Larry Williams Drive

Today on The Huddle, Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in a discussion about the following issues of the day: Yesterday's Kantar poll shows that National is overtaking Labour with a five point lead and Jacinda Ardern's approval rating has dropped down to 29 percent. Can this Government bounce back, or are we looking at a National-Act Government next election? Sport NZ has put out some new guiding principles that state transgender athletes can participate in community sports that match the gender identity they identify as without needing to 'prove themselves'. What do we think of this?    Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson has released an apology following his comments about the TVNZ-RNZ merger in his infamous interview with Jack Tame on Q&A last Sunday. Does it sound genuine enough? How excited are we for the Meghan and Harry Netflix documentary?  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Restore Passenger Rail met with Transport Minister Michael Wood earlier today to discuss restoring an affordable passenger rail service. The restoration of a simple and affordable railway service in Wellington has been the goal of the group's string of protests, which have ground to a halt after they secured a meeting with the Transport Minister. Spokesperson Rosemary Penwarden says that the group is frustrated with the outcome of this meeting, as Michael Wood says that he's unable to restore a passenger rail service due to funding constraints. "Reasonable freedom of movement, that's a human right. This Government's priorities appear to take no notice of New Zealanders who don't own a car, can't afford it, or don't live in our biggest cities." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One economic development agency is pushing to end the brain drain on the West Coast. Development West Coast is offering bonded tertiary education scholarships of up to $30,000 to keep local workers in the region. The number of people under 65 on the Coast fell 2750 over the past decade, but over-65s went up 2350.The region continues to have job market growth. Development West Coast Chief Executive Heath Milne says the region's biggest exporter is their talented young workers. He says young people starting their careers don't need to do it in big cities like Auckland and that the West Coast has a lot to offer skilled young workers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A construction expert says today's Commerce Commission report on building materials may not shift the dial. The Commission says the Government should remove barriers to product substitution and wants competition to be a key objective of regulations. It also suggests information on products should be shared nationally. AUT Construction Professor, John Tookey says a limited amount can be achieved by a report like this and that regulations won't bring down costs for consumers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A High Court judge has reserved his decision on temporarily removing custody of a baby, whose parents don't want blood from Covid-vaccinated donors used in his life saving surgery. The parents say they won't permit the operation unless it uses blood from unvaccinated donors. Herald reporter George Block says Paul White, Te Whatu Ora's lawyer told the court this is a matter of life and death. "He said the survival of the baby who has suppression is dependent on the application for the guardianship transferred to the High Court being granted. And as expected, he said the safety of the vaccine has been established by the Court and shouldn't be re-litigated." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transport Minister Michael Wood has recently stated the decision on whether to extend the Government’s petrol subsidies is before Cabinet. The petrol tax cut has been in place since March of this year, following a spike in fuel costs as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war.  Political editor Barry Soper says the subsidy is set to expire in January unless it gets renewed again before next week, when parliament goes into recess.  Barry Soper also observed that the price of petrol has come down in previous months since the May extension of the subsidy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Massive pressure for Australian home buyers ahead of the Christmas season. Australia's Reserve Bank has hiked interest rates up again in their final decision for the year for the eighth consecutive month. It has lifted its cash rate by 25 basis points to a 10 year high of 3.1 percent. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says it puts the heat on people with big home loans. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sport New Zealand has released new guiding principles allowing transgender athletes to participate in community sports in the gender they identify as.  Sport NZ chief executive Raelene Castle says that this is being done in the name of creating a more inclusive environment. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave says that the issue of inclusivity is a complicated factor in sports and that these guidelines will generate discussion. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sport New Zealand is allowing transgender athletes to participate in community sports in the gender they identify as. They've released new guiding principles today that state that athletes should not need to prove or justify belonging to a particular gender identity at the grassroots level. Sport New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle says that these guidelines were designed to ensure that everyone feels included in sports, regardless of background. "They are a set of guidelines that will help sports look at their particular environments and consider how they can make it more inclusive for athletes. " LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If the Government was smart, it would ditch the TVNZ-RNZ merger. After that interview that Willie Jackson gave Q+A yesterday, it’s becoming very obvious that this shaping up to be Three Waters 2.0. A complete PR disaster for Labour.  Most of the problem is Willie. He can’t answer basic questions like ‘Why are you doing the merger?’. So when he’s under pressure to try to deflect away from the fact that he can’t answer those questions, he starts acting the goat in interviews. He plays the buffoon to create the impression it’s not really a big deal, but that got him into big trouble yesterday, because he crossed the very line critics are worried he will cross. He told Jack Tame he was disappointed with Jack’s negative interview and that Jack wasn’t helping him get the merger across the line, and accused Jack of having ‘friends in National’. This is exactly what critics are worried about. That there will be too much ministerial control of the news provided by these two entities. Now, I didn’t think that that real

Nelson's roundabouts and traffic islands have a huge problem with unkempt weeds. Waka Kotahi is meant to maintain it, but this isn't done regularly. They’ve said this task is too dangerous for their contractors and not cost effective. There have been complaints about this before, but it has got to the point where Nelson council has labelled it a safety hazard. Nelson mayor Nick Smith explained the extent of the problem. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK footballer Raheem Sterling was forced to pull out of England's latest World Cup match against Senegal after his home was broken into. Armed intruders broke into Sterling's London home, and his partner and three children were in the house at the time of the break-in.  UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this incident has inspired Sterling's teammates to install tighter security around their homes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hospitality industry is reporting growth figures again, after two years of restricted trading. According to a new report from the Restaurant Association, the industry has brought in $13 billion dollars in sales. This is a 7.7 percent increase from 2021. Restaurant Association Chief Executive Marisa Bidois says that these figures have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but the industry is still being affected by staffing shortages. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Three Waters entrenchment clause has been removed from the legislation, and Leader of the House Chris Hipkins has admitted it was a 'mistake'. The entrenchment clause would have made it more difficult to privatise water assets and generated backlash from legal experts before it was removed. The big question on everyone's minds is- how much did Jacinda Ardern know about it? NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan weighed in on this after the fact.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and Mike Munroe, former Labour chief of staff and current director at Mike Munroe Communications joined in for a discussion about the following issues of the day:  One roundabout in Nelson is experiencing a problem with out-of-control weeds growing all over it, to the point where mayor Nick Smith had to step in. Is this a significant safety issue? According to Jacinda Ardern, RNZ could collapse without the TVNZ-RNZ merger going through. How necessary is this merger?  The controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause has been removed from the legislation and Chris Hipkins has labelled it as a 'mistake'. How much did Jacinda Ardern know about this? The Government has recently announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into their Covid-19 response. Does it sound like the scope will be big enough, considering the people on it? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sustainably sourced whitebait will be available year-round with New Zealand's first ever land-based whitebait farm opening in Southland. This pilot project is set to launch today in Bluff's Ocean Beach site, and was designed by Manaki Whitebait to take the pressure off fisheries and ensure a steady supply. Manaki's aquaculture manager Paul Decker says they're keeping pairs of adult fish to produce a supply of whitebait larvae for people to consume. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest 1News Kantar Public Poll shows National is polling at 38 percent and Act on 11, giving the pair a comfortable majority to form a Government. Labour is down a point to 33 percent and the Green Party is steady on 9 points. National leader Chris Luxon also is closing the gap on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, with Ardern falling down to 29 percent as preferred PM. Meanwhile Luxon is up by 2 points at 23 percent. Political commentator Bryce Edwards says that these poll results are bad news for Labour ahead of the upcoming election. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is concern about the RNZ-TVNZ merger's effect on broadcasters. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said RNZ will collapse without the merger. Media commentator and former TVNZ news head Bill Ralston says he's concerned about how much oversight ministers will have over the board. Bill Ralston says that what happens to RNZ is up to the Prime Minister because it's directly funded by the Government. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Billy Joel has been the first international artist to play at Auckland's Eden Park since the pandemic. More than 35,000 fans flooded in for his first New Zealand stadium show in 25 years. Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner says after the last few years of COVID disruption, it's exactly what people needed. "All we've had is glowing feedback, it was an event like no other at our national stadium. And as you can imagine, the casual and full-time team is just extremely proud of delivering our first ever international concert." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The speed and accessibility of the Covid-19 test and vaccine roll-out will be investigated in an independent review. The Prime Minister has announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Government's Covid-19 response. It will cover the period from February 2020 and October this year, and be chaired by Melbourne-based epidemiologist Tony Blakely. Covid Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says the availability of RAT tests and jabs will be looked at, as well as the speed of the roll-out. "We want a really broad review because we want to learn the lessons from the Covid-19 response to make sure we're better prepared for a pandemic in the future." LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.