Election 2026

Right, so the question is whether the Taxpayers' Union has gone too far with its AI advert about Chris Hipkins. If you haven't seen the ad yet, let me explain it. It's a short video that starts with a ginger-haired man in a suit and red tie sprinting down a suburban street. He kicks in a door and runs into a house where a family is having dinner. He grabs all their wallets from the table and runs off. Then he kicks in the door of another house. A woman is watching TV. He rushes in, takes her wallet and bolts out the door.  Next, he steals a wallet from a renovation site and then takes all the money lying on a table at a barbecue. After that, he runs back out onto the street, jumps into a clapped-out red Toyota, looks into the rear-view mirror and it's Chippy.  Then the ad says: "We can't afford Labour."  As you can imagine, commentators on the left are absolutely losing their minds over it. Hipkins has called it nasty and desperate, saying it shows how out of touch the rich boys who run the Taxpayers' Union are.  Frankly, I think it's brilliant.  I saw it weeks ago, funnily enough, before the Taxpayers' Union released it and I thought it was very funny the first time I watched it.  It doesn't cross any ethical lines. No one is going to think it's really Hipkins, not only because the AI actor doesn't actually look like him, but because the behaviour is so outrageously over the top. There's no way anyone could seriously believe this is Chris Hipkins. You'd have to be an idiot to think it was real.  The use of AI is also perfectly acceptable. In fact, political parties would be idiots not to use something this cheap and effective. And I think that's the key point here.  This is the most effective attack ad on Labour yet. It's a thousand times more effective than every National MP going on about "nine new taxes" as part of some 1995-style political strategy in the hope that someone will take the claim seriously.  The ad takes the idea that Chippy is after your money, which supporters of the message would argue is true, and exaggerates it to the point of being funny. Because it's funny, and because it's visual, it sticks.  Now, you might not like the Taxpayers' Union. You might not like its politics. You might not like its strategies. But you have to admit that it is one of the best organisations in the business at campaigning and making a political point with a bit of humour.  My advice to Chippy would be this: stop talking about the ad, mate, because you're only drawing attention to it. Thousands more people are now going to want to see it, and they're going to remember it because it's quite funny. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been some confusion over whether the National party is open to working with the Opportunity Party after leader Christopher Luxon reportedly told supporters he would work with 'whoever he has to' to secure a second term. The party has since clarified that Luxon was referring to working with New Zealand First and Act MPs, and that his position on Opportunity hasn't changed. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan he still suspects Opportunity could be in the mix. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone who’s ever been the victim of a home invasion needs to avoid seeing the latest election campaign ad from the Taxpayers’ Union. It’s the latest in a series of attack ads from this outfit. Alongside all the other negative advertising out there from some of the actual political parties. But this one takes it to the next level. What they’ve done, is they’ve used AI to create a video which shows Labour leader Chris Hipkins kicking down the doors at people's homes, rushing in and helping himself to their wallets and cash. The objective is to show how much of a money grab Labour’s capital gains tax would be. The part that I find most disturbing, is where the Chris Hipkins character kicks in the door of an elderly woman’s home while she’s sitting on the couch. The Hipkins character then grabs money sitting on the TV cabinet and takes off, leaving the woman sitting there like a stunned mullet. That’s why I’m saying that anyone who’s ever been the victim of a home invasion needs to avoid seeing this thing. Because I’m in no doubt that it will be triggering for some people. Which is why I think it is the most bad taste election campaign ad I’ve ever seen. I’m not the only one who feels that way. David Cormack owns Cormack PR and he’s told the NZ Herald that the ad is “revolting”. He uses some other words too. But I’m not going to repeat them. He’s saying today: “The Taxpayers Union is putting Hipkins at the scene of a robbery. There’s a difference between saying someone will cost you money and depicting them stealing from your wallet.” He says: “They’ve turned a tax argument into a home invasion.” And that is what makes this ad so appalling. Say what you like about Chris Hipkins, but don’t use something so terrifying, like a home invasion, to make a political point. But, as I said earlier, the Taxpayers’ Union will accuse me of overreacting. I know that, because Jordan Williams from the Union called me this morning to say it was just satire. After telling the NZ Herald: “AI is so good now we have to artistically make it so over the top to make it clear that it is done in humour rather than for someone to take it seriously.” He said: “I got advice on this ad and the lawyer’s advice was that no one’s going to look at this and think it’s genuinely Chris Hipkins because it’s so over the top.” But I’m sorry Jordan. Negative political ads have had their day. And appalling ads like this one should never see the light of day. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's Politics Friday Election Special focused on the Banks Peninsula electorate. The candidates, Vanessa Weenink from National, and Tracey McLellan from Labour, made their pitch about why they want to become the next local MP. They discussed the tight 2023 election result, which was decided by just 396 votes, and the key issues facing the electorate, including coastal erosion, un-swimmable beaches, and how they feel about the potential for the Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre to attract aerospace and defence-related investment and contracts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday's talkback outrage was all about the MPs and the gangs.   A meeting that was condemned by both the Chrises in the Leaders debate.   But despite this weight of opinion, Marama Davidson doubled down on the visit – and then she promised more funding for gang run social programmes.  Well, I don't think Marama quite understands the issue.  I actually don't mind MPs talking with criminals to better understand where they're at, and I don't mind them talking with gangs.    There are 11,000 gang members now, with tens of thousands of related whanau, many of whom need intervention by the State.    Whether it's support for single mothers, or rescuing of children from abusive homes, or housing. It's good to see these issues first hand with your own eyes.   However, the real problem was the social media posting of the photos.   They legitimised the gangs and even celebrated their existence to the wider public.   To not see that was silly and naive of Marama, particularly in a week where the Greens are polling better than ever.   The fact that it was done so close to the election means it's been weaponised and once again, it casts doubts around the Greens being equipped to have their hand on the tiller of this country.   And it's interesting that Chlöe Swarbrick has been silent.    When asked if the event was acceptable, Ms Swarbrick did not give a definitive yes or no. Instead, she stated that she needed to “understand more of the context as to what has played out here".  She's learnt a lot over the years and knows better.    Unlike Marama Davidson. The reason the right attack Ms Swarbrick and not Marama is that they know one is a threat and the other is an irrelevancy.    You get the feeling that the co-leadership thing is a thing of the past. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.