Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Over in Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's proposed tax reforms have inspired some backlash from the Opposition.

Members of the Liberal Party and minor party The Nationals have come out against these tax cuts and voiced their disapproval.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Opposition leader Peter Dutton is accusing Albanese of changing course ahead of the upcoming by-election.

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No long-term guarantees around the Melbourne Rebels' future, despite confirmation the franchise's men's and women's teams will feature in their respective 2024 Super Rugby competitions.

Reported debt of almost $10 million has seen the Rebels placed into voluntary administration.

Rugby Australia is committing to getting both teams through their 2024 campaigns - with the franchises future beyond that set to involve talks with the Victorian Government.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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Wellington mayor Tory Whanau wants Government help to fund the city's water do-over.

The Council is doing a finances workshop this week.

Wellington Water is asking it for $2.5 billion over 10 years to fix its leaky pipes - which spill about 40 percent of the city's treated water.

Whanau says they're proposing meters to see where water's going - and they'll also need to spend more.

"Not in the billions, because we're not in the financial position to do that. We require some collaboration with the Government and our stakeholders to be able to look in the longer term."

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It's not altogether a surprise that James Shaw has quit as co-leader of the Green Party.

It's pretty well known that there are factions in the Green Party that have wanted him to move on for a while now.

There was a public attempt to remove him about a year and a half ago, and it while he won that- it always felt like it was only a temporary reprieve to get them through the election and safely out of Government.

And then he would have to make way, probably for Chlöe Swarbrick.

The good news for the Greens is that Chlöe isn't a bad heir to the throne, she is very popular and very capable- she could take them to even greater numbers.

But he is still a loss to that party, because he was unique in the Greens in that he got on really well with business people.

I often heard stories about various business groups having had some MPs from various parties come talk to them and everyone was impressed with James Shaw. It was not rare to hear that.

And he should be proud of the shape of the party he's leaving behind. It's probably one of his most significant achievements as co-leader that the Green Party caucus is the biggest it's ever been.

That was no small feat, given the unique tension between the climate warriors and the social justice warriors in the party.

On top of that, they've faced some significant challenges- and they didn't end up doing as much damage as you'd think.

Metiria Turei's benefit fraud admission, Shaw's own green school funding snafu.

Even just being in Government, which has hurt every minor party that’s ever done it- except the Greens, because they came out with a bigger caucus.

I worry a little bit that without him, the Greens will become less of an environment party and more of a social justice, anti-capitalism party and that they drag a future Labour-led Government further down that track.

So maybe in the end he’s not just a loss for the Greens, but actually a loss for all of us.

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Over in the UK, disposable vapes are set to be banned in order to curb a nation-wide uptick in younger users.

Data shows at least 7.6 percent of 11 to 17-year olds vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1 percent in 2020.

The UK Government also plans to restrict sweeter flavours, introduce plain packaging and ensure store displays are hidden by 2025.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this is the next phase in a nation-wide measure to reduce smoking and vaping stats withing young people.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Nick Leggett from Infrastructure NZ and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau met with Minister Simeon Brown over the region's ongoing water issues. She says they had a good discussion but it will take a long time to fix these problems- who is to blame here? Can Wellington's water woes be addressed?

Staff at a UN aid agency have been linked to Hamas- and allegedly took part in the infamous October 7th attack. Why haven't MFAT pulled funding from UNRWA, like many other nations did?

David Seymour's State of the Nation address criticised the previous three Governments, claiming they changed New Zealand for the worst over the last few years. Is this a valid accusation? 

Why does Auckland Anniversary need to be on January 29th? 

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One expert is claiming David Seymour's State of the Nation speech covered issues that needed to be addressed.

The ACT leader discussed Government failings from the past two decades and laid out his infamous Treaty Principles Bill.

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says Seymour has the capacity to excite and challenge voters and attack the status quo.

"He's looking at the philosophy of whether the Government should just keep repeating the policies of prior Governments- or change and bring in a bit of transformation."

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David Seymour hopes everyone will be able to express their opinions on the Treaty amid debate over a controversial bill.

During yesterday's State of the Nation speech, he warned opponents against automatically labelling the bill racist, and criticised any hints of violence.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Seymour will likely use his new role as Associate Justice Minister to sell voters on the Treaty Principles Bill.

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Australia has had its deadliest roll toll these past six months, since 2010.

Deaths rose seven percent from 2022 to 2023.

Australian correspondent Oliver Petersen says the problem is infrastructure, and funding is heavily politicised.

He says states are only voluntarily required to report the details of a crash to federal authorities, and not all play ball.

"It needs to be data-driven, because the argument being waged here in regard to where a lot of these deaths are- on really poor quality roads."

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Woolworths is slashing the value of its New Zealand supermarkets by $2.3 billion to $700 million in a 70 percent decrease.

The company blames a 'weaker medium-term outlook' and higher interest rates for this decision.

MonopolyWatch spokesperson Tex Edwards says this announcement is a PR stunt to push back against a wave of inquiries.

"You publish bad news before the Commerce Commission and the board members and the lobbyists start to come down."

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