Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Last week's Mood of the Boardroom survey ranked National's Chris Luxon over his Labour counterpart.

The survey compiled responses from more than 100 chief executives and leaders- with Luxon scoring 3.24 out of 5 compared to Hipkins' 2.95.

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says voters are still sceptical of National's tax package, with experts criticising the party's priorities.

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Cash-strapped GPs are being forced to fund an important medical tool out of pocket.

The Point of Care Ultrasound (Pocus), a handheld device widely used by general practitioners overseas, is not publicly funded by Te Whatu Ora.

Pinnacle Health Clinical Director Jo Scott-Jones says the tool allows doctors to get a physical view into a patient's body in order to detect conditions.

"With a stethoscope, you can hear the heart murmur. With the Pocus device, you can see what's causing the heart murmur and you can determine whether it's something significant or not- you can see a lot of detail."

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Australia's bushfire season has kicked off, with extreme fire danger warnings and total fire bans across the Tasman.

Firefighters battled 85 active fires in New South Wales alone last night, with 39 still not being contained.

Victoria is also being hit with soaring temperatures and strong winds, and authorities have told residents of Briagolong, Culloden, Moornapa, Stockdale and surrounding areas to evacuate.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says several communities are on alert and the next 24 hours will be difficult for firefighters.

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Labour may need to change gear for the next week of election campaigning.

Party leader and incumbent Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has Covid and will isolate for five days, or until he tests negative.

Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson says these circumstances aren't ideal, but Labour has a big team of candidates and volunteers raising support on the campaign trail.

"There's not a lot we can do about it now, it is what it is. Chris is going to be doing some virtual campaigning, some phone calling, he's going to be continuing to do what he can over the next few days."

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Yet another thread to the situation surrounding Hawke's Bay Rugby and the Ranfurly Shield.

Following the after-party celebrating the Magpies' win, images surfaced of a broken Shield with white powder on it- and a player was charged for drink-driving.

Sportstalk's Jason Pine recaps a tumultuous weekend in the history of Hawke's Bay rugby.

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Police are breath testing people at levels not seen for a decade.

They've done 2.6 million tests in the past year, more than a million up on the previous 12 months.

The police target is 3 million per year.

AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen says numbers have been low since before the pandemic.

"The AA, for a number of years has been beating the drum and saying 'we've got to get these numbers back up'- because this is one of the key tools to catching drunk drivers and deterring drunk drivers, meaning we see less people lose their lives."

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Cabinet's approved another Crown loan to keep Mount Ruapehu's skifields operational.

The $7 million Crown funding includes a $4.3 million loan to the under-liquidation RAL.

The rest goes into an in-principle agreement of support to the preferred bidder, subject to being granted a concession.

Pure Turoa has been trying to take over skifield operations in a joint bid with Whakapapa Holdings.

PwC Liquidator John Fisk says this support will get them to March next year.

"And that will hopefully give us time, once a new Government has formed, to have further discussions about getting through to the start of the 2024 season- and hopefully to finding a more permanent solution."

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A Hawke's Bay rugby player has been charged by the police after Saturday night's Shield celebration.

An image has surfaced on social media of white powder on the broken Ranfurly Shield, which Hawke's Bay Rugby say was accidentally dropped on a concrete floor.

TVNZ rugby commentator Scotty Stevenson says it's obvious that the Hawke's Bay players and associates have no respect for the history of the game. 

"What we're left with is a picture of carnage and contempt, as people are taking videos laughing about it. And by the looks of it, possibly much worse."

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National has disclosed allegations of violence and intimidation threatening to disrupt their election campaign.

Allegations claim a gang threat has forced a candidate to move house, a volunteer's faced death threats, and another's been the victim of a dog attack.

Labour's Angela Roberts has reported being slapped at a debate, and Te Pati Maori's Hana Maipi-Clarke says she's had a politically-motivated home invasion.

National Campaign Chair Chris Bishop says the gangs are campaigning for a third Labour term and aim to keep National out of Government.

"The behaviour our candidates have experienced on the campaign trail has been disgraceful. There's been death threats, there's been people having to move house, one of our candidates has had a Head Hunters member threaten them when they're out at dinner."

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Every Monday until the election, The Front Bench will take on the biggest talking points of the election campaign. Heather du Plessis-Allan, Newstalk ZB Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper, former Business NZ CEO Phil O’Reilly and Auckland Councillor Richard Hills have the insight word and analysis. 

This week, the The Spinoff’s Editor-at-Large Toby Manhire steps in for Barry Soper.

Our expert panel discusses the call that this election campaign is being marred by violence and attacks across the political spectrum.

They also chat about Chris Hipkins’ Covid diagnosis and the implications that will have on the final fortnight of campaigning.

The experts dissect that interview with Winston Peters – and if that means National should re-think its stance to work with NZ First.

Heather asks the panel whether the rise in early voting will continue – and what that might mean for the result on October 14th.

Plus, they take a deep dive into the latest policy announcements – including the Greens’ universal student allowance and Labour’s supermarket pledge.

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