Podcasts about New Zealand First

ACT and New Zealand First are in favour of a minimum non-parole period of 8 years for offenders who commit manslaughter by a strike to the head or the neck - the coward punch. But, National and the opposition parties are not keen. Board member of the Walk Without Fear Trust, Mike Angove, told Andrew Dickens he is disappointed in National's lack of support. "National have indicated that they're going to look at bespoke law, but essentially, remembering that Matt King, originally a National Party member, started this 8 years ago, almost 9 years ago. National has been right behind this the whole way, but they've faltered at the hurdle." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Quite frankly, it's all getting a bit much. We're all tightening our belts, we're making decisions about where we're spending our money, what we're spending it on. The rates keep rising, insurance levies keep going up, the cost of everything is through the roof. And for many, many people, there's not a lot of disposable left at the end of the day. Even people who are earning pretty good salaries are suddenly finding there's not as much left at the end of the pay cycle as there used to be. Meanwhile, our House of Representatives are seeing the members gouging the taxpayer for every last cent they can get out of us. Louise Upston is claiming the full $1,000 a week ministerial housing allowance, which she's perfectly entitled to. It's designed to support MPs based outside Wellington with the cost of maintaining two homes. And you understand that. When you become a Member of Parliament, your business is in Wellington, but you might be representing the people of Timaru. You have a home there, a family there. So where are you going to live while you're in Wellington? Your employer should pay your expenses given you're required to be there. So the employer does. It offers an allowance to MPs who are not from Wellington to live there. That is us, the taxpayer. So, fair enough. But Louise Upston owns an apartment in Wellington and according to the register of financial interests, which all MPs have to fill out, there's no mortgage on it. Again, good for her. She's paid off the mortgage on that apartment and presumably her home. But what costs does she then have to claim? There are none. She owns the apartment outright. So she's claiming a cost she's legally entitled to, but should she be? She said at the time, it's an entitlement, I'm well within the rules, I can do it. Louise Upston's case unfortunately came just a week after she reduced the eligibility of homeowners to claim the accommodation supplement payment. She said we want to target support for the accommodation supplement to those who need it most. They are renters, they're not people who are using taxpayer support to increase their own asset. Hello! Are we looking in the mirror? She's not the only one, of course. Labour's Kieran McAnulty, Jan Tinetti, they have properties in Wellington, although they may still have a mortgage. New Zealand First's Andy Foster's doing it. He was the mayor of bloody Wellington and now he's claiming an accommodation allowance for a home in Wellington. Then we find the MPs in the parties, the different political parties, and again, all of them are doing it. Yeah, we wonder why they don't work together more often. Oh, they do, when it comes to their perks and allowances. We find the MPs in parties that own commercial property, which they rent to Parliamentary Service to operate as their own electorate offices. So they own the building, they say to Parliamentary Service, have we got a deal for you? We'll rent this and you pay for it because it's our electorate office. They defend this by saying the offices are rented at below market rates, and again, everybody does it. And then there's the superannuation. Chris Hipkins has defended using a generous taxpayer funded private super scheme to buy his family's holiday home by saying it's my money, I can do what I like with it. And it is, he can. But Heather du Plessis-Allan this morning interviewed Chris Hipkins, and I think outlined in an excellent manner just how it looks. HDPA: None of us are getting $60 to $70,000 popped into our superannuation funds every year by our employer, in your case the taxpayer, which we're then able to withdraw and buy a beach house with. This is the ruling class who has a different set of standards from everybody else. It's not right, is it? HIPKINS: The superannuation provisions that Members of Parliament get are generous superannuation provisions compared to what other members of the public get. I'll absolutely agree with that. HDPA: Do you need to change it? HIPKINS: Well, look, I think Members of Parliament are in a unique role. When people put their hands up to be Members of Parliament, in many cases they're basically leaving behind jobs that they cannot go back to. And we've just talked about an example of that now. When someone puts their hand up to be an MP, it closes off a lot of future potential job opportunities for them. So for many people when they put their hand up to be MPs, it will be the last job that they do. He was referring to Rakesh Naidoo, who is no longer working for Police now that he's put up his hand to be a Labour list MP. But we're told that the reason why backbenchers and MPs have diverged so far from other public servants like police, teachers, nurses – all of the salaries used to be around about the same in the 80s, MPs, police, nurses, teachers. Oh, it's very, very different now. We're told that the reason we're paying so much money is not because they can't get a job when they leave, but because they're so special and their talents are so unique that the private sector would snap them up in a heartbeat. And that is why we give them $177,600 for a backbencher, a learner MP, $320,600 for a Cabinet Minister, and $510,300 for a Prime Minister. Plus the expenses, the living accommodation, office expenses, travel allowances, plus the superannuation. With the superannuation, they get $2.50 for every dollar that the MPs put in from us. The contribution's capped at 20% of an ordinary MP's salary, which works out at $36,240 for every MP as of July 1st when the new rates kick in. So what's it to be? We can't do that. I mean, sure, if you're in a private super scheme of your own with different terms, you can take it out and do what you want with it. But dumb shmucks like you and me who are locked into KiwiSaver are limited to what we can do. We can't buy a second property with ours until we're 65, but hey. Are MPs of every colour and hue —apart perhaps from the Greens who seem to be able to maintain a shaky kind of moral high ground— just having a laugh? Everything is completely legal. Completely legal, but is it right? We're told we have to pay them that much to prevent the private sector from snapping them up. But really, where else would most of those people get that sort of money? Very few of them would and do once they leave Parliament – that's why they keep snuffling back to the trough, looking at Stuart Nash and Michael Wood. They tried it in the public, in the private sector, wasn't nearly as good as working as an MP, so back they come. We're told that they're such brilliant stellar talents that we have to pay them that much, but then Chris Hipkins says they can't get a job elsewhere. Yeah, they can. What they do is they use their political nous and contacts to set themselves up as lobbyists or working for companies as lobbyists in other parts of the world. Once a Minister leaves office, they can't just pop up as a lobbyist because they've got all kinds of insider knowledge – it's like insider trading. Not here. Kiri Allan started her consultancy business two weeks after resigning as Justice Minister and she was still an MP. So while they're doing this job that nobody really wants to do, they're getting paid very well to do it. They're getting good expenses to do it. They're getting a healthy superannuation fund that we are paying them we're paying for everything, but we're paying the super fund as well. Plus, they're building up knowledge and contacts, insider info that they can then sell, either as individuals setting themselves up as lobbyists or to companies that act as lobbyists. It's all legal, but is it right? We're funding all this. I mean, would you do the job? You've heard about the perks, you've heard about the expenses. You'd have to be prepared to be hated by at least half of the population and probably half of your caucus if you're hard working and you've got ambition. There'd be a few people who wouldn't like that. So I mean, you know what the gig is. It's a hard job. Is this what we have to pay for democracy to be sustained? It's legally right, but is it morally right to be claiming these sorts of expenses when you just don't need to? And at a time where you're wagging your finger at other people and telling them they need to tighten their belts and oh, we can't just be giving accommodation supplements away to everybody. They can't use it to build their asset. Yeah, but you can. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four New Zealand MPs have been quietly banned from China for a year after travelling to Taiwan on a junket. The group—ACT's Laura McClure, New Zealand First's David Wilson, Labour's Duncan Webb and National's Maureen Pugh—travelled as part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan, which promotes cross-party engagement and economic ties. China didn't like it. They decided to impose a sanction but they didn't announce it publicly. Instead, last week the Chinese embassy contacted our Parliament and requested a meeting to deliver key messages, suggesting the bans could be lifted if the MPs apologised. Laura McClure was on with Heather this morning. She was asked, “Will you apologise?” and she said, “No. This is a type of foreign interference. I did nothing wrong.” MFAT also confirmed this is the first time China has sanctioned New Zealand MPs for such a trip, even though past delegations—including one involving John Key as a backbencher—have faced no consequences whatsoever. Now, this has provoked some angry responses. Human rights groups are speaking out—Pillar calls it intimidation—and Professor Anne-Marie Brady, who has had disputes with China, calls it a punishment we should retaliate against. She points out that in 2021 the European Union cancelled official dialogue with China after a similar sanction on politicians. But what China has done here is, to me, neither a meaningful punishment nor particularly damaging. A tit-for-tat retaliation like the one the European Union instituted would do nothing for New Zealand. A ban on four MPs visiting China for a year really isn't much of a punishment—they had no plans to go there anyway. Retaliation, however, could be damaging. What I think we should do instead is object strongly. This story happened last week and was kept under wraps until Laura McClure leaked it. I think that was a mistake. We should have gone public immediately—made a big noise about it. We should tell China, “This is not the way we behave.” We should urge them to grow up and point out that denying these MPs the chance to visit also denies China the opportunity to show New Zealand that it can be a reasonable member of the international community—that it can make a reasonable and humanitarian case on Taiwan. After all, we support the One China policy. But actions like this suggest that China itself does not follow that principle in spirit and instead intends to subsume Taiwan without respecting its rights. So we should say, “No, that was the wrong thing to do,” while at the same time taking no retaliatory action—maintaining the higher moral ground. Because, in my view, this was a poor show by China. It weakens them and their case—not us. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Right now, Australia is agog that One Nation is the highest-polling party and talk has turned to Pauline Hanson as Prime Minister. Former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie, who beat One Nation back in the 1990s, has issued a warning: confusing One Nation with the people who vote for it is a serious mistake. He argues many One Nation supporters are decent, hard-working Australians who feel ignored by the major parties. They're anxious about rising living costs, job security and how AI will reshape the workforce. Sound familiar? At heart, they believe Australia is heading in the wrong direction and no one in power is listening. Beattie says One Nation has tapped into these fears with a powerful scare campaign, blaming immigration for everything from housing prices to electricity costs. However, he argues the party remains “a party of complaint” - offering anger rather than solutions. He then lays out what the major parties must do to win back trust: deliver a clear, skills-based immigration policy; explain the benefits of multiculturalism; paint a genuine vision for Australia in 2050; prepare workers for an AI-driven economy; back innovation in key industries; invest seriously in regional infrastructure; and provide meaningful, ongoing cost-of-living relief - not one-off handouts. Doesn't that sound good? Wouldn't you like that here? In fact, it's advice that could easily be applied here - and heard by our mainstream parties - as supporters drift towards the Māori Party, ACT and New Zealand First, which are also, in many ways, parties of complaint. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Secretly, I think Nicola Willis and Winston Peters are enjoying their performative scrap against each other. Their war of words highlights the differences between each party and their philosophies and that's handy in an election year. Nicola's warnings over superannuation reinforce her credentials as the representative of fiscal prudence - the guardian of our economy. Winston's refusal to change super in any way, shape or form reinforces his credentials as a defender of the rights of the elderly. But it also reinforces something we should never forget about Winston Peters. He's in this Government and is being seen, along with his coalition partners, as a warrior against excessive Government spending. Yet his track record suggests otherwise. I mean, who can forget his Provincial Growth Fund - that $3 billion lolly scramble that was criticised by the Audit Office for a lack of oversight? Even in this coalition Government, he has continued to have a slush fund for regional development. The New Zealand First Regional Fund is a $1.2 billion capital fund established in the coalition agreement. And now, his Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been revealed to be a major funder of the Moana Pasifika rugby side since its inception. There is also talk he is willing to mount some sort of salvage campaign, again using taxpayers' money. I think it's important to remind ourselves that, in some respects, Winston Peters is an old-fashioned conservative -but he also resembles an old-fashioned socialist who believes in the primacy of Government and in the paternalistic splashing around of public money to curry favour. These are all things to remember if you are abandoning National for New Zealand First under the false belief that Winston will introduce greater financial rigour than already exists. It also serves as a reminder of why Winston went with Labour back in 2017 in the first place. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, that Official Cash Rate decision is probably one of those moments where you find out whether you're a glass half-full or glass half-empty person. Because on the bright side, the Official Cash Rate didn't go up. On the downside, it looks like it's definitely going up next time. So yes, it's a reprieve - but it's only a reprieve for six weeks, excuse me, before the screws on the economy start turning again. Thanks to the new transparency rules at the Reserve Bank - which, frankly, we should all love - we know that the committee voted and it was split right down the middle. Three members of the committee wanted the OCR to stay at 2.25 percent. Three of them voted for it to be raised by 25 basis points immediately to calm down inflation pressures. But Anna Breman, who is the governor, has a casting vote. She said it needs to stay, so it stays put. But they didn't hide the fact that it is going to go up sooner than they had thought just three months ago. And it will go up by more than they thought just three months ago. Much of it appears to hinge on what businesses do with prices from here on in. Because what the Iran war is doing to prices is so widespread - and so many prices are going up, from fuel to fertiliser to food - that it runs a higher risk that businesses start jacking up more prices in a second round of increases. And that is what they're worried about at the Reserve Bank. So economists are now calling for three hikes in quick succession from here: July, September and October. Now, there are two problems with that. The first: all three hikes are before the election in November. National, especially, should be sweating, because poorer voters are not happier voters - they are voters who turn to New Zealand First. The second problem - and this is probably the biggest of them all - is what this is going to do to our recovery, our economic recovery. We are probably in negative growth this quarter. Next quarter is probably not that flash but at least positive. Entire sectors, like construction, are still struggling to get back on their feet. Unemployment is still in the fives. The Iran war is still pushing up fuel prices and therefore pushing up the price of everything. So, glass half full: at least we get another six weeks before the screws start turning. Glass half empty: when they tighten, they will be tightening fast on an economy that doesn't need that kind of pressure. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, that Official Cash Rate decision is probably one of those moments where you find out whether you're a glass half-full or glass half-empty person. Because on the bright side, the Official Cash Rate didn't go up. On the downside, it looks like it's definitely going up next time. So yes, it's a reprieve - but it's only a reprieve for six weeks, excuse me, before the screws on the economy start turning again. Thanks to the new transparency rules at the Reserve Bank - which, frankly, we should all love - we know that the committee voted and it was split right down the middle. Three members of the committee wanted the OCR to stay at 2.25 percent. Three of them voted for it to be raised by 25 basis points immediately to calm down inflation pressures. But Anna Breman, who is the governor, has a casting vote. She said it needs to stay, so it stays put. But they didn't hide the fact that it is going to go up sooner than they had thought just three months ago. And it will go up by more than they thought just three months ago. Much of it appears to hinge on what businesses do with prices from here on in. Because what the Iran war is doing to prices is so widespread - and so many prices are going up, from fuel to fertiliser to food - that it runs a higher risk that businesses start jacking up more prices in a second round of increases. And that is what they're worried about at the Reserve Bank. So economists are now calling for three hikes in quick succession from here: July, September and October. Now, there are two problems with that. The first: all three hikes are before the election in November. National, especially, should be sweating, because poorer voters are not happier voters - they are voters who turn to New Zealand First. The second problem - and this is probably the biggest of them all - is what this is going to do to our recovery, our economic recovery. We are probably in negative growth this quarter. Next quarter is probably not that flash but at least positive. Entire sectors, like construction, are still struggling to get back on their feet. Unemployment is still in the fives. The Iran war is still pushing up fuel prices and therefore pushing up the price of everything. So, glass half full: at least we get another six weeks before the screws start turning. Glass half empty: when they tighten, they will be tightening fast on an economy that doesn't need that kind of pressure. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Labour Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash says he's found his true home in New Zealand First. He's contesting the Napier electorate for the party this election - against National's Katie Nimon. Nash had to lay low last year after getting in hot water for making vulgar comments about women. He's taken aim at his former party, and claims NZ First is the only party that stands up for hard workers. "This is the party that works hard to celebrate success, it stands up for those that work the hardest as opposed to complain the loudest." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Finance Minister once forced to bail out BNZ says buying it back would be lunacy. New Zealand First is proposed re-nationalising the bank, buying it back from Australia's NAB and merging it with Kiwibank. Leader Winston Peters says bank profits should remain in New Zealand. But Ruth Richardson says the idea has no weight. "It makes New Zealand look like a tinpot country, where populist politicians feel free to nationalise private businesses. Why stop at banks? I mean, supermarkets like Woolworths are foreign-owned." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has unveiled a plan for a new national bank

A former Finance Minister once forced to bail out BNZ says buying it back would be lunacy. New Zealand First is proposed re-nationalising the bank, buying it back from Australia's NAB and merging it with Kiwibank. Leader Winston Peters says bank profits should remain in New Zealand. But Ruth Richardson says the idea has no weight. "It makes New Zealand look like a tinpot country, where populist politicians feel free to nationalise private businesses. Why stop at banks? I mean, supermarkets like Woolworths are foreign-owned." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand First will campaign on buying back the BNZ bank and making KiwiSaver enrolment compulsory at birth. Winston Peters’ appearance at Trusts Arena in West Auckland at the weekend comes at a time when his party is surging in the polls... He’s also closing in on National leader Christopher Luxon in the preferred Prime Minister ranking, months out from the election. Today on The Front Page, NZ Herald chief political reporter, Jamie Ensor, is with us. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsEditor/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Jane YeeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buying back the Bank of New Zealand and making KiwiSaver enrolment compulsory at birth are among the commitments New Zealand First is making to voters this election. New Zealand First leader spoke to John Campbell.

The New Zealand First leader says they'll be telling the National Australia Bank we want our bank back - as he lays out plans for the Government to buy BNZ. The party will campaign on the purchase - after its sale in 1992 - and merging it with Kiwibank to create a National Bank of New Zealand. Winston Peters told Mike Hosking that the bank may not be for sale, but they'll make sure it is. He says he doubts the National Australia Bank would turn them down - so Kiwis won't be ripped off for much longer if NZ First gets back in. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We need to talk about what Chris Hipkins has said about immigration. First of all, Labour can frankly shut up accusing the Nats of anti-migrant rhetoric because this is a party that hasn't got a leg to stand on when it comes to migration. This is the party - and some of the very same people are still there - that campaigned on reducing immigration by up to 30,000 people in 2017, produced a list of Chinese-sounding names two years earlier and then shut down immigration completely, only to do the opposite by opening it up too much during and after COVID. So, on immigration - glass houses etc. But having said that, what National is proposing to do on immigration should worry businesses up and down this country that rely on migrants. And I'm looking at you - the aged-care sector wanting to bring in Filipino workers to look after our elderly; and I'm looking at you, Health New Zealand, needing to employ Indian nurses; and I'm looking at you, the construction sector, needing to bring in general labourers. Because Chris Luxon has made it clear in his speech he's shutting his door to businesses wanting to lobby him for migrant workers. He said: “My message to the business community is that when it comes to immigration, when I'm faced with a choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will choose the former every single time.” Now that begs the question to the Prime Minister: what does “social stability” mean? Is that basically you saying we've got too many Indian migrants? Which then begs the question: is National trying to match New Zealand First's anti-Indian rhetoric to avoid losing voters to them? Which then logically begs the next question: is Luxon putting his vote share at the election ahead of New Zealand's need to bring in the workers that we know we need? Because we've been through COVID, and we know that we do not do these low-skilled jobs - you need migrants to do them. So I think we should all be worried about this. I think businesses in New Zealand, in particular, should be very worried about this. And it begs a final question: if this is the position that National has taken, is there now even a single party in Parliament that is looking after New Zealand businesses? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Luxon has jumped into the immigration debate, promising a careful approach, putting social cohesion ahead of business profit. It's already prompted scepticism from his coalition partner New Zealand First - which says the India free trade deal suggests otherwise. The Prime Minister made the comments in a speech to business leaders in Auckland this morning, also signalling a tighter-than-expected Budget to land in two weeks' time. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Lisa Owen.

People might remember as a kid collecting glass fizzy bottles to return to the dairy for a bit of pocket money. Well, New Zealand First's keen to bring back a nationwide container scheme, to reduce litter and council costs. One of its MPs has put a bill into the biscuit tin, where it could be randomly drawn and head down the path to becoming law. Zero Waste Network said about four million drink containers go to landfull or end up as litter every day in Aotearoa. Sue Coutts spoke to Lisa Owen.

National and ACT are downplaying a significant Budget leak from their coalition partner New Zealand First, as coalition tensions continue to bubble to the surface.

The coalition appears to have good odds of winning the next election, largely thanks to New Zealand First. The NZ Herald - Motu Research Poll of Polls suggests there is an 88.3 percent probability the coalition will win a second term. The model shows it's extended its lead over the opposition by two points in the last 12 months. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained how this data is calculated - and whether voters can take it seriously. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If an election were held today, the coalition Government would likely be returned to power and not by a narrow margin. A new NZ Herald–Motu Research Poll of Polls model suggests the Government has an 88.3% chance of winning a second term, with support across National, Act and New Zealand First holding steady. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan joins The Front Page to talk through the latest results, and how Winston Peters could once again be kingmaker come November 7.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Free Trade Agreement with India has been signed, with National and New Zealand First continuing to disagree over what's been signed up to. Political reporter Giles Dexter examines how free the trade agreement actually is, and the coalition clash over investment and immigration.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Former United Future leader Peter Dunne spent more than three decades as an MP, he was also a Minister. He supported a Labour coalition Government, New Zealand First was part of that arrangement and was also part of National led coalitions. Peter Dunne spoke to Lisa Owen.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has put his hand up, admitting he made a mistake by not consulting the Prime Minister's office before releasing a bombshell email chain about the government's stance on the Iran war. But he's not apologising for making them public saying there's no reason they shouldn't be out in the open. The Prime Minister isn't happy, his office said he expects more of the man who's spent four decades in public office. Political reporter Lauren Crimp spoke to Lisa Owen.

Helen Clark reckons political polling's behind disagreements in the coalition. Winston Peters' office released emails showing Prime Minister Chris Luxon was advised against supporting the US and Israel's strikes on Iran. National's Nicola Willis believes Peters is playing politics - and should have informed them before releasing the emails. Willis separately accused NZ First of race-baiting in their opposition to the India free trade deal. Clark says Willis is not holding back. "New Zealand First is eating fairly deeply into National's support, and that is starting, I think, to become somewhat more corrosive in the coalition." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a small myth-busting exercise for you – things aren't as bad as you might think. Business sales from small and medium businesses are up and by quite a lot. They're up 21% in fact. Why would you buy a business at a time like this? You know why. Because life goes on and people have dreams and those dreams don't get buffeted about by fiscal uncertainty. There were 27,000 confidentiality agreements signed in the past year. That's a lot of agreements. For an average of $800,000 you can buy your dream. Values are up, listings are up, demand is up (it's up more than listings), so prices are holding and the returns, multiple, is up. So a lot of people are doing fine, thank you very much. This is a nation of small businesses and all these numbers show is nothing changes that. Not a war, not petrol, not an election, and not the weather. If you ran a poll and asked, "is it a good time to buy a business", like they ask, "is it a good time to buy a major household item", you know what the answer would be. And yet life goes on. Now, for all the New Zealand First supporters about to text me and say it's all Indians, save your 20 cents. It isn't. It's another myth busted. 9.7% are Indians, 15% are Asian (so that will be Chinese and Koreans, maybe Filipinos), which leaves 67% identifying as European. So the idea this is all about migrants buying jobs is not the tsunami you thought it might be. I think these stats are a microcosm, or a small example of the disconnect between studies, surveys, polls, politics, news headlines, and what is really going on. The rhythm of New Zealand life gets buffeted about by issues of the day; the petrol price, the war, the spend. And why wouldn't it? But if you believed the polls and the stats and the national conversation, as driven by the headlines, you'd think we were at home huddled in a corner waiting for the end. Yet we are not. We are buying businesses, planning the future, taking the risks and, God forbid, having a good time. What a shock. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trade Minister says there won't be any unpleasant surprises in the final text of our free trade agreement with India. The deal is due to be tabled in Parliament today after Todd McClay signed it in New Delhi overnight. New Zealand First has concerns over what it means for immigration, while Labour's concerned about potential requirements for investing in India. McClay told Mike Hosking there's no reason for any concerns. He says this is a high-quality deal, they've been open with the public, and he feels like Labour have been through the deal more than his lawyers have. McClay says it's more than just an economic and trade agreement – it's also about our strategic relationship and our cultural and sporting connection. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Enabled and entitled". That's how one political commentator described Shane Jones remarks about a "butter chicken tsunami". The New Zealand First minister made the comments while condemming New Zealand's free trade agreement with India. Despite strong criticism, he refused to apologise. A new poll from Horizon Research asked adults whether they agreed with the use of racial remarks in politics in order to increase party votes. Thirteen percent did, while 59 percent didn't. Massey University politics professor Richard Shaw spoke to Lisa Owen.

Labour's agreed to support the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, but isn't speaking highly of the negotiations with the Government. National needed Labour's support to pass the FTA into law, because it was opposed by coalition partner New Zealand First. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained why the agreement is better for New Zealand's future. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A war of words has broken out between coalition partners National and New Zealand First. Phil Goff, who was in government with Winston Peters, spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Police assistant commissioner discusses rise in fuel theft; Wilson Parking NZ CEO speaks to John Campbell; Westpac CEO discusses danger of AI deepfakes on social media; Phil Goff discusses National and New Zealand First tensions; Some Mokau businesses say they're on the brink of closure

The revamped Golden Visa is providing a major boost to the economy. The Active Investor Plus visa's brought in $1.5 billion, with another $2.4 billion in the pipeline. More than 600 applications have been lodged since last April, from nearly 2,000 people. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told Mike Hosking she's thrilled with those numbers. She says the impact for individual businesses is huge, both in capital and skills from these people. Stanford is also condemning New Zealand First's remarks on the India Free Trade Agreement as racist and divisive. Shane Jones warned of a “butter chicken tsunami” of Indian migrants coming to New Zealand. The Immigration Minister told Hosking New Zealand First is selective in its rhetoric on immigration, noting its silence on the visa despite recognising its economic value. She says the comments were distasteful and designed to bring out the worst. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trade Minister's shrugging off comments by Winston Peters and says it's time to seal the deal. The New Zealand First leader strongly opposes the Free Trade Agreement with India, which the Government is signing in New Delhi next week despite not having the numbers to pass it into law. He fears it'll lead to rising immigration, which the National Party rejects. Trade Minister Todd McClay told Mike Hosking there's no problem asking questions, but the Government needs to move on and get the deal in place. He says the legal scrub's been done and it's being put in Parliament, as National wants it in force as soon as possible. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 22 April, 2026, we talk to a former CIA officer about whether the US-Iran ceasefire will last. National goes on the attack, trying to eat into support for New Zealand First - we hear from Winston Peters. We explore whether your smart watch really is an accurate gauge of your well-being. And on The Huddle, Jack Tame and Liam Hehir discuss whether National's trying to spook voters into believing New Zealand First could go into another coalition with Labour. 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 fightback has started, hasn't it? National's leadership team have clearly come out of yesterday's caucus meeting with very clear instructions: get the National Party vote back off New Zealand First. And they've come out hard. It started with Nicola Willis on Mike Hosking just after 7am, warning that Winston Peters might pick Labour after the next election. The attack from her on that show was so pointed I was actually surprised - because these two are mates. They drink together, they work together, they're on the same floor as each other in the Beehive. But then, five hours later, the Prime Minister is on The Country with Jamie Mackay, saying almost exactly the same thing. Which tells you Nicola didn't just react in the heat of the moment, coming off the high of what happened in caucus. These are the lines they've decided to go out with. They have decided to attack New Zealand First. The question is: what took them so long? Because this is what they needed to do months ago, when it became obvious they were bleeding votes to New Zealand First. That is what's happening here. New Zealand First - and Winston - are going up and the National Party is going down because National voters are shifting across to New Zealand First. Right now, 52 percent of Winston's supporters voted National at the last election. This is exactly the right strategy Nicola Willis and Chris Luxon should be taking - because it's true. There is a risk that New Zealand First goes with Labour. Even though Winston says it ain't going to happen, there is a risk. He's done it before. In 1996 he told voters to help him put, quote, “Jim Bolger in opposition where he belongs”. And who did he pick after that election? He picked Jim Bolger.Of course, Winston's not going to admit he's open to Labour - even if he is - because then he can't rely on stealing all of those National Party voters. They're not going to go to him if they think he's going to put Jacinda's lot back in charge. This is exactly the attack Luxon and Willis need to launch on New Zealand First if they want to keep their jobs by keeping the polling up. So let's see if it works. I reckon it might. Watch the next poll. Watch for National going up and New Zealand First either going down or plateauing. That will tell us whether the fightback is working. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politicians are unimpressed with Shane Jones' suggestion the India Free Trade Agreement would lead to a "butter chicken tsunami" of Indian migrants coming to New Zealand. Christopher Luxon says the New Zealand First deputy leader's comments were "alarmist" and "scaremongering". Labour's Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking the Prime Minister should go further and call the comments out as racist. National's Mark Mitchell says Jones does have a unique way of communicating, but he should clearly choose his words more carefully. He told Hosking Jones got this one wrong, and needs to be more careful in the future. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand First's made a campaign promise to break up the country's supermarket duopoly in a bid to lower grocery prices. It said Woolworths and Foodstuffs dominate more than 80 percent of the market, driving up costs and squeezing suppliers. The party's plan is to split Foodstuffs into two competing cooperatives and ramp up enforcement powers and fines. Earlier this month, Harvest Market, a new independent grocery store opened in East Christchurch. Owner Elliott Booth spoke to Lisa Owen.

New Zealand First is heading into the election with a plan to break up the supermarket duopoly. If re-elected, the party's promising to split Foodstuffs into two nationwide co-operatives - one for New World and Four Square, and the other for Pak'nSave. Consumer NZ says the current Government's efforts to encourage a third player into the market have largely been unsuccessful. Head of Advocacy and Research, Gemma Rasmussen, has raised questions over this plan - and indicated it might not be the best solution to rising food prices. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former All Blacks captain and loose forward Taine Randell is now a New Zealand First candidate in the coming election. He will get a winnable list position in case he doesn't win the Tukituki electorate. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained what he could bring to politics. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ex-All Blacks captain Taine Randell says he's joining New Zealand First for this year's election, after a long dance with the party. An announcement by leader Winston Peters was scheduled at a public meeting in Hastings on Sunday, but cancelled because of Cyclone Vaianu. Randall's likely to become Hawke's Bay official candidate in coming weeks. He says he's fortunate to have had a great rugby career - but his eyes have now turned to the state of the country. "Right, now the next phase of my life - I'm pretty keen to contribute to New Zealand." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former All Blacks captain Taine Randell will stand as a New Zealand First candidate at this year's election. He's reportedly set to contest the Tukituki seat, currently held by National's Catherine Wedd. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explains why this is big news for NZ First. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm pleased for Judge Emma Aitken. She lives to rule another day. That dreadful night at the Northern Club that threatened to derail her career has not ended in the calamity it could have. The adjudicators didn't like what she did. But equally she isn't losing her job. I got fascinated by the whole experience because it's unusual to see a procedure that is legal, but not really legal. There was a panel and witnesses were called and a verdict of sorts was going to be issued. Yes, for Aitkin it was potentially a disaster. But for the observer like me, it also had comedic elements to it. The Northern Club is a venue of pretence snobbery, snooker and high society. Add judges, Winston Peters, champagne, pissed, old KC's and what could possibly go wrong? They were never going to sack her. It was a classic he said, she said. She claimed she uttered her words. The others said she yelled. She said she didn't know it was Winston. New Zealand First banners were all over the place. She had a fabulous yellow dress on and was tired from her day of deliberations. There were two glasses of champagne, or possibly only one and a half. There was a New Zealand First employee who found Aitken quite visually bedazzling. None of that was going to lead to the end of a career. What was a scandal was the bill. But that's lawyers isn't it? It was seven figures in the end and guess who paid for that? The case to my mind was really simple. Two wrongs were committed. 1) She got involved in something that was none of her business. Whether she recognised Winston, or yelled, or didn't, is immaterial. She wasn't an invitee and as such should have kept her sticky beak out. 2) NZ First for elevating this to the level it was. What a grandstanding waste of time. Comity was breached and it shouldn't have been. But somewhere between the champagne and interference and upset should have been a few adults, and some common sense, who should have realised this was but a moment in time. And hardly a scrap worth hiring a lawyer for.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters is back, and he is not just making up the numbers. With a massive surge to 13.6 percent in the latest poll, the New Zealand First leader is eyeing up the top job while National and Labor drift. We also dive into the co-governance rows erupting in Hastings and the Far North, where local councillors say democracy is being pushed aside for unelected boards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Prime Minister said he's focused on his core job navigating the fuel crisis and won't talk about polls. The latest Taxpayers Union-Curia poll shows National are still below 30 but slightly up, and Labour slightly down. With a boost of nearly four-points to New Zealand First, the coalition parties would be comfortably able to form a government. Political reporter Lillian Hanly spoke to Lisa Owen.

Questions around Indian students and family of visa holders are still roadblocks to Labour supporting a trade deal with India. New Zealand First's left its coalition partners in the lurch, rendering them dependent on Labour to ratify the agreement. But leader Chris Hipkins says there's a mismatch between how the deal's been presented and what the text actually contains. Damien O'Connor, the party's Trade Spokesperson, told Mike Hosking trade agreements don't typically include guaranteed work permits, but this one does. He says that Winston Peters stirred up concerns the deal will result in New Zealand being flooded with migrants, and while that's not the reality, they had to ask questions about the provisions and safeguards for that. O'Connor says they don't want thousands of students and workers coming into New Zealand and being exploited. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trade Minister doesn't see anything material in Labour's concerns over the India Free Trade Agreement. New Zealand First's shunned the deal, leaving its coalition partners reliant on Labour to ratify it. But Leader Chris Hipkins says his party's support can't be taken for granted, and he's concerned there's a mismatch between descriptions of the deal, and its contents. Todd McClay told Mike Hosking they're going to do this in good faith – a formal meeting has been set for tomorrow so they can go through the details and the advice, but it's rather straightforward. But he says Labour needs to make a decision soon. He says it's important that Parliament as a whole gets to scrutinise the deal instead of having individual parties closing the door. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest New Zealand First policy will see 50% of the royalties from mines returned to the region where the mine's located. Under the policy, the role of government agencies would also be limited. Minerals Council Chief Executive Josie Vidal told Mike Hosking that it's great to be recognised as the industry that keeps New Zealand going. She says the world is finding out you can't live on rainbows alone - and fossil fuels are needed. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in 2020, two new guidelines were introduced to support schools in teaching Relationships and Sexuality Education. The guidelines were introduced by the then Associate Education Minister and New Zealand First MP, Tracey Martin, after reports from the Education Review Office showed inconsistencies in how schools taught this subject - alongside significant gaps. The new guidelines brought greater emphasis to sexuality and gender diversity, Māori and Pacific views of sexuality, the use of digital technologies, and information about relationships and sexuality education for disabled learners. However, the current government scrapped these guidelines as part of a coalition agreement with New Zealand First, who campaigned on removing the guidelines, which they called ‘woke gender ideology.' The new proposed guidelines for relationships and sex education are significantly different to those introduced back in 2020. For this week's Get Action, Producer Theo spoke to Leonie Morris from Te Wāhi Wāhine o Tāmaki Makaurau - the Auckland Women's centre - on their petition to bring back Te Tiriti-based, inclusive relationships and Sexuality education in schools. If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.

New Zealand First is campaigning on splitting electricity suppliers into generators and retailers, in an effort to bring prices down. Contact Energy Chief Executive Mike Fuge spoke to Corin Dann.

Winston Peters has announced New Zealand First will campaign on splitting up the gentailers. Political reporter Lillian Hanly reports.