Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: National needs to keep fighting on education

If you're a regular listener, you'll know we've spent a lot of time predicting that voters would hate Chris Hipkins' claim in the TVNZ leaders' debate that he would scrap the hour of reading, writing and maths for kids.

And now I have the numbers to prove that prediction was bang on.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Surely the campaign will get better than this?

I don't want to bring you down but do you realise we have almost four full weeks of this crap ahead of us? Unbelievable.

Four weeks of small-beer politics about the price of airline tickets and school uniform logos. Honestly, is that what the contest for control of our central government has come down to? How many logos you're allowed to have on your school uniform?

Andrew Dickens: These flip flops from the right and the left need to stop

I had to chuckle after yesterday's interview with Mr Abercrombie from the PPTA who grudgingly accepted that improvements to the education sector by the government is a factor in teacher registrations being up 40 per cent this year.

Mr Abercrombie, other industry advocates and the Labour led opposition have been dead set against the changes but now they’re slowly admitting that things are better.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: National's winning on education - and parents agree

So I reckon there was one moment in that leaders' debate that would have worried parents up and down this country, and it was this one.

Chris Hipkins conceded that, if Labour were to win the election, he would scrap the one hour of reading, writing and maths for primary school kids.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Is it worthwhile for Labour to try and regulate hidden fees?

Now, I don't know that Labour's plan to stop businesses charging hidden fees is a game changer, or even necessarily something worth campaigning on during an election. But I think it might be a good idea.

Labour's plan is basically to ban junk add-ons like paint protection insurance, stop the hard sell of extended warranties like the ones you're offered when you buy a new pair of AirPods, require all mandatory fees, such as ticketing charges, to be included in the upfront price and make subscriptions and gym memberships easy to cancel.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Where does Labour plan on finding the $13 billion for pay equity?

Why did Chris Hipkins choose to announce that he will restore the pay equity regime within the first 100 days of a Labour-led Government? Why did he do that?

I'm really confused by it because it's not as if there was a special event or venue that he tied the announcement to. He was just at a public meeting in Spreydon and then seemed to blurt it out.

Ryan Bridge: Will Labour's election bribe work?

It's not quite Briscoes sale level, but 10% off your student loan is not to be scoffed at.

Unless you're not a student, never had a student loan, and don't plan on sitting in a lecture theatre for three years.

Then you don't really care about this policy except for what it costs you as a taxpayer.

Ryan Bridge: It's obvious National and Labour are fighting for centre votes

Labour has finally seen the light on interest deductibility.

That's where a landlord, like any other legitimate business in New Zealand, is able to deduct the expense of its capital borrowing, i.e. a mortgage, against taxable income.

After expenses, what's left over is taxed.

Ryan Bridge: Why is the state parenting our kids?

There's a thing happening with parents, responsibility and the state.

Kids are either misbehaving or not learning, parents are putting their hands up, and the state is having to regulate, what kids can and can't do.

I was watching the news last night and a researcher was telling the story of an early childhood teacher.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The National Party should know better when it comes to business

If my reaction to the National Party's supermarket policy was an emoji, it would be the one with the brains blowing out the top of its head. It would be WTF. It would be: Was the Greens' policy not nutty enough for you? Did you have to find something even more cooked and release it?

Because that's what's just happened.

Ryan Bridge: I wouldn't hold your breath for tax cuts

Tax cuts are back on the campaign agenda.

Nicola Willis dropped a wee hint to the BusinessNZ election conference yesterday.

Bracket creep is hurting workers – as wages increase and you creep into a higher tax bracket, you pay more marginal tax. That's not fair.

Andrew Dickens: Politicians are missing the real immigration problem

So, the past week has seen immigration policies come to the force.

New Zealand First is signalling a tougher immigration stance, longer waits for residency and citizenship, a referendum to cap new residency approvals at 20,000 a year, and a 30-year population plan tying migrant intake to infrastructure capacity.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Is National's new student debt policy really going to stop our brain drain?

Jeez, I'm not going to lie, I love the punitive part of National's student debt policy.

In case you missed it, it is essentially this: go easier on people with student loans who still live in New Zealand and crack down harder on those with loans who live overseas. National says it's a bid to keep our brightest graduates here.

Bob Edlin: The Nats (like Labour) have ruled out a streaming tax....

....but they have put their message on repeat

Those of us who keep an ear to proceedings in Parliament should have been left in no doubt this week about National’s policy position on a streaming tax. They are agin it.

Fair to say, they comprehensively laboured the point: after three days of hearing the PM and Paul Goldsmith banging on at Question Time about ruling it out of the National agenda, those listening would have been yearning to hear what they will be doing to improve our well-being rather than what they will not be doing.

Ryan Bridge: Land, inheritance taxes incoming?!

Everything in this election's just been turned on its head in 24 hours for three reasons.

And it's not because of National.

Firstly, yesterday, Chris Hipkins was asked if he'd tell us how he would deal with TOP, what the caveats would be.

Andrew Dickens: Food security should be an election priority

As if the world hasn’t already got enough to worry about what with war, and fuel crisis and inflation, there comes another concern.

This weekend The Independent published a piece on UK Farmers warning that food shortages are just 10 days away for the UK and there are signs that suggest they’ve already arrived.

Ryan Bridge: Banning and taxing won't solve the problem

This week the Tony Blair Institute warned Andy Burnham that you can't tax your way to prosperity.

Some of our politicians could use a similar lecture.

We have parties wanting new taxes to fund what is basically a Universal Basic Income, even though AI hasn't yet stolen the number of jobs they claimed it would.

Clive Bibby: Politicians and Your Money

As the general election draws nearer, politicians of all persuasions are hitting the streets in an effort to bribe us with our own money.

For the rest of the year, we might as well not exist.

I accept that this appearance on street corners is part of the ritual we must endure in order to get a handle on who is promising value for money but it would be so much easier and a less debilitating process if they all actually did what they promised when in charge of the Treasury Benches.

Ryan Bridge: Labour takes huge election gamble

So let's talk about that weird interview yesterday.

No not the one with Winston Peters, the one with Hipkins.

He has planted Labour in an almost impossible-to-justify position on NZ Super.

Robert MacCulloch and Leonard Hong: National's Plans for Compulsory KiwiSaver

The National Party’s KiwiSaver announcement is one of the most significant shifts in New Zealand politics and economic policy in a generation.

"We are delighted that the Prime Minister has agreed to implement compulsory KiwiSaver if re-elected in this year’s election."