Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

House prices have been falling, but the tide may turn soon enough. HSBC predicts house prices will rise again by 5 percent in 2024, with a strong rebound in migration supporting demand. Chief Economist Paul Bloxham says the increased number of migrants will drive prices up again, as this has already happened in Australia. "Now you're seeing really strong inward migration and we think that will start to lift house prices. It's certainly what's happened here in Australia already." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to recent political polls, both major parties are struggling to connect with middle voters. BusinessDesk’s poll of polls shows combined support for National and Labour is at 67 percent, a historic low. BusinessDesk senior correspondent Dileepa Fonseka says the changing demographic of voters is creating a fractured political climate. "That basically makes the centre more meaningless than it has before. Makes it difficult, because once you go with a whole bunch of people without a core centre or shared experience, it's harder for these big, mass-market parties like National and Labour." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Council has explained what's causing the sinkhole on College Hill Road. The metre-by-three-metre hole opened up yesterday afternoon, disrupting traffic between Ponsonby and the CBD. Head of Healthy Waters Andrew Chin says there's a clay stormwater pipe over a hundred years old which has a hole in it. He says the surrounding fill is being washed into that hole. "Once the road seal breaks, the process accelerates and that's where all the fill's going, it's going down into the stormwater pipe. It's created this sinkhole." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research reveals excessive screentime for kids may lead to metabolic syndrome developing later in life. A study has confirmed that those who watch more television between the ages of 5 and 15 were more likely to suffer adverse medical conditions by age 45. Otago University preventive and social medicine researcher Bob Hancox explained the syndrome refers to a cluster of conditions, including high blood pressure, poor cholesterol and excess weight. "We would recommend- and there's a previous guideline that has been out for a number of years- about two hours is probably a good limit to aim for." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Philippines lead the Football Ferns 1-nil into the second half of their FIFA Women's World Cup contest in Wellington. New Zealand's had 56 per cent of possession compared to the Filipinas' 24 per cent and they've had seven attempts on goal compared to their opponents' two. Former All White David Chote says the Philippines are playing well, but there's still time for the Football Ferns to turn the match around. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don’t buy this debate about Chris Hipkins’ judgement as a leader and whether he made a mistake bringing Kiri Allan back to work from mental health leave too early. That wasn’t the mistake that he made. His mistake was that he didn’t fire her last month when he should've. I'm not convinced mental pressure is the sole explanation for what happened on Sunday night. I'm sure Kiri Allan is under a lot of mental pressure right now, it would be extremely difficult to deal with the break-up of a relationship and the embarrassment of being stood down from your job-however temporarily- at exactly the same time. But her lapses in judgement pre-date any mental health strain she’s currently under The bullying allegations, which she’s now apologised for, date back to last year. The failure to declare the Meng Foon donation and conflict of interest dates back to 2020, and the ill-advised rant at the RNZ party dates back to March. So mental pressure or not, it was obvious after three lapses in judgement that there was a very good chance there would be a fourth one. Because the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. If I were Chris Hipkins, I would have fired her after the third. I'm not saying that with hindsight, I said that after the third lapse on June 29, on this show, that Kiri Allan would stuff up again was predictable. Because it was predicted. I agree that Hipkins can blame Jacinda Ardern for the shambles in Cabinet because she clearly ran a loose ship. But he is now just as much to blame as Ardern, because he has, three times, had a minister in front of him who'd earned a sacking and then not sacked them- and then had another problem and had to sack them. Stuart Nash, Michael Wood, Kiri Allan- you know the story. If you want to blame Hipkins for anything, blame him for not forcing Kiri Allan to leave a month ago, before she crashed her car after drinking on a Sunday night and brought huge embarrassment to herself. Blame him for not seeing a pattern of errors of judgement and blame him for making the wrong call for the Labour Party by letting there be another crisis for them to have to deal with. What happened on Sunday was completely avoidable if Kiri Allan wasn’t in Wellington because she wasn’t a minister anymore. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The opposition parties have been accused of politicising Kiri Allan's mental health crisis, but ACT's David Seymour says that's not the case. MPs across the house have been debating Kiri Allan's resignation from Cabinet and her decision to not stand in the 2023 election. Leader David Seymour says Kiri Allan has been subject to a tragic sequence of personal events- but Parliament still needs to address key issues. "Unfortunately, things don't stop because of one tragic circumstance, we represent 5 million people who are paying the bills and we've got to stand up and reflect on where this Government is going." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Football Ferns match against the Philippines is kicking off at Wellington Regional Stadium. Azaria Howell is at the capital's waterfront FIFA Fan-zone. She says everyone is very excited. "All wearing football shirts, some people with flags, people cheering, people watching on- it is such an incredible vibe and just so much happiness going around Wellington." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lauren Dickason told police she hadn't felt normal for months before killing her children in Timaru. A jury at the High Court in Christchurch has watched her police interview, filmed the day after the deaths. She admits the killings but says it wasn't murder, with a defence of insanity and infanticide. The Herald's Anna Leask says Dickason told police she'd been "thinking about it... for a while." "She told the police she'd been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder, however in the month before she came to New Zealand, she'd come off her meds because she was feeling better." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25-year-old Rafferty Rolfe has been charged with three counts of murder after a serious highway fatality in Queensland. Rolfe is accused of pursuing a Nissan Navara ute driven by retiree Terry Bishop and carrying passenger Gypsy Satterley. Both were killed in the crash along with Jessica Townley, who was driving the Great Wall. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Rolfe was after Gypsy Satterley after she broke off their relationship, and Terry Bishop was rescuing her. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiri Allan has confirmed she won't be standing for re-election. The East Coast MP signalled she was quitting politics in an emotional post - saying she let down the Labour Party, the Prime Minister and New Zealanders. ZB political editor Jason Walls says he wouldn't bet on Kiri Allan returning to politics, as it's hard to return once you're out. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No changes from the Football Ferns for this evening's World Cup group A clash against the Philippines in Wellington. It'll be the same line-up that beat Norway in the tournament opener. Kick-off is at 5.30. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains what we can expect from both teams tonight. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A shaken motorist had handguns pointed at him while driving down the Waikato Expressway over the weekend. Noah Hutchinson was driving to Hamilton from Woodhill when a car pulled up next to him and two passengers shouted at him to take the next exit- while pointing weapons. He says the thieves were probably after his motorbike, and he slowed to catch up with the cars behind him to avoid a scene. "I'm assuming they saw the motorbike on the back and they wanted to steal it or my car as well. It set in pretty quick- this is happening, I don't have much time to think about it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two more Greek islands, Evia and Corfu, are evacuating travellers as wildfires sweep the region for the sixth day. Over 19,000 people have already been evacuated from Rhodes, 16,000 by land and 3,000 by sea, with no casualties. The Greek Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection has described it as the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country”. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the breeze is fanning the flames and causing the temperature to soar above 40C. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, current affairs commentator Josie Pagani and Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Former Justice Minister has quit Cabinet after being charged with careless use of a vehicle and refusing to accompany an officer last night. Ginny Andersen has picked up her portfolio this afternoon. What does this men for Labour's chances in the upcoming election? Is it well and truly over for them? The New Zealand Bar Association is warning against criticising the judiciary following last Thursday’s shooting in Auckland CBD. The shooter was serving a sentence of five months’ home detention for committing domestic violence. Is this a fair request? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are growing calls for Labour to arrange a snap election following Kiri Allan's arrest and resignation. Kiri Allan is the latest Minister to depart following Stuart Nash and Michael Wood exiting after getting caught up in controversy. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan believes Chris Hipkins needs to put the current Labour Government out of its misery with an early election. "It's still hard to come back, because you don't expect to have a Justice Minister remonstrating with the police. That's the bit that raises the questions." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of causal workers in Australia could be on the path to permanent employment thanks to new proposed changes. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says the proposal would close a loophole allowing companies to treat casuals like permanent employees without giving them benefits of secure employment. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says some workers will still want the flexibility of casual employment. "They get no sick leave, no annual leave, they get no leave. But they're okay with that, because they pick and choose when they want to work or they pick and choose and have an arrangement." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twitter's famous blue bird logo is set to fly away to be replaced with a new symbol. Owner Elon Musk confirmed he plans to change the platform's logo to a letter X, marking the latest significant rebrand for the social media company. Social media commentator Vaughn Davis says this change is terrible from a branding perspective, but it could be the start of an expanded future for the platform. "I think that's the plan for Elon Musk and X. To become that app that, like WeChat, does absolutely everything for everyone. That's the plan." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister says he's been texting back and forth with Kiri Allan over the past day. Allan quit Cabinet this morning - after being charged with careless use of a vehicle and refusing to accompany an officer last night. The MP for East Coast has been dealing with mental health challenges in recent months. Minister Grant Robertson says Kiri has publicly recognised the need to be held accountable for this. "But I look at it from a human level. You know, she's a person I worked with for a long time, she's somebody I know pretty well and I'm devastated for her and just want to be there to support her." Ginny Anderson is picking up Allan's Justice portfolio, Kieran McAnulty gets Regional Development and Barbara Edmonds becomes Associate Minister of Finance. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.