Holiday Breakfast

EU officials have sent a new proposal to the European Commission to crack down on undocumented immigration.

This proposal would ensure that countries who refuse to take back their rejected asylum seekers lose access to tariff-free trading and shipping into EU markets. The European Union designed this proposal to ensure these countries would co-operate.

Of the 396,000 immigrants told to leave Europe in 2020, just 70,000 returned home, but in 2019, pre-Covid, only 29 percent of illegal immigrants returned home.

European correspondent Catherine Field explained futher.

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New Zealanders have a bleak outlook for the year ahead.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey shows confidence fell 7 points this month to 73.8.

The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index also reveals a 12 point drop to 75.6.

It's the lowest level for both since they began.

National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says people are feeling gloomy because 2022 was a tough financial year for many households and 2023 is predicted to be even worse.

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The High Court's delivered a decision on a 501 former drug dealer, who has successfully challenged the Government's authority to impose special conditions on his return.

The decision will force Parliament to clarify the law or appeal the decision, as it could have implications for other 501s.

The court has ruled special conditions including residing at a particular address, supplying fingerprints and DNA and attending a rehabilitative assessment or treatment programme, amounted to a penalty beyond what he'd served in Australia.

The judge ordered Police to remove his fingerprints from the national database as well as his photo and DNA.

Auckland University law professor Mark Henaghan says the High Court has made the right decision in this ruling, as it was unjustified to impose these conditions under these circumstances.

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Air New Zealand is warning of delays and queues as it prepares for its busiest day of the year.

The airline will be helping more than 55,000 people head away for the holidays on Friday December 23rd.

It's expecting to fly 2.8 million people around the country and the world during its summer period from December 1 to January 31.

Chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty says  Auckland to Christchurch will be the busiest route.

She says Queenstown will be the busiest regional airport, with more than 6000 people passing through on Friday alone.

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Could this change things for rural school bus drivers?

The Government has announced what it calls "wage consistency funding" for school bus drivers.

It's worth $26 million over four years, and comes on top of the extra funding for council-run school buses announced in October.

The idea is to keep rural school bus drivers' wages consistent with public transport services.

Bus and Coach Chief Executive Ben McFadgen says school bus drivers have been impacted by stagnant wages for years and that this announcement is great news.

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The intentions of property investors to buy more property have declined - but they're not selling what they already own.

The latest Crockers Tony Alexander Investor Insight report surveyed 362 property investors.

It's also found there's no sign of investors exiting the market and the proportion considering selling is the lowest since the series began.

Independent economist Tony Alexander confirms interest rates are a factor.

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A push for more answers over the wrongful conviction of Alan Hall.

The Solicitor-General's asked police to investigate actions by Crown lawyers in the case of Hall, who was jailed for a crime he didn't commit.

Hall spent 19 years in prison after a 1986 conviction for the murder of Auckland father of five, Arthur Easton.

The Supreme Court quashed his conviction in June, acknowledging key evidence was materially altered.

Criminal lawyer Steve Cullen says this highlights a massive failure. He says what's happened either must be the result of extreme incompetence or a deliberate strategy to get a conviction.

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A state funeral service for two police officers killed in a shooting rampage in rural Queensland will be held today.

Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, as well as neighbour Alan Dare, were murdered by Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train in Wieambilla last week.

Up to 8,000 people will be in attendance today, from ordinary Queenslanders to political leaders.

Australian Correspondent Murray Olds says the police force is still in shock. He says one officer explained how they deal with fires and floods frequently, but nothing like this.

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The US House committee is set to decide whether to release details of Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Trump, unlike previous presidential candidates, refused to make his tax returns public.

It comes a day after the US congressional committee has recommended four criminal charges against the former US President.

US correspondent Richard Arnold says a vote on whether to make the taxes public will happen shortly.

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The Far North has plenty to offer tourists as we head into the first summer with open borders.

The Far North is home to 90 Mile Beach, an area regarded as one of the best surf-casting beaches in the world. 90 Mile Beach is also right next to the Te Paki sand dunes, and boarding down the 150 metre dunes is a highlight of the region.

The Far North is also a short drive away from Cape Reinga and the Karikari Peninsula, two other regions that need the extra boost in tourism sales.

Far North mayor Moko Tepania says that he's looking forward to tourists coming back in, after two years of Covid-19 restrictions keeping figures down.

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