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CEOs fear election uncertainty as Opportunity Party looms over coalition talks

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CEOs fear election uncertainty as Opportunity Party looms over coalition talks

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Business leaders are expressing more worry about election policy uncertainty than fuel costs, cyber attacks or the cost of living, according to the Mood of the Boardroom survey.

The NZ Herald’s annual survey of 150 executives ranked election policy uncertainty as the biggest business concern, scoring 7.62 out of 10. Fuel costs followed at 7.52, then cyber attacks at 7.22.

Respondents expressed worries about whether a change of government might bring new tax rules, employment laws or regulatory settings, forcing businesses to adjust their plans.

EMA chief executive John Fraser-Mackenzie called for “respite from the continual cycle of repeal and replace”, saying stable policies help businesses plan and invest.

Executives rated Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 2.52 out of five for his political performance and gave him just 2.27 out of five on the likelihood that he would remain National leader for a full term if re-elected. However, 65% backed Luxon as the prime minister best placed to enhance economic growth, compared with 3% for Labour’s Chris Hipkins.

The rise of the Opportunity Party was another concern for business. After polling 8% in the latest 1News Verian poll, the party may now hold the balance of power in a potentially fragmented Parliament.

While 41% of respondents considered TOP a credible coalition partner, 40% disagreed. Some 62% said business confidence would suffer if the party held the balance of power. Luxon has ruled out working with Opportunity.

Meanwhile, critics are questioning Opportunity’s political identity, whether it has softened its bottom lines, and whether its rise reflects voter support or a manufactured image amplified by extensive legacy-media coverage. There is also scepticism about whether that polling momentum will translate into clearing the 5% threshold.

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Saudi oil boss issues global supply warning

Daily Telegraph NZ
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Saudi oil boss issues global supply warning

World oil prices news

Even an end to the conflict will likely bring little relief, with a fresh demand surge threatening to keep oil markets under strain, Aramco chief Amin Nasser has said.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has caused an “unprecedented” shock to global energy markets, removing some 3 billion barrels of oil supply, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser has warned.

The war launched in February effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and LNG artery, sending crude prices up roughly 50%. Despite Gulf exports recovering to a reported 80% of pre-war levels, renewed attacks on vessels have kept markets on edge, with Brent hitting a five-month high above $112 this week. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping have compounded the crisis, threatening another vital trade chokepoint, the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait.



In an interview with Al Arabiya Business aired on Thursday, Nasser said the nearly eight-month crisis had deprived global markets of an estimated 3 billion barrels of oil.

“The impact of this crisis on energy markets is unprecedented,” he said. “We have lost around 3 billion barrels since it began. And bear in mind that the Gulf accounts for roughly 20% of global oil demand.”

The figure is equivalent to nearly a month of global oil consumption and reflects cumulative supply losses caused by disrupted shipping, reduced production and logistical bottlenecks.

With global oil inventories already below their five-year average when the war erupted, prices could have soared past $200 a barrel, Nasser warned. He credited emergency reserve releases, China’s sharp cut in seaborne oil imports and Saudi Aramco’s East-West pipeline, which bypasses Hormuz, with averting an even more severe price shock.

Nasser warned, however, that even an end to the crisis could bring fresh pressure on oil markets, as recovering consumption and a rush to replenish depleted reserves will likely fuel another demand surge.

“Once things return to normal, we expect additional demand of around 3 million barrels per day – about 2 million from consumption growth and another 1 million just to replenish the reserves countries have drawn down during the crisis,” he said, noting that the added demand could keep markets under strain long after shipping routes reopen.

Fresh escalation fears

Meanwhile, fears of another escalation are growing as US-Iran talks remain deadlocked. Reports on Wednesday claimed Washington was quietly pulling troops from bases in Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait, evacuating some diplomats and their families from Saudi Arabia and preparing similar withdrawals elsewhere. Similar precautions were taken ahead of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The moves follow US President Donald Trump’s rejection last month of Tehran’s proposal to reopen Hormuz in exchange for lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports, easing oil export restrictions, unfreezing Iranian assets and ending regional hostilities, including Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Washington and Israel have since reportedly discussed another major offensive, potentially soon after the November 3 US midterms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also openly threatened fresh strikes on Iran, even without US backing.

Image: Getty Images

Two arrested following Hawke’s Bay burglaries

DTNZ Crime
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Two arrested following Hawke’s Bay burglaries

Two youths have been arrested in relation to three alleged burglaries of commercial properties in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay.

The burglaries occurred in the early hours of Wednesday 7 October.

The incidents involved a group of people wearing balaclavas, entering three different commercial properties. Empty tills, groceries, and a charity box were taken, and property was damaged. The offenders fled in a stolen vehicle.

Sergeant Dominic Brown says Police continued to pursue positive lines of enquiry in identifying and holding the outstanding offenders to account.



“This is a positive result and reinforces the commitment that Police have to investigating these matters and holding people, no matter their age, to account.”

The duo, aged 16 and 17, were taken into custody on Oct 21 following a search warrant.

They will be appearing on multiple charges of burglary and unlawfully converting a motor vehicle.

Christchurch man charged over concealment of Braydon Hepworth’s body

DTNZ Crime
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Christchurch man charged over concealment of Braydon Hepworth’s body

A 34-year-old Christchurch man has been charged in relation to the disappearance and subsequent death of 21-year-old Braydon Hepworth.

The man is facing charges relating to the concealment of Braydon’s body.

He will appear in the Christchurch District Court on Friday.

Police are continuing to investigate how Braydon died.

As this matter is now before the courts Police are unable to make further comment at this time.

Man facing prosecution in relation to pāua catch

DTNZ Crime
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Man facing prosecution in relation to pāua catch
Paua prosecution news
PHOTO SUPPLIED.

A man is facing prosecution action after being found with nearly 15 times the legal daily limit of pāua in Pihama, South Taranaki.

Around 3.40pm on Friday 9 October, Ōpunake Police were patrolling the coastline when they noticed a man behaving suspiciously and carrying a large sack of pāua.

Officers conducted a fisheries inspection, and the man was allegedly found to be in possession 73 pāua – 20 of which were undersized.



The daily limit in the area is five pāua per person and must be 85mm at minimum.

The matter was referred to the Ministry for Primary Industries, Fisheries Compliance team, who are looking at prosecution action.

“Police would like to remind the public to be aware of what areas along the Taranaki coast are part of the rāhui/ban and which areas aren’t – make sure to always adhere to the daily limit and minimum size.”, said Senior Sergeant Andrew Russ.

“Police officers are able to act as Fishery Officers and have the same inspection powers.

To report suspicious behaviour, or illegal fishing or gathering, that is happening now, please call 111. For reporting after the fact, please go online to report illegal fishing (such as poaching) | MPI or call 0800 476 224.

AI agents disabled safeguards and one denied it – OpenAI

Daily Telegraph NZ
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AI agents disabled safeguards and one denied it – OpenAI
Rogue AI agents news
AI-generated image.

One agent suppressed alerts to human reviewers, while another removed a monitoring system and falsely denied doing so.

Two OpenAI agents disabled security monitoring systems during testing, with one later denying it had done so, the company has revealed.

The disclosure follows a string of similar incidents in recent months involving autonomous AI agents, which can independently plan and carry out tasks using external tools.

In a blog post on Tuesday, OpenAI said that the incidents occurred on October 3 and 6, involving its GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra agents, respectively.

In the first case, the coding agent tasked with creating evaluation tasks using employee feedback collected via Slack disabled automatic alerts to the company’s security team. According to OpenAI, the agent reasoned that the user’s prior instruction not to send messages on the team communication platform during the process applied to all notifications, including security alerts.



Three days later, the GPT-6 Astra agent removed the monitoring integration of a program it was migrating, taking its cue from a reference it had been fed that did not have the security feature. When asked later by the human user, the agent denied removing the monitoring system.

OpenAI said that it was investigating why the agents disabled the safeguards and working to prevent similar incidents. While the behavior may have resulted from “benign overpersistence” by the agents to complete the task, the company said that it was also “developing evaluations to test whether models might have a propensity to evade misalignment monitoring in particular.”

Last month, the Wall Street Journal, citing Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, reported that the company had scrapped the release of its GPT-6.1 Astra model. The decision reportedly came after internal testing had found the model to be more deceptive than its predecessors and apt to employ potentially unsafe external tools without first seeking the user’s permission.

Also in September, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that an OpenAI agent had hacked his country’s Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal, with the company failing to report the breach for nearly three months.

Earlier, in July, OpenAI disclosed that its models had escaped their sandbox during cybersecurity testing, accessed the internet, and hacked into the servers of the Hugging Face online repository for AI models and datasets.

Other developers have reported similarly troubling behaviour in tests.

Earlier this month, Anthropic released a report detailing instances of “unintended” actions by its AI models, including Claude Haiku 4.5 providing a bogus tip to Philadelphia police regarding an ongoing homicide investigation.

Calls to halt AI development or impose tighter regulations on the industry have grown louder.

Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton has warned that increasingly powerful AI could eventually escape human control, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has also urged governments to adopt a more active role in imposing safety standards on the industry.

However, US President Donald Trump has brushed off such concerns, saying that restrictions on AI development could allow China to overtake the US in the technological race.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, too, has argued that the world must absorb some “bad things” resulting from AI development, including hacks and scams, as the benefits afforded by the technology far outweigh the drawbacks.

India clinch win over Black Caps in record run chase

DTNZ Sports
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India clinch win over Black Caps in record run chase

India pulled off a remarkable four-wicket victory over New Zealand in Christchurch on Thursday, successfully chasing 226 to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20 series.

The Black Caps posted an imposing 225-4, their highest home T20 total against India, thanks largely to Glenn Phillips’ unbeaten 82 off 40 balls and Finn Allen’s explosive 45. India responded with a blistering opening partnership of 93 between Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, with Samson smashing 67 from just 33 deliveries.

New Zealand briefly regained control with three quick wickets, but Shreyas Iyer steadied the innings with 42 before Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 42 guided the visitors home with two balls remaining.



The victory marked India’s highest successful T20 international run chase, despite a determined New Zealand fightback. The teams meet again in Christchurch on Saturday for the second match of the series.

Fake pollsters fool US media with made-up election surveys

Daily Telegraph NZ
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Fake pollsters fool US media with made-up election surveys

Wedgewood Polls called the deception a “social experiment” after investigators exposed its fabricated data.

Major US news outlets amplified fabricated election polls showing gains by Democrats, giving a bogus months-old polling operation national credibility before investigators exposed its invented data.

Wedgewood Polls, which appeared in June, secured coverage from publications including Newsweek, the Daily Beast, and The Hill. Its surveys also entered polling databases maintained by the New York Times, election analyst Nate Silver, and other prominent aggregators.

On Tuesday, however, after researchers at election analysis website FiftyPlusOne confronted it, Wedgewood admitted that almost all its surveys were fake. It described the deception as an experiment testing how easily a fictitious firm could gain recognition.



“We wanted to test a simple hypothesis: how easy is it for an entirely fabricated polling firm to gain traction, be taken seriously, and expose how little scrutinization exists in media and public commentary? The short answer: Far too easy,” the group said in a press statement.

Wedgewood noted that despite having no history, formal credentials or real data, it was added to multiple major polling aggregators, was treated as a legitimate data source, and was being cited on air by mainstream outlets like MS NOW.

Wedgeweood polling news

The group added that “out of curiosity and for our own internal baseline,” it actually carried one genuine crowdfunded poll in Nebraska during its run.

The admission prompted a mass cleanup across mainstream media. The Times removed 15 Wedgewood surveys, election tracker Decision Desk HQ removed 17, and Newsweek retracted three articles and corrected others.

Before the retractions, Wedgewood’s numbers had helped fuel stories that Democrats were gaining ground ahead of the midterms. Its surveys purported to show Democratic Senate candidates leading in Republican strongholds including Texas, Ohio and Kansas.

The figures also reached campaign publicity. A Democratic Senate campaign in Mississippi cited a fabricated result as evidence of “massive momentum.”

Other invented results damaged candidates. Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow said a bogus survey showing her support collapsing helped dry up donations and demoralize volunteers before she withdrew from the Democratic Senate primary in July.

Questions about Wedgewood had circulated for months, but its surveys continued entering news coverage and polling databases. FiftyPlusOne eventually exposed the fabrication by examining underlying survey records and checking inconsistencies with the platform the firm claimed to use.

The revelations come less than two weeks before the November 3 midterms, which will determine control of Congress. Republicans are defending narrow majorities in both chambers as President Donald Trump campaigns amid dissatisfaction over living costs and the US-Israeli war on Iran.

US evacuating Middle East bases – NBC

Daily Telegraph NZ
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US evacuating Middle East bases – NBC
US - Iran news
Image – americansecurityproject.org.

The Pentagon and State Department reportedly made similar preparations before launching the war against Iran in February.

The US military has quietly begun withdrawing troops from bases across the Middle East, while Washington is ordering diplomatic personnel to leave several missions in the region, NBC News reports.

The moves come as President Donald Trump considers launching a new wave of attacks on Iran, and the withdrawals resemble preparations made by the Pentagon and State Department ahead of the initial US-Israeli strikes in February, NBC reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials and two people familiar with the matter.



US troops stationed in Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait are among those being relocated, according to the report. Washington reportedly intends to maintain a limited presence at its regional bases, including personnel responsible for air defenses and security.

Ahead of the February 28 attack, the Pentagon withdrew large numbers of troops from potentially vulnerable bases to shield them from expected Iranian retaliation. Tehran accused Washington of using Gulf residents as “human shields” after thousands of US service members took shelter in civilian hotels and office buildings.

US Central Command spokesman Timothy Hawkins declined to discuss the reported troop movements, saying US forces are regularly repositioned to “optimize mission readiness” and remained prepared to defend US personnel and interests.

The State Department has also ordered non-essential personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, citing escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement against civilian airports and other critical infrastructure.

Reuters reported that Washington is preparing additional diplomatic withdrawals across the Gulf, citing US officials, but State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott described reports of further withdrawals as “inaccurate.”

The developments come amid reports that senior US military officials have presented Trump with options for renewed strikes against Iran. According to NBC, the proposals include attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, underground installations, and strategic islands, including Kharg Island, a critical oil export hub, and Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz.

Some of Trump’s advisers, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have reportedly advocated resuming military operations to increase pressure on Tehran. Others have warned against launching another major campaign without a clearly defined objective.

Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, holding closed-door talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just days before Israel’s October 27 parliamentary elections. Netanyahu is seeking another term amid mounting criticism of his handling of the wars in Gaza and Iran. Trump has endorsed his reelection bid.

Trump pledged earlier this month that the US would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, while maintaining that military force remains an option if diplomatic efforts fail. Netanyahu has also ruled out launching new strikes before Israel’s election, but declared on Sunday that Israel is prepared to attack Iran even without American participation.

The US-Israeli war against Iran, launched on February 28, has entered its eighth month, disrupting global energy markets and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has offered to restore normal navigation through the vital waterway within seven days if Washington lifts its naval blockade, eases oil sanctions, and agrees to a broader cessation of hostilities.

Trump has rejected the Iranian proposal as “unacceptable,” while his administration continues to consider whether additional military pressure could force Tehran to accept their terms.

Meta fined $25 billion in privacy scandal

Daily Telegraph NZ
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Meta fined $25 billion in privacy scandal

Meta fine news

A New Mexico judge has ruled that Facebook’s parent company deceived millions of users about how their personal data was collected and shared.

A US judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in civil penalties for deceiving Facebook users about the privacy of their personal data, in a landmark ruling stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which exposed the harvesting of personal information from millions of Americans for political campaigns.

New Mexico District Judge Francis Mathew issued the ruling on Wednesday, following a jury verdict in September finding Facebook’s parent company responsible for nearly 44 million violations of the state’s consumer protection laws.

The judge concluded that Meta’s misconduct warranted a penalty exceeding $219 billion under state law, but reduced the amount to $25 billion, making it one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on an American corporation.



“Facebook’s wrongdoing – over the course of years and systematically broadcast to the public – goes to the heart of Facebook’s core business practices,” Mathew wrote in his order.

The case arose from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, when it emerged that the British political consulting firm obtained personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users without their consent.

The information was collected through a third-party personality quiz application that exploited Facebook’s system for accessing users’ friends’ data. Cambridge Analytica used the information to develop psychological profiles of voters and deliver targeted political advertising, including during the 2016 US presidential election.

The company was established in 2013 as the American political-data arm of the British SCL Group, a private contractor specializing in behavioral influence, psychological profiling, and strategic communications. SCL also marketed influence and research services to defense clients, including the UK Defense Ministry.

The scandal also exposed connections to Palantir Technologies, a Silicon Valley data-analysis company with extensive contracts involving US intelligence agencies and the Pentagon. A 2018 New York Times investigation revealed that at least one Palantir employee advised Cambridge Analytica’s researchers during the company’s 2014 efforts to harvest Facebook information.

Palantir denied having a formal business relationship with Cambridge Analytica, maintaining that the employee acted in a personal capacity.

Cambridge Analytica collapsed in 2018 amid worldwide scrutiny of its operations, while Facebook faced regulatory investigations, lawsuits, and billions of dollars in penalties.

Attorney General Raul Torrez hailed Wednesday’s judgment as a warning to Silicon Valley that even the largest technology companies could be held accountable for violating consumer protection laws.

Meta has denied misleading users and plans to appeal the ruling, arguing that the unprecedented penalty is unconstitutional. Responding to the jury’s verdict last month, the company also invoked freedom of speech, insisting that Facebook is a forum for free expression.

Image credit: Muhammad Asyfaul

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