Five Big Things: Wednesday, November 29

It’s been a day of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's first post-Cabinet media conference and the Reserve Bank holding the OCR at 5.5%.

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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has set out what his newly-formed coalition government will do in its first 100 days in office.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting this afternoon, he said there would be a “hugely ambitious” 49 “actions” delivered in that time.

They include removing the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax and the Clean Car Discount scheme, repealing Fair Pay legislation, scrapping the Māori Health Authority and banning gang patches. Full details here. 

As expected the Reserve Bank has held the official cash rate at 5.5%.

It's the fourth consecutive time the central bank has held firm at that position amid signs inflation is slowing.

Inflation is 5.6%, as measured by the consumers price index (CPI) for the year to September 2023, down from a peak of 7.3% measured 15 months earlier.

A Whakatāne man was walking around "like a stunned mullet" after he and his wife discovered they'd won the $8.3 million Lotto jackpot.

The couple, who asked to remain anonymous, had no idea they were millionaires until a few days after the Lotto draw.

After just two days, Labour leader Chris Hipkins has already labelled the new government a “coalition of chaos” and believes Winston Peters has “no respect” for the Prime Minister.

Two men have pleaded not guilty to murdering Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong in Auckland earlier this month.

On November 10, police announced 67-year-old Chong's body was found in Greenhithe. Her husband, Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok, 66, had been found dead at their Ellerslie home by a family member on November 6.

As we approach the end of the school year, many families are thinking about what might be an appropriate gift to thank teachers.

So it's Māori signage that's been ruining our roads and our health.

I'm so relieved we're to be spared the dreadful confusion of bilingual signage, writes Stacy Gregg. And then the potholes will be fixed and the nurses will come home.