I’m loathe to keep talking about this, but I think Chris Luxon is being treated really unfairly on the sale of his apartment.

And because he’s being treated so unfairly, it’s hard to avoid saying something.

The latest instalment on this is a series of articles pointing out that Chris Luxon would’ve paid up to $70 thousand in tax on the sale of his apartment if it wasn’t for his government changing the bright-line test rules.

He bought the apartment in 2020 when the bright-line test was five years and because he sold it within five years, it should’ve been subject to the 5 year bright-line test and he should’ve paid a capital gains tax on it.

But his government cut the bright-line test back to 2 years, effective July this year, so he didn’t have to pay the tax.

The implication being that either by design or luck, he managed to dodge a tax he should've paid.

Honestly, give me a break.

The only reason Luxon is selling the apartment is because we’ve pressured him into moving into Premier House.

He didn’t want to move there, that was obvious, and why would he? The place is famously cold and drafty, and given that this guy’s been earning mega bucks for at least a couple of decades, he probably hasn’t lived in a house as cold as a student flat for a couple of decades.

But we gave him grief for not living there and taking the accommodation allowance instead, so he caved and said he’d move into Premier House.

And now that he’s doing that, we’re not happy either because he’s making money off his apartment.

Come on. What do we want here?

He isn’t costing the taxpayer on the accommodation allowance any more, he didn’t change the bright-line test so he could avoid tax – that was an election promise made last year when he clearly still intended to keep owning his property.

The absence of fairness in this ongoing drama suggest that this is exactly what he says this is, which is politics of envy.

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Today on Politics Wednesday Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss the biggest stories of the week so far.

They discussed the conflict in the Middle East, Damien O’Connor’s ill-advised tweet, and point the finger as to who’s to blame for the Dunedin Hospital mess.

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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 2nd of October, we speak to our Middle East correspondent as Iran launches ballistic missile strikes on Israel.

Big day in the US as JD Vance and Tim Walz prepare to go head-to-head in the Vice Presidential debate.

Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell put the blame on each other for the Dunedin Hospital mess and discuss Damien O'Connor's ill-advised tweet on Politics Wednesday.

Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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There’s optimism from within Athletics New Zealand that hosting the World Indoor Athletics Championships isn't beyond the realms of possibility.

The sport's governing body, with support of the government, are working on a bid to bring the event to our shores in March 2028, prior to the Los Angeles Olympics.

The biennial event has never been held in Oceania since its inception in 1985.

Athletics NZ CEO Cam Mitchell told Heather du Plessis-Allan that they’re quietly confident.

He said that it’s something they have as an aspiration, and there’s also a massive novelty factor they think people would get behind and support.

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It’s believed US voters will be more concerned about records than personalities heading into today's vice-presidential debate.

JD Vance and Tim Walz will meet for their only debate in New York today, getting underway at 2pm NZ time.

Key issues expected to be on the agenda include the economy, cost of living, and border security.

Republican strategist Matt Terrill told Heather du Plessis-Allan if Vance focuses on those, he'll have a much better night than Walz.

He says many voters will be questioning if they're better off today than they were four years ago.

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Dogs are on their way to sniffing out early signs of bowel and ovarian cancers.

K9 Medical Detection New Zealand has had a 100% success rate in recent trials.

The four-legged workers are trained to detect specific odours connected to bowel and ovarian cancers.

CEO Pauline Blomfield told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the dogs are clearly detecting the odour released from cancer, but they’re not replacing any tests.

She said that they’re currently working with scientists to identify the markers dogs are picking up on, because they don’t currently know what exactly the dogs are smelling.

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The Education Minister says she has a great relationship with the teachers’ union, despite some disagreement.

A PPTA survey shows a majority of teachers are unhappy with the NCEA level one roll out.

It comes as the organisation has its conference this week, with Minister Erica Stanford speaking yesterday, defending the controversial move to remove te reo funding for teachers.

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan most of teachers' concerns are with NCEA changes, which are the previous Government's fault, and she agrees.

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Casey Costello's hit back at health advocates over criticism of her heated tobacco tax cut.

The Associate Health Minister cut the tax by 50% in an effort to encourage use of the products instead of smoking.

Costello has faced a tense reception regarding the move.

But she told Heather du Plessis Allan she's working hard to reduce smoking rates, despite what she calls "the noise".

She says the Health Coalition became fixated on the tobacco industry, not Costello's plans to reduce smoking rates.

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