Friday Faceoff with Hamish Rutherford and Thomas Manch

For Friday Faceoff today it's a political special with former Chief Press Secretary to the PM Hamish Rutherford and BusinessDesk senior reporter Thomas Manch. It's been a dramatic week in the beehive ending with the Prime Minister calling a vote against himself. Our panel bring both their political pasts from the beehive to give their insight onto the hot topics from the week.  Rutherford and Manch share their thoughts on the five MPs named by Mike Hosking and what could have happened in the caucus meeting. And does Bishop stand a chance as leader of the National party? And with the public jabs between Winston Peters and National, the panel discuss the likelihood that he would go against his word and go with Labour at the next election.  Then to the FTA with India, Labour has signed on - is this the right choice for NZ? And the racial comments from Shane Jones, is this just trying to breed controversy?   Also on the agenda is the Treaty reference changes in law, the $49 billion estimate to fix water infrastructure, and who should be responsible for support with the Wellington floods. Plus, the panel give their hots and nots. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warriors have sold out Hnry Stadium! They play the Dolphins tomorrow for their ANZAC day game. To celebrate, the sports crew of Nick, Adam Cooper and Jason Pine are joined by former Kiwis player and local league legend Mike Kuiti.  They discuss what we can expect from this game, then the history of league in this country and the height it's reached now.  Also, Hurricanes play the Brumbies tomorrow - Piney and Coops take a look at the team and the stats. Piney is down in Christchurch for the opening of Te Kaha One NZ Stadium, the crew talk what this means for Christchurch and the Crusaders. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Politics Thursday Nick is joined by National's Minister Paul Goldsmith and Labour's Willie Jackson. The discussion immediately gets heated with news just dropped that Labour has agreed to support the Fair Trade Agreement with India.  The panel then get into the alleged five MPs who went up against Prime Minister Luxon and the vote of confidence held within the National caucus this week.  And Winston Peters - who will he pick? And what do our panel think of his comments against Luxon this week? Also on the agenda was criticism against Move on order legislation, changes to references to the Treaty in law and ANZAC day plans. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EDITORIAL: Well, well, well… here we go again  The theatre, the pressure, the whispers, the leaks — and then bang — Christopher Luxon walks into caucus and says, “righto, let’s settle this.”  Yesterday, we asked for exactly that, didn’t we?   I said on this show, I wanted to see a bit of steel.   A bit of fight. Not the polished corporate lines, not the media training — I wanted to see a Prime Minister Christopher Luxon look like he was in charge.   And to his credit, that’s exactly what he did. He forced the issue. He didn’t let it drift. He didn’t let the knives keep circling in the dark.  Because just think about the significance of this for a second.   This is the first time a sitting Prime Minister has actually asked for a confidence vote.   First time ever and that matters. We’ve seen pressure like this before — opposition leaders, sure — but not from the top job.   Not like this. In the past, leaders like Geoffrey Palmer and Mike Moore, or Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley, they were told they didn’t have the numbers. The writing was on the wall.   But they never forced the room to prove it. Luxon did.   He walked in and said, “look me in the eye — am I your leader or not?”  And here’s the follow-up question, no one’s really asking yet. What happens if the next poll drops…  and it’s worse?   And the one after that… worse again?   Does this become the playbook now?   Every time the numbers dip, do we march back into caucus and demand another vote? Because that’s not strength — that’s instability dressed up as decisiveness.  And we’ll never know the numbers. Three-hour meeting, by all accounts.   Plenty of MPs getting up, speaking, backing him, positive vibes — that’s the line we’re getting fed.   And in the end, he’s still standing. He’s still the Prime Minister. So on paper, it’s a win.  But — and there’s always a but — what kind of win is it?  Because afterwards, when he walked out to face the media, it wasn’t the big united front we expected. No wall of senior ministers behind him showing overwhelming strength.   It was just him… and Nicola Willis.   And I’ve got to be honest — and I know people roll their eyes when I say this — but I watch body language.   She didn’t look comfortable. She didn’t look like someone who’d just come out of a rock-solid show of unity. It felt… off.  Now maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe that’s just the moment. But politics is theatre, and that moment told a story.  So where does that leave us this morning?  Is this the reset Luxon needed — the line in the sand, the moment he takes control and says “enough”? Or is this just round one of a longer fight that’s still bubbling away under the surface?  Because forcing the vote is bold. No question. But bold only works if it actually shuts things down.  Did it, or did it just expose how close this really is?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul is calling for the Wellington Civil Defense Emergency Management Group (WCDEMG) to request to unlock the emergency government fund.  The fund is available from Work and Income NZ to financially support those impacted but is activated after a request from the WCDEMG controller. Paul speaks to Nick over her concerns for Wellington, and the reasons the fund hasn't been granted. She calls for all MPs and mayors to back this call, as the regions mayors are apart of WCDEMG They also discuss the destruction within the city from the flood and how the charities of Wellington are bearing the brunt of the support.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Music Time this week Nick is joined by our music guru James Irwin. After the weather yesterday record store Creeps Newtown was flooded significantly. James talks the importance of supporting small record shops - of which we have a greta selection of in Wellington. Especially with record store day, which was last weekend. Brett McKenzie celebrated by doing a free gig at Slowboat Records on Cuba St.  Then the crew talk NZ music award nominations and the new book on Flying Nun band The Clean. And find out what gigs are on the coming week. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EDITORIAL: Well, here we go again — this is when the doors are shut, the caucus is in the room, and this is the moment.  This is where you find out whether a Prime Minister is actually in charge… or just borrowing the label.  Because over the last 24 to 48 hours, this hasn’t just been a bit of background noise or media speculation — this has been a full-blown leak culture inside the National Party.   And now, thanks to Mike Hosking, we’ve got names.  Not whispers. Not “sources say.” Names.  The famous five.  Barbara Kuriger. Andrew Bayley. Sam Uffindell. Tim van de Molen. Joseph Mooney.  Five MPs allegedly talking to the media.   If Mike Hosking is naming these names you can bet he's on the money, I'm prepared to lose my job on that.   Five MPs prepared to undermine their own leader publicly — or at the very least, privately with the full knowledge it would become public.  And now the question isn’t whether it’s happening.  The question is: what does Luxon do about it?  Because this is the test. This is leadership 101.  You cannot run a government — let alone win an election year — if your own team is briefing against you. It’s poisonous.  It eats away at authority, it destroys discipline, and it tells the public one thing loud and clear: they don’t believe in their own boss.  So what are the options?  Does he go soft? Quiet word in their ear, slap on the wrist, “let’s all move on”?  Or does he go hard?  Because let’s be very clear — Prime Ministers have power.   They control rankings, portfolios, future careers.   If you want to send a message, you can send one quickly.  And then there’s another layer to this — because now we’re hearing that Chris Bishop may also be linked in some way.  Now if that’s even remotely true, that’s not just a backbencher issue anymore — that’s senior leadership territory. That changes the stakes completely.  Is it time for Luxon to clean house?   He can’t get rid of them, you know he can’t.   So do you make an example of one or two? Do you reshuffle, demote, strip responsibilities?  Or do you risk looking weak by trying to keep everyone happy?  Because here’s the reality — unity isn’t built by pretending problems don’t exist. It’s built by dealing with them.  And if Luxon walks out of that caucus today without asserting control, without drawing a line…  Then the story won’t be about five MPs leaking like a sieve.   The story will be that the Prime Minister knew — and did nothing.  And once that perception sets in?  Good luck with trying to do anything come the end of the year.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick is joined on this rainy morning by WeatherWatch's Phil Duncan to give us the latest on the wild Wellington weather.  Duncan discusses the struggles of forecasting in New Zealand, and how our weather technology systems differ globally.  He suggests NZ is behind the times, and our closed data means we can't learn from our mistakes.  Duncan also talked the potential of a weather agency merger to provide more accurate and direct information to the public.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For a special charitable edition of the Business Panel, Nick is joined in the studio by two people making a difference in Wellington. Rev Murray Edridge, Wellington City Missioner and Major Christina Tyson, Head of Salvation Army frontline welfare services join the panel this morning.  In the wake of the severe weather events, Wellington City Mission and Salvation Army are providing support and shelter for those in need. Nick speaks to Tyson and Edridge speaking about what they are offering, and how the organizations are coping with the influx of support needed.  Then onto the last 12 months, are our panel noticing a difference? Edridge says it is the worst time in memory for those who need help.  Nick finds out how world events like fuel are impacting the people they support and the businesses themselves. How are their volunteers coping? Then their thoughts on policy from the government and whether they are receiving enough support from both the government and the council.  And how can our communities support them? Find out on this week's business panel.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many Wellingtonians have woken to carnage in the capital. Cars are floating,  Early this morning parts of the region were hit with slow moving thunderstorms and intense rain causing cars to float streets to flood, slips, roads closures and evacuations.  Nick speaks to Mayor Andrew Little who has been out in the suburbs looking at damage. He shares an update on the response so far and official advice for those effected. MetService is expecting even more rain to fall across Wellington today, with a heavy rain warning in place for parts of the region from 3pm Monday until midnight Tuesday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.