Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop warned the Government may need to put a toll on the Auckland Harbour Bridge to fund the new Waitematā crossing.

The new crossing will be tolled, but the Government is getting advice on whether the existing bridge needs to be tolled as well - in order to stop people from using the old bridge to bypass the toll.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explains why this idea isn't realistic for commuters.

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Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop warned the Government may need to put a toll on the Auckland Harbour Bridge to fund the new Waitematā crossing.
The new crossing will be tolled, but the Government is getting advice on whether the existing bridge needs to be tolled as well - in order to stop people from using the old bridge to bypass the toll.
Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explains why this idea isn't realistic for commuters.
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on whether the Government will toll the Auckland Harbour Bridge

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/b1f14fc1-7649-4596-ad56-b3f400486bdf/transcript

Well, blow me down - they had a leadership vote in caucus, called by Chris Luxon himself, and he survived.

Good on him for doing that. That is exactly what I said  he had to do if he wanted to shut this stuff down for the next week and a bit that Parliament has left to sit.

And even if you think sticking with Chris Luxon was the wrong call by the National Party - which, by the way, I do; I still think he needs to go before the election - you’ve got to respect the fact he had the courage to do this.

Leadership votes are always a big risk. They’re always a guess. It doesn’t matter what the MPs say to you. It doesn’t matter if they tell you they’re going to support you. When it comes down to it, and it’s a secret ballot, it’s always a roll of the dice. It takes real steel to do that and he had it.

Now the question, of course, is: is that it? Right - is it going to be quiet all the way through to November’s election?He’s going to be the leader, nothing more to say? Not necessarily.

I think this increases his chances of staying on because it has to have killed off any spill momentum his detractors might have had - at least for now. And it has to have lifted his confidence, which in turn has to lift his media performance, surely to God.

But ultimately, none of that really matters. It’s the polls that determine his future. If National keeps on this downward trend they’ve been on for two years, and if it drops another 2 percent and is sitting on 27-point-something in the next few weeks, all of this is just going to start up again. MPs will see themselves at risk of losing their jobs, they’ll freak out and the chatter will resume.

What this does do is, first, buy him a significant amount of time to lift those polls. And second, it has to earn him a grudging respect from his MPs, who now have to look at this and say he’s more of a formidable opponent than they might have thought.

Even if it’s just grudging respect for calling the bluff of the leakers, that’s what he’s done. It turns out they never had the numbers they pretended they had.

LISTEN ABOVE

Well, blow me down - they had a leadership vote in caucus, called by Chris Luxon himself, and he survived.
Good on him for doing that. That is exactly what I said &nbsp;he had to do if he wanted to shut this stuff down for the next week and a bit that Parliament has left to sit.
And even if you think sticking with Chris Luxon was the wrong call by the National Party - which, by the way, I do; I still think he needs to go before the election - you’ve got to respect the fact he had the courage to do this.
Leadership votes are always a big risk. They’re always a guess. It doesn’t matter what the MPs say to you. It doesn’t matter if they tell you they’re going to support you. When it comes down to it, and it’s a secret ballot, it’s always a roll of the dice. It takes real steel to do that and he had it.
Now the question, of course, is: is that it? Right - is it going to be quiet all the way through to November’s election?He’s going to be the leader, nothing more to say? Not necessarily.
I think this increases his chances of staying on because it has to have killed off any spill momentum his detractors might have had - at least for now. And it has to have lifted his confidence, which in turn has to lift his media performance, surely to God.
But ultimately, none of that really matters. It’s the polls that determine his future. If National keeps on this downward trend they’ve been on for two years, and if it drops another 2 percent and is sitting on 27-point-something in the next few weeks, all of this is just going to start up again. MPs will see themselves at risk of losing their jobs, they’ll freak out and the chatter will resume.
What this does do is, first, buy him a significant amount of time to lift those polls. And second, it has to earn him a grudging respect from his MPs, who now have to look at this and say he’s more of a formidable opponent than they might have thought.
Even if it’s just grudging respect for calling the bluff of the leakers, that’s what he’s done. It turns out they never had the numbers they pretended they had.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: You've got to respect Chris Luxon's courage

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/101da818-ef39-4581-a6cb-b433006ad0d2/transcript

The small Waikato township of Waitoa is losing its long-term access to free water. 

The local Fonterra factory is ending its more than 40-year old arrangement to supply locals water - originally to serve homes affected by factory dust. 

Matamata-Piako District Council is consulting the public on an 8.2-million proposed solution.

Mayor Ash Tanner says Fonterra likely wants to avoid responsibility for anyone getting sick. 

"The problem I think we have in this country is - there's an incident, and then we have a bit of a knee-jerk reaction and then we set up a regulatory body to overlook it and then we go over the top and we make it harder to supply it."

LISTEN ABOVE

The small Waikato township of Waitoa is losing its long-term access to free water.&nbsp;
The local Fonterra factory is ending its more than 40-year old arrangement to supply locals water - originally to serve homes affected by factory dust.&nbsp;
Matamata-Piako District Council is consulting the public on an 8.2-million proposed solution.
Mayor Ash Tanner says Fonterra likely wants to avoid responsibility for anyone getting sick.&nbsp;
"The problem I think we have in this country is - there's an incident, and then we have a bit of a knee-jerk reaction and then we set up a regulatory body to overlook it and then we go over the top and we make it harder to supply it."
LISTEN ABOVE

Ash Tanner: Matamata-Piako mayor on Waitoa losing long-term access to free water

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/bd6bf5ee-f433-481f-b522-b4330068864f/transcript

Inflation's already looking vulnerable, with the reality of worse economic blows still to come. 

Figures out today showed annual CPI unexpectedly held at 3.1 in this year's first three months, confounding expectations it would fall as low as 2.8. 

Economist Cameron Bagrie says the rate reflects what was happening to prices, just as the cost of fuel began to climb, when the Iran war closed the Strait of Hormuz. 

He says we'll get an inflationary hit in the June quarter, and a better starting position would have been preferable. 

LISTEN ABOVE

Inflation's already looking vulnerable, with the reality of worse economic blows still to come.&nbsp;
Figures out today showed annual CPI unexpectedly held at 3.1 in this year's first three months, confounding expectations it would fall as low as 2.8.&nbsp;
Economist Cameron Bagrie says the rate reflects what was happening to prices, just as the cost of fuel began to climb, when the Iran war closed the Strait of Hormuz.&nbsp;
He says we'll get an inflationary hit in the June quarter, and a better starting position would have been preferable.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Cameron Bagrie: independent economist on New Zealand's CPI reaching 3.1 percent for the first quarter of 2026

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/e98b8c42-ef29-4e28-ae3d-b43300652e46/transcript

Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on whether the Government will toll the Auckland Harbour Bridge

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