Crown-Māori relations remain top of the agenda as the PM enjoys an encouraging boost in popularity.

The prime minister travelled to the Māori King’s Koroneihana this week, where he was assailed for government policies that had, according to Tuku Morgan of Tainui, hit tangata whenua with a wrecking ball and thrown them under the bus.

Christopher Luxon seized the moment to declare unequivocally that National would not support the Treaty Principles Bill beyond first reading, while Act leader David Seymour was a centre of attention despite being absent.

Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire chew over events at Turangawaewae, and whether Act’s controversial bill is a divisive waste of time or a blunt reality of MMP politics.

Luxon has meanwhile brushed off critics of malapropism and mudded mathematics statistics by jumping five points in the latest 1News/Verian poll, while the traffic lights flare up for beneficiary sanctions.

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