Australia's parliament on Thursday passed a law to cut student loans by 20 percent - removing over AU$16 billion in debt for 3 million people.

During this year's election, Labor made cutting student debt a key election promise, framing it as a measure to ease living costs and tackle intergenerational inequality.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds explained that the student loan cuts weren't just for degree holders, but trade students also got some of their course-related debts waived too.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Black Caps are in danger of missing out on competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

It’s understood the International Cricket Council has opted to use a regional qualifying format to select the six teams to contest the men’s T20 tournament.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains why the side may not make the cut.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's keeping tabs on how much councils are spending and where the money's going.

Yearly performance metrics are out for each council, showing rates rises, revenue, debt levels, expenditure, and whether the budget's balanced.

Monitoring comes as the Government considers a rates cap.

Horowhenua mayor Bernie Wanden says successive years of underfunding and borrowing has contributed to the region's notable debt levels.

"Obviously, there will be nuances and context that will not be able to be read into the figures. I think, give it a bit of time, we'll get used to this and the tables could provide some useful information."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.