In roads, as in costings, holes are hard to avoid in election year. Join Gone By Lunchtime for a deep dive.

Whether pot, sink or fiscal in form, the ubiquity of holes is a sure sign that the election campaign is around the corner. With two months until advance voting begins, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas hurl themselves into the political depths.

On the agenda in this week’s episode:

• Is it time for a costings unit to put a stop to the holy fiscal hell?
• The Labour Party may be planning the scrapping of GST on fruit and vegetables as its big tax policy bazooka. Is it a good idea? Will voters flock to it? What about all the beetroot and boondoggles? And is Nicola Willis now the official herald of Labour policymaking?
• What sticks out in the freshly announced Labour list, and how can Chris Hipkins halt the party’s downward momentum?
• As Winston Peters confirms his earlier confirmations that he’ll have nothing to do with Labour, why is Christopher Luxon refusing to state clearly whether National would work with NZ First to form a government?

Follow Gone By Lunchtime on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.