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Speaker 1: And Barre Soper, senior political correspondent, is with US High

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Speaker 1: Barry afternoon. Heather, Right, So I am imagining that Chris

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Speaker 1: Luckson got lots of questions on the leadership business.

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Speaker 2: Well, no, I've just come from the news conference now

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Speaker 2: and it is over half an hour and they just started,

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Speaker 2: and of course he's repeated what he has said, well

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Speaker 2: what he said on the station on Friday afternoon, that

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Speaker 2: he's not looking over his shoulder, he's not developing the

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Speaker 2: Battle of Britain, twitch he's getting on with business. And

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Speaker 2: when they asked him about that in the press conference today,

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Speaker 2: he said that's exactly what he's going to do and

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Speaker 2: certainly seemed to have the backing of Nikola Willis, who's standing.

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Speaker 2: I guess her career really depends on Chris Luxon and

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Speaker 2: she was standing beside him. But it was a bit

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Speaker 2: of a scrum for the politicians coming down to Wellington

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Speaker 2: for Parliament today, the media waiting at the airport for them,

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Speaker 2: and I mean a stuff headline said watch Luxe and

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Speaker 2: avoids question on arrival in Wellington. Well, he's already said

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Speaker 2: what he was going to say. You know, are you

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Speaker 2: worried about your leadership being maybe compromised by your performance

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Speaker 2: last week. Well, of course he's already said that he

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Speaker 2: doesn't feel it is, and would seem by all the

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Speaker 2: politicians that were interviewed on the way in. But it's

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Speaker 2: the old story, isn't it that you, as leader of

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Speaker 2: the last person to know if there's a plot against you.

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Speaker 2: But no, no, there's not. No, no, absolutely there's not.

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Speaker 2: But what I'm saying is that you know, a leader

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Speaker 2: can always sound confident right up until the caucus vote.

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Speaker 2: There's a caucus tomorrow. But I don't think anything like

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Speaker 2: that will happen. I think the National Party will look

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Speaker 2: realistically at these figures, say it's a bloody tough time

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Speaker 2: and with the Middle East crisis now being underway, it's

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Speaker 2: going to make it even tougher for them. I think

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Speaker 2: they acknowledged that, although they say we're in pretty good

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Speaker 2: shape on many aspects of the economy at the moment,

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Speaker 2: so if it's a short term war, we will be

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Speaker 2: much better off. But of course the public already finding

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Speaker 2: the price at the petrol pump at some bowsers have

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Speaker 2: gone up already and yet we have almost a month

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Speaker 2: storage in place, so wine Earth petrol companies can put

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Speaker 2: up their prices to over three dollars now is beyond

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Speaker 2: me because they've been assured that they'll have a supply.

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Speaker 2: We also have a deal with Singapore that was negotiated

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Speaker 2: quite recently where Singapore will supply us with emergency fuel

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Speaker 2: in situations like this and we'll supply them with food.

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Speaker 2: So we've got to back up in Singapore.

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Speaker 1: So when you say three dollars, you are talking about premium,

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Speaker 1: not absolute. I have assumed ninety one. Do you think

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Speaker 1: that the media chasing the Prime Minister through the airport

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Speaker 1: today was just over the top, Well.

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Speaker 2: Yes I do, because you know he had already said

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Speaker 2: he'd been on done all the media rounds this morning,

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Speaker 2: he was on this program, he was on the Radio

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Speaker 2: New Zealand program in the morning, so he's done all

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Speaker 2: the rounds. He's been na, yeah, what's the point, but

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Speaker 2: you know they do all stopped Judith Collins on the

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Speaker 2: way through the airport as well. She stopped and said

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Speaker 2: he's got nothing to worry about. The Caucuses on board

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Speaker 2: with him, So you know it's a bit of it's

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Speaker 2: not a storm and a teacup Because a twenty eight

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Speaker 2: point four rating the opinion polls is certainly not a

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Speaker 2: good place for the National Party to be. But I'm

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Speaker 2: always of the view, with the exception of the war,

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Speaker 2: that it.

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Speaker 1: Will be in the media are behaving on Monday as

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Speaker 1: they should have behaved on Friday, Right, this is Friday story.

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Speaker 1: We've already tied a bow on the thing and it's over,

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Speaker 1: and then two three days later we're getting him chased

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Speaker 1: through the airport. That should have happened on Friday. Anyway,

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Speaker 1: does it sound to you like the government is not

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Speaker 1: going to cut petrol tax, but is going to stop

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Speaker 1: the pedal petrol tax increase of twelve cents for next year.

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Speaker 2: Well, they haven't legislated for it yet, so it's got

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Speaker 2: to be passed in legislation before they can increase it

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Speaker 2: by twelve percent. Don't forget there was a freeze on

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Speaker 2: it for some time. Justin dar Durn, I think it

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Speaker 2: was in twenty twenty two or something. She in fact

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Speaker 2: reduced the petrol tax by twenty five cents a liter.

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Speaker 1: There's temporary though, Yeah, oh absolutely, it's temporary.

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Speaker 2: And that's what Luxem was asked about today. But Nikola

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Speaker 2: Willa is standing by his side. She says there will

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Speaker 2: be no petrol tax reductions in the short term.

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Speaker 3: I think this is a time for politicians to tell

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Speaker 3: the truth, which is there is no easy answer on that,

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Speaker 3: because if we are to suddenly reduce petrol tax, actually

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Speaker 3: every tax payer pays for that, and they pay for

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Speaker 3: that in a couple of ways. They pay for that

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Speaker 3: both in terms of reduced activity on our roads, but

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Speaker 3: potentially they also pay for that and increase borrowing, increased

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Speaker 3: interest costs, and increased debt. So what New Zealanders can

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Speaker 3: expect from us is that we will weigh that sensibly

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Speaker 3: in order to deliver the best medium term security for

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Speaker 3: New Zealanders.

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Speaker 2: So it's an abeyance actually at the moment, you could say,

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Speaker 2: and it depends on the length of this Middle Eastern

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Speaker 2: debarcle just when it finishes, and if it's over in

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Speaker 2: a couple of weeks, then I think we'll be looking

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Speaker 2: much better.

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Speaker 1: Do you think that they will rethink that? I mean,

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Speaker 1: is this an absolute flat no to the petrol tax cut? No,

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Speaker 1: it's not, okay.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, this is election yere and the

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Speaker 2: public is suffering enough now and they've got a big

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Speaker 2: petrol bill to pay as well. I think the government

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Speaker 2: won't wear that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Barry, thanks very much, appreciate it. Barry so for

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Speaker 1: Senior political correspondent.

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