Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Film Commission says bringing more film projects to New Zealand isn't as simple as hiking subsidies.  Oscar-winning director James Cameron released his third instalment of the Avatar franchise over the weekend.  However, Cameron says it may well be his last due to industry belt-tightening.  He's called for the Government to revisit the rebate scheme.  CEO of the Film Commission, Annie Murray says production opportunity isn't just about money.  "Yes, they're looking for the best for their bottom line, but they're also looking, first and foremost, for a creative fit. And they're certainly finding that here." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A nod of approval for the KidsCan school lunches scheme. A Ministry of Education ECE report shows consistent near 100 percent satisfaction scores for reliability, food safety, and communication. KidsCan CEO Dame Julie Chapman says it costs $2 dollars per meal, on average - under their not-for-profit model. "You're talking 30 to 50 kids, as opposed to, you know, hundreds or potentially thousands of kids. So that bespoke model for early childhood works really well."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Details are emerging about the gunmen behind last night's deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach. 15 people were killed and dozens more were injured after the shooters opened fire into a crowd of people celebrating the first day of Hanukkah. National security expert and Australian National University research fellow Dr Levi West says the father mustn't have raised any alarm bells when he applied for a gun license.  "Associations that your son has with people is not necessarily sufficient to rule you out of measures. The New South Wales state Government is talking about tightening what is some of the toughest gun laws in the world." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister's tempering expectations ahead of the Government's books opening this week. The Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update will be unveiled tomorrow - with some economists expecting a projected surplus to be pushed out by another year.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this will be the third time a return to surplus has been pushed out. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investigations are set to continue into the deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach - including the killers' motives. A father and son opened fire on some 1,000 beachgoers yesterday, killing 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl.  Police say it was a terror attack targeted towards a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.  Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says officials will also be looking to toughen up gun laws following the attack. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Canterbury wicket-keeper Mitch Hall has been pushed out for a fit-again Tom Blundell in the Black Caps squad for the third test against the West Indies starting Thursday in Mount Maunganui. Spinner Ajaz Patel returns to the side, with Blair Tickner sidelined. Sportstalk host Jason Pine explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Security has been boosted around Jewish places of worship and gatherings following last night's deadly attack at Bondi Beach. Two gunmen opened fire on a crowd of about a thousand people celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, killing 15 and injuring 40. Holocaust Centre of New Zealand Chair Deborah Hart says New Zealand's Jewish community is 'reeling' following the attack, and tributes are flooding in.  "We hold those directly affected in our hearts, but we know that we have to be resilient and we have to go on. And we've only had the first night of Hanukkah, and Hanukkah is the festival that has carried us through centuries of persecution."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 12 December. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the face of it, this coastal shipping decision from James Meager seems like an odd one. It's a win for truckies, like it or not, we're about to get 500 extra trucks filled with 15,000 tonnes of bulk cement on the road each month. But it's bad for coastal shipping, even though the Minister says it's actually good for coastal shipping. Let me explain. There's a cement company that wants to ship its product round the country, but its current ship is old and buggered. So a new one is coming to the rescue, but in the meantime, they've sorted a temporary ship for three years to fill the gap. Well, they did. Until the Minister, James Meager (Assoc. Transport) stepped in and said Nah. You can't operate that vessel here because its foreign-flagged ship. Meager says he's simply following the law. The vast majority of goods being moved around the country from local ports are on kiwi boats with kiwi crew, making sure we have kiwi jobs etc. All very well and good. Except there's apparently no alterative for the cement guys, Holcim, so they're forced to send everything by road for three years. And here's the bit that's worrying (aside form the fact we're loading the roads up with more heavy trucks that in many places they clearly can't handle). Holcim reckons this decision will cost it of millions of dollars. And once you sink that investment into freight by road, there will come a time when returning to shipping becomes unviable. So the cement stays on the road. So in this case, three years with kiwi workers missing out may turn into forever. And that doesn't seem like a very smart decision, especially at a time when we're trying to boost coastal shipping (newsflash: we're long islands surrounded by water) and when we're limping across the cook straight from the next three years without proper ferries. I would have thought this makes the whole system a bit weak and vulnerable. Would an extra ship at a time like this not be a good idea, no matter where it's come from and who's manning the deck? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The country's largest cement supplier says we'll soon have over 500 more trucks on the road every month to move cement across the country.  They recently requested to use a foreign-flagged vessel with foreign crew to operate for three years while a new vessel was built to replace their outdated M-V Buffalo.  But this request was declined by the Associate Transport Minister, James Meager.  He told Ryan Bridge that, "you tend to only give authorizations to carry things for a very short or temporary period, to make up a bit of a gap. And in this instance, it just didn't meet that criteria." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.