Podcasts about New Zealand First

"We are in a healthcare crisis". That's the message from overworked Plunket nurses who are facing an unprecedented workload amid the surge in winter illnesses. Now they're calling on Winston Peters to make good on the Coalition Agreement between New Zealand First and National to adequately fund Whanau Awhina Plunket. The government, though, says funding has increased over the past couple of years. Bella Craig reports.

New Zealand could outlaw social media for under 16's if National has its way, so nine months in, how is the ban working in Australia? Two weeks ago Christopher Luxon announced plans for a ban, despite coalition partners ACT and New Zealand First opposing the bill. University of Melbourne Professor, Jo Robinson is a world leading expert in suicide prevention, and spoke to Lisa Owen.

Corina Shields returns to Free to Speak. As producer of Shubz Says So, she helped build one of the most talked about shows on independent New Zealand radio. Then she walked away from the station that carried it, and tells Dane Giraud why.Shields gives her account of the arrangement behind the show. On her telling, the pay was always going to come from advertising, ownership of a stake in the station was discussed from the first meeting, and neither materialised. Radio Aotearoa owner George Ngatai has said publicly that she and Wikeepa were volunteers. Shields rejects that, and answers his claim that the release of private messages amounted to extortion. Those messages showed Ngatai approaching other parties while seeking New Zealand First selection. He acknowledged the contact and stood down as a candidate in August.The wider argument is about who gets covered. Shields makes the case that mainstream outlets have no interest in disputes like hers, and that independent voices are the only ones telling those stories. She also talks about the pushback she gets from within Māori media and politics, and what three years of having a public voice has taught her.Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/joinSupport our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donateNewsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribeWebsite: https://www.fsu.nzGot feedback or a guest suggestion? podcast@fsu.nzPromoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 10423, The Terrace, Wellington 6143Support the showhttps://www.fsu.nz/https://x.com/NZFreeSpeechhttps://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

Here is a full episode of Free to Disagree, our new weekly show with Oliver Hartwich and Damien Grant. Paul Henry is standing for ACT and Taine Randell for New Zealand First. Oliver and Damien ask whether celebrity candidates actually win votes, and why New Zealand tends to produce the reverse, politicians who become famous through politics. They then unpack deadweight loss and why higher taxes change behaviour in ways revenue forecasts often ignore. And finally, they turn to MBIE's failed biometric project and whether New Zealand has created a permanent bureaucratic class too insulated from ministers and too weakly accountable when things go wrong. Free to Disagree is a weekly conversation about New Zealand politics and economics with Oliver Hartwich and Damien Grant. Two friends on broadly the same side of politics who find plenty to disagree about anyway. Each week they discuss three big issues, leading up to the election. Free to Disagree lives on its own feed where you will find every episode. So if you are enjoying it, follow the show directly. Search Free to Disagree in your podcast app and follow it there. Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/free…ee/id6800933200 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/03465zUGiOtfO38Yg0wVip Produced by The New Zealand Initiative.

In an election year marked by energy policy, both New Zealand First and the Green Party are campaigning on breaking up the country's four gentailers, citing soaring household energy bills. Malcolm Johns, the CEO of gentailer Genesis Energy, joins Q+A, and previews the potential effects on bills if the government goes ahead with its promised LNG terminal. Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

Willie Jackson: Labour's record on Māori issues Labour lost all but one of the seven Māori seats at the 2023 general election. This year, to rival a controversial tactic from Te Pāti Māori asking voters to engineer an overhang in Parliament, Labour says they want to win them all back. Willie Jackson, a front bench Labour MP and leader of the party's Māori campaign, joins Jack Tame to make his bid for the Māori vote. Should NZ break up the gentailers? Energy boss responds In an election year marked by energy policy, both New Zealand First and the Green Party are campaigning on breaking up the country's four gentailers, citing soaring household energy bills. Malcolm Johns, the CEO of gentailer Genesis Energy, joins Q+A, and previews the potential effects on bills if the government goes ahead with its promised LNG terminal. Election 2026: The new electorate that's 'got issues' Wellington Bays is the new name for what was the second-most left-voting electorate in the country in 2023. In the redrawn lines for Green MP Julie Anne Genter's electorate, residents are grappling with big water bills and a visible spike in homelessness. Reporter Whena Owen meets the candidates vying to take those issues on in parliament in this year's election. War in Iran: NZ must reset foreign policy - expert By some estimates, the war with Iran has now cost the United States more than 180 billion dollars. After peace talks broke down, US President Donald Trump this week announced a complete change in strategy: economic, rather than military, action. Professor Robert Patman from the University of Otago joins Jack Tame six months on from the start of the conflict. Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

New Zealand is moving to ban under-16s from social media, with platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook required to take “reasonable steps” to verify users' ages. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the proposed Online Safety Bill aims to protect children from harmful content, addictive technology and online pressures affecting their family life, mental health, sleep and education. But the proposal faces opposition from coalition partners ACT and New Zealand First, while questions remain over whether similar bans — including Australia's — can be effectively enforced. The bill is expected to take effect in early 2027 if passed. Should social media be off-limits to under-16s? Listen to #Pulse95Radio in the UAE by tuning in on your radio (95.00 FM) or online on our website: www.pulse95radio.com ************************ Follow us on Social. www.facebook.com/pulse95radio www.twitter.com/pulse95radio www.instagram.com/pulse95radio

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Aug. 23 that an “economic D-Day” is coming for the Iranian regime, with the United States taking strong measures to sever Tehran's economic lifelines, including imposing consequences on Iran's trade partners. Bessent will address the media on Monday and is expected to announce further U.S. sanctions targeting Iran and its trading partners.Tens of thousands have been evacuated from the Reno, Nevada, area as the fast-moving Hawk Fire threatens the city. About 42,000 residents are under evacuation orders, with another 45,000 in an evacuation warning zone. The fire has burned 15,000 acres since it began on Saturday. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo has declared a state of emergency and deployed National Guard resources. At least six people have been injured, including three civilians and three first responders.New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Aug. 24 that his party will introduce a bill in Parliament that seeks ‌to ban children under 16 from using social media, proposing fines of up to 10 percent of a platform's global revenue for noncompliance. The bill would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users' ages, including using existing account information, facial technology, and digital identity documents. It was not immediately clear whether the bill would garner sufficient support to pass through Parliament, with one of Luxon's coalition partners, the New Zealand First party, saying it would not support it. The proposal follows Australia's move last year to ban social media for children under 16.

A warning there's no magic wand to keep teens off social media. National has introduced a Bill which would legally require platforms like Instagram and TikTok to bar under-16s from making accounts. It would impose an online safety regulator and introduce significant financial penalties for companies' failure to comply. ACT and New Zealand First don't support it, and Labour has still to decide its view. Technology Users Association Chief Executive Craig Young told Mike Hosking this is not an issue the Government can legislate away. He says looking at Australia, eight out of ten teens are still on social media – the same number as before that country's ban. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Education Minister's confident she'll get the support needed for a social media ban. National's introduced a Bill which would legally require platforms like Instagram and TikTok to bar under-16s from making accounts. The bill puts the pressure on social media companies to comply, establishing an online safety regulator and setting up a penalty regime. ACT and New Zealand First don't support it, and Labour's yet to decide. Education Minister Erica Stanford told Mike Hosking she's worked hard to give Labour everything it needs to come to a view on it. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government wants under-16's banned from social media, but any law change is many months away. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the move yesterday, which will require platforms to verify age via face scanning or either digital or physical IDs. It's not clear if the bill will have enough support, with ACT and New Zealand First agreeing to disagree, and Labour yet to fully back it. Labour's Technology and Media Spokesperson Reuben Davidson told Ryan Bridge they want to make sure the bill isn't just lifted from what other countries are doing. He says they want to make sure it's actually designed to work in the very specific New Zealand context. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand First's plan to force more Fonterra milk into the hands of rival manufacturers is being dismissed as a “dumb idea”. The party wants to amend the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act, giving qualifying manufacturers access to up to 500-million litres of Fonterra milk a year for six years – up from the current 50-million. Dairy industry analyst Peter Fraser told Ryan Bridge if NZ First wanted to build a fast-moving consumer goods industry, it should have started 25 years ago. He says even Goodman Fielder —with major brands across the country— would struggle to use half of that volume of milk, so thinking competitors would simply build a new factory is “nuts.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There were tumultous scenes in Parliament yesterday from both sides of the House, with Labour and New Zealand First both finding a way to insert themselves into the news. While it was National's first day back in the building together following the leadership challenge last week, it was coalition ructions, a missed defence meeting, and Labour's own goals sucking up the oxygen. Political editor Jo Moir was there and spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

In an announcement without warning, Labour's leader Chris Hipkins has finally ruled out working with New Zealand First in any government he leads. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Melissa Chan-Green.

Labour's definitively ruled out a coalition deal with New Zealand First post-election. Leader Chris Hipkins says his MPs have unanimously decided they won't work with Winston Peters' party, after comments made by Peters and Deputy Shane Jones were labelled 'racist'. Hipkins says a pattern of behaviour's escalated and he won't put up with the overt racism NZ First indulges in. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says new polling data shows the left-leaning parties are seeing a drop in the polls and the coalition is in a good position to get a second term. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss conspiratorial narratives and dogwhistles in the 2026 election with M Dentith. New Zealand First, 'globalism' and 'great replacement', media malpractice, and the Atlas Network.M's website & contact details: https://www.mrxdentith.com/This episode's co-hostsKyle, Philip, MTimestamps0:00 Opening / Introductions4:42 How Dangerous Ideas Propagate8:27 The Atlas Network15:45 Talking About Conspiracies23:45 Cryptofacism33:30 Polite Articulation 42:05 Loss of Facility44:20 Media Passing Ideas On55:40 ClosingsIntro/Outro by Jiahu SymbolsSupport us here: https://www.patreon.com/1of200

Is Luxon's MMP vote a stroke of genius to avoid an otherwise problematic week? His apology for Rotorua was a cluster, the Māorification issues that haven't been resolved despite all the talk, the Corrections massages, MBIE, Treasury love-ins, the Justice Department cock-up on the Harrison bloke, and the unemployment rate to the upside – it's all looked like very bad news. But then out of nowhere, "let's have a look at the entire way we elect Governments". It makes sense to the extent we are going to vote on four-year terms anyway. But here is your trouble with revisiting MMP; it's been too long between drinks. There is an entire generation of voters, and I include my kids, who have never known anything else. Constitutional change needs to be debated when an obvious issue has arisen i.e. Governments keep falling over and we lack stability, or we have recently had the debate and the ideas are still fresh in our minds. Neither scenario is in play here. Making it also problematic for the first-past-the-posters is Labour 2020-2023. They were an FPP Government and an example of why you would not in a million years let a single party near anything. Good parties take you good places. Ardern and Hipkins blew the place up. Is that a result of FPP or a singular example of incompetence? And do you want to run that risk? Obviously the counter is, on balance, our small players have not proved to be wonderful representatives of the broad idea that MMP brings wider representation. The representation they have brought is more calamity and chaos, than insight and brain power. The Māori Party have imploded, again, the Greens are insane and quite possibly dangerous, and not really "green", and New Zealand First are racists and stirrers. Having said that, if we insist on MMP overall, this current Government is the first full example of the art i.e. three parties in a full arrangement. It's been executed pretty well so Luxon comes off a strange run-up, given he's conducted it professionally and successfully. If you want to run a book it was 58% for MMP last time. I reckon it would be even more this time. And that's from a person who, push comes to shove, would probably vote FPP. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yeah, well, if Chris Luxon's week wasn't already bad, it's not much better. Not after he apparently announced off the cuff on ZB Mornings with Kerre that he's going to hold an MMP referendum if he wins the election. Now, where do I start with the problems with him doing this? The first is that it looks incredibly desperate. No one was asking for a referendum. It's not a topic of discussion. I mean, sure, we can all see that MMP is giving Chris Luxon heaps of trouble because he can't fire his Foreign Minister for being racist without ending the coalition and forcing a snap election. But that has not led to a clamour for a return to FPP. In that context, him suddenly announcing that he wants to get rid of MMP, which is basically what he said by calling for a referendum on the thing, looks like he just wants to get rid of the system that's to blame for his party polling around 30 percent and sometimes below 30 percent. That just looks incredibly desperate. Now, I'm not saying that he is desperate because I actually think what happened here is that Chris Luxon fell into the trap of doing what Chris Luxon often does: agreeing with the person he's talking to. And because Kerre really liked the idea, all of a sudden he liked the idea and off he went on a tangent. But for people who didn't hear the whole exchange and just see the headlines, this looks desperate. The second problem is that this is now dominating what should really be a very good news day for the National Party. Their star minister, Erica Stanford, has just released the new subjects for students in Years 12 and 13. Chris Bishop has finally revealed the date for Auckland's new train system. We should be talking about that but instead we're talking about the Prime Minister saying the second weird thing in a week. For the record, if there were a referendum, and there will not be a referendum, which is why this idea is cooked, it would fail. Look at how many people vote for parties that are only there because of MMP: the Greens, ACT, New Zealand First and The Opportunity Party, if you believe the polls. Meanwhile, the two old FPP parties, National and Labour, can't get themselves out of the low 30s. So it's going to fail and that is the third problem. A Prime Minister should never, if they can avoid it, back an idea that is destined to fail. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody's talking about the Opportunity Party and I'm not quite sure I believe they're anything more than a bit of a sideshow. They haven't cracked 5 percent yet but anyway, there we go. Sir Ian Taylor wrote an opinion piece that was published by Stuff. In it, he said that throughout his life he's been a centre-left voter. That's been his political home. But during the whole Covid period, with the Labour Party's response to Covid and the way it wasted its supermajority when it had, you know, all the power in the House, he became disillusioned. He started talking to people from the National Party and saw that they were having conversations. They were talking to business as well and he says that's what he wanted. He didn't want a party telling him what to do in the way he felt Labour did. So he changed his allegiance, after a lifetime, to the National Party. But now he's becoming disillusioned with National as well, because he believes the tail is wagging the dog. He thinks that, on issues such as the Treaty Principles Bill, pay equity, school lunches and so on, ACT and New Zealand First have too much power. He even suggests that Winston Peters has more influence in the coalition Government than Christopher Luxon and the National Party. So he's disillusioned with them too, and he's starting to say, "I'm flirting with Opportunity because they want to have a conversation." That's what their leader has said: "I want to get away from tribalism." Sir Ian has found himself hacked off with the Labour Party, hacked off with the National Party and hacked off with the whole MMP system. He's been quite beguiled by Opportunity, which says it wants to have a conversation. Now, the problem I have with that is that you don't vote for a party simply because it isn't one of the other two parties that have dominated politics for the past 40 years. You don't vote for someone because you don't want to vote for someone else. You vote for them because of the policies they have. And with Opportunity, as soon as they mentioned a universal basic income, I thought, "Well, I'm out." I've been reading about universal basic income for 30 years. I don't believe it's going to work. Many economists say it's not going to work. Then they added a land tax and I thought, "Well, that's not going to work either." In fact, as we've seen in the costings, all of this is going to cost the country an enormous amount of money. So I'm not voting for Opportunity. It's a sideshow. Sure, it's getting some publicity but I was amazed that Sir Ian Taylor, like too many New Zealand voters, seems to vote for people simply because they're not the people he doesn't like anymore. And that's his only reasoning. Crazy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand First has announced a policy to pay parents $5000 a year for the first three years of a child's life, for up to three children per family. Party Leader Winston Peters says the cash will encourage Kiwis to have more kids, and counter declining birthrates. Massey University's Professor Paul Spoonley is an expert in the demographics and social change and spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

From the cradle to the classroom to the board room, it's been a busy weekend for politicians. ACT and New Zealand First both announced new policies and the PM has defended himself against comments deemed "out of touch". Political Reporter Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira reports.

A sociologist believes New Zealand First's latest policy won't tackle falling birth rates. The party's announced a Kiwi Kids Fund, which would give citizen families $5000 a year for the first three years of a child's life. The grant would be limited to a family's first three children and would be tax free and not means tested. Massey University's Paul Spoonley says fertility rates are low, but this won't fix that. He says it's a concern, but the Government doesn't have the ability to change that. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are about 97 days until we vote in the general election. I hope most of those days are better spent than with this week's spite and showboating. Winston Peters has spent decades proving he can bluster his way through most controversies, but his performance in the house has brought his role as Foreign Minister under scrutiny. Let's be clear, neither Peters nor the Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan covered themselves in glory in the House this week. Their exchange during a public debate where Peters told Xu-Nan to "go back to your own country" was attention seeking and designed to generate headlines as these days viral clips are valued more in modern politics than persuasive arguments and debate. Xu-Nan interjections about Peter's vaccine status were provocative but, considering his position, Peter's response was worse. If Peters was simply the leader of New Zealand First this week, the temptation would be to shrug, roll your eyes and file the skirmish away under “classic Winston”. Political theatre has always been part of his brand, and he probably calculated the exchange would resonate with his base. Election campaigns reward sharp elbows. But Peters is also NZ's Foreign Affairs Minister and spends his time, we would hope, nurturing our relationships with other nations. When your words prompt a formal diplomatic protest from China and make headlines around the world, they stop being just domestic political theatre. China is New Zealand's biggest trading parter, and the Foreign Minister's job is to advance New Zealand's interests, not create diplomatic fires. Ministers often survive offensive remarks, but Foreign Ministers should be held to a different standard because every word can have a diplomatic consequence. Peters knows this better than anyone. Decades of experience don't excuse the lapse, they make it harder to defend. Christopher Luxon's response - 5 out of 10. He deserves some credit for calling the comments “outrageous”, “very offensive and completely inappropriate", and racist, but stopped short of imposing any consequences, and expressed confidence in Peters as Foreign Minister. So, strong diagnosis, weak prescription from the Prime Minister. As you would expect the opposition has called for Peter's sacking, a position backed by former leaders Helen Clark and Don Brash. Everyone is using this spat as a means to campaign. Luxon's told a public meeting on Friday that the answer was "pretty simple." "Party vote National," he said. With three months until the election we can unfortunately expect more provocation, more culture war politics and more headline chasing. This may energise parts of New Zealand First's base, but it risks alienating other voters who are sick of the drama and desperately looking for rational, thoughtful conversations about issues and what matters. There is a reason the Opportunity Party is doing well in the polls. It's not necessarily about their policies - the party also appeals to people who are fed up with the status quo and the same politicians playing the same tiresome games. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The prime minister says Winston Peters' comments about a fellow MP are racist, but he still has his confidence as Foreign Minister. Pressure has been building on Christopher Luxon to do something after the New Zealand First leader said a Chinese-born Green MP should go back to his own country, and that is where 'they lie like flatfish'. Former leaders Helen Clark and Don Brash have weighed in, saying there's a strong case for sacking the foreign minister but it would likely trigger a snap election. Political reporter Russell Palmer spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. 

Did you see even Don Brash reckons Luxon should fire Winston as Foreign Minister? Before anyone gets their hopes up, this never going to happen. If the PM cut Winston loose, the government would fall apart. That would kill not only Luxon's current term but his ambitions for a second. MMP is a game of swallowing dead rats. Campaign-mode Winston is the political equivalent of one of those giant New York sewer rats. With the plague. Gross. Unsightly. A pain the arse. But impossible to get rid of. The PM has so far handled the situation well, using the playbook of Jacinda Ardern and Helen Clark to deal with his brain farts. Those calling for his sacking are hypocrites to their party. Carmel Sepuloni sat round the cabinet table with Winston POST two Wongs don't make a White. The faux shock and outrage only make their own leader look weak. If 'Go Home Gate' is so outrageous and egregious, why hasn't Chris Hipkins ruled Winston out? He did so about this stage of the election cycle in 2023. Why not last night? Why not this morning? I text Hipkins today to ask exactly this question. Why not rule him out ever being foreign minister, at least? Guess what? Crickets. Radio silence. Why? Same reason as Luxon. They need him. Or might need him. Luxon, because he's no John Key and doesn't have the arty vote to govern without New Zealand First. And Hipkins, because if he did get enough support to cross the finish line, he'd rather do it alongside Winston Peters than Te Pati Maori. The fact is, Winston can say what he likes and he knows it. His comments aren't popular with most fair-minded kiwis, but then, really, neither are the Chrises'.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The opposition is demanding the Prime Minister take action after Winston Peters said a Green MP who moved to New Zealand should go back to his own country. The New Zealand First leader in Parliament responded to some heckling from Lawrence Xu-nan with an abusive rant. Political reporter Russell Palmer spoke to Melissa Chan-Green.

Winston Peters is defending his comments, which coalition partners Chris Luxon and David Seymour have labelled 'attention-seeking'. The New Zealand First leader yesterday responded to Chinese-born Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan heckling over vaccinations, by telling him to go back to his own country. Luxon says Peters has a long track record of inappropriate comments designed to get people talking about him. Newstalk ZB reporter Azaria Howell says Labour has also condemned Peters' comments and called for his resignation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stuart Nash thought he'd found a political lifeline with New Zealand First. Instead, one text message triggered another spectacular downfall. RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch breaks down the week. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Mums of parliament have united against Stuart Nash, the New Zealand First candidate who was forced to resign. The former Labour Cabinet minister labelled his rival Napier candidate lazy after taking time away from Parliament to look after her newborn. MPs who've had babies while representing their electorates say they're anything but. Political reporter Lauren Crimp has more.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Tim Wilson and Jo McCarroll. First up, in a whirlwind week for colourful political language, New Zealand First candidate Stuart Nash has resigned after calling a National MP lazy for taking maternity leave. So where is the line for what political figures can or can't say? Then, power prices have surged by 12 percent in the last year - Consumer NZ lead researcher Rebecca Styles explains why.

New Zealand First Deputy Leader Shane Jones says it's a sad outcome for Stuart Nash to give up his candidacy. Nash has resigned - after outcry over revelations he'd called his Napier opponent MP Katie Nimon lazy, for taking leave after having a baby. Leader Winston Peters announced the party has accepted Nash's offer to quit. Jones says Nash did an honourable thing - to avoid distracting from the election. "But look, it's not the end of the life for Stuey, he's got a lot more to offer in a variety of other contexts." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stuart Nash is out of politics for good after another massive, self-inflicted wound. After falling out of Cabinet under Labour and trying to rebuild his career with Winston Peters and New Zealand First, Nash lasted just one week before sending a text to former National minister Chris Finlayson criticizing a local Napier candidate. We look at how Winston Peters acted quickly to force him out, why Christopher Luxon ruled him out of Cabinet, and how Nash repeatedly ruined his own political comebacks through a lack of discipline and poor judgment. Plus, we speak with Mark Hooper, a Taranaki farmer with Federated Farmers, about the government stepping in to halt iwi co-governance agreements with local councils. We discuss what needs to replace these agreements under the new planning rules, the high costs and delays of cultural impact assessments for regular landowners, and why New Zealand needs a transparent, high-trust planning system that works for all farmers and ratepayers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Right, is it just me, or is there anyone else out there who thinks it's mighty rich of New Zealand First to force Stuart Nash to resign, given the candidates and MPs they have defended for some of the most outrageous things they have said? Is it not rich that Shane Jones was on the radio saying, "Mm, yeah, sensible for Stuart Nash to have resigned," when he is the guy who referred to the Prime Minister needing to get out the kneepads for Narendra Modi when he visited, and he is the guy who used the phrase "butter chicken tsunami"? Now, I was aware of what was happening about 7pm on Wednesday. What was going on was basically that New Zealand First told Stuart Nash that he needed to quit or be fired. He tried to fight his corner but he was unable to do so and he was basically told that was the end of it. I have to be honest, I was really surprised by this. If this were any other party, it'd be fine, but it's New Zealand First. It feels off-brand for New Zealand First. This is a party that's made a virtue of resisting the wokesters and resisting the mainstream media. And then, the minute the wokesters and the mainstream media get upset at Stuart Nash, New Zealand First doesn't even hold its line for 12 hours. It just folds immediately. I mean, that has got to shake the confidence of voters who are attracted to New Zealand First because they think the party is going to provide some sort of bulwark against the creep of political correctness and so-called wokeness. Apparently not. They will fold within 12 hours. Now, I can only guess at why New Zealand First has folded on Nash and not on Jones. I'm guessing it's because there are more women voters in New Zealand than there are Indian voters. I'm guessing it's because Winston Peters prides himself personally on chivalry towards women and this would actually personally offend him. I'm guessing it's because Nash was already on his last chance after the "What is a woman?" thing and the aggro texts to Todd McClay. I'm guessing it's because Nash was not going to win the seat of Napier anyway so this gets New Zealand First out of an embarrassing defeat by a woman who's apparently distracted by her toddler. Because otherwise, immediately agreeing with the wokesters and the mainstream media does seem like quite a weird thing for New Zealand First to do, don't you think? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand First has swiftly picked a new candidate for Napier after the resignation of Stuart Nash. Te Kira Lawrence, who was previously announced as the Party's East Cape candidate, will now stand in Nash's place. Stuart Nash resigned from New Zealand First last night, after a text was revealed where he called Napier MP Katie Nimon the laziest MP he'd ever come across, for taking leave after having a baby. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says politics is a 'rough-and-tumble' game, but it's surprising National stepped in over this matter. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 23 July, 2026, we ask New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones if Stuart Nash's criticism of a rival taking maternity leave really was a resignation-level offence. We talk to the brother of builder Michael McGrath, murdered by his childhood friend David Benbow in 2017, about the no body, no parole bill. One Year Out author Charlotte Bell tells us about her story of getting sober. And on The Huddle, Oscar Kightley and David Farrar on whether too much has been made of ACT candidate Paul Henry's "shoot, shag or marry" radio gag. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand First's Stuart Nash is in trouble again for his comments about women. Politicians from across Parliament are outraged after the Napier candidate accused his competition of being lazy for taking maternity leave. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon reckons Mr Nash is channelling the online manosphere, while Nicola Willis says his attitude belongs in the 1920s. Political reporter Russell Palmer has more.

New Zealand First candidate, Stuart Nash has united nearly all of Parliament against him, with MPs denouncing his latest comments as misogynistic, sexist and derogatory. Late last night New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said he had accepted Nash's resignation. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to John Campbell.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 22 July, 2026, netball's ANZ Premiership is thrown into more doubt. We talk to Stars general manager Jane Bennett about staff contracts ending in a matter of days. Post Primary Teachers Association president Chris Abercrombie explains why barely half of students are passing NCEA numeracy tests. Napier MP Katie Nimon responds to accusations by New Zealand First rival Stuart Nash that she's lazy for taking months of maternity leave. And on The Huddle, Jack Tame and Maurice Williamson on whether they're surprised P pipes are being sold in stores. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pre-election promises are coming thick and fast. One of the latest, from New Zealand First would see a $1 billion investment to survey the country's offshore basins for oil and gas supplies. The aim is to shore up domestic fuel supply. It's a pretty large chunk of change and it's not the only big number being thrown around on this issue so we wanted to know how realistic it is. University of Canterbury civil engineering professor David Dempsey chats to Jesse.

Elliot Ikilei, former New Conservative leader, key figure in Hobson's Pledge, and now New Zealand First's 2026 candidate for Takanini, joins Dane Giraud for a conversation that moves from common ground to open clash. The two grew up streets apart in Auckland's lower socio-economic suburbs, and they begin by comparing notes: absent fathers, imported gang culture, rage, and the long road back. Elliot recounts going off the rails as a young man, finding faith at 25, and how frontline youth work convinced him that family breakdown, not colonisation, was driving the alienation of our young people. A card-carrying lefty became one of the country's most prominent social conservatives. From there, it is conservatism versus progressivism head-on. Dane and Elliot debate whether Drag Queen Story Time is a free speech issue or a child protection issue, whether the trans community is helped or ultimately hurt by censorship, why Elliot's Free Speech Union membership lasted only days, and whether a traditionalist can defend speech he finds abhorrent. They finish on Elliot's campaign to take one of New Zealand's most diverse and unpredictable swing seats off National.Support the showhttps://www.fsu.nz/https://x.com/NZFreeSpeechhttps://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

New Zealand First wants to spend one billion dollars surveying what lies beneath our oceans to find oil and gas. Is this total madness during a cost-of-living crisis, or is it common sense to audit our resources? Duncan gets the hard answers from Resources Minister Shane Jones on how we fund it and if the big rigs are coming back Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Zealand First wants to invest in surveying the country's offshore basins for oil and gas supplies to use domestically and export around the world. Winston Peters announced the new policy at the party's annual convention in South Auckland. Political reporter Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira reports.

Nearly one in five young Aucklanders has completely pressed pause on life. Shane Jones says New Zealand First has a radical plan to deploy unemployed youth into the military to learn basic discipline and routine. Critics will scream conscription, but doing nothing is a complete surrender. We ask if structured national service is exactly what our drifting generation needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How good is that Paul Henry announcement, eh? How good is that? ACT sent out a little media advisory last night about 7:30pm, saying there would be a major announcement. It would not be a policy announcement, no exclusive would be offered and there would be no embargoed material. I looked at it and immediately the texts started coming in. Is David Seymour resigning? Has somebody died? Is somebody pregnant? What's going on? I looked at it and thought, that's a lot of hype right there in that little media advisory. This better be good or the chat is going to be about damp squibs. But no, Paul Henry is absolutely worth all that hype. Paul Henry, I think, is the candidate get of the election so far. Don't forget, he was the highest-rated host of breakfast television in this country. He is immensely popular. He probably, I think, will single-handedly lift ACT's vote; at the very least, he will hold it up. Paul brings two things to ACT. The first is his absolute belief in New Zealand. That is authentic. He's been raving about New Zealand being paradise for years now. He's even done a TV show about it. When he says he wants to be in Parliament to sort out New Zealand's prosperity for the sake of his grandkids, I absolutely believe that to be true. The second thing he brings is entertainment. ACT has been struggling to break through on the right. The headlines have largely been hogged by New Zealand First. Paul Henry, I think, can get cut-through with his wit alone. Go and have a look at that press conference. He was very, very funny. Now, this is not to say that Paul Henry is going to go down well with everyone. There is a small group of people out there who absolutely hate his guts, but that is no loss to ACT because those people were most probably going to vote left anyway. My only hope for Paul is that he doesn't come to regret this decision because going into Parliament very rarely ends well for people who already have public profiles and successful careers. Somehow, though, I think if that is how it goes for Paul Henry, he's not going to give a damn anyway, so it probably doesn't matter. Ten out of ten. This announcement is brilliant for ACT's campaign. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Anna Fifield and Phil O'Reilly. First up, Kaikoura has been today's victim of ferocious weather, with the river bursting its banks. Motel owner Fiona Wei explains what she's seen. Then, China's latest missile tests in the South Pacific are "incredibly unwelcome" according to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. International relations expert Robert Patman gives his analysis. And The Post's national affairs editor Andrea Vance has come out of the blocks with a scathing opinion piece on New Zealand First's candidate list.

National made its first major election year policy announcement this week. If elected, it would make KiwiSaver compulsory, including for those over 65 still working, automatically enroll babies and provide government contributions to those on parental leave. The suite of changes would cost more than a billion dollars over four years. New Zealand First said National had copied its own policy, and others are asking what the changes might mean for Superannuation.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has accused the government of making covert changes to immigration settings to discriminate against Indian migrants. He made the claims during the first reading of the bill to ratify the India Free Trade agreement. Winston Peters spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A political scrap has broken out over the government's planned health and safety overhaul, with ACT accusing New Zealand First of last-minute politicking. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has met with some Pike River families, who fear workplaces are about to get more dangerous. The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill would exempt businesses with fewer than 20 workers from legally having to manage non-critical safety risk. The families are asking NZ First to withdraw it's support for the bill. Winston Peters spoke to Lisa Owen.

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