What a whirlwind week it's been for the National Party .. and it's only Thursday! Yesterday Christopher Luxon survived his second confidence vote in four months, then sacked Chris Penk for launching the challenge. Today the party says it's united .. but how can National make sure the public believes them? Charlotte Shipman is a former NewsHub journalist and now a senior partner at communications company AM and Co. She chats to Perlina.

We think this conversation could resonate with many of you .. because our next guest is keen to explain why hiring staff over the age of 50 is a good thing. Ian Fraser is the founder of Seniors at work, a job site for older people who are looking for work opportunities. We get lots of your messages saying ageism is alive and well in 2026, so are keen to hear what can be done to combat it.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

Kia ora koutou katoa, welcome to Midday Report essentials with Guyon Espiner. Today - National mops up the mess from yesterday's aborted leadership coup. It comes as a new poll shows National and Labour both stuck around 30 percent support but the Opportunity party bolting up to eight percent. We talk to leader Qiulae Wong's reading on the turbulent political environment. Later, a new SIS report says foreign interference is targeting New Zealand political figures. Professor Al Gillespie breaks it down for us. Thanks for listening to today's episode, tune in wherever you get your podcasts - or live at Midday, every weekday on RNZ National.

An update on the latest news and results from RNZ's sports team.

The SIS is warning that geopolitical upheaval has intensified threats to New Zealand's safety and security. Waikato University's Professor Al Gillespie says the report contains a unique warning for our politicians in the run-up to the election.

The latest news from the United States with Nine News reporter Lauren Tomasi in Washington DC

An update on the latest news from RNZ's rural team

The latest news from RNZ's business team.

Out of more than 500 ads National has run on Facebook and Instagram this year, 92 were seen exclusively by men and only one solely by women. RNZ In Depth reporter Farah Hancock joins Guyon Espiner with the details.