AI related news is dominating today; warnings and actions to prevent the harm caused by generative AI on one hand, and the Prime Minister disappointed with the slow uptake of AI on the other.Education system a shambles. The cancellation of rural school buses is causing absences for students, the Ministry has been scrutinised for choosing an Australian company to re-write the NZ curriculum, and the AI-based SMART assessment tool is being dropped by schools for it's inaccurate scoring.Socialism is sweeping the democratic party primaries in New York this week. Is this a good sign for NZ and will we see the same kind of push back against our current wrecking-ball of a govt and vote in a progressive govt?++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka has spent recent weeks hitting back at critics of his Conservation Amendment Bill, who have accused him of wanting to sell off precious conservation land but today, while speaking at the Environmental Defence Society conference, Potaka confirmed he would change the bill to remove the provision for the disposal of the conservation estate.Senior Minister Chris Bishop says National does "not want to be on 29% on election day" after a recent 1News poll indicated support for his party was slipping and his mate, the smiling assassin Kieran McAnulty, just told him he wanted theBish to lose his job and had Bishop laughing about it.You are going to witness, the greatest question ever asked in any interview ever tonight on BHN when Stuff reporter, Hamish McNeily, does some on the street interviews with protestors in Waitaki about their 17% rates increase. Not to bury the lead, but we'll show you why we have little to no sympathy for the people of Waitaki+++++++++++++++ Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠#BHN⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZ

The ACT Party has introduced a new campaign policy which it says will stop professional regulatory bodies - like the Medical Council, or Real Estate Agents Authority - from policing workers' privately-held beliefs. ACT says these regulators are increasingly overstepping their statutory roles and enforcing ideological views across their industry.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has put a dampener on The Opportunity Party’s ‘Kingmaker’ aspirations, saying a vote for them “looks like a vote for Labour and the Greens”Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and Act Party leader David Seymour talk politics with Ryan Bridge where Marama cooks about the sell off of our precious forest and Seymour almost defends the Greens misstep in some press releases recently ++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

The latest poll has just been released. Let's look at the standings and trends thus far for 2026. Opportunity Party support is steadily growing, ACT has seen a trending decline.Te Pāti Māori are back in the game, laying out their election strategy for the 2026 election. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke speaks to continuing to stand this election under the TPM banner.Winston Peters is prodded by a "refreshed" Ryan Bridge, who presses for an answer as to whether NZ First would consider working with Labour again, prompting Winston to call out Ryan's "Wanker question".++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson joins us live to discuss the Green's election year tax policy released over the weekend. We also get her live reaction to UK Labour Leader and, now Former, UK Prime Minister Keir Starma's resignation.

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Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson joins us live to discuss the Green's election year tax policy released over the weekend.Luxon revealed another election promise at National's annual conference in Wellington on Sunday, with KiwiSaver changes that include auto enrolling babies with a $1500 starting boost. NZ First have called them out for stealing their homework.Helen Clark reacts the election policies released over the weekend, and whether they go far enough to address NZ's long list of current and future problems.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

Alika Wells joins us live. They are the Green Party candidate for Henderson 2026, a strong advocate for the Rainbow community and joins us to discuss the impact of the "What is a woman" Bill and how that will also affect Intersex people.Scrutiny week was full of questions, accusations, drama and fiery exchanges. Let's look at some of the best moments and perhaps some revelations.Not a funeral, but a celebration of Dame Jools Topp was held today. Over 1000 people showed their love for a NZ icon, Rainbow advocate and so much more.++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

How can we simultaneously have "record investment in health", while feeling like we're falling behind?  Why will anything less than an additional $1.4B in the Health NZ budget move health backward? How can it be that unmet need, population growth, and inflation are not properly accounted for in our official budget numbers?

Kaitiaki Hauora is a new organisation made up of many groups with an interest in public health, rallying around the well-proven but oft-ignored idea that healthcare privatisation is an expensive, inefficient, and inequitable alternative to universal public healthcare.The Frontline speaks with former intensive care doctor, Dr David Galler, and economist Dr Bill Rosenberg of Kaitiaki Hauora about the tricky world of healthcare spending and the NZ economy.

Paul Barlow of The Collective, political journalist and commentator, joins to co-host for the evening.Scrutiny week has been full of surprises, with just about every Ministry having some skeletons in their closet: Immigration blunder, Shane Jones' limo bills, social housing vibe-ing rent price increases and more.Labour's next health related election promise - free prescriptions to be reinstated. What's the feedback from the public on this policy?++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

Youth advocate Ruby Love-Smith co-hosts tonight!Education Minister Erica Stanford has confimed some kind of crack-down on social media for young people is on its way, with some kind of policy addressing the issue on its way.In a rare moment, parliament have almost unanimously agreed on a 30-year infrastructure plan to address NZ's incredible infrastructure defect.New polling shows a big surge in support for the political Left. Is this an outlier and how does this compare to other polls of late?++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/