Blacks back to a fan-centric model.The Rugby World Cup is heading stateside.The men’s edition will be held in 2031 while the women’s tournament will be held in 2033.Jason Pine and Andrew Alderson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss the week’s sports newsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brendon McCullum has been named the new England test cricket coach.The former Black Cap captain will take the reins for the test side ahead of the series against the Black Caps in June in a deal worth $3.9 million over four years.McCullum currently coaches the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.Former Black Cap Craig Cumming joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s a tip for the Maori Party: if you’re going to go out and suggest an entire electorate is racist, you need to get your facts straight.The Party’s announced today it is not standing a candidate in next month’s Tauranga’s by-election because doing so would mean “consciously sending out people into an unsafe environment”.You might wonder why is Tauranga so unsafe for the Maori Party? Apparently, they back up this claim in their press release by saying this: “A Department of Internal Affairs report published in April this year confirmed that Tauranga is a hotspot for hate speech from white supremacists on social media.”The trouble is if you go to that report, there is not a single mention of Tauranga. So that report did not say that Tauranga is a hotspot. Not at all.So the Maori Party just made this up.Now they have since corrected their press release. Now their new press release say it’s just their own reckons, not the Department of Internal Affairs’ reckons that Tauranga is a hotspot for hate speech.They

Move over Bird of the Year.We’ve now got an inaugural Tree of the Year competition and already it’s upsetting people.Kaipara Mayor Jason Smith is upset over Tane Mahuta not being among the nominees.Jason Smith joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One vaccine expert isn't too concerned about Covid-19 heading into winter.Ashley Bloomfield today warned there could be another peak - when flu and RSV will also hit.Immunologist Graham Le Gros told Heather du Plessis Allan the latest variants haven't been very nasty and we are well-immunised.“I think what the Government should be worried about and are worried about is the flu season. And they’re encouraging people to vaccinate. That’s not a bad piece of advice.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warnings white supremacist material is a blight on Tauranga.The Maori Authority's chairman has offered sympathy for Te Pati Maori's decision not to stand a candidate in the seat over fears it would be unsafe, pointing to an Internal Affairs report that labelled Tauranga a hot-spot for white supremact hate speech.Matthew Tukaki told Heather du Plessis-Allan hate groups are dropping ruthless letters on locals.“Imagine for a moment that white supremacist leaflet is dropped into a letterbox and a young tamariki Maori gets the mail on the way from home and that kid reads that material.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Maori Party have had to retract an inflammatory statement.This morning, Maori Party president Che Wilson announced they would not be entering a candidate for the Tauranga by-election over a claim that a Department of Internal Affairs report stating Tauranga is a hotspot for hate speech and white supremacy.But the report did not mention the report didn’t mention Tauranga.Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commissioner has written the Prime Minister over the Traffic Light System.The letter mentions an acceleration of “othering” between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.Newstalk ZB Chief Political Reporter Jason Walls joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finland's president and prime minister announced their support for joining NATO on Thursday, moving the Nordic nation which shares an 800-mile border with Russia one step closer to membership of the US-led military alliance. The Kremlin has responded by saying the move would be a threat to Russia and warned of possible retaliation.The statement of support for NATO from President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin had been expected, after the Finnish government recently submitted a report on national security to the country's parliament which outlined the path to joining the alliance as one of Finland's options.In the joint statement, Niinisto and Marin said: "NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days."Later on Thursday, Russia's Foreign Ministry sai

A consumer advocate says he'd like to see The Warehouse enter the grocery game.The retailer says it is considering getting into groceries, amid price concerns with our two biggest supermarkets.The Warehouse already stocks some grocery items.Former Head of the Food and Grocery Council Ernie Newman told Heather du Plessis-Allan they have tried before but got into trouble.He says Woolworths and Foodstuffs took measures to try and stop them from getting involved.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finland will announce in the next couple of hours whether it will join NATO. Ukraine is halting some gas supplies to Europe. Kate used royal inside knowledge to solve a student's crossword. UK correspondent Enda Brady joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Federated Farmers president Katie Milne has put her name in the ring to become the Head of the World Farmer's Organisation. It's an advocacy group based in Rome that brings together farming groups and agriculture co-ops from around the world. Relied on by the likes of the UN to give advice on food security.  Katie Milne joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time's almost up for farmers trying to prevent being lumped into the ETS. Do you know the farmer who was involved in this court case for injuring a home intruder at their Piopio home? Did the government ignore evidence and just push through the ban on live animal shipments for ideological reasons? Host of the Country Jamie Mackay joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whispers about the r-word are getting louder. BNZ is the latest to pipe up... Saying the chances of the economy moving into recession are rising by the day. Liam Dann, the Herald's business editor at large, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand has launched a first of its kind trade dispute against longtime friend Canada. Over an alleged breach of trade rules.  Canada has implemented dairy quotas which New Zealand says break free trade rules of the CPTPP deal. Trade Minister Damien O'Connor says the lost market access will cost New Zealand about 68-million dollars in the first two years.  Catherine Beard from Export NZ joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I feel no sympathy whatsoever for the teenage burglar who had a bit of his finger cut off. But I do feel something: I feel sad for him. If you read his ex-girlfriend’s account of what happened you realise it was probably always going to take something drastic like this for that 17-year-old to realise there are consequences. This was the fourth time he broke into the farmer’s house in Piopio. The fourth time.  And this time he went into the farmer’s room in the middle of the night looking for car keys and when the farmer woke up, he hit him over the head with a wine bottle, three times. The farmer grabbed a gun and, even then, the teenager was an idiot telling the farmer to shoot him. Even when the farmer forced him to lie on the kitchen floor the teenager still had a knife and wanted to stab the farmer with it. So the farmer and his son gave the teenager the bash. This is how the ex-girlfriend – who by the way was 15 – tells the story: The men were hitting the teenager with a wooden bat, she said. “It was har

National MP Gerry Brownlee asked a parliamentary question of Michael Wood – and got a reply entirely in te reo Māori. He asked for a translation from Wood but this was declined – and the Speaker Trevor Mallard says there are enough te reo speakers around Parliament, and Brownlee can get his own translation. What do you make of this? A jury has found a father and son not guilty after they admitted cutting off the tip of their home intruder's finger. What did you make of this case? Everyone is still untangling yesterday's Immigration reset – seems odd that nurses and midwives are not given the same priority treatment as doctors and engineers. Some are calling it sexist and elitist – what do you think? The Government spent $230k on social media listening reports over the past couple of years. Is this inappropriate? Do you share your Netflix password with others to save on costs? David Farrar, Pollster and Kiwiblog editor, and Tim Wilson, Maxim Institute, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on the Huddle. LISTEN ABOV

Labour answered a written question from National entirely in te reo Māori, even though the question was in English. National asked whether a translation should be made available but Speaker Trevor Mallard wasn't keen. Gerry Brownlee, Shadow Leader of the House, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch City Council has begun work to put an end to a foul smell that has hung over the suburb of Bromley for months. A salvage firm has been contracted to remove rotten material from the damaged wastewater treatment plant that has been emitting the smell. This comes two weeks after a meeting where Bromley residents told the Council the smell had got so bad, that some of them were experiencing flu-like symptoms. Bromley resident, Caleb Saunderson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a story this has been. There were gasps, hugs and tears as the father and son who beat a teenage burglar and cut off one of us fingers were found not guilty on all charges. It took six hours of jury deliberations to decide that the two farmers, William and Shaun Burr, were acting in reasonable self-defence. It was the fourth time the burglar had got into their home, stealing a car on all previous attempts.  Colin Hurst, Federated Farmers spokesperson for Rural Policing and Crime Matters, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nurses and midwives are dismayed that the Government's treating their professions as second best in its immigration reset.  Doctors and engineers among others will get a right to direct citizenship through the new green list. But despite suffering desperate skills shortages, the Government is refusing to give nurses and midwives the same rights. They'll have to wait two years instead until they can apply for citizenship.  Anne Daniels, president of the Nurses Organisation, and Alison Eddy, CEO of the College of Midwives joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.