Politics Central

This week on Politics Central, Minister Shane Jones has confirmed the Government will lift the ban on oil and gas exploration, as he believes New Zealand's natural gas reserves were declining and sustainable sources like wind, solar and hydro were too inconsistent.

Later, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey joined in to discuss the significance of Men's Health Week.

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Men’s Health Week is set to run from June 10-16, encouraging men to get on top of their wellbeing – both physical and mental.

New Zealand still has one of the highest rates of youth suicide in the developed world, and many are suffering from some strain of mental distress.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey joined the Weekend Collective to discuss.

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Shane Jones says oil and gas exploration is necessary to deal with energy security issues, as natural gas reserves rapidly decline.

The Government is reversing the oil and gas exploration ban, beyond onshore Taranaki.

It comes after around 20,000 people marched in Central Auckland yesterday, to protest the Fast Track Approvals Bill.

Resources Minister Shane Jones says about 20 percent of all our energy needs are related to gas.

"Because of the chilling effect of Jacinda Ardern's announcement in 2018, we're relying progressively more on Indonesian coal."

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This week on Politics Central, Otago University's Robert Patman shares his thoughts on the implications of Donald Trump's guilty verdict - and what it means for the upcoming US election.

Later, ACT's David Seymour discusses last week's 2024 Budget - and weighs in on Te Pati Māori calling for their own Government.

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Associate Health Minister David Seymour believes the Government can justify spending more on cancer medication.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has vowed they will deliver on spending $280 million on 13 new drugs - an election campaign promise they weren't able to deliver in the Budget.

She told TVNZ's Q&A that an announcement on the drugs is coming very soon.

But Mr Seymour says they have to figure out how to spend more while saving across the rest of the system.

"That's going to be a conversation, I suspect over the next few weeks, around - how do you actually make good on a promise to those people within the confronting financial circumstances?"

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There's fears of further polarisation in the US regardless of whether Donald Trump wins the election.

The former President's been convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records before the 2016 election.

He also faces further legal battles, including his handling of classified documents and his role in the Capitol Hill riots.

Otago University professor Robert Patman fears violence may be possible.

"Either because Mr Trump doesn't win the election - or if he makes good on his promise, he will go after those people, from day one, who incarcerated or jailed Trump supporters for their involvement in the 6th of January." 

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This coming Thursday is Budget Day, the day when the Government sets out exactly how much money they have, where they plan to find more, and where they plan to spend it.

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins shares where he would like to see the money spent, and his thoughts on the Pre-Budget announcements.

Later, Finance Minister Nicola Willis joins the Weekend Collective to discuss how the Budget came to be - and what we can expect.

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Labour leader Chris Hipkins says charter schools are the wrong way to address outlying students.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced 15 new charter schools will be set up in the next four years, and 35 state schools will be converted in the next two.

Hipkins, who shut down charter schools in 2018, says charter schools don't work and have worse outcomes.

"If people are concerned about kids who aren't achieving in mainstream schooling, the area to look is alternative education and activity centres."

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The Finance Minister has warned the Government won't be spraying money around ahead of the 2024 Budget.

This coming Thursday, Nicola Willis will unveil what services will get a boost in funding, and which will be slimmed down or removed entirely.

Nicola Willis says inflation and interest rates are still running too high - and that impacts the Government books.

"We can't, in this Budget, spray the money gun around - and I don't think anyone is expecting us to."

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The Greens have expressed hope for a more sustainable future in their State of the Planet speech, delivered in Central Auckland.

Co-leader Mārama Davidson says she hopes voters understand the Party stands for supporting the wellbeing of the country and the environment.

Davidson says the Greens aim to reach out to people who are feeling 'disempowered' under new legislation.

"To say to the people who have seen the anti-smoking legislation get completely wound up, to say to the tens of thousands of people who want to protect our ecosystems from the fast-track submissions, to the rangatahi who are feeling absolutely punished instead of understood, to say to people - we are listening."

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