Christopher Luxon: Prime Minister on a MMP referendum, MP perks, comments to business leaders

Christopher Luxon says he supports having another referendum on the MMP voting system if he’s re-elected as he encourages greater support for National so the party can avoid working with “some yahoo and numpty” in Cabinet. Act leader David Seymour says he’s not opposed to another referendum but su…

Kerre Woodham: I can't see how you can justify giving prisoners massages

So, the Corrections Minister has halted a $9 million plan, as you will have heard this morning, to provide Rongoa Māori healthcare in prisons, including giving prisoners traditional massages called mirimiri, after questions were asked about the programme. Mark Mitchell said, first I heard of it. Bu…

Liam Dann: NZ Herald Business Editor on the unemployment rate rising to 5.6% in June

Unemployment's reached the highest level in 11 years.   Stats NZ data shows the rate reached 5.6% in the June quarter, up from 5.3% in the March quarter.   Of the 166 thousand unemployed in this year's second quarter, almost a-fifth had been without work for more than a year.   Herald Business E…

Bryce Edwards: Political analyst and Democracy Project Director on figuring out who to vote for

As the election draws closer, many people are struggling to decide who to vote for.  There’s a concern that politics have become too divided, and people are becoming disillusioned with the parties they’ve supported in the past.   At the same time, there are concerns about the more extreme views o…

Kerre Woodham: It's getting harder to decide who to vote for

A friend of mine said to me the other day, “do you have the cliff notes of Labour's policies going into the election? I haven't heard much from Chris Hipkins.” I said, “well, you haven't heard much from Chris Hipkins because he doesn't need to say much.” The best tactic for Labour right now, and th…

Kerre Woodham: Is ACT's policy needed? Or are they trying to generate headlines?

We opted to go with Act wanting to give teachers the legal power to remove seriously or persistently disruptive students from a classroom. Now in an election year with parties struggling to get airtime and oxygen, you have to wonder how much of this is serious policy, how much they seriously think …

Jason Miles: President of New Zealand Principals' Federation not a fan of ACT's proposed school disruption policy

ACT wants teachers to have the legal power to remove disruptive students from classrooms and, in some cases, use reasonable force if they refuse to leave. The party is also proposing fines of up to $3,000 for parents who fail to address ongoing behaviour problems. They argue classroom disruption …

Kerre Woodham: Is this how you imagined your retirement would go?

From good news to bad news really – a growing number of pensioners are turning to the Government's hardship support network as a last resort as the cost of living crisis grinds on. Applications for temporary additional support from New Zealand super recipients have almost tripled since 2020, rising…

Toby Adams: Hauraki District Mayor on the district having the fewest number of water leakages in the Water Services Authority's infrastructure report

One district is crediting its proactive programme for its top water ranking.   The Water Services Authority's latest report suggests Grey District, the Far North, Queenstown, Ashburton, and Clutha councils are the worst for leakages.   Meanwhile the place with the least leakages is Hauraki Distri…

Kerre Woodham: Upgrading our water infrastructure is long overdue

The first national picture of our water networks has revealed severe and immense pressures, with an average of 31 wastewater overflows across New Zealand every single day given as an example of how it's failing. In total, about 15% of our pipes are in poor or very poor condition – and that’s likely…