The new government’s being urged to backtrack on its promise of removing free prescriptions.

Only introduced in this year’s budget by the outgoing government, National announced during the election campaign it would reinstate the $5 prescription fee for most New Zealanders in favour of targeted support. The additional money saved would then be funnelled into cancer drugs.

But a new survey from the Prescription Access Initiative found near universal support for keeping the free prescription policy, with 92% of pharmacies claiming they had been able to have longer conversations with patients and 94% saying patients no longer chose which medications to leave behind.

The survey also concluded that as patients now pick up all their medications at once, it can lead to earlier treatment and better adherence to prescribed medication plans. Nearly all community pharmacy owner-operators agreed that “people pick up their prescriptions more quickly” as well.

National leader and soon-to-be prime minister Christopher Luxon defended his plan to reinstate the fee for some New Zealanders while speaking to TVNZ this morning. “People like me shouldn’t be getting it [prescriptions] subsidised frankly,” he said.

One pharmacist told The Post that people were no longer picking and choosing their meds, which meant patients had better control over chronic conditions such as asthma.

The chairperson of General Practice NZ, Dr Bryan Betty, agreed and said that prescription costs can add up for people with ongoing issues. “For people with heart conditions, they may be on seven or eight medication… that’s $40,” he said.

Auckland Arts Festival has announced its 2024 programme, including an array of works that represent the diverse cultures within Aotearoa New Zealand, the festival’s first Inuit work, a trio of Irish works, Australian guests (including Tim Minchin), and a work of solidarity in collaboration with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and New Zealand’s Muslim community.

“Resonance is the theme which guides the 2024 Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki, my final festival,” said Shona McCullagh, the festival’s artistic director. “We deliver this through many stunning performances and participatory experiences, exploring how sounds, words and movement create ripples and repercussions and connect with us socially, emotionally, intellectually, and culturally.”

Works include Waiata Mai, a free collaboration with Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand, revolutionary dance phenomenon Manifesto, Hear Me Roar, a lineup show featuring Betty Anne-Monga, Annie Crummer, Boh Runga and Julia Deans, a new work from Olivier award-winning company Peeping Tom, and Not King Lear, devised and performed by members of the Hobson Street Theatre Company.

You can see the full programme and purchase tickets here.

Hollywood star Margot Robbie was in the country over the weekend as her gin brand launches on our shelves.

A post on Instagram shows Robbie alongside celebrity chef Josh Emett at his Onslow restaurant. “We had the incredible honour of hosting the @papasaltgin founders at Onslow for our Sunday long lunch yesterday to celebrate their launch of their new gin in New Zealand,” read the caption.

Papa Salt was launched earlier in the year by Robbie and her husband, alongside a group of film industry friends. It’s described as “an easy-drinking gin that celebrates the subtle taste of native Australian botanicals”.

As an aside, are there now more celebrities with gins than wines? What’s going to be the next must have celebrity food product…?

New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has let slip that a few “jagged edges” around tax policy are stalling coalition talks.

Winston Peters is expected back in the capital today to continue negotiations with National, while Act’s David Seymour remains in Auckland at this point. It’s not known when all three leaders will get in a room together, though it’s been hinted it could be in the coming days.

Speaking to reporters, Jones signalled that tax policy remained a sticking point as talks push into the second week since the special votes were released.

It’s been speculated that the hold up between Act and National is more to do with race relations than monetary policy. During the campaign, Seymour’s proposed Treaty of Waitangi referendum effectively became a “bottom line”, while Luxon has repeatedly labelled it “divisive”.

Tomorrow will mark one month since polling day.

New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministry said 11 New Zealanders have been successfully evacuated from Gaza overnight.

The evacuated citizens were met in Egypt by ministry members and will be “provided with immediate support”, a tweet read.

“MFAT is working around the clock to get the remaining NZ citizens and permanent residents out of Gaza.”

Earlier in the month, the ministry said there were about 20 New Zealanders attempting to get out of the warzone.

The election may feel over and the coalition talks are reportedly heading towards a conclusion – but the process of democracy rolls on in Port Waikato.

Voting has started in the Port Waikato byelection to determine the final – or 123rd – seat in the next parliament.

“If you’re enrolled in the Port Waikato general electorate, you should have received an EasyVote pack in the mail. It includes an EasyVote card which makes voting easier – but you can vote without it,” said the Electoral Commission’s Anusha Guler.

“If you live in the electorate and haven’t received an EasyVote pack, it means you’re not enrolled or you need to update your address on the electoral roll. Do it now, so you can have your say in the by-election.”

There will be 41 voting places open around the electorate on polling day November 25, and seven of these will be open during the advance period.

The clear frontrunner in the seat is National’s Andrew Bayly, who has held the seat and its predecessor since 2014. Labour, the Greens and Act are not running candidates in the seat, opening the prospective lead up further for Bayly. His main competition will come from New Zealand First, with party leader Winston Peters hosting a rally in the electorate last week.

Christopher Luxon joined Bayly on the campaign trail in Port Waikato over the weekend, though most questions from media were about coalition talks rather than the byelection.

First home buyers now account for 27% of the market, a record high, CoreLogic reports. High interest rates and cost of living pressures have been offset slightly by the nationwide downturn in property values, with the median price paid by first home buyers falling from $720,000 in 2022 to $690,000 in 2023 to date. Those lower prices won’t be around for long, according to the latest Reserve Bank survey of expectations. On average, the 37 business leaders and economic forecasters surveyed predicted overall house prices would rise 4.84% by this time next year, and 6.22% in two years’ time.

Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne spoke to some of the Reserve Bank’s panel, who agree that high migration and the more favourable tax treatment promised to landlords are driving both prices higher. But it may only be a blip. Debt-servicing costs, low yields for investors relative to interest rates and a likely fall-off in migration could all lead to a steep fall in the market in 2025, Gareth Kienan of Infometrics tells Milne.

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The incoming prime minister is stressing the importance of making progress on coalition talks this coming week.

It’s been signalled now by both Christopher Luxon and Act’s David Seymour that a government “could” be formed by the end of the week, but Luxon has admitted it’s “unlikely” he’ll make it to the Apec Summit in San Francisco in the middle of the week.

That points to a deal being signed off at the end of the week or potentially even early next week, though that’s pure speculation.

Speaking to RNZ, Luxon said that there remained “very good alignment” between all three coalition partners when it came to central goals. “We do need to make good progress through the course of this week,” he said. “Those conversations have been held in a very constructive, very productive way.”

Without saying it outright, Luxon hinted that the party’s proposed tax plan remained a major topic of discussion. On Newstalk ZB, host Mike Hosking said that a pause in Luxon’s answer gave that away, though the National leader reiterated that progress was being made.

“We’re now down to areas that are a bit crunchier… I’m going to go as fast as possible,” said Luxon. “We’re getting closer but this week is very important. We’ve got a few remaining issues to work through so we’ll keep pushing hard to get it done. I’m not selecting a flat mate, I’m selecting partners to be in government so getting it right is important.”

Luxon, across all his media appearances this morning, would not confirm whether or not the promised tax relief for middle and lower income New Zealanders would be funded exactly in the same way it was proposed during the election campaign.

Another speculated sticking point between the parties is the referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi. Luxon said that was one of the issues that had been talked about in depth, but would not go into detail on it. He also confirmed that cabinet postings had been discussed behind closed doors.