Possible overhangs, high voter turnout, lower enrolment, and the Opportunity Party all mean the outcome of the election is too close to call, former Labour leader Phil Goff says. 

“Come Election Night, by midnight we may well not know who is going to govern New Zealand and that may take a couple of weeks after that, probably up to the edge of Christmas,” Goff told Ryan Bridge. 

While National could get a “huge overhang” if people split their candidate and party votes, it wasn’t clear if that campaign was working, Goff said. 

He also believed turnout this year would be better than in 2023, based on early voting levels. However enrolment was down, Goff said, claiming up to 100,000 people had been "disenfranchised" by the enrolment cutoff changing. 

The fate of Opportunity was also key, with leader Qiulae Wong saying she would find it very hard to work with NZ First. 

"If the Opportunity Party gets in then there is...a chance that there'll be a change of government. If they don't get in, that makes it much harder for the left-of-centre coalition." 

LISTEN ABOVE 

Possible overhangs, high voter turnout, lower enrolment, and the Opportunity Party all mean the outcome of the election is too close to call, former Labour leader Phil Goff says.&nbsp;
“Come Election Night, by midnight we may well not know who is going to govern New Zealand and that may take a couple of weeks after that, probably up to the edge of Christmas,” Goff told Ryan Bridge.&nbsp;
While National could get a “huge overhang” if people split their candidate and party votes, it wasn’t clear if that campaign was working, Goff said.&nbsp;
He also believed turnout this year would be better than in 2023, based on early voting levels. However enrolment was down, Goff said, claiming up to 100,000 people had been "disenfranchised" by the enrolment cutoff changing.&nbsp;
The fate of Opportunity was also key, with leader Qiulae Wong saying she would find it very hard to work with NZ First.&nbsp;
"If the Opportunity Party gets in then there is...a chance that there'll be a change of government. If they don't get in, that makes it much harder for the left-of-centre coalition."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Phil Goff: Former Labour Leader unpacks the election campaign to date

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/e999048c-9bd6-4aad-bdc1-b4f2016c641f/transcript

New Zealand Rugby Players' Association boss Rob Nichol has reflected on a needs-must moment for the sport. 

That follows the move for the five Super Rugby city hubs to consolidate franchise operations with their respective NPC teams from 2028, in a bid to reduce overhead costs. 

The governing body are also aiming to have more school leavers attending academies, something Nichol says is paramount in the current landscape. 

He told Ryan Bridge when kids are coming out of school, they really want to know what they're committing to. 

Nichol says the sporting landscape is competitive – it's not like 15, 20 years ago, people have options. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

New Zealand Rugby Players' Association boss Rob Nichol has reflected on a needs-must moment for the sport.&nbsp;
That follows the move for the five Super Rugby city hubs to consolidate franchise operations with their respective NPC teams from 2028, in a bid to reduce overhead costs.&nbsp;
The governing body are also aiming to have more school leavers attending academies, something Nichol says is paramount in the current landscape.&nbsp;
He told Ryan Bridge when kids are coming out of school, they really want to know what they're committing to.&nbsp;
Nichol says the sporting landscape is competitive – it's not like 15, 20 years ago, people have options.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Rob Nichol: New Zealand Rugby Players' Association CEO on the changes coming to NPC and Super Rugby

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/80b81179-54f5-4f78-86d5-b4f2017a7379/transcript

First-home buyers are still dominating the market. 

The latest Cotality Westpac First Home Buyer Report finds they made up almost 30% of property purchases in the third quarter of this year. 

It shows lower house prices and mortgage rates are helping, with many tapping into KiwiSaver. 

Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Ryan Bridge it varies, but on average homeowners are spending hundreds of dollars less on their mortgages than a few years ago. 

He says the huge savings there and the lower house prices are a big plus for first time buyers. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

First-home buyers are still dominating the market.&nbsp;
The latest Cotality Westpac First Home Buyer Report finds they made up almost 30% of property purchases in the third quarter of this year.&nbsp;
It shows lower house prices and mortgage rates are helping, with many tapping into KiwiSaver.&nbsp;
Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Ryan Bridge it varies, but on average homeowners are spending hundreds of dollars less on their mortgages than a few years ago.&nbsp;
He says the huge savings there and the lower house prices are a big plus for first time buyers.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Kelvin Davidson: Cotality Chief Property Economist on first home buyers making up 30% of purchases in the third quarter

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9e72e67e-4841-48f9-a039-b4f201760d76/transcript

Halloween is the new fireworks for kids in New Zealand, and it's a hell of a lot less controversial. 

New Zealand First wants to ban backyard fireworks. Winston loves his horses and they get spooked. 

The Greens back a ban. They love adopted Greyhounds. And cats. 

When I was young, this time of year was all about shooting each other with Godzilla's. Smokebombs. Scraping all the powder off 50 sparklers to make a sparkler bomb. 

But these days Halloween is where it's at. 

The old English tradition has been overtaken by its American competitor. Well, it's not really American but the Americans have made it popular. 

That means it's a growth industry. 

If you're going to get Dracula teeth, you need Dracula blood. If you're getting the blood, why not get the whole costume? 

Australians are expected to spend half a billion dollars on Halloween this year. That's up on last year. 

If this trend continues, there'll probably be no point banning backyard fireworks, they'll just fizzle out on their own. 

And on the whole, that's probably not a bad thing. 

Better for kids to be scared witless than horses and dogs. 

Halloween is the new fireworks for kids in New Zealand, and it's a hell of a lot less controversial.&nbsp;
New Zealand First wants to ban backyard fireworks. Winston loves his horses and they get spooked.&nbsp;
The Greens back a ban. They love adopted Greyhounds. And cats.&nbsp;
When I was young, this time of year was all about shooting each other with Godzilla's. Smokebombs. Scraping all the powder off 50 sparklers to make a sparkler bomb.&nbsp;
But these days Halloween is where it's at.&nbsp;
The old English tradition has been overtaken by its American competitor. Well, it's not really American but the Americans have made it popular.&nbsp;
That means it's a growth industry.&nbsp;
If you're going to get Dracula teeth, you need Dracula blood. If you're getting the blood, why not get the whole costume?&nbsp;
Australians are expected to spend half a billion dollars on Halloween this year. That's up on last year.&nbsp;
If this trend continues, there'll probably be no point banning backyard fireworks, they'll just fizzle out on their own.&nbsp;
And on the whole, that's probably not a bad thing.&nbsp;
Better for kids to be scared witless than horses and dogs.&nbsp;

Ryan Bridge: Halloween is the new fireworks

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/d1f98080-d403-48d2-8d1a-b4f20168b89f/transcript

Phil Goff: Former Labour Leader unpacks the election campaign to date

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