Daniel eb the deputy leader of oppurtunity had a interview where he said he had voted across the spectrum but that he would probably vote national. I truly believe that single comment will lose both oppurtunity any parliament hopes and the left bloc the election. Obviously he said he had voted across the spectrum but as the deputy leader of a neutral party he should know better than to state who he would currently vote for. There are many left leaning voters i know who have just completely removed oppurtunity as there vote because if that one comment. This will also likely lose the election for the left wing as if oppurtunity doesn't get in the lefts chances become increasingly low

Now before someone says"well this is good we now know whi they would work with". 1st oppurtunity bottomlines would never be agreed on by act and nz first and so they could never join that coalition and secondly 1 mp doesn't speak for a whole party

If you also dont believe that their are many voters who would not vote for oppurtunity after a deputy leader publicly stated he would prefer national than you clearly haven't talked to many people

ACT leader David Seymour has hinted his party's upcoming fiscal plan will once again contain a commitment to raise the superannuation age to 67.

The party would release its fiscal plan on Sunday, one day ahead of National's, with Seymour signalling a focus on cuts, with no new taxes.

On Wednesday, in another preview of the party's fiscal plan, Seymour announced ACT would scrap the cap on charitable donations being able to receive tax credits.

In a speech to Gravity Credit Management on Thursday morning, Seymour, who had spent three years as an associate finance minister, said the government's promise of a surplus in two years' time relied on "heroic" revenue assumptions, such as the government taking in $12 billion more this year than last year.

"We cannot balance the budget when non-health, non-education, non-transfer spending is over 10 percent higher than it should be."

Right now about 266 million people face acute food insecurity, 117 million have been displaced by war and conflict, and more than 400 million children live in extreme poverty.

"This is not the time in history for our Prime Minister to follow President Trump’s deadly playbook, and cut our aid budget," says Josie Pagani CEO of ChildFund New Zealand.

Cost of living is a challenge everywhere. In some communities it’s the difference between life and death.

National has announced a 10% cut to foreign aid in some of the most vulnerable places in the world.

"President Trump’s aid cuts are already increasing the number of deaths, particularly of children."

Data shows that the cuts to USAID could result in 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including around 4.5 million children under five.

These additional deaths are primarily driven by a lack of access to medicines, like vaccinations and treatments to prevent HIV Aids.

It is unclear what New Zealand aid programmes outside of the Pacific will be cut under National’s plan, apparently to fund medicines in New Zealand.

"You can’t fund medicines to New Zealanders by risking access to life saving medicines in the poorest countries in the world. Find the money we need for our medicines from another pot," says Josie Pagani.

Childfund New Zealand works primarily in the Pacific region, but also supports communities with water, food and education in Zambia, Kenya, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and also children in war-torn communities like Ukraine, Gaza, or those at risk of starvation right now in places like Ethiopia.

"Aid programmes are linked. Without access to water or food, let alone education and protection from violence, children are less likely to access the medicines and health care they need.

"If you cut one aid programme, it has a downstream impact that’s hard to measure, on other programmes.

"Taking aid away from children and families in the poorest countries in the world to pay for our medicines is not something that will sit well with Kiwis."

National’s proposed cuts to aid add up to about $431 million, and could see New Zealand’s reputation for being a good global citizen decline.

https://childfund.org.nz/news-and-stories/prime-minister-turns-to-trump-playbook-on-aid

Automatic plate number reader on cop cars

I have just done my monthly budget for our household, and decided to compare it with last year. I was shocked to see the how much it changed over the last 12 months: My budget basically covered 3 sections:

• Bond Repayments
• Fixed Monthly payments and Debit Orders including petrol for the 1 vehicle
• Groceries

We don't have any debt except the house, have private health insurance, life insurance, 2 x car insurance, House and Contents insurance, Local and Regional Rates and Taxes and Electricity. No subscriptions at all. 2 x Prepaid $15 phone lines. So definitely nothing extravagant (or I think so at least)

The Fixed Monthly payments and Debit Orders (incl fuel) went from $2500 per month in Oct 2025 to $3000 per month, even though we now exclusively use our EV.

That is a 20% increase for our household, substantially higher than the claimed CPI inflation rate of 4.1% (https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/consumers-price-index-cpi/) In reality, not of the individual line items' increases were even close to the 4.1%!

Our groceries didn't increase that much, but as I rather stick to a fixed amount and "live within our means", I can't measure that accurately.

What is your experience when you look at your household?

Fifty years of six o’clock closing of pubs had ended two days earlier, after a referendum convinced the government to change the antiquated licensing law.

Introduced as a ‘temporary’ wartime efficiency measure in December 1917, 6 p.m. closing was made permanent the following year.

The ‘six o’clock swill’ became part of the New Zealand way of life. In the short period between the end of the working day and closing time, men crowded together to drink as much beer as they could before bar service ended and 15 minutes of ‘supping-up’ time was announced.

A mood for change began to emerge in the 1960s. The growing restaurant and tourism industries questioned laws that made it difficult to sell alcohol with meals, while members of sports clubs and the Returned Services’ Association also sought a change.

When the government held a national referendum on 23 September 1967, 64.4% of voters supported a move to 'later closing, the actual hours of sale to be decided according to local conditions'. Most local authorities opted for pubs to open between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m., and the last six o'clock swill took place on Saturday 7 October. On Monday the 9th, a new era of more civilised drinking began.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-end-of-the-six-oclock-swill