Holiday Breakfast

For many, Six60 is an undeniable part of the New Zealand summer soundscape.  

Their classics such as ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’, ‘The Greatest’, and ‘Please Don’t Go’ are a staple of every backyard barbeque summer get together, and soon a few new songs will be joining the playlists.  

Their fifth studio album ‘Right Here Right Now’ is set to be released in February, but two new singles are already available.  

Frontman Matiu Walters told Andrew Dickens that hands down, it’s their best music ever.  

“Quite often music can get quite tedious and boring if you’re just trying to plough through it all.” 

“But the time feels right and we have some stories to tell, and it’s all captured in this new album and this new music.”  

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A tourism leader in Kaikoura says they're having their busiest summer season since a major earthquake almost a decade ago.  

Visitor numbers reached about 220 thousand in November, up nearly 30 thousand on the year before. 

Destination Kaikoura Chair Chris Sturgeon told Andrew Dickens tourism and hospitality players says things are booming. 

He says there's a positive feeling throughout the town, and says Kaikoura's beautiful landscape offers tourists a true New Zealand location. 

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President Donald Trump is threatening to deploy troops to Minnesota, with heated clashes on the streets over the presence of ICE. 

US Homeland Security says a federal officer has shot a man in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel as he tried to make an arrest. 

Protests have erupted in the city since an anti-immigration officer shot a woman dead last week. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Andrew Dickens things are very intense. 

He says Minneapolis’ Mayor, Jacob Frey, says the city’s being put in an impossible situation.  

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Online hate speech in New Zealand is becoming more targeted and our system can't keep pace. 

Netsafe's latest survey shows since 2018, the proportion of ethnicity-based hate speech has risen from 18% to 36%, becoming the most common reason people are targeted. 

Political-based hate has also increased to 25%. 

Netsafe Chief Online Safety Officer Sean Lyons told Andrew Dickens regulation is a really important part of dealing with it. 

He says that when people clearly understand where the laws sit and there’s a framework to deal with that harmful content, then the platforms can better deal with it. 

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Calls for the Government to force streaming giants to invest in New Zealand content as local productions struggle.  

The Screen Producers' Association says Netflix, Disney, Apple and Amazon should be forced to commission local programmes or pay into a fund from their local revenue  

President Irene Gardiner says declining ad revenue means TVNZ and Three have cut local productions by $50 million dollars, and Kiwis are missing out on their own stories.  

She told Andrew Dickens that streaming services have completely broken the traditional business model, so they’re looking to them to be part of the solution. 

Gardiner says they’re not asking for charity, just fairness and a level playing ground. 

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Questions continue to swirl over Scott Robertson’s departure as All Blacks coach. 

He's left halfway through his four-year deal after player frustration simmered and boiled over in a scathing internal review late last year. 

NZ Rugby Chair David Kirk denies a player revolt forced Robertson out. 

But former Chief Executive David Moffett told Andrew Dickens the organisation's a bit of a mess. 

He says you're going to get bigger problems if players get to determine who their boss is. 

Moffett says told Dickens he’s given up trying to understand the organisation’s strategy or purpose. 

He says they currently don't have a chief executive, a coach, and are missing some senior leaders. 

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Fonterra's boss says farmers are used to volatility in prices and payouts. 

Its midpoint forecast farmgate milk price for this season now sits at $9 after a string of falls in global dairy prices. 

That's more than 10% lower than last season's final payout. 

Chief Executive Miles Hurrell told Andrew Dickens most farms are intergenerational, so farmers understand the ups and downs of the commodity cycle. 

He says the pace of the northern hemisphere increase in supply may have caught some people out. 

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Another tourism announcement is set to come – another round in the Regional Tourism Boost plan.  

The goal is to get international travellers out of the main centres to explore all that New Zealand has to offer. 

Round two will focus on the April to June season, when there’s typically fewer travellers and less activity. 

Tourism Minister Louise Upston told Andrew Dickens it’s about spreading visitors throughout the country, making sure they stay in different places and sample our amazing food and wine.  

It’s part of the $10 million fund they announced last year as part of the overall $70 million major events and tourism boost, she said, to the tune of $3.69 million. 

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If you haven’t heard the name Gianmarco Soresi, you may have seen his clips. 

The American stand up comedian is a staple of shortform video platforms, with over two million follows across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

He’s become known for his crowd work and his distinctive physicality, clambering over chairs and folding himself up as he performs. 

And he’s bringing it to New Zealand, performing two shows at the Sky City Theatre in Auckland tomorrow night. 

Soresi’s style leans towards “wholesome boundary-pushing", which he told Andrew Dickens he plans to push as many as he can whilst performing in New Zealand. 

“Some of it’s traditional, the edgy, the political, but some of it’s emotional, some of it’s like, oh you, you don’t talk about people’s dads like that.”  

These days you’ll see plenty of comedians complaining they can’t joke about anything anymore, but Soresi is among those proving otherwise. 

“I honestly think it’s what I talk about,” he told Dickens. 

“Even when it’s about edgy things or whatever, it’s usually like me, it’s making fun of myself or using myself as the ruler to examine other things.”  

You have to bring your own humanity into it, Soresi explains.  

“I find that if you’re honest about how you fit into the world, you find people aren’t necessarily mad, they might disagree with you, but as long as you’re like, taking in your own foibles as you discuss the topic, you can talk about anything you want.”  

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An All Blacks bombshell to start the New Year. 

The Herald has detailed elements of a 'scathing' internal review into the side's 2025 season, with critical feedback on the coaching, culture, and environment. 

Head coach Scott Robertson and his lead assistant Scott Hansen are believed to be at the centre of the critical feedback. 

All Blacks player of the year for the 2025 season Ardie Savea is reported to be seriously unhappy. 

Former All Black Justin Marshall told Andrew Dickens what we want out of the All Blacks is consistency, and everyone can see that there are too many fluctuations, and the results are reflective of that.  

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