Labour has announced it's first election promise of 2026, capping public transport costs nationwide in a bid to ease the cost of living for everyday people.Qiulae Wong, leader of the Opportunity Party sits down with Guy Espiner to break down some of the party's policies, including full tax system overhaul, citizens income and wanting to be the new 'Kingmaker' and overthrow Winston Peters from his throne.David Seymour's truancy fines for parents whose children are not attending school has affected the parents of children who are disables, unwell and in some cases dying, as reported by the blog 'Emily Writes'.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

National have walked back the levy on gentailers to pay for their backup LNG terminal but will continue to move along the development. Opposition have criticised it is too close to the election for a big costly project to move forward.The 2026 budget has some hidden unknown costs that future govts will have to pay for, essentially borrowing from future budgets, which is frowned upon.Rakesh Naidoo is under investigation by the police commissioner after it was revealed yesterday he was running for Labour this election and ranking 13th on the Labour MP ranking list.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

Labour revealed their MP list rankings for the 2026 election, with huge shifts up and down the rankings with many high profile sitting MPs moving position.Nicola Willis on Breakfast this morning was asked about the rise in number of children in housing deprivation, and what he govt plans to do about it. Her office also responds to Chloe Swarbrick accusing the govt of missing millions in their budget to account for the rise in govt contributions to KiwisaverNational have announced a number of election promises, including three days of hospital stay for mothers post-partum, and a boost to the QEII investment fund to please the farmer vote.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donations

Four MPs that visited Taiwan recently in an unofficial capacity have been banned from entering China for one year citing a betrayal of the One-China Policy.Qiulae Wong, leader of Opporunity Party, addresses criticisms of her party but also lays out some non-negotiables for the party should they enter coalition talks.Trevor Noah and Hasan Piker discuss politics and the state of America, echoing much of what is playing out in NZ's democracy.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

Act MP Laura McClure joined Green MP Ricardo Menendes March on the NZ Herald this morning and accidently said the quiet part out loud confirming the only "minority" that ACT is ever focused on is Māori, which we've always known, but fascinating to hear the list MP publicly state it.

Chris Penk joined Keiran McAnulty on Breakfast this morning where Penk spent a lot of time explain what he meant when he spoke of a conversation around NZ's nuclear free status and both members of parliament traded thoughts on the ongoing controversary between Fonterra and the PM's office.

The country's political reporters are in a stand-off with the Speaker Gerry Brownlee over his contemplation of a temporary ban of Stuff Digital from Parliament. Brownlee is set to make a ruling on Stuff's access to the Parliamentary precinct after raising concerns about some of its reporting last month.

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Mike Smith joins us LIVE at 9pm to talk about two big stories tonight, the first is the Waitangi Tribunal being told of plans to weaken and remove treaty clauses in a range of laws are racist and an attempt to erode Māori rights.

Secondly on what we're calling #milkygate, Labour questions whether disappearing climate briefing note deliberate cover-up. Senior Cabinet minister Louise Upston insists the disappearing document debacle in the PM's office is an "isolated incident" and says it is "disingenuous" to suggest otherwise.

New figures show a surge in company liquidations, with hospitality one of the hardest hit. We're seeing some of the hardest times to run a small businesses even though we're being told this government are the best ones to run the economy to help businessWell also have a look at the Roy Morgan poll from late yesterday afternoon that some on the right are celebrating as 'finally an accurate poll has been released'. Is it? Or are we looking at an outlier and we'll see a return to order in the next poll.

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A document relating to the Smith v Fonterra legal case was sent from a Fonterra staff member to the private email address of a former staffer in the Prime Minister's Office. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said at the time there was no record of the document on file.

Nicola Willis was on Q&A in the weekend defending her third budget talking the cost of child poverty and how she believes cuts cause human miseryChristopher Hipkins spoke with the NZH this morning about the bank levies the Government is to bring in and his response to Budget 2026 overall

Christopher Luxon joins HDPA on Newstalk ZB this morning and defended our anti nuclear stance and also defended the entitlements that MPs get tax free for living in their own homes

We might also take a quick look at some video of the "dumbest man on the internet"

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Dame Lynda Topp blasted the govt on stage at the AMAs, calling out Paul Goldsmith directly for the lack of arts funding in the budget released on Thursday.Under 30s have been forgotten with little in the budget to meet their needs, tertiary students flood the steps of parliament to protest removing their 3rd year free, and the number of secondary school students being found with drugs and alcohol on campus has doubled. Are the kids alright?An amendment to automate decisions for people on the benefit is being passed urgently through the house. In Australia not that long ago, a similar software was used and caused major harm and deaths because of an incorrect processing of data.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

The main part of tonight will be focusing on the budget as we start the show speaking with Labour leader Chris Hipkins on Labour's response to Nicola Willis' third budget, At about 9.30 Ricardo Menendez March joins us to share the Greens response.We'll also have a look at the latest in #Milkygate and how a judge has rejected billionaire Jim Grenon’s bid to stop media reporting on his involvement in Julian Batchelor's unsuccessful litigation against TVNZ++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

There has been a complaint laid with Ombudsman about 'apparent withholding' of information by PM's office after it was revealed earlier this week that the biggest company in NZ, and Z Energy, lobbied the Prime Minister to get laws changed to favour them needing to defend themselves again Climate Change litigation, a law that was then put in place, but there is no record of the meeting with the PM's office available in any OIO documents.Marama Davidson and David Seymour spoke...almost in agreement...on politician's living allowances when needing to be away from home. We'll give you the clear an simple solution tonight.The Greens say there is a $1.4 billion Climate hole in tomorrow's budget, we'll visit with Chloe Swarbick on Breakfast where she can explain to us what they have found.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

A comprehensive breakdown of political donations and fast track requests and consents has been released show a concerning amount of crossover which brings into question a donation's role in politics.Charter school results are in, showing Kura Kaupapa charter schools having higher attendance rates for Māori over their state school counterparts. Meanwhile, $750m for disability funding for schools has seemingly gone poof.Latest polling shows Labour are the most favoured as to lead the country in areas ranked most important to New Zealanders. So why are their polling numbers still mid?++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/