Morning Briefing Oct 7: Is there dissent in National's ranks?

Judith Collins

National’s Judith Collins has denied hers is a party divided as internal politics overshadowed election campaigning yesterday.

It follows the leaking of an email to media that saw National MP Denise Lee slamming a proposed policy around Auckland Council as a “nightmare”.

It’s led to allegations of Collins consistently “making up policy on the hoof” and creating division, while another National MP told 1 NEWS there’s a culture issue within the party. 

Labour’s Grant Robertson pounced on National’s apparent wobbles 10 days out from the election, saying the leaked email showed the party was a “chaotic shambles”.

Lee has since issued a statement, saying she didn’t agree with the leaking of the email and that she “unreservedly” supports Collins as the party’s leader.

Collins has denied any party division but won’t commit to telling MPs before she makes policy. She added “one of the joys” of being party leader was that she makes the decisions. 

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Leaders clash again 

Collins’ bad day at the office seemingly carried over to her latest debate against Labour’s Jacinda Ardern.

Pundits generally agreed it was Ardern who got the better of Collins in The Press Leaders Debate in Christchurch last night, as the two argued over the economy, Covid-19 and the price of milk .

Stuff wrote Ardern “played the room like a fiddle” and remained poised as Collins mocked her over the source of New Zealand’s second Covid-19 outbreak and accused her of disrespecting Samoa

Voting woes for Māori

More than a quarter of a million Kiwis have cast their ballots since advance voting opened at the weekend, however blunders at the polling booths are leaving Māori voters frustrated.

At least two electorates couldn’t find Māori electoral papers, forcing some people to cast special votes instead. Voters have told 1 NEWS they feel like they’re being treated as second-class citizens.

Officials have apologised and are blaming the issue on the huge demand for early voting. 

Meanwhile, NZ First’s Winston Peters is encouraging people to wait until election day to vote .

While other party leaders have already voted and are urging their supporters to do the same, Peters says people should “know all the facts first” as election “clangers” are dropped every day.

"If you’ve already voted and you find the party you’ve supported can’t even do their mathematics, then maybe you should wait until election day,” he said.

The Electoral Commission has urged people to vote early this year to keep queues down and help with physical distancing during the pandemic.

NZ’s 'education delusion'

The Ministry of Education is being blamed for "letting New Zealand’s education system unravel".

A report released this morning by Wellington-based thinktank The New Zealand Initiative says the system is a mess and riddled with unscientific ideas .

Report author Briar Lipson says today’s 15-year-olds are missing the equivalent of three to six school terms’ worth of education.

Her report details ways in which the education system has “lost its way” and outlines six recommendations for bringing classrooms back up to speed. You can find the report summary here

Hopes for rain at fire's front

It's hoped the cooler temperatures and rain forecast for the Mackenzie District today will help crews still fighting the Lake Ōhau blaze .

Firefighters stayed at the scene overnight to monitor the mostly contained fire that's now burnt through almost 6000 hectares.

Residents whose homes were left undamaged were able to return yesterday to collect essential items.

Breakfast presenter John Campbell was also allowed a glimpse of the fire’s destruction in the Lake Ōhau village and was struck by its random nature , with destroyed homes sitting next to completely untouched properties. 

Climate change on agenda

1 NEWS has continued its series looking at the top five issues Kiwis care about in the lead-up to the election, with climate change the latest to go under the microscope.

One NIWA scientist says New Zealand’s climate is already getting warmer with severe and prolonged droughts on the cards if action isn’t taken.

You can find the round-up of the political parties’ climate change policies here .

Other news of note this morning: 

- The Auckland Harbour Bridge was restored to 100 per cent capacity last night with all eight lanes open once again.

- US President Donald Trump has come under fire for downplaying the severity of Covid-19

- Two independent inquiries into misconduct allegations at New Zealand’s top film studios have led to fresh calls to fully repeal the controversial Hobbit Law.

- The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners has apologised after sending its members an email suggesting "how to vote" which included an authorisation statement from the ACT Party.

- And researchers have discovered a massive great white shark off the Nova Scotian coast – the “Queen of the Ocean” measures five metres in length and weighs 1.6 tonnes. 

And finally...

Late Night Big Breakfast hosts Jason Hoyte and Leigh Hart

You may have missed the news amongst the Covid-19 pandemic and the election campaigning, but cult TV show Late Night Big Breakfast is returning to our screens this Sunday.

Jeremy Wells was supposed to join co-hosts Leigh Hart and Jason Hoyte to promote the show on Seven Sharp last night but couldn’t attend due to a “sunbed mishap”.

So, it was left to Hart and Hoyte to explain Late Night Big Breakfast to anyone who may have missed it the first time around. And it went as smoothly as one might expect from a current affairs/breakfast/hard-hitting chat show that’s filmed in a furniture store.

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