Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

A former New Zealand First MP says the Party will be driven by its manifesto, and protecting past coalition gains.

Incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon is holding talks with potential partners, waiting for the final count on November 3.

It could mean National and ACT need NZ First to rule.

Now-Carterton Mayor, Ron Mark, says law and order and co-governance top the Party's list.

"These things fit perfectly with National-ACT's manifesto- but there's going to be stuff that they won't agree with that's on National and ACT's radar, which is tax cuts."

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A majority of Australian voters rejected the Voice to Parliament referendum, with over 60 percent voting 'no'.

This weekend, Australians were asked to vote on whether to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory body for the national Parliament and Government.

If successful, Australia’s Constitution would have been amended with a new section.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says Australia's international reputation could take a hit from this result.

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A taunt from All Black Rieko Ioane's been slammed as 'classless' by Irish media in the aftermath of the quarterfinal in Paris.

The centre put his hand to his ear and allegedly shushed the Ireland supporters after the final whistle.

There's also footage of an exchange between Ioane and a furious Johnny Sexton as the teams were shaking hands.

Sportstalk host Jason Pine explains the controversy further.

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The Jewish Council says events around Auckland Museum are 'distressing'.

The Museum lit up with the colours of the Israeli flag last night, intending to express hope for peace.

It's since apologised for offence caused, after a Pro-Palestinian protest outside the building.

Council spokesperson Juliet Moses says the apology feels like a betrayal.

"My community is feeling very much in pain, very much in shock- for them to make this lovely statement of solidarity and then to apologise really does just compound that pain."

It's understood Jewish schools and synagogues that closed fearing protests, have re-opened.

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I feel like we need to deal with the elephant in the room- Winston’s going to be part of this Government, isn’t he?

Nobody’s saying it out loud, but I think we can all see that it’s absolutely going to happen.

Take the cue from the fact that he was offered the Speaker’s job.

And as far as I can see, they’re going to need him because at the moment - assuming that they win the Port Waikato by-election – ACT and National look like they will have 62 seats out of 122 seats in Parliament.

That is not enough. Because if even one MP goes rogue, that means they only have 61 seats out of 122. What’s half of 122? 61- and that becomes a hung Parliament.

Effectively, they have actually only got one seat spare. And the thing is, MPs go rogue.

Gaurav Sharma, case in point. Or they misbehave like Kiri Allan or they quit like Jacinda Ardern. And if that happens too early in a term, you’re off to a by-election and then suddenly that one majority is under threat.

I would say that they almost certainly need Winston Peters and his caucus of 8, just to give them a bit of insurance and a bit of breathing room in case funny things happen.

It is possible that when the specials come in – that they could, in fact favour the Nats and ACT. It’s unlikely, but it could increase their majority and maybe drop that overhang down so they need less of a majority.

Even then, it’s tight and it’s unlikely. Chris Bishop himself has said that they’re actually expecting to lose at least one seat, which makes it more likely that they’ll need Winston.

Now the question is- will including Winston as insurance make the future Government more stable, or less stable than just going it alone?

I would say in answer to that question, counter-intuitively, including Winston actually makes everything more stable than just National and ACT. Because once Winston’s in there- he generally plays nicely once he’s inside the tent.

But a Government just one seat away from losing a majority is a Government that’s always at threat of somebody doing something funny.

Basically what it means is that every single MP in National and ACT gets to become a deal breaker on anything they care about.

All they have to do is threaten to walk away and the whole Government’s in trouble. They have too much leverage, too much threat in internal negotiations.

From what I can see, short of something majorly unexpected happening in favour of National and ACT- they’re going to need Winston.

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Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in central Paris on Thursday, in defiance of a controversial new ban on pro-Palestinian rallies in the country.

French police and members of the gendarmerie worked to disperse the crowds with tear gas and water cannons, visuals showed.

The ban had been announced earlier in the day, according to a message sent by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin to the country’s police, citing concerns about public order.

“Pro-Palestinian demonstrations must be prohibited because they are likely to generate disturbances to the public order,” said the minister. He added that any organization of such protests will lead to arrests.

Darmanin also called on the police to protect all locations visited by French Jews such as synagogues and schools, and said any foreigner committing acts of anti-Semitism on French soil will be “immediately expelled”.

The ban follows a deadly and massive attack by militant group Hamas on Israel over the weekend that killed more than 1,200 people.

The Israeli government has retaliated with overwhelming force in the coastal enclave of Gaza, which Hamas controls. Airstrikes have killed over 1,500 people in the densely inhabited area, and Israeli officials have shut off supplies of water and fuel to the entire population.

As the conflict reaches unprecedented heights, protests in support of both Israelis and Palestinians have been seen around the world – some resulting in violent clashes.

French President Emmanuel Macron in his address to the nation on Thursday called on the French people to stay united, saying that “it is this shield of unity that will protect us from drifting away and from all hatred.”

Demonstrators in the historic Place de la Republique on Thursday whistled, clapped, and chanted in slogans in French including “We are all Palestinian” and “Palestine will live, Palestine will prevail.”

The ban on pro-Palestinian rallies is “not normal under the rule of law,” one attendee named Ryan told Reuters.

“In France, the great country that they say France is, you cannot demonstrate as is your right, freely. Unfortunately, freedom is no longer here, and we are forced to defy French law, as one would say, and demonstrate to show the truth,” he added.

Another protester described the ban as a “great injustice” and told Reuters that he had been fined 135 euros (roughly $140) for wearing the keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf.

France is one of a number of European nations, including the United Kingdom and Germany, where security measures have been stepped up amid fears of reprisals against members of the Jewish communities.

- by Dalal Mawad and Eve Brennan, CNN

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China has ruffled a few feathers weighing into the Israel-Hamas conflict.

It’s called for establishing an independent Palestinian state, but stopped short of explicitly condemning Hamas.

Its Foreign Ministry made a statement, again not mentioning Hamas or not condemning the violence against Israelis.

Its UN representative put out a statement condemning civilian attacks, but also not mentioning Hamas.

Hong Kong business correspondent Peter Lewis joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.

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Sky TV has announced a mystery party wants to make a highly confidential offer to buy it.

It comes after Sky’s own economic headwinds, with its full-year profit falling 18 percent to $51 million, and revenue rising 2 percent to $754 million.

It also announced an on-market share buyback programme earlier this year, which was paused prior to the release of its full-year results.

Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.

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Fletcher Building's dismissing claims from west Australian builder BGC about problems caused by its Iplex Pro-fit pipes.

Fletcher has doubled down on its belief installation issues with the pipes causes them to leak in some 15,000 Perth homes.

BGC alleges the pipes are the issue and says fixes will cost an estimated $1.92 billion dollars.

Fletcher CEO Ross Taylor told Heather du Plessis-Allan they've done a huge number of tests that disproves BGC's theory.

“What we’ve seen there is in all instances where a leak’s occurred, is a 100 percent correlation between that leak and an installation problem.”

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Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson of Sherson Willis PR and former Labour staffer Mike Munro talked about:

What did we think of last night’s final debate? Did Chris Hipkins go too far?

How will tomorrow night play out? How big a role will New Zealand First and Winston Peters play tomorrow night? Will he break his word? Will he work with ACT? What will happen after the dust settles?

And should Mark Telea have been dropped for the quarterfinal clash with Ireland on Sunday morning?

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