Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

US national security advisor Jake Sullivan has gone to Israel this week to talk about the war with the Israeli war cabinet. He's passed on a message essentially asking the Israelis to begin pulling back from the relentless bombardment of Gaza. US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Heather Du Plessis Allan that "the language from US officials would indicate they are growing tired of how long this war is going on". LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ardie Savea has been named the Kelvin R. Tremain Memorial player of the year at this evening’s ASB Rugby Awards. This comes a month after being named world rugby player of the year. Newstalk ZB's Sports Contributor Jason Pine told Heather Du Plessis-Allan that he just "couldn't see who else could have won." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The annual New Zealand health survey has found that less than half of adults exercise the recommended two and a half hours a week. South Auckland Community advocate Dave Letele runs the Brown Butterbean Fitness Group. He told Heather du Plessis-Allan that many have other things on their mind.Letele says families struggling to put food on the table don't have the time to eat healthily and exercise. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rishi Sunak's approval rating continues to take a hit in the polls ahead of the election. His approval rating has reached -49, according to new data from YouGov- a lower rating than Boris Johnson scored after his resignation. Only 21 percent of British voters hold a favourable view of Sunak, and 70 percent of voters disapprove. UK correspondent Enda Brady says it's looking likely that the Tories will oust him before next year's election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and Infrastructure NZ Chief Executive Nick Leggett joined in on discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Finance Minister Nicola Willis remains firm in her decision to scrap cost increases to the Cook Strait mega-ferries project. Does this serve as a warning to the public service around budgets for big projects? What happens next? GDP fell 0.3 percent in the three months to September - a much worse result than forecast by most economists. Does this mean New Zealand is in recession? Buller District Council has placed a limit on how many cats residents can own- only two cats are permitted per household. What do we think of this? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More local councils are turning to asset sales in order to balance their books. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council aims to sell off several majority shares in the Port of Tauranga, and Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington are also investigating potential asset sales. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explains what these sales might mean for investors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'The Big Feed', a famed rural telethon set to support farmer-driven charity Meat the Need, is heading into its final moments. The telethon kicked off at 6am today and will wrap up at 8pm- giving hosts 14 hours to raise as many meat and milk meals as possible for over 110 food banks. The Country's Jamie Mackay says this year's telethon aims to break last year's record of 1.2 million meals. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's Q3 GDP report caught several economists by surprise. GDP fell 0.3 per cent in the September quarter, lower than the predicted 0.2 or 0.3 percent growth forecasts had predicted. Across the whole year, GDP fell 0.6 percent overall, sparking more grim predictions. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says Luxon's inherited a long-running recession to address. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's former Finance Minister has stepped up to justify today's disappointing GDP results. GDP fell 0.3 percent in the three months to September- with political voices blaming the previous Government's decisions for the decline. Grant Robertson says it doesn't tarnish Labour's economic credibility, as other economies are in the same boat. ZB political editor Jason Walls says there's a silver lining here, because interest rates could come down sooner than predicted. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, Kathleen Folbigg's convictions have been officially quashed, after spending 20 years in prison. The 56-year-old was released after new medical evidence revealed she didn't murder her four children. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says it's likely Folbigg will be awarded compensation after her release. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Usman Khawaja feels unfairly targeted by the International Cricket Council following their demand he refrain from writing statements in support of Palestine on his shoes. The ICC have ruled the opening batter will be fined or banned if he uses the test against Pakistan as a platform to make what they've deemed a political statement. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Picton is concerned about what's ahead - with the Government refusing to fund cost increases to the Cook Strait mega-ferries project. KiwiRail says the plan to have two new ferries and bigger, better ports can't go ahead without Government funding. Marlborough Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive, Pete Coldwell, says a number of people moved to the region for ferry-related jobs. "There are obviously just questions over what the situation is, jobs-wise, for the next week, next month and the next year." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost 200 countries have agreed to begin reducing the consumption of fossil fuels at COP28. The Dubai conference came close to being a failure, because some nations wanted to phase them out. The deal specifically calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems. Australian National University climate change professor Mark Howden says that's weak and undefined language. "What does that mean? There's lots of wriggle room here and it's probably not clear enough in terms of its goals." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buller District Council is on paw patrol for the number of cats allowed in homes. From next Wednesday, only two feline friends are allowed in homes from Carters Beach, Reefton and Westport. It was initially proposed to increase the maximum to four, but the council U-turned after public feedback. Buller mayor Jamie Cleine says they're not anticipating a lot of complainants over how it'll be policed for other animals. "And when you think about an urban area, under this bylaw, people could have 2 cats, 12 chickens and 2 pigs and still be within constricts of the bylaws, so there'll be plenty of livestock in the urban area." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weak economic growth is expected to continue a while. GDP fell 0.3 percent in the three months to September - a much worse result than forecast by most economists. BNZ Economist Stephen Toplis says it will take time to get a sunnier situation. "Market conditions ease, and that gives the economy a bit of a boost. But I think, realistically speaking, we're talking until the middle of next year." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police could be apologising to some Parliament protesters following a report from the police watchdog. The Independent Police Conduct Authority found excessive force was six times during the weeks-long occupation. That included knocking a woman's phone from her hand and pushing her to the ground - or spraying people with fire extinguishers. Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming says they'll work through whether they'll need say sorry. "And in probably a couple of those cases, an apology would be appropriate." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Water believes a Council top-up could help with a feared water shortage this summer. The City Council is giving the water entity up to $2 million dollars. The Wellington region loses about 45 percent of its supply in leaks. Wellington Water Chief Executive Tonia Haskell says they are asking the regional council to let it also take more water from rivers. "We're going to try as hard as we can so we never have to put our rest homes and our hospitals at risk this summer." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's fair to say that the GDP figures out this morning came as a shock- it's a lot weaker than economists were expecting. Economists were tending to forecast a bit of growth, around 0.2 percent to 3 percent, and instead what they saw was the economy slumped 0.3 percent for the third quarter, which is July through to September. And if you calculate it per capita to account for all the extra people who arrived here during that time, it's even worse- the slump is 0.9 percent, which is actually quite material. Now even more than that, the statisticians have revised what happened earlier this year and they're now saying that Q1 was also negative, which means we had a technical recession over last summer. The fact is, if you look at today's number, you look at the fact that this economy's not flash right now, you could probably say we're in another technical recession right now this summer. That's probably not news to you, these numbers are probably only telling you what you're already feeling. If you're in retail, you've noticed sales are slowing- it's tough graft at the moment. If you're in hospitality, you know people aren't eating and drinking out like they used to. If you're in construction, the jobs may be fewer. It's tough, the numbers are just backing it up. Now politically - there is always a political element to this - this is good for National and the new Government because as weird as it sounds, they now have data to prove the mess they say Labour left for us all. As for Grant Robertson in particular, this really sucks because this is the third piece of bad money news that he has had in two days. There is a slumping economy that he's left us with, he just had a slap-down from the Auditor-General about how fast and loose he was being with the infrastructure spending, and then the mega-ferries deal got cancelled because it was blowing out. Now Grant is apparently sticking around this term for the time being, to try and defend Labour's track record on spending. He's got one hell of a job, given what's going on right now. But let's be honest right now, frankly this is probably not what you care about. You care about what this means for you. The good news is, this makes it way less likely that the Reserve Bank will lift our mortgage rates again. Adrian Orr can talk as big as he likes about how he's going to do that and how that's a possibility. But at the moment, it looks like the economy is suffering enough. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced a battle within his own party over his controversial flagship Rwanda bill. The legislation comfortably passed its first Commons hurdle with a majority of 44- but the bill is expected to face further opposition in the new year. No Tory MPs voted against the bill, but some critics on the right of the party rebelled by abstaining. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and David Farrar from Kiwiblog joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! The UN General Assembly has called for a ceasefire in Gaza – the US voted against amongst a tiny minority, is the public opinion really turning against Israel? Air New Zealand is laying out some new gimmicks- new snack menu, new uniforms and Starlink wi-fi on domestic flights. Shouldn’t they focus on getting their planes and schedules running correctly? The Grocery Commissioner has encouraged supermarkets to lower their prices for the Christmas season. Is this a effective idea? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Technology continues to evolve and spill over into the world of work, allowing more robots to fit into modern workplaces. More companies have turned to robot workers to fill jobs that are difficult to recruit for, primarily the manufacturing sector. Milford Asset Management's Deborah Lambie explains what this means for the years ahead. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand’s current account deficit remains stubbornly high, according to the latest data. A new report shows the country spent $30.6 billion more on imports than it earned from exports in the year to September, the equivalent to 7.6 percent of GDP. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains what this data means for Kiwi spending habits. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand, and more than three-quarters of the General Assembly, have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza - despite the US not being in favour. 153 UN members voted in favour on humanitarian grounds, 10 voted against. Earlier today, Prime Minister Chris Luxon joined the leaders of Australia and Canada in calling for a pause. ZB political editor Jason Walls says these leaders know a ceasefire needs unity to be effective, and wonders how effective this statement actually is. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The deal's off - with two new mega-ferries for the Cook Strait no longer going ahead. KiwiRail has confirmed it will terminate a contract signed in 2021 to build the new ships in South Korea. The Government has turned down KiwiRail's funding request to cover the escalating cost for the new ships and port infrastructure. Chief Executive Peter Reidy says this is 'disappointing news for him and the KiwiRail team. "We'll focus today on our people and our customers, which we've been doing. And on Monday, we'll turn around and work with the Government on options." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Auditor-General has left a 'scathing' review of the previous Government's $15 billion infrastructure spend-up during Covid-19. This report addressed the $12 billion New Zealand Upgrade Programme and $3 billion Shovel-Ready Programme designed to boost the economy and long-term infrastructure in 2020. John Ryan says neither of these projects had any real business cases backing them. "A lot of those projects, Ministers were advised, were not ready to be announced. Business cases were mainly out of date or only partially complete." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Nelson charity giveaway for Christmas ended in pushing, shoving and fighting over gifts. Helping Families hosted the event, which saw hundreds pouring through the door and stepping over each other to clear out the room in half an hour. Helping Families founder Kristy Rowe the aggression was overwhelming for volunteers, who were subject to verbal abuse. "We had positive comments, and we want to thank people for those. But as usual, it's the negative comments that stick a bit harder, especially for our volunteers." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister says the Government's looking at other ferry options after turning down KiwiRail's request for more Interislander funding. The cost of two mega-ferries and upgrading port infrastructure had ballooned to about $3 billion- and KiwiRail says it can't proceed without help. Nicola Willis says that project is over, and they'll explore other options. "The option that had been on the table for KiwiRail was the equivalent of the Ferrari, and now we as a Government are saying- look, can we have a look around, are there some very good, safe, reliable Toyota Corollas we could be using instead?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Napier's mayor accepts a report finding the city was hugely unprepared for Cyclone Gabrielle. RNZ reports the City Council commissioned an independent review of its response. The Resilient Organisations report shows the Council wasn't set up to cope with such an event, and only a few staff had emergency management training. Kirsten Wise says it's good to get the feedback - to plan for future events. "We certainly acknowledge that we weren't as prepared as we could have been, and that is what we're now focused on- ensuring that we have actually taken on board the recommendations of this report." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International public opinion is turning against Israel bombing Gaza. 153 members of the UN General Assembly, including New Zealand, voted today to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Former UN Development Programme head and former Prime Minister, Helen Clark, says even the US President - a staunch advocate - has acknowledged Israel is losing support. She says the situation in Gaza is dire and getting worse. "Two-thirds of people have no home, 80 percent of them have been displaced. People are given a choice between flee or die." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Joe Biden has slammed Republican lawmakers, as he reiterates his support for Ukraine. His Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited Washington DC to ask lawmakers to continue supporting their war efforts. A support deal's been held up by an impasse in the US Congress on tightening immigration and border policies. US correspondent Mitch McCann says it's unlikely the Republicans will be able to negotiate their way into a solution within a clear timeframe. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relief from the New Zealand Sail GP team their home regatta has been rescued by Christchurch. Lyttleton will shoulder hosting responsibilities for the event in March after Auckland was ruled out as a viable location due to spectator facility issues. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave breaks these events down. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Grocery Commissioner is shining a spotlight on grocery prices this festive season. Pierre van Heerden is challenging supermarkets to implement Everyday Low Pricing on staple items before Christmas. Demand typically rises at this time of year - and van Heerden says prices often do, too. He says groceries have been this year's biggest driver of cost of living pressures. "Supermarkets can actually bring a bit of Christmas cheer and provide something back to consumers." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Look, I feel like we are now at a global tipping point with Israel and I think tolerance is running very short- and probably about to run out completely for their bombardment of Gaza. A lot has happened in just the last few days, even just today, to indicate that this is on the cards now. We've had New Zealand, Australia and Canada putting out a joint statement this morning calling for a sustainable ceasefire, saying that they are alarmed at what's happening to the civilians in Gaza. A few hours ago, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. And in probably the biggest sign that the time is up, Joe Biden, who has of course been Israel's biggest backer globally, has started to pull his support away from Benjamin Netanyahu and warned Israel it risks alienating its allies if it continues. He said that they cannot say no to a Palestinian state, and then he went as far as quite pointedly saying to Netanyahu that he had to change this Government- which I think a lot of people will agree with. A lot of people will blame this Government and the past Governments of Netanyahu for the situation that Israel is currently in. The fact is, these world leaders are basically doing this because they are losing domestic support for continuing to support Israel. You've seen the pressure mount here in New Zealand on the Government. Labour and Te Pati Māori and the Greens have all put pressure on the Government to call for a ceasefire, there have been protests up and down the country as a result. In the states, a poll has found that only 20 percent of Americans think that Biden's approach is going to lead to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. It is not surprising that Israel's running out of runway at all- on this show we said pretty much immediately after the October 7 massacres by Hamas that Israel would only have so long to do what they always do, which is disproportionately punish the Palestinian people before sentiment would change. Sentiment is now changing, the only thing that is surprising is how long the tolerance lasted, how long the runway was for this bombardment. Especially given that the bombardment was never going to work. We all knew that, right? We'd never fully root out Hamas, we'd never be able to get all of those people out of the tunnels, all it ever was going to do was punish the civilians - which it has - and foment anger and probably create another generation of terrorists. And only time will tell whether that's going to happen- but I say it probably will. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised a few eyebrows with his refusal to share his WhatsApp messages during the Covid response inquiry. Sunak claimed he had changed phones many times in recent years and never backed up his messages- leaving no evidence from the pandemic period. UK correspondent Enda Brady says Boris Johnson also lost 5,000 WhatsApp messages during that period, and reached for a similar excuse. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and projects director at Still, Sam Johnson, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! FIFA's latest report into online abuse reveals players at the football Women's World Cup were 29 percent more likely to be subject to online harassment. Can anything be done to address this? Is abuse just a drawback that comes from being a public figure? Sir Colin Tukuitonga has resigned from his public positions - should he have made this move? Or would have he been better staying on to advocate for his cause? COP28 talks could be in jeopardy following an outcry from several nations regarding a 'weak' draft deal. What happens now? Experts are calling for 'best before' labels to be scrapped, claiming they contribute to the widespread problem of food waste. Is this a good idea? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2023 is drawing to a close, and economists are predicting what lies ahead for the new year. New Zealand is still fighting a long, drawn-out battle with inflation, which is set to impact jobs and house prices. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham says the uptick in migration is set to boost demand for goods and services- meaning inflation will be stickier for longer. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's biggest rural telethon is set to kick off this Thursday from 6am. The Big Feed will be hosted by TV personality Matt Chisholm, former boxer Dave Letele, and Meat the Need co-founder and Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford. The Country's Jamie Mackay says the telethon aims to raise enough for 1.2 million meat and milk meals for food banks nationwide. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More local councils appear to be drawn towards attempting asset sales. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has begun the process of selling a chunk of its majority share in the Port of Tauranga. Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington are also investigating potential asset sales. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie explains the benefits and drawbacks of this process. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Commerce Commission has filed criminal charges against two construction companies and their directors for alleged cartel conduct. The pair were accused of colluding to rig bids for their publicly-funded infrastructure projects in Auckland. Commerce Commission Chair, John Small, says their cartels team investigated this historic case right away. "It's obviously, with a criminal standard, the standard of proof and the standards of evidence, got to be pretty high. Because the consequences are very serious- potential imprisonment- we've got good evidence." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new FIFA report has published some eye-opening stats into social media abuse. Players at the football Women's World Cup were 29 percent more likely to receive online abuse than those at the men's tournament in 2022, according to new data. One in five Women's World Cup players, a total of 152, received "targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging". Former Football Fern Katie Duncan says it's 'saddening' that online abuse has gotten this extreme. "It's good for it to be actually recorded from the players, it just gives them data so hopefully more can be done for the statistics- for the data to be lower." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Tauranga iwi hopes its Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal claim is accepted and heard sooner rather than later. The Ngāi Te Rangi Settlement Trust is accusing the Government of bending Treaty rules with its policies. Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley claims the Government has launched an attack on culture and language. He says they are attempting to extinguish the language within multiple areas of Government. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders under clear skies tonight could glimpse a meteor shower. The rare display will be visible between 8pm and midnight, as the debris field intercepts Earth's orbit. Auckland University physics professor Richard Easther says it's the first appearance from this particular shower. "There are some meteor showers that happen every year, but this one is new- and it's associated with a comet. So we're getting some insight into how these little icy snowballs work." Easther says Kiwis will be able to see the shower if they look to the north west sky. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's Climate Change Minister says more ambition's needed to transition the world away from fossil fuels. Simon Watts is attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, which is reportedly on the verge of failure, because of a lack of agreement. Its draft climate deal doesn't include plans to phase out fossil fuels and several countries are threatening to walk out. Watts says words in the agreement such as 'could' take action simply won't cut it. "Our Pacific Island neighbours and brothers and sisters, in effect, are at the front lines- and we're standing right with them, calling for a consensus." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a fiery afternoon in Parliament, with Winston Peters filling the hot seat. Prime Minister Chris Luxon is out of the country to attend his daughter's graduation in Australia. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Winston stuck to his usual habits of insulting political rivals and referencing himself in the third person. "You can imagine the smile on his face when he was saying all this in the House, he was really back in his element in Question Time today." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The judge in Bruce Lehrmann's defamation case ordered Sky News to release an alleged secret recording of a conversation between Brittany Higgins's lawyer and fiancé. The conversation reportedly showed the pair discussing Higgins's cross-examination while she was still testifying. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says this is the latest development in a long and costly investigation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The White Ferns are well and truly pegging Pakistan back after the visitors made a strong start to their chase of a mammoth target in the opening one-day cricket international in Queenstown. The visitors are 145 for 2 after 30 overs - pursuing a target of 366. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Experts are urging New Zealand to ditch the 'best before' labels on food packaging to reduce food waste issues. Food waste costs the nation $3.2 billion per year, with an estimated 100,000 tonnes of product tossed out. Love Food Hate Waste's Kate Fenwick says many people are confused between the 'best before' and 'use by' dates. "I've seen people throw away perfectly good packets of dry pasta, which literally can't go off, because it's got a 'best before' date on it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK Government has earmarked at least £700 million to manage the arrival of migrants on small boats until 2030, according to previously unnoticed commercial plans. Officials published the projections online last week, with predictions the Channel crossings could continue up to 2034. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains the two-pronged partnership to accommodate this scheme. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and former Labour Chief of Staff Mike Munro joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! National's Chris Luxon has confirmed Fair Pay Agreements will be scrapped by Christmas and 90-day trials will be implemented. Is this terrible news for workers? More PISA results show Kiwi kids are among the worst behaved in the OECD. Is this surprising news? Are there any solutions? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former politician and Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash has issued a warning about the second pillar of AUKUS. US lawmakers have struck a deal on the AUKUS military pact - with legislation approving the sale of three Virginia-Class vessels expected to soon be made public NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan noted that his concerns reflected previous sentiments that the US held too much influence over the new Government. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.