Episode Details

So Labour and National kicked off their respective campaigns over the weekend to Labour's big wizz-bang attention-getter was the promise of free dental care for under 30s, but not until 2026.  

National, having already announced 37 different policies, decided to stick to a pledge card detailing the party's eight main commitments, if and when elected. Both took potshots at one another over the weekend, Hipkins said that National's tax plan was sneaky.  

He questioned the costings and he said National are people who want to win the election, whatever it takes and bugger the cost. Talk about pot calling the kettle black there.  

Luxon fired back at Hipkins saying power doesn't concede easily and Labour's campaign was one of fear and disinformation.  

Certainly, the CTU's gone all out with the attack ads. If you see the cover of this morning's Herald newspaper, it's pretty much a rich prick assault on the leader of the National Party with the ad they've taken out.  

Still, that's democracy.  

And if Citizens and Ratepayers decided to put something out about Hipkins' inability to be an effective Prime Minister, then I'm quite sure the Herald would take the money and wrap the ad around the newspaper.  

You've got to survive in the media, you gotta take the ads. I did think Hipkins' whatever the cost comment was a bit rich, given that Labour's committed to free dental health care for under 30s, a policy Labour’s considered before, but did the numbers and said it was too expensive and unworkable.  

And while the Labour Party luvvies got terribly excited about the announcement, it won't be rolled out until the next election. Health Minister Ayesha Verrall was on with Mike Hosking this morning and says the free dental rollout will take until the next election because of staffing. 

So much to unpack from that. For a start, we've got the mental health system that's seen a million people. Has it? Has it really, Ayesha?  

And this would be the same mental health system where mental health workers at Capital Coast and Hutt Valley say that they're at their wit's end, the system is in crisis, we're overwhelmed. It's an increasingly unsafe mental health public system. We have a desperate shortage of skilled and experienced clinicians.  

That would be that mental health service would it Ayesha?  That one. Because it doesn't sound like it's coping terribly well.  

It sounds like the staff themselves are about to have mental breakdowns because of the pressure that they're under. The unworkable conditions that they're having to work under. So there's that.  

And then we've got the dental service, the free dental care to under 30s that has been dismissed by Labour before as expensive and unworkable.  

There was a story about a dentist in the Weekend Herald whose kids can't get into dentistry school despite their A+ pluses, and he's packed a stroppy, rich guy sad and said my children want to be dentists and I want to give my dentist clinic to them and they can’t get into Otago.   

And so Ayesha Verrall was asked why there are only 60 places offered at the University of Otago, when you get more than 500 applying every year. And she said it's very