RNZ: Focus on Politics

In Focus on Politics, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch sits down with the incoming and outgoing deputy prime ministers to mark the historic handover. David Seymour is vowing to keep speaking freely, while an unshackled Winston Peters shifts into campaign mode. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics this week, the coalition debuts its second Budget - taking the knife to numerous government programmes in order to boost health, education and defence. RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch takes a deeper look at the Budget of trade-offs.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics, RNZ's deputy political editor Craig McCulloch walks through the week at Parliament, a week featuring C-bombs and unprecedented punishments.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics, RNZ Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch breaks down the government's shock shake-up of the pay equity regime - the changes, the fallout and what's next. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The coalition is pushing for more public-private partnerships (PPPs) in an effort to boost infrastructure investment. Political reporter Anneke Smith takes a closer look at the government's plan and asks one expert about the pros and cons of PPPs. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The government has finally released its Defence Capability Plan, with phrases like 'enhanced lethality' and 'force multiplier' laying bare how much the strategic outlook has changed. For Focus on Politics this week, political reporter Giles Dexter digs into the plan, where the money's going, and how New Zealand's partners might respond.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The new RNZ-Reid Research Poll shows the political race has tightened since the election, but the coalition parties are still holding on to a slim lead. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch breaks down the numbers as RNZ ventures into the province of polling.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

There was outrage from across the political spectrum this week, following comments by Green MP Tamatha Paul about police beat patrols making people feel "less safe". It came the same week a Justice Select Committee report stated public trust in the police is at about 68 percent. Political reporter Lillian Hanly looks back at the different perspectives on the issue. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics, Anneke Smith examines the Prime Minister's performance in India and takes a look at what the Foreign Affairs Minister got out of his talks with top US officials in Washington DC.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics, RNZ's political editor Jo Moir breaks down a bad poll for the coalition, and the ongoing fallout from the school lunches programme, including new liquidation woes.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Housing advocates and those supporting homeless youth say it's now near impossible to get into emergency housing. The coalition celebrated reducing the number of households in emergency motels by 75 per cent - a target it's met five years early. But critics say homelessness has increased as a result of tougher rules. In Focus on Politics, RNZ Political Reporter Lillian Hanly takes a look at access to emergency housing, after the government tightened its criteria last August. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics, RNZ's political editor Jo Moir takes a look at New Zealand's relationship with China as three Chinese warships sit off the coast of Australia, and the Cook Islands signs new agreements with the superpower, without first consulting New Zealand. Foreign Minister was in Beijing this week for high-level meetings, and RNZ's Corin Dann was there to report from the ground.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A damning report has found the safeguards government agencies have to protect data they share with third party providers to be sorely lacking, and wide open for misuse. Allegations Census and vaccination data shared at Manurewa Marae was misused are up for further investigation, but the trust in the public service has taken a hit. For Focus on Politics this week, political reporter Giles Dexter looks at the report and its findings, and what steps the public service will take to win that trust back.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Facing falling poll numbers and focusing squarely on growth, the prime minister's agenda this week has faced multiple distractions - and they all seemed to have one name. It's a trend that seems likely to continue into the second half of the government's term. Political Reporter Russell Palmer spoke to David Seymour and Mike Munro for Focus on Politics this week about coalition dynamics. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In this week's Focus on Politics, Lillian Hanly goes to Waitangi and experiences the manaakitanga, the politics, and the ceremony of New Zealand's national day. Thousands of people make the trip north each year to the place where Te Tiriti was first signed - though this year, the prime minister was notably absent.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

ACT leader David Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill is being considered by the Justice Select Committee. It received an unprecedented number of written submissions and the committee made a selection to ensure hearing a broad range of views for the first sessions on the Bill. RNZ political reporter Lillian Hanly takes a look back at the first ten hours of oral submissions.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The end-of-year has arrived, and with it, the traditional suite of end-of-year reviews and thinkpieces. RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch looks back on the ups and downs of politics in 2024. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics, RNZ's political editor Jo Moir sits down with new Minister for Rail Winston Peters to discuss the future of the Interislander ferries, and what next year will bring for the New Zealand First leader. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

They call it scrutiny week at Parliament - a prolonged political prosecution - where the opposition is given the opportunity to grill ministers and department bosses and sometimes receive a little return fire. Broadly speaking, commentators have not been overly impressed with the opposition's approach. In this week's Focus on Politics, the second ever scrutiny week has launched many headlines, but is it doing what it was meant to? RNZ Political Reporter Russell Palmer examines a nascent parliamentary process. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on Politics, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch sits down with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to reflect on his first year in charge.

Mark this up as a moment in history - as Parliament held court to one of the largest protests it has ever seen - more than 42,000 people descending on the capital - to close out a nine day hīkoi that travelled across the motu. They rallied in opposition to the government's agenda for Māori, but chiefly the Treaty Principles Bill, championed by ACT's leader David Seymour. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon decided against meeting the organisers, saying they were affiliated to Te Pāti Māori. RNZ Political Reporter Lillian Hanly takes a look back at the largest protest at Parliament in a generation.

Tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of survivors tuned into this week's Crown apology for abuse in care. They came looking for meaningful words and a plan for restitution. The government delivered a sincere apology but survivors will have to wait until 2025 for a new redress scheme.

Mark this one down in the history books: Donald Trump, on his way back to the White House after a nail-biter race for the American presidency. No doubt the ramifications will be momentous for the United States - but what for New Zealand? RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch breaks down the consequences.

The government wants to speed up house building, aiming to allow builders to sign off their own work. It would be a risk-based approach, only used for straightforward jobs or by trusted groups - and paired with harsher penalties for rule-breakers. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ Political Reporter Russell Palmer sits down with Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk to nail down some details and his thinking around the government's self-certification scheme aimed at getting homes built faster.

Multiple parties brushed up against scandal this week as National struggled to defend a bumbling minister and the Greens farewelled a rogue MP. Meanwhile New Zealand First and Labour were at loggerheads over an alleged conflict of interest. It all played out in the same week the Government intervened at Wellington City Council - trying to sort out the capital kerfuffle. Deputy political Craig McCulloch looks back at a busy week in politics.

Wellington City Council has been under scrutiny this week, with the coalition government threatening to intervene. Last week, the capital's councilors voted to stop the sale of its 34 percent stake in the Wellington Airport. The decision has left the council's Long Term Plan in limbo - its investment plan for the next ten years. Political reporter Lillian Hanly breaks down the capital kerfuffle.

Fresh off a trip to the United Nations General Assembly leaders' week, the foreign minister Winston Peters is defending New Zealand's support for a resolution calling for Israel to leave occupied Palestinian territories within 12 months. That decision raised some eyebrows back home, as it was out of step with our Five Eyes partners, and Act leader David Seymour believes it was a big enough change in position to warrant having a conversation at Cabinet - but that did not happen. Political editor Jo Moir sat down with Peters this week and began by asking whether he left New York this year feeling anymore hopeful for change at the United Nations.

Casey Costello is the Smokefree Minister accused of helping Big Tobacco - something she strongly denies. The pressure on her has only grown amid questions about the advice she's relied on to push through tax cuts on heated tobacco products. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch lays out the latest revelations surrounding New Zealand's Smokefree strategy as overseen by the minister and NZ First MP Casey Costello.

In December last year the Coalition government pulled the pin on the Interislander ferry replacement project, saying it was time to get real about what had been a significant budget blowout from $700m to about $3b. More than 10 months on, Cabinet has yet to discuss what will replace the project due to coalition disagreement about the best solution, as the ageing current fleet faces maintenance difficulties. In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jo Moir examines the government's rocky relationship with its Cook Strait crossing.

The coalition campaigned on a return to law-and-order with a hardline approach emphasising personal responsibility and a crackdown on gangs. Nearly a year in power, many of the numbers seem to be going the wrong way - but statistics on crime and policing are notoriously difficult to draw conclusions from. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch assesses how the government's tough-on-crime crusade is going, and what's ahead.

Two mill closures in the central North Island this week leave at least 230 people out of work, devastating the local economy. Much of the blame has been placed on power prices and the gentailers raking in big profits. Political Reporter Russell Palmer looks into how the government responded and what the Electricity Authority plans to do next time there's a dry year.

Between 2019 and 2023, groceries went up in price by more than any other common household bill. High hopes were placed on new Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden to boost competition, but he says the current tools are still not enough. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ's Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch digs into the first report card from the Grocery Commissioner - and considers what is to come.

RNZ's Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch digs into the first report card from the Grocery Commissioner - and considers what is to come.

Tributes are flowing from across Aotearoa and around the world after Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died early on Friday morning. Moe mai raa e te kiingi.  It ends a fortnight in which the question of whether Māori ceded sovereignty - a question as old as the Treaty itself - saw the major parties in Parliament taking stronger positions in the debate than ever before.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Lillian Hanly closely examines the debate on whether Māori ceded sovereignty and the political parties' views on the matter. 

In the pouring rain and whipping winds, politicians arrived at Ngāruawāhia's Tūrangawaewae marae for te Koroneihana, the 18th anniversary of the Māori King's coronation. The typically apolitical event was instead this year full of challenges to the government and the man at the top, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch examines the wero presented to the coalition at a tempestuous Koroneihana. 

With Parliament in recess this week, the coalition used the clear air to clear the decks, rattling through a laundry list of announcements - congestion charging, genetic engineering, and two separate ministry overhauls.  But the announcement the government tried hardest to highlight was its new hardline approach to welfare. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch looks at the coalition's plans.

The repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act was front and centre at Parliament this week, with former Minister in charge of the legislation Tracey Martin telling the government to rethink its approach. After the mammoth Abuse in Care report, she and many other voices are calling for 7AA to remain. In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Lillian Hanly examines the coalition policy of repealing section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act, and the resulting backlash. 

The Green Party is trying to find ways to grow for the future, while doing its best to leave this year's problems in the past.  That laundry list of challenges has been thoroughly aired - but the membership still faces a crucial question that goes to the heart of its values, and could yet prove a barrier to its ambitions.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Giles Dexter speaks with Chlöe Swarbrick after the Green Party's AGM about the challenge she gave members to go through some growing pains, and the ongoing fallout of the Darleen Tana party-hopping saga.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry's report into abuse in state and faith-based care unveiled this week lays bare an ugly history, offering damning evidence and denouncing leaders for silencing or ignoring survivors for decades. The government has promised to listen, but how it responds and whether justice is served remains to be seen.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Anneke Smith speaks to Aaron Smale and explores the initial response to New Zealand's inquiry on abuse in care. 

The government's draft emissions reduction plan - out this week - puts New Zealand's ability to meet its climate targets in jeopardy. That was the key takeaway for RNZ's climate change correspondent Eloise Gibson, who pored over the document and gave it a 2 out of 10.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Anneke Smith looks at why New Zealand's ability to meet its climate targets is on shaky ground.

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Government ministers hoping to bask in a post-Budget glow this week have instead been trying to tamp down the backlash to a big broken promise. The clock is now ticking for the coalition to correct its failure to fund 13 potentially life-extending cancer treatments beginning this year. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch takes a closer look at National's broken cancer commitment - and considers how the government could put it right.