The Trans Tasman Pol Pod Episode 22

Christopher Luxon has had a bad week. First there was the kerfuffle over his comments to a group of business people in Rotorua, where he insulted one of his party's key voting blocks by telling them effectively to grow up and just deal with tough economic times. He then threw his MPs and advisors into a spin by basically making policy on the fly, saying he'd call a referendum on MMP if re-elected. With 39% of voters believing they are now worse off, Labour is continuing to lead in people’s view of which party is best equipped to handle major aspects of the country’s well being.  It’s not surprising, with the latest unemployment figures also grim for the Government. They show 5.6% of people are out of work, the worst figures since 2015. The latest Taxpayer's Union Curia poll, has Labour in the 20s and National top of the heap in the 30s – but Luxon could be regretting saying he won't work with Opportunity, because this poll clearly has the party gaining seats in Parliament. It seems it will be kingmaker. We know NZ First doesn’t like immigration, but its latest policy announcement seems like going a bit too far. It’s set to campaign on introducing a Kiwi Kids Grant to support New Zealand citizens raising their first three children, through the first three years of their lives. And joining us to talk about this money for babies is Auckland University sociology professor Francis Collins, who says population growth is much bigger than just having babies.