Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Separate events were held across Australia over the weekend, as tens of thousands called for a solution to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

These events called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, and several politicians have voiced their support.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged Israel to act in accordance with international law- but has stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says tensions are high in Australia, with the region's Jewish and Muslim communities reporting an uptick in harassment and abuse. 

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Another 'what if' incident for Kiwi rugby fans, as World Rugby privately acknowledges Aaron Smith’s disallowed try should have stood.

World Rugby's updated TMO protocol indicates the try should have counted towards the All Blacks' final score in their nail-biting match against South Africa.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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A renewed plea for information about missing Marokopa man Tom Phillips and his three children.

A red farm-style quad bike with no registration was reported stolen from a Te Anga property on November 2.

Police say two people, believed to be Phillips and one of his children, took the bike and drove south.

CCTV then shows a child and an adult breaking the front glass of a Piopio superette - fleeing when the alarm went off.

Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders says they want the public to report any suspected sightings immediately.

"For anyone out there that may be helping him, just remember that this is not a good father looking after his children."

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This is going to make the Rugby World Cup pain worse, isn't it?

Apparently World Rugby has privately conceded that the disallowed Aaron Smith try in the Rugby World Cup final should actually have been allowed.

They're not saying this publicly, but media are reporting that World Rugby have privately acknowledged to the All Blacks that the refs got it wrong.

What happened was that the refs denied the try because the TMO found a knock-on at a lineout in the lead up to the try. But the trouble is, the knock-on was four phases back.

And the World Rugby rules say that if the TMO goes back looking for knock-ons in the lead up to a try, they can only go back 2 phases.

And this is not some random, obscure rule, it's a rule that was passed in the middle of last year. So the refs got it wrong, and the try should've stood.

Now this is going to start the 'what ifs', isn’t it?

Because- what if the try was allowed? Might the All Blacks have won?

Sure, Beauden Barrett made up for it just a few minutes later when he scored a try to replace that try, but it was in a hard to convert-from position, so the conversion was missed. 

Is possible that if the All Blacks were given this try, the conversion might have gone through the posts? And instead of losing by 1 point, the All Blacks could've won by 1 point?

We don’t know, and we never will.

But what we can absolutely know for sure is the TMO needs to change, doesn't it?

The Telegraph in the UK has just published 10 simple and effective rule changes that should be made to rugby referring- and number 2 is reduce TMO involvement.

Amen to that.

And what the Telegraph recommends - on the basis of consulting with coaches, analysts and fans- is that the TMO should only look at try scoring placements and severe acts of foul play, nothing else.

“No slow-motion replays of forward passes – more on that later – and knock-ons, no slo-mo footage of ambiguous double movements.”

Again, amen.

I am heartily sick of some guy behind a computer scouring every single movement in the lead up to a try to see if he can find any reason to say "the computer says no".

Limit the TMO and put the passion back in the sport. It won't give the 2023 Rugby World Cup to the All Blacks, but it will stop us wanting to throw our coffee cups at the screen.

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London police estimate there were over 300,000 gathered at a pro-Palestinian rally in London calling for a Gaza ceasefire.

This weekend's rally marked the region's biggest protest since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.

At least 145 people have been arrested, many of them counter-protestors who belonged to far-right groups.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says people have been charged with possession of weapons, public disorder, possession of drugs and assault.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and former Labour chief of staff Mike Munro joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

Chris Luxon has warned coalition negotiations will be extended for another week- and claimed it seems unlikely he'll make it to APEC. Is this a bad look for the National Party, or does this process need more time?

MBIE is planning to cut jobs and budgets in the coming months- is this a good idea?

ANZ brought in a net profit of over $2.2 billion in the year ending September. Is this a bad look in a cost of living crisis? 

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Christopher Luxon says coalition talks will probably prevent him from attending this week's APEC leaders' meeting in San Fransisco.

The summit for Pacific Rim leaders is expected to focus on conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

It will also include a crucial meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first on American soil in about seven years.

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says Chris Luxon will miss the chance to do a political sweep and show several key leaders what his Government aims to accomplish.

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Sticking points in National's tax plan seem be causing friction in Government negotiations.

New Zealand First's Shane Jones told media today his party's working out some 'jagged edges'.

NewstalkZB understands they involve how National will pay for tax cuts.

ZB political editor Jason Walls says two issues are lifting the foreign buyers ban and dipping into the Climate Emergency Response Fund.

He says New Zealand First aren't happy for that money to be used on tax cuts- and would rather it go into making regions more resilient to climate change.

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Henry Nicholls has been cleared by independent commissioners of ball tampering allegations during day three of Canterbury's Plunket Shield match against Auckland at Hagley Oval.

Video footage showed the Black Cap scraping the ball on a batting helmet.

The commissioners found his actions were unlikely to alter the condition of the ball.

Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explains further.

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The brains behind New Zealand's largest regenerative beauty brand has her eyes on a new sustainable venture.

Brianne West plans to reduce the use of single-use plastic soda bottles with ‘Incrediballs', tablets that add fizz and flavour to a glass of water.

West says ‘Incrediballs' will be packaged in fully home compostable wrapping to prevent moisture from damaging the product before use.

"We found a company in the UK that literally just patented new technology, that means this product is a lot more stable environmentally."  

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