GOOD EVENING. A FEW TECHINCAL ISSUES TONIGHT. WITH THE COUNTRY'S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE HAVING ALTERED DRAMATICALLY IN THE PAST WEEK, PARTIES ARE SCRAMBLING TO READJUST. IT'S NOT JUST NEW ZEALAND FIRST AND THE GREEN PARTY LOOKING TO REINVIGORATE AFTER TAKING A BIG DIVE IN RECENT POLLS ` LABOUR IS HOPING TO CAPITALISE ON ITS MASSIVE BUMP, WHILE NATIONAL LOOKS TO HOLD ON TO ITS NARROWING LEAD. OUR POLITICAL EDITOR CORIN DANN HAS MORE. BILL ENGLISH AND JACINDA ARDERN ARE BOTH NOW SHIFTING INTO FULL CAMPAIGN STRIDE AFTER A DRAMATIC TURNAROUND IN POLLING THAT'S PUT LABOUR BACK IN THE GAME. I WAS CERTAINLY ENCOURAGED BY LAST NIGHT'S POLL, ABSOLUTELY, BUT IT IS EARLY DAYS ` IT'S BEEN A WEEK. TWO NEW POLLS SHOW LABOUR HAS MADE HUGE GAINS UNDER ITS NEW LEADER, JACINDA ARDERN ` ONE, LABOUR'S INTERNAL UMR POLL IS PUTTING IT AS HIGH AS 36%, BUT IF BILL ENGLISH IS RATTLED, HE AIN'T SHOWIN' IT. THE OPPOSITION PARTIES, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SHIFTING AROUND. FEW WEEKS AGO, WINSTON PETERS WAS LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION. NOW THEY'VE GOT A NEW ONE. THAT'S UP TO THEM. BILL ENGLISH CAN BE SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE FOR NOW THAT LABOUR'S GAINS AREN'T COMING FROM NATIONAL,... MAN: YAY! ...BUT RATHER FROM NZ FIRST AND THE GREENS. WE CAN TURN THAT AROUND. WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ON LOWER POLLS CLOSER TO THE ELECTION IN PREVIOUS ELECTIONS, AND THEN GONE ON TO HAVE OUR HIGHEST VOTE EVER. IF YOU BELIEVE THE POLLS, THEN YOU PROBABLY BELIEVE IN THE TOOTH FAIRY. THE GREENS IN PARTICULAR SEEM TO BE SHEDDING SUPPORT IN THE WAKE OF THE DAMAGING METIRIA TUREI CONTROVERSY, LEADER JAMES SHAW PICKING UP THE PIECES TODAY FOLLOWING HER RESIGNATION AND EVEN OPENING THE DOOR FOR REBEL MP KENNEDY GRAHAM, WHO QUIT ON MONDAY, TO RETURN. IT COULD HAPPEN IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. I DON'T KNOW. AGAIN, THAT DECISION IS UP TO THE EXECUTIVE. BUT WHILE LABOUR'S RESURGENCE HAS CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE ON THE LEFT,... I'M A LABOUR VOTER, WINSTON. YEAH, WELL, THERE'S NOBODY PERFECT. ...ONE THING HASN'T CHANGED, AND THAT IS THAT NZ FIRST, ON CURRENT POLLING, IS LIKELY TO BE KING- OR QUEEN-MAKER. NO, WE'VE NEVER CONSIDERED OURSELVES KINGMAKER. THERE'S A REALITY, AND THAT'S NZ FIRST WILL DO WELL IN THIS CAMPAIGN. PERHAPS SO, BUT WHAT IS CLEAR NOW IS THAT POLITICIANS IN ALL PARTIES NEED TO ADAPT TO A CAMPAIGN THAT LOOKS AND FEELS FAR DIFFERENT THAN ONE THAT WAS PREDICTED JUST 10 AGO. THE PARTY RIVALS HAVE HIT THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL HARD TODAY, JACINDA ARDERN HEADING BACK TO SCHOOL IN HER HOMETOWN, WHILE THE PRIME MINISTER FRONTED UP TO TERTIARY STUDENTS IN CHRISTCHURCH. LISETTE REYMER REPORTS. ALL: # WELCOME HOME. # NATIONAL AND LABOUR BOTH RECEIVING ROUSING WELCOMES TODAY ` JACINDA ARDERN GETTING BACK TO HER ROOTS, KICKING OFF HER CAMPAIGN AT HER OLD SCHOOL IN MORRINSVILLE,... WHERE IT ALL STARTED FOR ME. ...UNDETERRED BY THE FARMING TOWN'S REPUTATION AS A SAFE NATIONAL SEAT. I'M NOT WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT BECAUSE IT'S TRADITIONALLY NATIONAL THAT WE HAVE TO CONCEDE THAT GROUND. WHILE HER VISION WENT DOWN A TREAT WITH HER OLD EMPLOYERS AT THE LOCAL FISH AND CHIP SHOP,... JACINDA WAS A VERY VIBRANT YOUNG WORKER THAT CAME INTO OUR SHOP. ...LABOUR'S BEEN TAKING HEAT FROM THE RURAL COMMUNITY OVER ITS PLANS FOR A LEVY ON THE COMMERCIAL USE OF WATER. WHAT WE'VE PUT IN THE POLICY EXPLICITLY IS THAT WE WILL ENSURE THAT THOSE WHO ARE AFFECTED WILL REMAIN PROFITABLE. THE NEW LEADER'S QUICKLY LEARNING THAT CAMPAIGNING IS MORE THAN SELFIES AND SHAKING HANDS, CAUGHT UNPREPARED FOR QUESTIONS ON KEY NEWS EVENTS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT? I WOULDN'T MIND GOING AWAY AND LOOKING AT THE DETAILS ON THAT. WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO THE RESERVE BANK'S DECISION THIS MORNING? OH, THAT CAME OUT AT 9. THERE WAS NO SHORTAGE OF SELFIES IN THE SOUTH,... CAN I GET A SELFIE? YEAH, SURE. THANKS, BUDDY. ...WHERE THE PRIME MINISTER REMAINS UNFAZED BY THE SO-CALLED JACINDA EFFECT. OUR CASE IS A POSITIVE CASE FOR NZ. IT'S NOT REALLY CONTINGENT ON WHAT THE OPPOSITION PARTIES MAKE OUT OF THE MESS THAT THEY'VE BEEN IN FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS. MR ENGLISH OPENING A NEW ARCHITECTURE BUILDING AND THE NEXT STAGE OF CHRISTCHURCH'S CONVENTION CENTRE BUILD. IT'S ESTIMATED THAT THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO CANTERBURY WILL BE BROADLY OVER $300M OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS. PUSHING NATIONAL'S PLAN TO CAMPAIGN ON A STABLE GOVERNMENT AND A GROWING ECONOMY. WE ARE, OF COURSE, VERY FOCUSSED ON HOW TO WIN A TIGHT ELECTION, COS IT'S ALWAYS BEEN GOING TO BE TIGHT. BOTH PARTIES PREPARING FOR A POTENTIAL PHOTO FINISH COME SEPTEMBER 23RD. LISETTE REYMER, 1 NEWS. NEW VIDEO HAS BEEN RELEASED, REVEALING THAT CREWS QUESTIONED IF THEY COULD SEE MOVEMENT INSIDE THE PIKE RIVER MINE DURING THE RESCUE OPERATION. IN THE VIDEO, CAPTURED ON A CAMERA LOWERED DOWN INTO THE MINE FOUR DAYS AFTER THE FIRST EXPLOSION, RESCUE STAFF CAN BE HEARD TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE SEEING. PIKE RIVER FAMILIES SAY IT SHOWS THERE WAS FRESH AIR AVAILABLE, AND THAT RESCUE CREWS BELIEVED SOME OF THE 29 MEN MAY HAVE SURVIVED BEFORE THE SECOND EXPLOSION THE NEXT DAY. POLICE WEREN'T ABLE TO PROVIDE COMMENT ON THE FOOTAGE TONIGHT. LOCAL IWI ARE VOWING TO FIGHT ON DESPITE A LANDMARK DECISION TODAY TO ALLOW SEABED MINING OFF TARANAKI. THE SAND IS RICH IN IRON ORE, WHICH COULD BE USED TO MAKE STEEL, BUT CRITICS SAY THE DISRUPTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT IS A MAJOR CONCERN. EMILY COOPER EXPLAINS. BENEATH THESE WAVES IN JUST A FEW YEARS, A FULL-SCALE MINING OPERATION COULD BE UNDERWAY. I ACKNOWLEDGE THE DECISION OUTCOME IS LIKELY TO BE A DIFFICULT ONE. TRANS-TASMAN RESOURCES WANTS TO EXTRACT 50 MILLION TONS OF IRONSAND FROM THE SEABED IN THE SOUTH TARANAKI BIGHT USING THIS SEA-BOTTOM CRAWLER, BUT RESIDENTS AND LOCAL IWI SAY THEIR COMMUNITY HASN'T BEEN TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. THERE'S JUST NO CERTAINTY IN THIS APPLICATION. IT SHOULD'VE BEEN THROWN OUT. OUR MESSAGE, CERTAINLY, FROM THE EPA IS WE'VE ENSURED THE MOST PARTICIPATORY PROCESS THAT WE COULD HAVE. THE APPLICATION BY THE MINING COMPANY WAS LODGED A YEAR AGO. ITS FIRST ONE WAS REFUSED IN NOVEMBER 2013. WE REGROUPED, LOOKED AT THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THAT APPLICATION, ADDRESSED THOSE SHORTCOMINGS AND REAPPLIED. TTR SAYS THERE WILL BE HUGE ECONOMIC BENEFITS FOR THE REGION, INCLUDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 300 JOBS AND A TRAINING CENTRE SET UP IN TARANAKI. THE EPA SAYS THEY'VE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION ALL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. WE ARE SURE THAT WE ARE NOT GONNA HAVE ANY NO MATERIAL ADVERSE AFFECTS ON THE ECOLOGY OF THE AREA. IT SAYS ANY EFFECTS WILL BE TEMPORARY AND WILL LIKELY ONLY LAST DURING THE PERIOD OF MINING, BUT THE CONSENT IS FOR 20 YEARS AND CAN BE RENEWED, AND TTR SAYS IT INTENDS TO MINE CONTINUOUSLY FOR MOST OF THAT TIME. THIS IS CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT AREA FOR MARINE MAMMALS, ALSO FOR SEABIRDS, AND HERE WE ARE; WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE MINE IT. IT'S SUCK UP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, AS FAST AS YOU CAN, CHUCK IT ON A SHIP AND SEND IT TO ASIA. THE CONSENT WON'T GO AHEAD UNTIL ANY APPEALS ARE DEALT WITH. NGATI RUANUI, FOREST AND BIRD AND 'KIWIS AGAINST SEABED MINING' HAVE ALL ALREADY INDICATED THEY'LL LIKELY APPEAL. THEY HAVE 15 DAYS TO DO SO, BUT IT WILL NOW LIKELY ALL END UP BACK HERE AT THE HIGH COURT. TTR SAYS IT WILL PUSH AHEAD IF IT CAN ONCE APPEALS ARE DEALT WITH AND WANTS TO SEE THE PROJECT UP AND RUNNING IN THE NEXT TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS. EMILY COOPER, 1 NEWS. NORTH KOREA SAYS IT'S READYING TO STRIKE, UNVEILING A PLAN TO ATTACK GUAM WITHIN WEEKS. IF THE COUNTRY WAS TO ACT, IT WOULD ONLY TAKE 15 MINUTES FOR MISSILES TO REACH THE US TERRITORY. THE WHITE HOUSE IS RAMPING UP ITS TOUGH TALK AS WORLD LEADERS CALL FOR CALM. HERE'S CHANNEL NINE'S LIZZIE PEARL. THEY'VE DONE THE TESTS; NOW NORTH KOREA SAYS IT'S PREPARING FOR THE REAL THING. FOUR BALLISTIC ROCKETS WOULD FLY OVER JAPAN, STRIKING NEAR THE ISLAND OF GUAM, U.S. TERRITORY NORTH OF AUSTRALIA, READY FOR LAUNCH BY MID-AUGUST. GUAM IS HOME TO STRATEGIC MILITARY BASES AND 160,000 AMERICANS ` A SHARP UPSURGE IN RHETORIC INFLAMED BY THIS IMPROMPTU TIRADE BY THE US PRESIDENT. THEY WILL BE MET WITH FIRE, FURY AND FRANKLY, POWER. BACKED BY A DRAMATIC ULTIMATUM FROM DEFENCE SECRETARY JAMES MATTIS, SAYING NORTH KOREA SHOULD... STILL, THERE WAS THIS CLAIM FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT. IT WAS A GOOD WEEK FOR DIPLOMACY. FIRE AND FURY FROM THE PRESIDENT CAUGHT HIS INNER CIRCLE OFF GUARD, BUT SECRETARY OF STATE REX TILLERSON ON THE ISLAND OF GUAM HELD FIRM ON TRUMP'S TOUGH TALK. WHAT THE PRESIDENT WAS DOING WAS SENDING A STRONG MESSAGE TO NORTH KOREA IN LANGUAGE THAT KIM JONG-UN WOULD UNDERSTAND. AND NORTH KOREA IS FURTHER ESCALATING THINGS BY MOCKING THE US PRESIDENT, SAYING HE'S TALKING ABOUT WHAT IT CALLS FIRE AND FURY NONSENSE FROM A GOLF RANGE, ADDING THAT DIALOGUE IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR SUCH A GUY BEREFT OF REASON ` ONLY ABSOLUTE FORCE CAN WORK. JUST AHEAD ` A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH. HAVE AUSTRALIAN RESEARCHERS FOUND THE KEY TO PREVENTING MISCARRIAGES AND BIRTH DEFECTS? AND YOU KNOW YOU LOVE IT ` THE WORLD'S BEST DART PLAYERS ARE HERE, READY TO SEND OFF THEIR BIGGEST STAR. TWO WOMEN ARE TRAPPED AFTER A DOUBLE-DECKER BUS SMASHED INTO A SHOP IN LONDON. IT CRASHED INTO A DESIGN STORE IN LAVENDER HILL, CAUSING THE SHOP FRONT TO COLLAPSE. THE BUS DRIVER HAS BEEN TAKEN TO HOSPITAL. OTHER CASUALTIES HAVE BEEN TREATED AT THE SCENE. OFFICIALS SAY THE WOMEN ARE TRAPPED ON THE TOP DECK OF THE BUS BUT ARE CONSCIOUS. IN A LANDMARK DISCOVERY, AUSTRALIAN SCIENTISTS HAVE FOUND THAT SIMPLY TAKING VITAMIN B3 IS THE KEY TO PREVENTING BIRTH DEFECTS AND MISCARRIAGES. THE BREAKTHROUGH COMES AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE OF PAINSTAKING RESEARCH. CHANNEL NINE'S GABRIELLA ROGERS HAS MORE. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THIS HAPPY 2-YEAR-OLD HAD OPEN HEART SURGERY THREE WEEKS AGO. CHARLOTTE SCAIFE WAS BORN WITH MULTIPLE HOLES IN HER HEART AND A LEAKY VALVE. TODAY'S DISCOVERY PROMISES TO PREVENT FAMILIES FROM GOING THROUGH SIMILAR PAIN. IT'S A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH. IF THAT CAN STOP ONE FAMILY, 10 FAMILIES, 100 FAMILIES GOING THROUGH THAT SAME EXPERIENCE. 12 LONG YEARS OF COMPLEX RESEARCH BY VICTOR CHANG SCIENTISTS HAS LED TO A SIMPLE SOLUTION. VITAMIN B3, OR NIACIN, COMMONLY FOUND IN MEAT, GREEN VEGETABLES AND VEGEMITE, IS THE KEY TO CURING THE UNDERLYING CAUSE. WE MADE THESE DISCOVERIES THROUGH THE CLINIC, THROUGH STUDYING FAMILIES WHO HAVE HAD MULTIPLE MISCARRIAGES AND BIRTH DEFECTS. WE IDENTIFIED GENE MUTATIONS THAT TOLD US THAT A METABOLIC PATHWAY WAS NOT WORKING CORRECTLY. IN MICE EXPERIMENTS, BOOSTING THE MOLECULE BY INTRODUCING VITAMIN B3 IN A MOTHER'S DIET PREVENT MISCARRIAGE OR A RANGE OF SEVERE BIRTH DEFECTS. THE SCIENCE IS NOT SIMPLE, AND IT TOOK 12 YEARS, BUT THE BEAUTY IS THE SIMPLICITY OF THE PREVENTION. THE 1980S DISCOVERY THAT INCREASING DIETARY FOLATE PREVENTED SPINA BIFIDA AND OTHER NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS CHANGED THE WAY PREGNANT WOMEN WERE CARED FOR. THIS IS LIKELY TO DO THE SAME. HE'S GOT THE OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL AND AN AMERICA'S CUP WIN UNDER HIS BELT ` NOW PETER BURLING IS CHASING SAILING'S FIRST TRIPLE CROWN, SIGNING ON FOR THE UPCOMING VOLVO OCEAN RACE. IT'S BEEN CONFIRMED HE'LL JOIN DUTCH TEAM BRUNEL FOR HIS FIRST COMPETITIVE OFFSHORE RACE. HE SAYS HE'S ALWAYS WANTED TO COMPETE, BUT JUST HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIT IT IN TO HIS BUSY SCHEDULE. DEFINITELY, IT'S, YOU KNOW, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO FORWARD MY SKILLS AND GET A LOT BETTER AT, YOU KNOW, THIS SIDE OF OUR SPORT, AND I'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'D LOVE TO DO, A BIT OF OFF-SHORE RACING, AND THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. HE'LL SAIL MORE THAN HALF THE 11 LEGS OF THE RACE WHEN IT BEGINS IN OCTOBER. TIME TO GET DRESSED UP OR DOWN ` THE WORLD'S BEST DARTS PLAYERS ARE BACK HERE AND SET TO SEND OFF THEIR BIGGEST STAR. MR DARTS, PHIL TAYLOR, IS HERE FOR THE LAST TIME AND WILL START OFF AGAINST A VIRTUAL KIWI UNKNOWN IN WEST AUCKLAND TOMORROW NIGHT. STEPHEN STUART HAS MORE. YOU COULD UNDERSTAND DARREN HEREWINI AND CODY HARRIS BEING LAST TO ARRIVE FOR THE DARTS MASTERS LAUNCH IN WEST AUCKLAND ` THEY'VE JUST COME FROM BATTLING EACH OTHER IN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AT MOTUEKA, NEAR NELSON. HEREWINI, A 25-YEAR-OLD SPRINKLER TECHNICIAN FROM PORIRUA, BRINGS WINNING FORM. AND HE'LL NEED IT, AS HE'S NOW GOT 'THE POWER' ` PHIL 'THE POWER' TAYLOR IN HIS OPENING MATCH. SNAP: # I'VE GOT THE POWER. # I WAS HOPING I WOULD ACTUALLY DRAW HIM. AND IT'S GOOD. IT'S JUST GONNA TO BETTER MY DARTS CAREER AND HAVE A BIT OF FUN WITH THE GAME. TAYLOR, THE 16-TIME WORLD CHAMPION, IS EFFECTIVELY ON HIS FAREWELL WORLD TOUR AND RECKONS COMING UP AGAINST COMPLETE UNKNOWNS HAS HELPED KEEP HIM ON HIS THROWS OVER THE YEARS. BECAUSE I HAD A WIN LAST WEEK, IT PUT ME BACK UP TO NUMBER FOUR IN THE WORLD, WHICH IS A NIGHTMARE, REALLY, COS THEY KEEP INVITING ME TO THINGS. BUT COME JANUARY, THAT'S IT FOR ME, THEN. AND THE NEW WAVE OF YOUNG DARTERS, THE LIKES OF DARYL 'SUPER CHIN' GURNEY ` A PLUMBER FROM NORTHERN IRELAND ` ARE STARTING TO MAKE THEIR MARK. STILL ON A NINE. (CROWD CHEERS) STILL ON A NINE! WE NEED MORE IRISH PLAYERS COMING THROUGH. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GREAT ONES BACK HOME ` IT'S JUST FINDING THAT RIGHT PERSON. BUT REPLACING THE FORMER CERAMICS WORKER FROM BURSLEM, STAFFORDSHIRE, WHO POWERED THE SPORT TO A WHOLE NEW AUDIENCE, WILL TAKE SOME DOING. STEPHEN STUART, 1 NEWS. WE ALL LIKE TO IMAGINE WE'D KNOW WHAT TO DO IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION, BUT WHAT WOULD IT REALLY BE LIKE IF YOU CAME FACE TO FACE WITH A LION? THE ABC'S DAVID WRIGHT HAS THE STORY OF A PAIR OF HIKERS IN CALIFORNIA WHO HAD TO MAKE A BIG CALL IN A BIG HURRY. LOOK CLOSELY NOW. THAT IS A MOUNTAIN LION. SAM VONDERHEIDE AND HIS FRIEND BRIAN MCKINNEY SPOTTED IT LAST MONTH ON THE HIGH SIERRA TRAIL IN SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK. THEY CREEP UP EVER SO SLOWLY AND PEER AROUND THE CORNER TO FIND... NOTHING. NO LION. UH, BUT LOOK UP. RIGHT OVER THERE. THERE'S OUR PUMA. PARK RANGERS SAY RUNNING AWAY COULD TRIGGER THEIR INSTINCT TO CHASE. 'NICE KITTY CAT.' EVER SO SLOWLY, THEY BACK AWAY. THEY DECIDED TO PITCH THEIR TENTS ON ANOTHER PART OF THE TRAIL THIS NIGHT... OH, NO, NO, NO, NO. ...AND HAD A VERY RESTLESS NIGHT'S SLEEP. NOW TO TOMORROW'S WEATHER. FOR WEATHER, SEE TVNZ.CO.NZ THAT'S IT FROM US HERE ON TONIGHT. THANKS FOR WATCHING. GOODNIGHT. CAPTIONS BY TOM PEDLAR AND FAITH HAMBLYN.