Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The British House of Lords today voted to delay the Government’s plan to send refugees to Rwanda.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to 'stop the boats,' referring to migrant ships illegally crossing the English Channel.

214 out of 385 Lords agreed to delay ratification of the Rwanda treaty.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says this scheme has cost a substantial amount- and experts believe it's dead in the water.

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Tonight on The Huddle, current affairs commentator Josie Pagani and Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! 

Prime Minister Chris Luxon revealed that a six-member Defence Force team will be deployed to the Middle East region to uphold maritime security. Is this the right move?

Does New Zealand need to keep funding the Christchurch Call role? Prime Minister Chris Luxon spoke with Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern before Christmas to discuss her special envoy role. It costs $500,000 per year- is it useful?

Several people were the victims of a parking scam at the Foo Fighters concert and had to pay hundreds of dollars to get their care back after they were towed. Do we think the towing company should reimburse them? Do we trust anyone in a hi-vis vest?

Surf Lifesaving is largely funded by donations and corporate sponsoring- does the Government need to step in and change this?

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Australian-owned company Santana Minerals has informed investors swathes of gold may be hidden under farmland in Central Otago.

The 'Rise and Shine' site had been marked in a recent report as  “the most significant single gold discovery in New Zealand in four decades”.

The site has an estimated value of $325 million a year and could yield between 100,000 to 150,000 ounces of gold per year.

BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie explains further.

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Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson is stepping down from New Zealand's biggest kiwifruit exporter to pursue overseas opportunities.

Mathieson has led Zespri for over seven years, and will stay on until the end of the 2024 harvest, before joining up with American-based berry company Driscoll’s.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further.

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A potential silver lining for first home buyers in possible changes to lending rules.

The Reserve Bank is proposing introducing debt to income ratios from the middle of the year.

Owner occupiers could borrow six times their income, while for investors it would be seven times.

Independent economist Tony Alexander says the central bank plans to ease up on loan-to-value ratios at the same time.

He says that will allow more lending where deposits are less than 20 percent.

"So actually, given that getting a deposit together is pretty hard for first home buyers, it could be a small net positive for them."

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Big spends on the Mt Messenger bypass roading project, despite no road actually being built.

The Transport Agency has already spent 60 percent of the $280 million dollar budget of the Taranaki project.

New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom says there's no way the project will get done within the projected budget.

He blames frivolous court cases for the hold up, and says it is time to get on with the job.

"Yep, it's going to be expensive, but I can assure you that if we didn't build it and the mountain slipped down, it would be a hell of a lot more expensive for NZ inc."

NZTA have confirmed they will be conducting a cost review, which is set to be completed in the first half of 2024.

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Some Ngāti Kahu iwi members in the Far North are threatening to block boat ramps in protest at the annual Doubtless Bay fishing contest this weekend.

A post to social media says fish numbers have decreased dramatically due to over-fishing in the area.

But other iwi leaders have responded saying discussions on the matter have not yet taken place.

Competition organiser Nick Ryan says the event is a community fundraiser and will still go ahead.

"They have no right to block boat ramps, they have no powers to do so, it would appear that people might be speaking just above their positions. But it's not to say that they cannot protest."

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Amateur golfer Nick Dunlap stunned the sports world with his unexpected victory.

The 20-year-old university student has become the first amateur to win on Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991, taking out the American Express tournament in California.

However, as an amateur, he can't collect his $2.46 million first-place prize.

NZ Open tournament director Michael Glading says golfers with amateur status cannot accept prize money exceeding a certain amount.

"If a player of that class wants to turn professional, they can turn professional, but they have to turn professional before they enter the tournament- not at the end of it."

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Whether Jacinda Ardern will continue as New Zealand's special envoy for the Christchurch Call - is still up in the air.

The multilateral body brings together tech companies and countries to fight online extremism.

Ardern's already met up with Prime Minister Chris Luxon in Auckland, and he says they'll discuss the matter in coming months.

Tech commentator Paul Spain says it's likely tech companies would filter out extremist content on their own accord, regardless of the Call.

"That's open to some debate- what we've seen is some improvement in the algorithms from the social media platforms over this time, but that's hard to measure."

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Defence Minister Judith Collins says our personnel will support coalition forces with targeting for precision attacks on identified targets.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters is giving little away on what that will look like.

"Well, it's finding people who are threatening lives with piracy, mayhem and murder- and stopping them."

Asked if it was drone operation, Peters says he can't answer that question.

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