The cost of renting in Auckland is skyrocketing. Photo / NZME
The cost of renting in Auckland is skyrocketing. Photo / NZME
Every weekday at 5am, the NZ Herald presents The Front Page, a daily news podcast covering the biggest stories of the day. Here’s a rundown of key stories that made headlines this week. We look into skyrocketing rents in Auckland, the impact of AI in Hollywood, the position of Māori and Pasifika after the election, David Cameron’s return and the Herald’s 160th anniversary.
Rental pain
Auckland has become one of the most expensive places to rent in the world and it’s only set to become worse over time.
Infometrics principal economist and chief executive Brad Olsen told The Front Page that rents in Tāmaki Makaurau have skyrocketed by 8.5 per cent between November 2022 and October this year.
“In Auckland, you are seeing rent absolutely hockey stick upwards,” Olsen said.
“That’s on the back of higher and higher demand that’s come through quite quickly. We haven’t been able to magic up a whole new bunch of rentals to house those people. You’ve got a lot more people demanding housing, but not necessarily a huge change in supply.”
So what can politicians do to stop this from hurtling out of control? And is there even any appetite to do anything?
AI in Hollywood
Strike action brought Hollywood to a standstill. Photo / Mark Abramson (The New York Times)
The actors’ strike finally came to a conclusion, but not before talks were held up for weeks on the topic of AI.
Speaking to The Front Page podcast from Los Angeles, New York Times senior entertainment writer Brooks Barnes explains that the negotiations dragged on because both the actors and the studio executives wanted to iron out the details on generative AI.
“Artificial intelligence was the last real sticky point the two sides needed to work through,” Barnes says.
“With the writers, there were about two or three pages in the contract ultimately dedicated to artificial intelligence, but with the actors, it ended up being 16 pages. It was a much more difficult and thorny area to work through.”
The level of detail included in the contract was dedicated to ensuring guardrails were in place to protect actors from the impact artificial intelligence was likely to have in the future.
So what do these guardrails look like? And should other businesses be paying closer attention?
Where do Māori and Pasifika stand?
NZ First leader Winston Peters, National's Christopher Luxon and Act's David Seymour in coalition negotiations. Photo / Winston Peters
The finer details of the next Government are still being ironed out around the negotiating table this weekend, but two things have already been confirmed.
The next Parliament of Aotearoa will have 32 Māori representatives sitting across the Government and Opposition parties.
Pacific Business Trust CEO Mary Los’e and Bernie O’Donnell, a businessman and chair of the Manukau Urban Māori Authority, joined the Front Page to discuss where Māori and pasifika stand amid the change in Government.
Cameron’s return
Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise return. Photo / AP
Residents of the United Kingdom were left scratching their heads this week after the surprise return of David Cameron.
It comes amid a desperate attempt by current UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to steady the ship.
The source of the most recent chaos is UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who was sacked after making a series of incendiary comments about the homeless, asylum seekers and the Israel-Hamas war.
UK correspondent Gavin Grey told The Front Page Braverman’s rebellion has had a massive impact on the Conservative Party.
“It certainly has shaken the establishment,” Grey said.
“Over the last month or so, she has been poking her head above the parapet and was beginning to say things that weren’t quite government policy. And one was beginning to wonder whether she’d actually cleared these comments with her bosses in Downing Street and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.”
Herald turns 160
The Herald has been reporting the news in New Zealand for 160 years. Photo / NZME
This last week marked the 160th anniversary of the New Zealand Herald.
The publication has survived through and witnessed two world wars, earthquakes and more than a few recessions.
It also captured many of our proudest moments: from Kate Sheppard’s quest for suffrage to Sir Edmund Hillary’s conquest of Everest.
NZ Herald managing editor Murray Kirkness, data journalist Julia Gabel, property editor Anne Gibson, and a bevy of celebrity guest joined The Front Page to reflect on the past and talk about where the publication is going next.
