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More local councils appear to be drawn towards attempting asset sales.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has begun the process of selling a chunk of its majority share in the Port of Tauranga. 

Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington are also investigating potential asset sales.

BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie explains the benefits and drawbacks of this process.

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The Commerce Commission has filed criminal charges against two construction companies and their directors for alleged cartel conduct.

The pair were accused of colluding to rig bids for their publicly-funded infrastructure projects in Auckland.

Commerce Commission Chair, John Small, says their cartels team investigated this historic case right away.

"It's obviously, with a criminal standard, the standard of proof and the standards of evidence, got to be pretty high. Because the consequences are very serious- potential imprisonment- we've got good evidence."

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A new FIFA report has published some eye-opening stats into social media abuse.

Players at the football Women's World Cup were 29 percent more likely to receive online abuse than those at the men's tournament in 2022, according to new data.

One in five Women's World Cup players, a total of 152, received "targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging".

Former Football Fern Katie Duncan says it's 'saddening' that online abuse has gotten this extreme.

"It's good for it to be actually recorded from the players, it just gives them data so hopefully more can be done for the statistics- for the data to be lower." 

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A Tauranga iwi hopes its Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal claim is accepted and heard sooner rather than later.

The Ngāi Te Rangi Settlement Trust is accusing the Government of bending Treaty rules with its policies.

Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley claims the Government has launched an attack on culture and language.

He says they are attempting to extinguish the language within multiple areas of Government.

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New Zealanders under clear skies tonight could glimpse a meteor shower.

The rare display will be visible between 8pm and midnight, as the debris field intercepts Earth's orbit.

Auckland University physics professor Richard Easther says it's the first appearance from this particular shower.

"There are some meteor showers that happen every year, but this one is new- and it's associated with a comet. So we're getting some insight into how these little icy snowballs work."

Easther says Kiwis will be able to see the shower if they look to the north west sky.

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New Zealand's Climate Change Minister says more ambition's needed to transition the world away from fossil fuels.

Simon Watts is attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, which is reportedly on the verge of failure, because of a lack of agreement.

Its draft climate deal doesn't include plans to phase out fossil fuels and several countries are threatening to walk out.

Watts says words in the agreement such as 'could' take action simply won't cut it.

"Our Pacific Island neighbours and brothers and sisters, in effect, are at the front lines- and we're standing right with them, calling for a consensus." 

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It was a fiery afternoon in Parliament, with Winston Peters filling the hot seat.

Prime Minister Chris Luxon is out of the country to attend his daughter's graduation in Australia.

ZB political editor Jason Walls says Winston stuck to his usual habits of insulting political rivals and referencing himself in the third person.

"You can imagine the smile on his face when he was saying all this in the House, he was really back in his element in Question Time today."

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The judge in Bruce Lehrmann's defamation case ordered Sky News to release an alleged secret recording of a conversation between Brittany Higgins's lawyer and fiancé.

The conversation reportedly showed the pair discussing Higgins's cross-examination while she was still testifying.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says this is the latest development in a long and costly investigation.

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The White Ferns are well and truly pegging Pakistan back after the visitors made a strong start to their chase of a mammoth target in the opening one-day cricket international in Queenstown.

The visitors are 145 for 2 after 30 overs - pursuing a target of 366.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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Experts are urging New Zealand to ditch the 'best before' labels on food packaging to reduce food waste issues.

Food waste costs the nation $3.2 billion per year, with an estimated 100,000 tonnes of product tossed out.

Love Food Hate Waste's Kate Fenwick says many people are confused between the 'best before' and 'use by' dates.

"I've seen people throw away perfectly good packets of dry pasta, which literally can't go off, because it's got a 'best before' date on it."

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