Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute and Radio Hauraki's Matt Heath joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

The latest Talbot Mills corporate poll has the Labour Government down five percentage points to 31, and National up one point on 36. Is this the beginning of the end for Labour, or a one-off?

The Dairy and Business Owners Group chair has spoken to Police Minister Ginny Andersen today, saying shop owners should be able to defend themselves without being charged. Should dairy owners be exempt from self-defence charges? Would it mean police turn up quicker if they know things are more likely to escalate?

Is the appointment of New Zealand's first Grocery Commissioner important for the sector?

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The Te Huia rail service that runs from Hamilton to Auckland has been banned from travelling north of Papakura.

This follows multiple incidents of Kiwirail train drivers failing to obey signals, putting the train at risk of collision.

 The Public Transport Users Association's Jon Reeves says this move will just encourage more commuters back into cars.

"Who wants to get on a bus in a traffic jam in peak time around Auckland to get into Parnell? This is just going to kill it."

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The Country's Jamie Mackay has given the Free Trade Agreement with the EU a middling mark.

The agreement will eventually remove tariffs on 97 percent of goods exported - including onions, manuka honey, kiwifruit and wine.

Jamie Mackay says it's not a flash agreement for meat and dairy farmers, as only small amounts can be exported before tariffs kick in.

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Turkey has made a u-turn and agreed to support Sweden's bid to join NATO.

The region had previously spent months blocking Sweden's attempt to gain a membership, accusing it of hosting Kurdish militants.

One News Europe correspondent Mei Heron says there must be something that got Turkey over the line that hasn't been disclosed.

"There must be something more to it. Only two days ago, the Turkish President told the US president that he didn't think that Sweden was ready for NATO."

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The RBNZ is expected to leave the OCR untouched at 5.5 percent on Wednesday.

The last time the Reserve Bank didn't raise the OCR at a formal review point was in August 2021.

BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says one NZIER expert predicted an increase, but he'd be surprised if went up.

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An agriculture advisory firm says the Emissions Trading scheme should be left untouched.

Lewis Tucker & Co have penned an open letter to the Climate Change Minister asking that the ETS be left alone ahead of an upcoming review.

Executive director Colin Jacobs is concerned the Government's creating uncertainty and potentially destabilising the ETS.

"They're destabilising the ETS carbon markets and the forestry sector, which is not going to be pulled through anyone as we're looking to de-carbonise our economy."

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Questions have been raised over how British retailers can get away with selling New Zealand-grown onions cheaper.

Social media highlighted that New Zealand brown onions were selling for 95p ($1.69 NZD) a kilo at Tesco.

In comparison, those same onions went for $2.99 a kilo at Countdown and $2.39 a kilo at Pak’n Save.

Onions NZ CEO James Kuperus says that Tesco has to price-match Aldi and the rival retailer wouldn't have gotten their product from New Zealand.

"I suspect the Aldi product isn't from New Zealand, so that's where the complications are possibly coming from."

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The Dairy and Business Owners Group says shop owners should be allowed to defend themselves without being charged.

Chair Sunny Kaushal spoke with Police Minister Ginny Andersen today.

He says she was receptive to some suggestions.

Kaushal says currently, people can be charged for injuring others while defending themselves.

He says the threshold should be higher.

"The Act has not been changed, and that was done for a different New Zealand. Now, if you see the current situation, the dairy owners- if they try to protect themselves, they get charged."

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The trial relating to the fatal 2019 eruption of Whakaari began- White Island has heard Worksafe's opening statements today.

Six parties are accused of health and safety failures before the eruption, which left 22 people dead and 25 injured.

ZB reporter Chelsea Daniels has been at the trial.

She says WorkSafe is accusing Whakaari Management Limited and its directors of essentially trying to outsource its health and safety obligations to tourism operators.

"Prosecutor Kristy McDonald KC was quick to point out that as of 2019, WML was making about $1 million in profit annually from handing out those licensing fees to those operators."

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There are growing calls for Scott Morrison to resign from Parliament following the damning findings in the robodebt report.

Morrison has stated he 'completely' rejects the adverse findings in the royal commission’s report, but several ministers are calling for him to step down.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Scott Morrison did nothing to ensure the robodebt scheme was legal.

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