Tonight on The Huddle, Kiwiblog writer and Curia pollster David Farrar and Auckland Councillor Richard Hills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

The Ministry of Social Development has confirmed benefit sanctions rose 53 percent in the June quarter, compared to the year before. Is the tougher approach the way to go to reduce unemployment?

On top of a rocky campaign, President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid. Is this the last straw for him? Does he need to step down?

There's concern from experts after Associate Health Minister Casey Costello ordered a 50 percent cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. What do we make of this?

Northland's Grant McCullum is calling on Transpower to compensate Northlanders with discounted transmission fees after last month's infamous outage. Will this help?

LISTEN ABOVE