Political Playback – 16 July 2026

In this episode of Political Playback with guest commentator Ashley Church – the latest polls and the political trend; is Paul Henry a win for ACT; Luxon’s lovefest with India and Modi – but is it a significant win; are voters finally waking up to the Opportunity Party not being centrist but clearly left-leaning; the latest euthanasia statistics and the likely next stage of the slippery slope; why do all the Zoes and Abigails making submissions on the definition of woman bill think alike; left wing political parties still clearly want ‘hate speech’ laws; the media use a serial complainant against school lunches; and is David Seymour on to something when he suggests banning smartphones for under-16s rather than social media for under-16s?