Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Over 100 firefighters, 12 helicopters and two fixed-wing planes are working to fight the raging fire in Christchurch's Port Hills.

The fire was reported at 2.45pm yesterday on Worsleys Rd and had spread over an area of 100 hectares by the evening.

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says rubberneckers seem to have heeded the message to stay away.

"We've had FENZ-led meetings at the community centre, which is our evacuation hall. And they're commending the public of Christchurch and Selwyn for being so good and listening, which is music to my ears." 

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Let me tell you something that happened today.

This morning, David Seymour was on the radio with Mike Hosking, outlining his plans to tackle truancy in this country by enforcing the rules so that parents cop fines if they don’t send their kids to school.

Only about 2.5 hours later, over on ZM, a mum entered a competition to get herself and her daughter to the Taylor Swift show in Melbourne tomorrow.

And even though it was 10 to 10 in the morning and school had started at least 50 minutes earlier, her daughter was at home with her and talking on the radio

Her daughter was home with a sniffle, which became a bit of a running joke because it was clearly a ‘sniffle’ bad enough to keep her home from school but not bad enough to keep her home from a Taylor Swift concert in Melbourne.

Now look, I don't want to be a Grinch to her. Taylor Swift is huge, the tickets are hard to come by, it’d be a wonderful experience for any school kid to go to Taylor Swift, especially overseas.

But it kind of made the point, didn’t it?

The truancy was a joke on the radio. That’s how chill we are about kids missing class.

The 3rd term of last year, 54 percent of kids skipped at least one day every two weeks. Now we can debate whether David Seymour's plan will change that. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. 

There’s a case to say it won’t, because the law already exists. Parents can already cop a fine of $300 if they get busted and they just ignore it.

And if you don’t care about your child enough to send them to school, I hardly think someone else caring and fining you is gonna change your mind.

But at least it signals a change of attitude in Government.

I would rather have the Government try everything to get kids back to school, even if some of it doesn’t work, than try nothing.

And I hope it actually works. After love and safety, education is the most important thing you can give your child.

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Over in the UK, a second parliamentary candidate has been suspended over his comments about Israel.

Graham Jones, a former Hyndburn MP has been suspended and faces potential investigation.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the party's focused on cleaning up its act ahead of the general election.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Childfund NZ CEO Josie Pagani and Ben Thomas from Capital joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

There's been an uptick in rats and mice invading Countdowns across the country- what do we think of this? Will this harm the company's reputation?

The Government plans to index benefits to inflation rather than wage growth- a move the opposition doesn't approve of. Is this better or worse for beneficiaries?

New data reveals the Treaty is the third most important issue to voters. Is this surprising news?

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Fletcher Building has had an eventful few days, culminating in the loss of chief executive Ross Taylor and chair Bruce Hassall.

The company has also reported a $120 million half-year loss after tax.

Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton warns Fletcher may need more than a change in leadership to win back investors.

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ASB has warned mortgage holders to be prepared for 'any eventuality' when it comes to interest rates.

Chief executive Vittoria Shortt says borrowers shouldn't bank on one particular scenario when it comes to future rate hikes.

This follows ANZ economists issuing a 'hawkish' prediction that the OCR could go up two more times in the near future.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further.

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Labour's Three Waters policy has been flushed for good today.

A bill to repeal the Water Services Act has passed its third reading in the House, and the Government aims to implement its replacement through two further bills by mid-next year.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says it's incredible how much change the original bill went through before the Government scrapped it.

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There's growing concerns about Joe Biden's capabilities ahead of the 2024 election.

A couple of unfortunate weeks have led to Democrats reconsidering a second term for the President, and Vice Presidents Harris has expressed interest in taking over.

US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says it's unlikely Harris will be ready to step in as the next nominee.

"California Governor Gavin Newsom is in the wings- but he has to tread carefully. He's got his eye on four years down the road."

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Economists are predicting a boost in consumer spending this February 14th.

As demand for flowers and chocolates and fancy dinners skyrockets, people are expected to spend more to contribute to this economic bump.

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says this Valentine's Day is expected to be the first in several years to match pre-pandemic spending demand.

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ASB's CEO isn't surprised by today's reduced half-year profit.

The bank has reported a 11 percent fall, due to slower lending, reduced margins and higher costs.

CEO Vittoria Short says their profitability is linked to New Zealand's economy.

"We've seen a slowing in growth as headwinds impact everything from inflation that's feeding through to businesses and homes- and also the rising interest rate environment. That's really contributed to the decline." 

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