Five Big Things: Monday, November 27

Good evening, it’s been a day of Christopher Luxon being sworn in as the new prime minister, Dan Carter praising Scott Robertson, and an investigation into Black Friday deals.

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National leader Christopher Luxon has finally been sworn in as the 42nd prime minister of New Zealand.

The ceremony took place at Government House in Wellington today, as Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro appointed Luxon to the role on behalf of the King. Luxon swore his oath of allegiance on the Bible.

Kiro also swore in ministers, including coalition partners ACT leader David Seymour and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Attorney-General Judith Collins were sworn in too.

Legendary first-five Dan Carter has hailed incoming All Blacks coach Scott Robertson as "world class" and is excited to see what impact his fellow Cantabrian can have on the national side.

Carter said that Robertson was incredibly talented and extremely passionate. It came after Scotty Stevenson's in-depth interview with Robertson yesterday.

President Joe Biden confirmed today that Abigail Edan, a four-year-old American girl held hostage by Hamas after her parents were killed, was released as part of the ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war and was "safely in Israel".

"Thank God she's home," Biden told reporters. "I wish I were there to hold her."

A Consumer NZ investigation found misleading Black Friday deals at four major retailers this shopping season.

The watchdog tracked seven popular household items at four big-box retailers over 10 weeks and found 77% of those products could have been purchased for the same price or less in the weeks before Black Friday.

The paused initiatives include the extension of paid parking in the city centre, the plan to introduce paid parking to Mount Maunganui, and the implementation of parking restrictions with time-limited bus lanes on Cameron Road.

'Stolen Taonga': Yvonne Tahana has reflected on the story that she will never forget. 

In her own words, Yvonne describes the three-year-long journey that saw the mere pounamu, stolen from Auckland Museum, returned safely back home in the most "Māori way possible".

Good Sorts: Meet the Dunedin couple cooking $4 meals for the community.

Liam Arthur and Jackie Barron believe no one should eat alone and cook over 1000 vegetarian meals for three nights a week at the Caversham Bowling Club.