Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

After that poll last night - another one putting Labour in the 20s - the question now is: How low is Labour actually going to go?

And I reckon it’s gonna be low enough to hurt them.

They will keep falling from here, I think, for two reasons. 

1- There is a downward trend already, Labour has fallen in every 1News poll this year. All the other public polls back up that decline trend. 

2- They’ve now hit the 30 percent psychological barrier where voters start abandoning them,  because they don’t want to back a loser.

And that’s real in politics. Most voters, with the exception of the rusted-on diehards, do not want to support loser parties. So they leave, making it worse for the loser party.

That 30 percent barrier is a line, for some reason, and this is now the fourth poll in two months that has Labour below the 30 percent line.

So, how bad does it get? 

Well, the answer to that question is- how many rusted-on diehards does Labour have? How many voters do they have who will never vote for anyone else and stick it out?

Officially, 24 percent is the low mark. That's where Labour slumped in two TV polls in July 2017, just a few days before Jacinda Ardern took over as leader.

But there was a lot of talk a few weeks before that of a New Zealand First internal poll which had Labour falling to 19 percent.

I don’t know that we’re in 19 percent territory right now- and I don’t know if that poll ever existed. But 24 percent? Not impossible.

Voters have gone, and I don’t know what they can announce that will make voters come back.

The GST policy was supposed to be that big announcement, they genuinely thought it was going to be huge. But this poll captured voters’ reaction, and it wasn’t good- it drove Labour under that 30 percent mark.

So brace yourself, because Labour might be about to take a historic - or close to historic - spanking. 

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An anti-smoking group isn't keen on new Labour election vaping pledges.

It's promising capping stores at 600, tougher penalties for underage sales and mandatory licensing for dairies, if re-elected.

Action for Smokefree 2025 says it's unlikely to stop many children vaping.

Director Ben Youdan says the plan doesn't address other problems.

"It does create the opportunity for growth and a grey market in that illicit supply to young people, because they're already getting it from older kids and adults and other people- it just strengthens that supply chain."

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Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme is undergoing a Government-commissioned review, as cost blowouts threaten the program's future.

Professor Bruce Bonyhady, an original architect of the NDIS, is co-chairing the review and argued that a fundamental shift is crucial to the scheme's development.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says the NDIS is growing by 14 percent per year as more children are diagnosed with autism.

"11 percent of boys aged 5 to 7 are recipients of the National Disability Insurance Scheme- we have got so many children in Australia at the moment being diagnosed."

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Sir Steve Hansen shocked rugby fans everywhere by seemingly defecting to New Zealand's greatest rugby rival.

Hansen later revealed he joined up with the Wallabies as a favour to their coach - and his mate - Eddie Jones ahead of their final World Cup warm-up game against France.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau is dispelling worry over Middlemore Hospital's crowded emergency department.

It yesterday treated more than 200 patients, and at one point over 70 people were waiting for beds.

But Hospital and Specialist Services interim lead Vanessa Thornton says that's not unusual.

"We've been very busy like this through the whole of winter, so this is not a new number for us. It's high, but it's not something that we can't manage."

Thornton says processes are in place to deal with high demand.

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Police say the UK’s most prolific child killer of modern times may be linked to up to 30 more cases.

Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering 7 babies and attempting to murder 6 more- and is due to be sentenced.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says investigations are underway as to where else Letby may have worked or trained as a nurse.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and current affairs commentator Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

ACT announced that they would put public service chief executives on performance based pay, if they entered Government. The party also wants agencies to have outcome targets and public Key Performance Indicators. Is this a good idea for the sector?

Labour has announced a new batch of educational policies- financial literacy and compulsory reading, writing and maths educational amendments will be introduced. Is this good enough? Why didn't Labour implement these changes earlier? 

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The Labour Party has slumped in the latest 1News Verian opinion poll to below 30 percent.

National has picked up 2 percent over the past month to 37 percent, and Labour's tumbled 4 percent to 29.

These numbers tonight would see the centre-right forming a coalition Government, with ACT gaining a point to 13.

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says that Hipkins will have to give the performance of his life to save Labour's chances in the election.

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Senior Te Whatu Ora doctors and dentists feel they've been pushed into strike action by a poor pay offer.

About 5000 staff will be striking from September 5.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins hopes issues raised in the looming strike will be resolved before then.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Hipkins kept encouraging doctors and dentists to 'go back around the bargaining table'- as this could create more bad press for the Government.

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Freightways have their sights set on a listing across the ditch, following a solid performance led by the Allied Express acquisition. 

The company today posted a 29 percent revenue lift since the expansion- profit rose to $1.12 billion in the year to the end of June.

Chief Executive Mark Troughear says the Australian market presents 'massive' expansion opportunities for the future.

"The market share opportunities are massive, they're a good operator, they're in a good niche, and it's a very big market for us."

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