Election 2023

National's Erica Stanford says the Government's put a lot of work into boosting educational outcomes - and she wants students to improve.  The Party is campaigning on requiring students to stay in school until they finish Year 11, rather than being able to leave as soon as they turn 16. Stanford says the best place for these young people to be is in school, where they can get the proper suppo...

Hss Paddock to Pantry just confirmed what most of us who think the whole “blow up the super market” game is stupid …were in fact right? The most open display of pandering to the lowest common denominator I have seen in years is virtually every party promising to take you to the promised isle of cheap food, and the only one left with common sense and an adult approach is ACT, who see this for what...

ACT Leader David Seymour suspects it'll be events that'll drive a lift in the Super age, rather than a particular party. His party and National are both campaigning on gradually raising the super age to 67. Labour and New Zealand First are both campaigning to keep it at 65. Seymour says the change has to happen.  "It may be that as bond rates head over 5 percent, the pressure on Government bu...

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE  (from Monday's Mike Hosking Breakfast)  Careful Who You Bring Back from the Dead/Murder Is Not a Hard Luck Story/Are Politicians First Responders Too?/The New Supermarket In Town (well... in some towns) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's thought young people need to master basic life skills,  before making decisions about their futures. National wants to require students to stay in school until they complete Year 11, unless an exemption applies. Currently, students can leave once they turn 16. Blue Light Ventures Chief Executive Brendon Crompton told Mike Hosking the move would help ensure young people have the maths, re...

Chris Luxon says National's continuing to take the same fiscal approach, as it did under Sir John Key and Sir Bill English. National's fiscal plan - due out today - would involve a return to surplus a year later, than under Act's plan released yesterday. Luxon told Mike Hosking National is continuing to be gradual and disciplined He says the right will always call for harder, faster austerity, and...

There’s been a concerted campaign bby Don Brash and Nick Mowbray to get National voters to split their vote to engineer an overhang  A move John Key has said would be the opposite of clever  In the Weekend Don Brash went to press again to say why it’s a good idea  The upshot being that National’s strength in the electorates could mean a loss of list seats which affects several senio...

More New Zealanders are looking to their Kiwisaver to get them to the future, or to their first-home with the property market on a down-turn.  Because of that, the election's become a more vested interest for voters, with the future of their KiwiSaver determined by what Government forms. So what are parties promising, where do they differ, and what would it mean for our funds? ACT's proposed...

The Green Party's announced a jobs guarantee programme for young people who've been out of work for 6 months, with unemployment at an 11-year high, and three times worse for younger people. The party says the country's infrastructure and nature need maintenance and care, but community services are short of the people needed - so they plan to give those roles to younger people. The policy aims to b...

ACT's released their fiscal plan if re-elected, and it's focused on cutting wasteful spending across sectors, and reduce debt by $12.4 billion dollars. The party's budget focuses on hard issues like superannuation, and bureaucracy, while proposing no new taxes and a quicker return to surplus. The party says Government spend is up 20 percent since 2017 across most sectors, and less debt lets us bet...

Qiulae Wong fired a truth torpedo at the National Party didn't she? She says she doesn't believe Christopher Luxon when he tries to pretend he's not going to be calling her after the election. And she's right because of course he's going to call her after the election. He knows it as well, which is why he wouldn't say no when Jack Tame kept questioning him about whether he would call her on Novemb...

The state of the health system is a big talking point in this year's election, but there's debate to be had about preventative steps as well. Despite the well-documented benefits of preventive measures, many people fail to engage in proactive preventive health behaviours - and there's also societal factors that add to declining health, like housing, income, and food systems.   Naturopath...

The election season is well and truly under way, with the first debates of the campaign taking place last week. The cost of living, the health system and education were among some of the major issues discussed on the campaign trail. Former Minister and commentator Peter Dunne says the first leaders' debate fell 'flat' and it's still a very close race for both major parties. LISTEN ABOVE See omnyst...

The election is a month away and enrolment is due to close in two weeks - but new data shows a significant number of eligible young Kiwis aren't enrolled.  Recent data from the Electoral Commission shows only 63.4 percent of people aged between 18 and 24 are enrolled to vote, and questions have been raised.    On a Roll campaign volunteer Adriana Bird says this age demographic is mo...

On the One Roof Radio Show, Ed McKnight from Opes Partners talks with Tim about how a looming election impacts (or doesn't) the housing market. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong thinks Christopher Luxon is bluffing when he says he has ruled out working with her party. National's leader has been consistently saying he wouldn't form a coalition that included Opportunity after the vote in November.  That's despite many polls that have the party in the kingmaker position.  Barry Soper broke down the story with Heather du Plessis-Allan....

Northland's MP believes National's plan to introduce drug testing for beneficiaries is a smart move.  It's proposing ten thousand random drug tests next year – ramping up over the years.  It also wants to reduce payments from April 2028 for people who've collected it for two of the previous three years, with a smaller cut for those with children.  Grant McCallum told Kerre Woodham t...

Anybody who is taking money from the rest of us because they can't find a job should be ready, willing, and able to work when work is there to get. There should be an unwritten contract, and I think there is amongst most of us, that we as New Zealanders look after our fellow New Zealanders when they need a hand up until they can get back on their feet and get back into providing for themselves and...

The Greens are condemning National's plans to drug-test people on welfare and reduce payments.  National's promising to randomly drug test ten thousand beneficiaries next year.  From April 2028, it would also cut Jobseeker payments for people on the scheme for two of the previous three years, claiming it'll push people into work.  Greens' Social Development Spokesperson Ricardo Mené...

This week's Politics Friday Election Special focused on the Waimakariri electorate. The candidates, Matt Doocey from National, and Dan Rosewarne from Labour, made their pitch about why they want to become the next local MP. They discussed their backgrounds before getting into politics, and what issues face the electorate including the Woodend bypass and the Pegasus Golf Course, as they made their...

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.    The campaign: 7/10  It feels real at last. The first debate, the volley of policy, the rolling coverage; a country engaged in democracy is a very fine thing.    The first leader's debate: 5/10  These things no longer work. They produce little, if...

Week two of this campaign of 2026 – is it close? They say so.  But then one poll had Labour at 23%, and another poll had them at 29%. That's how bad polling has become, so who would know?  It might be as simple as what happens with the Opportunity Party – if they're in, the Government is out. If they aren't, the Government are back.  Or it could be one of those "hold your nose" vote...

Friday has arrived, which means it's time for Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson to join Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was.  And the week in question was the second week of the election campaign – how do they think things are going?  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE  (from Friday's Mike Hosking Breakfast)  How Long Left?/Another Poll to Ignore Completely/But What Are They Actually Like?/The Weird World of Hosk/And the Prize Goes To... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Social Development spokesperson says drug testing is already normal for a number of jobs, so Jobseekers should meet the same expectation.   The Party's promising introduce random drug testing for people on the Jobseeker benefit and reduce payments for those who've been on it more than two years.   Louise Upston says they'll start with 10 thousand tests in the first year and ex...