This week on The Sunday Panel, NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson and Coast day host Lorna Subritzky called in to talk with Francesca Rudkin about the following topics: 

Today at the Labour Conference, Jacinda Ardern is set to announce cost of living policy today. Ardern has said it won’t include tax cuts, is this likely to be a repeat of August’s three-part payments? The last payment went badly for Labour’s polling, is this really the answer to the struggling families? 

The TVNZ merger is forecast to lose $100m per year after merger, supplemented $211m per year by the Crown. Should taxpayers be expected to foot the bill to maintain TVNZ?  

Fireworks – from stressed and injured animals to bush fires, is it finally time to accept that maybe the excitement of fireworks is not enough to outweigh the damage they may be causing? It will never be risk free, but is there a safer way to manage Guy Fawkes? 

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