Midday Report Essentials for 3 July 2026

On today's episode... Trump's man in Wellington has his first media outing. The American ambassador is billionaire sports tycoon Jared Novelly he's talking critical minerals and critical issues for the New Zealand-American relationship. Michael Laws is in a come back bid for Parliament standing for New Zealand First - he told us which Ministerial portfolios he wants and why he thinks the Prime Minister lack of charisma is a political weakness. And it's Friday so we wrap the week in politics with Paddy Gower.