New Zealand is bracing for a high stakes poker game, preparing for Donald Trump’s tariffs to be introduced.

The US Business Summit is taking place in Auckland, and Trump is set to be a significant talking point.

NZ Inc Managing Director Fran O’Sullivan told Ryan Bridge that there’s likely to be an element of negotiation when it comes to the implementation of tariffs.

She says that Trump’s selection for Commerce Secretary has suggested that there won’t be blanket tariffs, but the idea is to get manufacturing back into the US.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Councils are putting a range of ideas on the table to raise revenue, as they push back against the idea of a cap on rates rises.

Rates shot up by an average of 15% this year.

Local Government New Zealand is proposing a range of options from civil defence levies to accommodation levies.

Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams told Ryan Bridge some of the options, like congestion charging, won't work for their district.

He says that's why a vast range of solutions is important.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost 70% of cops want to be armed, and I say who the hell are we to get in their way?

The new Commissioner has come in, and he's been more gung ho on this idea of regular arming of our police force than any of his predecessors.

The fact is they're on the front line, aren't they?

Last year, there was a 9% increase in tactical operations interactions – that means basically the bad ones. That's up to more than 7000. The number of cops physically attacked doubled from 2022 to 2023.

It's dangerous.

We're not the ones going out on the streets, are we?

We're tucked up in bed with moral superiority saying, no, we don't like the idea of you guys being armed. I prefer you pull the gang member over, please. Take your chances.

It's a little bit sanctimonious from us, don't you think?

If they feel it would make their situation safer, then I trust them to make that call.

Of course, you'll always have mistakes, and chaos prior to the shooting clearly shouldn't have happened, and they say they're working further at training etcetera to make that all better.

But we can't sit here tucked up on our beds at night, all judgey, when we're not the ones out there in the dead of the night facing more violence, guns, and crime.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukraine is claiming Russia's launched a missile with greater range into one of its cities.

It's claiming an intercontinental ballistic missile has been used, but CNN reports two western officials have said it was another type of ballistic missile.

Europe correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge the US is disputing the claim and Russia's saying nothing.

He says it comes with escalation this week, with missiles being provided by the US given permission to fire into Russia.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JD Vance is facing a tricky task on Capitol Hill.

The vice president-elect has arrived at the Capitol to shore up support for Trump’s controversial cabinet picks.

He’ll spend the week organising meetings between Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth and key Republican senators involved in their confirmation process.

US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge that Gaetz is with Vance today, and it’ll be a tall order to get him confirmed as people have already spoken out against him.

He says that it would be quite the defeat for Donald Trump if he was rejected.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police hope an increased focus on gang activity will pay dividends.

The gang patch ban has been in force since midnight.

Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham says in the lead up to the ban, there was an increase in reports of gang members wearing their patches prominently in public.

He says they get reports on criminal behaviour all the time, so this increase was that combined with a heightened awareness from the public.

Basham told Ryan Bridge the legislation will create opportunities to catch other crimes.

He says targeting small groups with high offending rates has a disproportionate effect on crime.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's little doubt there's unnecessary spend at the Transport Agency.

The Transport Minister's called NZTA's costs eye-watering and excessive, after revealing a near $800 million spend over the past three years.

That went to road cones, traffic management, state highway maintenance, and capital works.

Temporary Traffic Management Chair Dave Tilton told Ryan Bridge he believes it's a systemic issue around how much temporary traffic management is deployed.

He says it's a prescriptive system, which doesn't give room for site-specific considerations.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.