Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Newstalk ZB

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday 6 June 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown details his $4 billion spend to fix and prevent potholes on the nation's roads. 

With further calls for an investigation into Te Paati Māori and alleged misuse of personal information, the issue has reached a point where a broader inquiry can be justified. 

The Huddle considers if Covid tests should be free. 

Plus, male contraception is on the way to shoulders around the world. 

Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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New information has been revealed about Christian Brueckner, the lead suspect in the long-running Madeleine McCann case. 

German police have claimed Brueckner had an email account containing messages related to the killing of McCann.  

UK Correspondent, Enda Brady told Jack Tame “Police have discovered a Hotmail account and external hard drive, which they say link him to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.” 

Brady says “We’ve long suspected the German police know a lot more than they’re going to tell the public – but this is the first time that they’ve acknowledge this link.” 

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Infometrics predict the official cash rate (OCR) won’t move until February next year - rather than this November. 

Non-tradeable inflation (inflation that is domestic and not influenced by international factors) has caused issues for the Reserve Bank – say business commentators.  

It makes up almost 60% of the consumer price index (CPI), which the Reserve Bank is trying to reduce. 

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Jack Tame “We kept looking out at the economy and we can’t support our previous view.” 

Olsen says “You’re not going to use monetary policy to get local government rates under control, or insurance premiums.” 

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University of Otago research revealed last year that twice the number of under 30-year-olds living in rural areas die compared to those in cities. 

It’s the strongest evidence yet that the health of rural Kiwis is worse than those who live in the city.  

The Country Host Jamie Mckay told Jack Tame “The rural male suicide rate is 64% higher than in cities.” 

Mckay said “Māori living rurally are twice as likely to die of preventable causes than their urban counterparts.” 

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Good news for motorists: the price of oil has gone down around 7 percent in the last week. 

The Brent Crude oil price dropped below US$80 a barrel at the weekend, after OPEC+ came to a deal to extend voluntary production cuts. 

NZ Business editor-at-large, Liam Dann told Jack Tame “That’s good news for motorists – and good news on the inflation fight.” 

Dann said “We want to see renewable energy – but everything in the economy is underpinned by the price of oil.” 

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The Bank of New Zealand is extending the opening hours of part-time branches. 

The bank put an emphasis on call centres and digital services after closing 38 branches during the height of the pandemic.  

BNZ Chief Executive Dan Huggins told Jack Tame “We’ve heard from our customers – particularly small businesses – that they want to talk to our people more often” 

Huggins said “four or five years ago, we saw a demand for digital – now we've taken the feedback, we’re putting more people into our branches.” 

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