With just weeks to go before what’s slated to be New Zealand’s most important general election this year, all the major political parties have hit the campaign trail with truckloads of banners, promises, threats and mismatched socks as they go all out to disguise a naked grab for power as wanting the best for everyone. And they seem to be united on that front – what’s best for everyone is supermarkets.

At first glance, NZFirst and ACT have little in common: one is a disparate mob of far-right free-marketers and rapidly fading former celebrities while the other is ... wait, we'll get back to you. But it's nonetheless surprising that both parties have a similar stance when it comes to protecting Aotearoa's green and pleasant land, even if they refuse to call it that.

In a shock move that relegates the Iran War and Miley Cyrus to page 17, the ACT party has announced that its commitment to road safety will be a major part of its election platform. Part of that policy, unveiled by ACT's transport spokesperson Simon Court, will see no more National Land Transport Fund money provided for "non-functional art, monuments, and decorative amenity features" on roads.

News that Methanex will idle its New Zealand operations from early 2027, due to just three nangs of natural gas left in the Maui field, may have alarmed many in the industry but Resources Minister …

In a well-thought-out and clearly justified action aimed at destabilizing the rebel Canadian government, Donald J Trump Wednesday renamed one of the five Great Lakes as Lake America. Over the next few days he will also sign off on the remaining ones, as Lakes America 2 thru 5. He also plans to rename the world's oceans - Seas East and West for the bodies of water on either side of the contiguous states, Top Cold Sea and Bottom Cold Sea for the polar oceans and Sea America for everything else.

More than a handful New Zealand’s Sovereign Citizen associations have announced they’ve combined to form a political party that will candidates in all electorates in the November election. Calling themselves Sovereign Citizens of Aotearoa Taking The Initiative, the group is campaigning on a multilayered platform, spokesperson Knotten Umber told WWNews. “Importantly, we will remove all forms of government interference in individuals’ lives apart from the funding thereof,” he said.

The ACT party continues to make important policy announcements, including ones not thought up on the spot by Paul Henry. Today's dead-cert vote winner has a catchy slogan - one law for all, one future together - and aims to put equal rights and the rule of law at the heart of the New Zealand constitution. Focussing on property rights and reigning in activist judges, the policy adds a number of amendments to key pieces of legislation - including the Bill of Rights Act, Constitution Act and Legislation Act.

With the General Election less than three months – and 6 Question Times – away, the National-led Coalition Government has its foot to the floor, cruise control set to 11 and regenerative braking switched right off as it carries out its pledge to the people of making life easier for others to do business here. Winning elections has never involved so much good honest hard work.

Unseemly scenes at airports in recent weeks where MPs have been subjected to intrusive media questioning have prompted the PM to arrange additional training for his team around handling media inquiries on the trot. “As an elected official sucking on the taxpayer’s teat, I understand the need for media scrutiny,” the PM possibly told WWNews. “And we do not shy from the responsibility to create the right perception.”

The Crimes Amendment Bill, which aims at cutting down public disorder, shoplifting and plain scofflawery, has come into law just in time for the pre-Boxing Day bargains retail season. In a nutshell, which is where it was conceived, the Bill expands on existing provisions in the law for citizens’ arrests – the ones where ordinary citizens are able to arrest other citizens, not the existing practice of police being able to detain citizens when time and crewing requirements allow.

The big story of the weak has been, of course, the Coup that never was. The PM got wind of a possible coup and, being a man of action who gets on with the business of running the country as his words scrabble about in the dust behind him, decided to stop it in its tracks. He summoned all those he suspected might be behind a leadership challenge – or, as we like to call them, the entire National caucus – to an urgent meeting to sort things out.

All votes have been counted, the judges have conferred and the result has been ratified: the Prime Minster, for now at least, is still the Nemesis of the Numpties - Christopher J Luxon! As the applause dies down, let us reflect that not everyone's a winner - those who thought they could rig the vote, dimple the chads and game the system have been found out and have paid the price.