The Politics Panel
Journalists Ruwani Perera and Dan Brunskill join Wallace Chapman to discuss all the big politics news of the week. Also in the studio is former NZ First MP Tracey Martin. Tonight they examine the Gaza floatilla headed by Greta Thunberg and the NZ sanctions placed on two Israeli ministers. They also discuss the tren dfor more right leaning and alt poltical organisations to film their interviews - David Seymour recently took hi own camera to an interview conducted by John Campbell. What to our journalists think of that? And finally, MMP, has it had it's day? Are we basically running a first past the post system anyway?
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Expaliner: Local elections - what they are, when they are and how they work
Candidate nominations for the local elections open on 4 July. Photo: Supplied / LDR Explainer - Fiery debates, sensational promises and an onslaught of grinning politicians. It's time again for local elections. Nominations open on 4 July, but there's already dozens of people putting their hands up for councils across Aotearoa. So what do you need to know ahead of the 11 October local election? Well, from playgrounds to cycle lanes, roaming pets to stinky rubbish, local authorities are responsible for planning and managing your city, town or district. Councillors decide on rates and spending priorities, including funds for libraries, local roads, recycling, pest control and events. Councils can also set rules, from inner-city booze bans to dog control. The elections are your chance to vote for the people who make decisions affecting your back yard. Elections are held for the regional, city and district councils. You can also vote for the mayor while some residents vote for local and community boards. You must be 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and have lived in Aotearoa continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life. If you're overseas, homeless or in prison, you may still be able to vote. Check all the criteria here . If you are registered to vote in Parliamentary elections, you are automatically enrolled. To enrol or check your details, visit the Votelocal website. You can change your details here too. If you enrol after 1 August, you will need to cast a "special vote". If you're of Māori descent, you can decide which electoral roll you want to be on. If you're on the Māori Roll and your local authority has a Māori ward or constituency, you'll vote for a candidate in the Māori ward. You can change your roll type at any time except in the three months before local elections. You will receive a voting document in the mail so that you can vote by post. Some regions will also have orange boxes set up in public places to cast your vote. Councils will release these details closer to the election. Local elections are on Saturday, 11 October, but you don't have to wait until then to vote. Voting papers need to be posted back by 7 October or an orange ballot box by midday, 11 October . Voting papers will be delivered in September. Photo: RNZ / Eveline Harvey Some people also get two votes , such as those who pay rates on two properties. You'll need to check with your council. Tauranga City Council won't hold an election. The city returned to democratic elections last year after farewelling its Commission. The council will have an unusual four-year term, with the next local election in 2028. But Tauranga residents can still vote for their regional council. Tauranga City Council held its election in 2024. Councils are normally elected for three years, but Tauranga's council gets a four-year term. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod Unhappy with the current bunch running your region? You could try for a seat at the council or local board table. Candidate nominations are open from 4 July until 1 August . You must have nominations from two people - and you can't nominate yourself. People who nominate candidates must be over 18 years old and enrolled to vote in the area the candidate is planning to stand. Candidates must be New Zealand citizens who are over 18 years old and enrolled to vote. Councils run the local elections and will provide information on the candidates. Typically councils are legally obliged to publish their candidate lists after nominations close. Look out for local debates, news stories and pamphlet drops. Once the election draws closer, the billboards and door knocks will begin. It's worth doing your research on candidates as disinformation can be circulated during election times. Progress results will start coming in from noon on 11 October. Declaration of results will be released from 16-22 October. 4 July: Candidate nominations open and roll opens 1 August, midday: Candidate nominations close and roll closes 6 August: Public notice of candidates' names 9-22 September: Voting documents delivered 7 October: Last day for posting vote by mail. After this date votes must be returned to council's ballot boxes. 11 October: Election day - voting closes midday, followed by progress results 16-22 October: Declaration of results October/November 2025: Elected members' sworn in LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
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What US attacks on Iran mean for KiwiSaver, petrol prices
Photo: Marika Khabazi Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East poses a major threat to New Zealand's economy, commentators say - as well as households' KiwiSaver balances and petrol prices. There were earlier warnings that the conflict was having a noticeable but contained effect on oil prices - but that there could be a much more significant economic impact if the conflict broadened. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said the US attacks at the weekend were that scenario. "It does obviously ratchet up tensions enormously. But the question now is how the Iranian side respond and if they respond as some of their advisers have been talking about and how they've responded sometimes in the past." He said if there were attacks on US shipping, or attempts to limit access through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices could spike. "There's a question come Monday as the markets open how everyone will digest this. I don't think anyone is thinking that there's an easy ability to de-escalate, but I think it will hinge on the Iranian response. "If they do ratchet up the tension further, if this starts to broaden out into shipping attacks, I think market expectations and worries about oil supply will increase substantially. The question is, just to what degree do you price this and how do markets look at that?" He said shares in companies in defence-based industries could increase in value. "Everyone will think the war's on and certainly so far there's nothing that would stop you thinking the same." People might also shift to defensive assets, he said, such as utilities. The fact New Zealand was sending a defence force aircraft and foreign affairs personnel into the region proved how concerned the government was, he said. Shamubeel Eaqub, chief economist at KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, said there could be bumpiness ahead for households. "So far market pricing is unexpectedly calm. Oil prices haven't increased very much, equity prices haven't changed much even though we had already seen the beginning of that escalation before the weekend started. "But with the US involvement now the uncertainty is even higher than before." He said the experience of the Gulf War in the 1990s showed the potential impacts. "The channels were two-fold... the first was around the price of oil and the second was really around the uncertainty in financial markets in general. "Now, compared to the Iraq wars, the world is a lot less dependent on oil than it used to be, which is also true for New Zealand, so the oil intensity of the economy is less. It doesn't mean we are immune it just means we are less exposed." He said it was not yet clear how sensitive financial markets would be but the bigger issue was the fear and uncertainty that would be created. "That's what we tend to see when there is a risk-off, equity markets tend to fall … the New Zealand dollar tends to get more volatile. Quite often it weakens when people are more risk averse, which means it's generally speaking a net positive for exporters but a net negative for the rest of us because we tend to consume a lot of imported products." He said it could take 12-18 months for the full effects of big geopolitical events to flow through. "But the initial effect quite often tends to be very much fear-driven, financial markets-driven commodity price-driven things." He said for most New Zealanders, the message was to "hang in there". "The oil price - you have no control over it. We are price takers, so whatever you can do in your own control to be able to manage your transport [might help]." He said when it came to financial markets, that was also generally out of an investor's hands. But if they were worried about their KiwiSaver accounts, they should remember that it was time in the market that would make the difference over the long term rather than short-term movements. Koura KiwiSaver founder Rupert Carlyon said the biggest risk was to inflation. "If it does turn into a broader Middle East war and potentially shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, they we are likely to see higher oil prices, which will flow through to everything and shipping delays making it harder and more expensive to import things here in New Zealand. The Reserve Bank will be watching this very carefully as anything that has the potential to skew inflation to the upside will mean a halt to further interest rate cuts. "I suspect markets will open down in anticipation of the conflict, though as we have seen over the past few years, markets fear more about the prospect of conflict rather than the reality of it. We have already seen this playbook with Ukraine and Russia and Gaza and Israel. Definitely no need to worry or panic." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
