Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Reserve Bank is set to deliver their final Monetary Policy Statement for 2025 tomorrow, and reports indicate the OCR will be cut further. Economists are widely expecting the OCR to drop 25 basis points to 2.25  percent - with room for further cuts down the line.  HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham speculated further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fonterra's forewarning farmers falling global dairy prices could hit their bottom lines. The dairy co-op recently cut its seasonal farmgate milk payout midpoint forecast - from $10 to $9.50. It paid out $10.16 last season. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newly elected regional councillors are in for a big change, with sweeping Government reforms. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop recently unveiled plans to replace the country's 11 regional councils with boards consisting of local mayors.  He suggests this will streamline decision-making, planning and infrastructure across regions. LGNZ Regional Sector Chair Deon Swiggs says the mandate for mayors is different, so they wouldn't have expected to be on a regional board.  "There might be some mayors that go - great, yep, we want to get our hands on that regional council. There will be others who go - this is not my jam, I don't want to do that, what are you thinking?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's revelations a rise in top grades at universities may not be down to New Zealanders getting smarter. Analysis by the New Zealand Initiative reveals 'A ' grades have increased from 22 percent to 36 percent of all grades since 2006. B grades have fallen from 47 percent to 38, while C grades have dropped from 20 percent to 17. NZ Initiative research fellow Dr James Kierstead says 'A' grades are becoming the most common grade for university assignments and that shouldn't be the case. "It's not really something we want to follow the US in, because grade inflation's been a big deal in the states and it's helped undermine half a dozen universities there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's belief from experts that efforts to launch a single electronic medical record are 'well overdue'. The Government is embarking on a 10-year Health Digital Investment Plan to improve Health New Zealand's digital infrastructure.  The single record would replace 6,000 different systems currently in use. College of GPs Medical Director Luke Bradford says it's needed.  "We've been doing fragmented, piecemeal, bespoke solutions that don't get delivered for years, so this is something that we can at least build towards." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is proposing one of the biggest reform packages around local Government in decades. Ministers are launching consultation on major proposals - including replacing regional councils with boards made up of mayors from the region's city and district councils.  It would aim to streamline decision-making, planning and infrastructure across regions - and boards would prepare a regional reorganisation plan within two years of being set up. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says it's time to re-examine local Government and make changes. "It would be the biggest shake-up since 1989, but we think, given we're going to make these changes to the way in which we do things locally anyway, now's the time to basically do it all." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian politician Pauline Hanson has been suspended from Parliament for seven days after refusing to apologise for wearing a burqa in the Senate. The One Nation leader caused outrage yesterday when she walked in wearing the religious garment. Just five senators voted against the motion to censure her.  Australian correspondent Murray Olds unpacked the reactions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's proposing to abolish regional councils, and replace them with boards made up of mayors from the region's city and district councils. The proposals would deliver the most significant reforms to local Government since 1989. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says more details will be revealed later down the line.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Not much changes between formats for Blair Tickner, who's included in the 14-strong Black Caps squad for next week's opening cricket test against the West Indies in Christchurch. The 32-year-old, who performed well when called on across the white ball fixtures against the Windies, has spent the past two English County seasons playing for Derbyshire. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A-pluses all round for a nationwide maths trial. The $40 million Government programme targeted 1500 Year 7 and 8 students needing extra support, through small-group tutoring up to four times a week.  Education Minister Erica Stanford says early indicators show students averaged one to two years progress.  "It tells me that there's no substitute for excellent, explicit teaching in a structured way. And what that shows is that when we have a curriculum that supports that and professional learning and development that supports that, then you get these results."  All schools who requested to be part of the programme have been accepted.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.