Larry Williams Drive

Obviously, what everybody in politics is talking about today is what’s going to happen at the National Party caucus meeting in Wellington tomorrow morning, regarding the Prime Minister’s ongoing leadership. Now, I can’t call it. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen. On the one hand, the Prime Minister is under more pressure than he was before the weekend because of last night’s One News-Verian poll. Usually, that poll is quite generous to the National Party - it tends to overestimate National to a degree. But last night, not only did it put the National Party at 29.7 percent, it also predicted a change of Government. That means this becomes not just a backbenchers losing their seats problem, but a ministers losing their jobs problem. On the other hand, Luxon has managed to get himself through a tough round of media interviews this morning with grit, steel and confidence. And his chief troublemaker, Chris Bishop, has now ruled himself out of the leadership in that Q&A interview yesterday, which surely m

Experts are wondering who will foot the bill for protecting or moving communities threatened by climate change. The Insurance Council is among advocates pushing the Government to speed up decisions on managing the issue. They say severe weather won't wait. Chief executive Kris Faafoi says the Government's indicated councils will lead climate adaption. But he says a clearer roadmap's needed - as councils look to raise money over the next decade. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A fresh idea in Auckland aims to make rides on public transport safer and easier. AT is trialling the flexi-stop system on bus route 18 - between the city and New Lynn - after 7pm every day until September. Passengers on the service can ask to be let off the bus anywhere along the route between stops, given it's safe for the driver to do so.  AT Public Transport Operations Group Manager, Rachel Cara, says it's a success so far. "We've had over 100 passengers request a flexi-stop and it's only been running for four weeks, so we're really pleased with that level of feedback. We want to hear from our drivers, make sure that it's easy for them to navigate." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Temporary fuel support is being funnelled into keeping rural schools up and running. The Education Minister's speeding up replacing diesel boilers for up to 70 schools. Our smallest schools are getting one-off $2500 grants - and student commute allowances are being hiked 30 percent for 5000 students. Erica Stanford says mileage support's more than doubling for relief teachers at remote schools.  "If it doesn't make financial sense for you to go out and drive to a rural school, then you may not choose to do that, and we don't want that, it's already difficult enough for them to get relievers."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MetService is defending the lack of warning in Wellington, before it was battered by torrential rain and flash flooding early today. Karori man Philip Sutton hasn't been found since his home flooded. Wairarapa and Wellington - excluding Porirua - now sit under a rare red warning until late tomorrow. A State of Emergency's been declared, with warnings to evacuate from low-lying areas. MetService's Heather Keats says limited warning's possible for localised thunderstorms - because they develop so quickly. "You could be 40 kilometres up the road and have no rainfall recorded at all, and then you could be underneath it and then receive 80 millimetres in an hour."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Isolated and rural schools are next in line for help with the fuel shock. Education Minister Erica Stanford's announced they'll put $37 million dollars into speeding up diesel boiler replacements at up to 70 schools. They'll also more than double mileage reimbursement for relief teachers temporarily and hike funding for about 5000 students' school commute, by 30 percent. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Luxon also seemed confident at the stand-up, despite growing concerns about his leadership. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's Viva Energy warned it expects its Geelong refinery to produce diesel and jet fuel at around 80 percent ​of capacity in the short term. The refinery caught fire last week and burned for 13 hours before being put out.  Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says it's not as bad as it could have been - but concerns have been raised as the fuel crisis continues.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chiefs have beaten the Hurricanes 22-17 in extra time to leap into top spot on the Super Rugby ladder. There's been two boil-overs across the ditch, with the Crusaders beaten 31-26 by the Force in Perth and the Brumbies humbled 33-28 by the Fijian Drua in Canberra. Sportstalk host Jason Pine explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Care for locals in a King Country town isolated by floodwater over the weekend, with some forced to evacuate. A State of Emergency still applies for Ruapehu's Ohura Ward - and a community hui's being held at its Hall tomorrow evening. Ruapehu district mayor, Weston Kirton, says the region's through the worst of it weather wise, but there's still lingering damage.  "When it comes to isolated areas like Ohura and others, sometimes you don't know and can't model exactly where it's going to hit the most - and I would suggest that the systems we have in place is not adequate."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I know there’s a suggestion that maybe - just maybe - Moana Pasifika can be saved. But do yourself a favour and don’t waste your time hoping for it because I think this is going to be the club’s last season. I don’t relish saying that because Moana Pasifika was absolutely one of the highlights of last year’s Super Rugby season. But it has never stacked up financially, has it? The only reason it was able to pay its way for a while was because it received a temporary injection of Government money from various agencies. There was a bit of financial help from New Zealand Rugby, a bit from World Rugby and of course the fact it was majority owned by a charity that drew tens of millions of dollars in Government income. Once that Government contract was cut, the financial support came to an abrupt end. Now the money has run out. It’s lost its big star - Ardie Savea is now in Japan. It’s losing games, sitting at the bottom of the table again and the fans have drifted away. You could argue - and it would be a fair

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 17 April. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A construction expert says customers could soon face price hikes of 25%. Stats NZ data shows petrol prices rose almost 19% last month, while diesel prices were up almost 43%. AUT Professor John Tookey says the industry heavily relies on oil for producing and transporting materials. He says the destruction of oil wells and processing facilities in the Middle East could take years or decades to rebuild.  Tookey says, if it continues, there will be major problems which could become the new normal. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In my opinion, National MPs need to bite the bullet and ask Chris Luxon to step aside. I don’t enjoy saying this because personally I like Chris Luxon and have a fair amount of respect for him. But I think the chances are now very high that this is going to happen before the election. He is going to lose the leadership and perhaps the only real choice National MPs now have is how messy they allow this to become. I’ll explain why I think he loses the leadership — and I think it’s simple maths. National’s polling is really poor. It’s sub-30 in multiple polls. You can’t write those off as rogue results. The numbers are consistently bad and at that level the party is on track to lose around 11 MPs in November. Those 11 MPs do not want to lose their jobs and within that group are the people now agitating for a change of leadership. For that agitation to stop, National’s polling would need to lift enough to save at least some of those MPs’ seats.So how does the polling improve? The economy would have to improve. An

Changes to the Local Government Act could be on the way after controversy at the Far North District Council.  Councillor Diane Smolders claims a committee made-up of six councillors and 10 unelected Iwi and hapu representatives is co-governance on steroids.  Local Government Minister Simon Watts says he's looking at changes to give to cabinet.  He told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he'll have a proposal soon.  Watts says he expects it to take about a month. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis has made her way to the US. She joins a long list of finance ministers calling for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, and met with Trump's officials for an update on the situation in Iran.  She told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the Whitehouse was, 'careful to caveat that there were still a number of unknowns because they're not the only actor in the conflict.' when asked about the situation in Iran.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Alpine Divorce' is a new phenomenon that is common enough to exist.  Couples going on hikes or tramps reach exhaustion at different stages, leading to one person being left behind. An exhaustion which now seems to have extended to relationships.  Adrift NZ Owner and Tongariro Crossing Guide told Heather du Plessis-Allan that being under physical stress is likely to heighten tensions in strained relationships.  'When you do that, the best of the worst comes out of you.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new farming advocacy group is pushing for the government only to import meat that matches New Zealand's farming standards.  'Fair for Farmers' says that overseas pig meat undermines animal welfare standards, and kiwi farmer's ability to compete.  Animal Policy International Co-Executive Director Rainer Kravets told Heather du Plessis-Allan that, 'around 60% of pork in our market comes from overseas and most of it is produced using standards that would be illegal here.' The group has faced criticism from other farming collectives about the motives behind their cause.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uptake is stalling for GP's wanting to diagnose ADHD.  Two months after the Government allowed GP's to assess and prescribe medication, only 180 GP's have used the new power so far.  Other doctors blame workforce shortages and inadequate funding for the stall in uptakes.  Royal NZ College of GP's President Luke Bradford told Heather du Plessis-Allan that, 'Patients can't afford to see it. Or the doctors can't afford to give up the time to do it.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi company Allbirds has announced a new direction and it's drawn questions from experts. After years of losses, the former sustainable shoe company is transitioning to AI after selling all its assets this month. It's revised its moniker to NewBirds AI - seeing share values surging up to 700 percent. NZ Herald senior business writer Chris Keall says the tech and business-based press has raised concerns about what this could do for the company.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's concerns the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could lead to food shortages in the UK. Reports claim that people are concerned that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will lead to a shortage of carbon dioxide - which is essential in food production.  UK correspondent Enda Brady says Prime Minister Kier Starmer has warned people to start preparing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.