Older and younger New Zealanders are at odds over the decision to remove vaccine mandates, according to a new poll. Research New Zealand, a privately owned social and business research organisation, found there were almost double…

Australians are being presented with the choice between a "pathological liar" and a "gutless fraud" when it comes to the upcoming Federal Election.

That is how the debate is being framed by the political parties, Nine Political Editor Chris Uhlmann put to Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese.

"When I look at this election campaign, and if I were to boil it down to where it seems to land on most days, it's a choice between a pathological liar, which is what the Labor Party seems to be calling the government, and a gutless fraud, which is what the Prime Minister essentially has dubbed you," Mr Uhlmann said to Mr Albanese on Today.

"That's a pretty-low rent campaign?"

Mr Albanese responded by saying the critique of Scott Morrison as a "pathological liar" is in fact coming from his own party.

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"It's coming from people who know him best. People who know me best know that what you see is what you get," Mr Albanese said.

On the topic of real wages, Mr Albanese said he pledges to "put mechanisms in place that put upward pressure on wages rather than downward pressure".

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"By having secure work as part of the Fair Work Act, making sure that you've properly defined casualisation, guaranteeing that people should be paid the minimum wage, having same job same pay for all of them, will make a positive difference," Mr Albanese said.

When questioned about whether his 'rewiring the nation plan' aimed at reducing power prices, would actually result in price hikes, Mr Albanese said it categorically would not.

"We've done the modelling and they say that prices will do down. And the benefit of what we're doing with our rewiring the nation plan is we haven't just come up with this in a vacuum. This is the work that's been done by the Australian Energy Market Operator."

Mr Albanese said his energy plan aims to fix Australia's electricity transmission, brining the "grid into the 21^st century".

The Labor leader also touched on recent talks of China potentially establishing a military base in the Solomon Islands.

"The fact that you have a potential of a base being in our region of which there is no justification for China to have that permanent presence in the Solomons is of real concern," Mr Albanese said.

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He criticised the Morrison government for not taking more decisive action around diplomacy.

"Which ministers have been dispatched to the Solomons to engage over recent weeks? Why is this not an absolute priority for this government? They've dropped the ball."

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Former US women's soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo has been arrested in North Carolina on charges of misdemeanor child abuse, resisting arrest and impaired driving, police said.

The Winston-Salem Police Department said in a statement that officers arrested Hope Amelia Stevens, or Hope Solo, on Thursday in the parking lot of a business in the city while she was inside the vehicle with her two children.

Following her arrest, Solo was processed and subsequently released from the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Centre, according to police.

Due to the impending prosecution, no other information regarding the arrest will be released at this time, police said in a statement.

Rich Nichols, an attorney for Solo, said in a statement emailed to CNN: "On the advice of counsel, Hope can't speak about this situation, but she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges."

https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/1510330040520568832

In a statement posted on social media Saturday, Solo, 40, thanked her supporters, saying, "Our family is strong and surrounded with love. Our kids are strong, intelligent, happy and vibrant, and we are present everyday giving them the best life possible."

She added she will be able to "share the facts in due time."

"In the meantime, our kids are enjoying the NC sun, eating popsicles and playing on our property," Solo said. "Life can be tough, but these are truly the moments that matter. I feel blessed to have this kind of love in my life."

This is not the first time Solo has been in trouble with the law.

Solo was arrested in 2014 on domestic assault charges after police said she assaulted two relatives at a home near Seattle. The charges against Solo, who entered a not-guilty plea, were officially dropped in 2018.

The price of seafood is set to hit an all time high at Easter, with fish shops warning customers to get their orders in early.

Seafood prices are rising thanks to New South Wales flooding, COVID-19 and international demand, particularly for salmon.

Last month a kilogram of salmon could be bought for $29.99, with the price now $10 higher.

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Prices are expected to rise again by next week.

The man behind Manettas Seafood Market, Peter Manetta, is urging people to get their seafood orders for Easter in early.

"Give your fish mongers time to source that supply for you and ensure they've got the active supply in their shop," he said.

"Don't get to the day and expect everything to be there like it normally is, because that's not how it's going to work this year."

Takeaway fish and chips is about to get more expensive too, with the high costs of produce giving small shops no choice but to increase prices.

Nick Bakis from Aussie Goodies said he used to spend $72 on a box of barramundi, but now has to pay $89.

A late-night rescue has retrieved a boatie who attempted to swim ashore across a mud bank in the dark after being separated from their jet-ski. Coastguard Papakura was paged shortly after 12.35am today, after police were notified…