Podcasts about Official Information Act

A former chief ombudsman threatened to ask NZ's top law office to prosecute our health service. It's just one example of why he thinks the OIA needs to be reformed. A former chief ombudsman says many agencies are 'making a mountain out of a molehill' in their responses - or lack of response - to Official Information Act requests, and it's time the Act sees reformFind The Detail on Newsroom or RNZGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

So, obviously, this is the night after the Radio Awards, and with all this talk about awards, I'd like to congratulate a winner in my community. His name is Rob Drent. He is the editor and publisher of the Devonport Flagstaff and the Rangitoto Observer on the North Shore of Auckland. Rob was recently named best senior news journalist at the New Zealand Community Newspaper Awards — and it's well deserved because he's good. And I love my local rag. It's home-delivered, 30-odd pages of local news that you don't get anywhere else. Rob employs nine people — they're all locals. But like all media, it's a struggle. So in this week's issue there is an open letter from Rob asking for donations to keep the Devonport Flagstaff on track. You can become a supporter on their website, devonportflagstaff.co.nz, if you believe in local media. So last night we got the issue. The front-page lead followed an Official Information Act request by Rob. It's about a long-running saga around a skate park in Narrow Neck. This is the second crack at building it because the council scaled down the size due to ratepayer concerns. So yeah — this is part two. Rob has found that more than $100,000 has been spent and not a single sod of earth has been turned. Four consultants got $90,000 for designs, renders, geotech and drainage. Another $25,000 was spent on public consultation and internal council advice. So what's that — $115,000? Rob's article goes on to say the new plan still needs resource consent because it's in a flood zone. Of course it's in a flood zone — they don't call Lake Road “Lake Road” for nothing. But it's a skate park — who cares if it's in a flood zone? You just sweep it out afterwards. Anyway, the consultants' fees — just incredible, eh? Surely it should go to one firm that specialises in skate parks instead of four different outfits. There must be a skate park design you can buy off the shelf. And while I understand that all the consultants need to make a living and they're ratepayers too — so they contribute back into the system — you still have to wonder how it's got so hard, so expensive and so slow. So thank you, Rob — and thank you to your local media — for showing me the waste happening in my own backyard.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast with Andrew Dickens for Friday, 5 June, 2026, a constitutional law expert questions the soaring cost of government agencies dealing with Official Information Act requests. We hear from School Board Association president Meredith Kennett about ACT's vow to lower the cost of school uniforms. Air Chathams chief executive Duane Emeny talks about how hard it was to ring customers to let them know flights between Kapiti and Auckland were ending. And on the Sports Huddle, Andrew Gourdie and Hamish McKay discuss whether it's a good move to ban the vuvuzela from the football World Cup. 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.

Well, Winston let the cat out of the bag on Friday afternoon with Heather du Plessis Allan. Oh, we're scrapping fees free in the third year, he said, you'll find that in the budget. And Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that yes indeed, the scheme will be ditched in the upcoming budget. Those students completing their tertiary studies this year in their final year will remain eligible for fees free. So, all well and good. It was a dog of a scheme, it was an absolute bribe, we all knew that. It was one of those nice policies that Labour brought in and ultimately, yet again, it didn't work. On paper it looked as though it might, but it didn't. It's a nice to have and right now we are a country that cannot afford nice things. Had it been doing what it was intended to do, what on paper it looked like it might do, then the coalition government might have found the money to continue the scheme. However, it never did, never achieved the goal of increasing the number of students participating in tertiary education. It was also really bad at getting people who were disadvantaged to take up the scheme and that was the intention behind it when Jacinda Ardern announced the policy at a decile 5 school all those years ago. Didn't work when it was first year fees free. It was a flagship policy from Labour to pay for the first year of tertiary education and then as the numbers swelled and children from decile 1 schools trooped off to university and raised themselves to the excellence they needed to find within themselves and just be fabulous, it was going to be free for anybody to go to university. Didn't work. The original intentions were to help people overcome economic barriers to higher education while also growing the numbers of those enrolled. In fact, the disparity between university entrance from low decile schools and higher decile schools got worse. The Herald applied under the Official Information Act and it showed that in 2017 the year prior to the scheme being introduced, 38% of first year students at uni came from school deciles 1 to 5, the remaining 62% from deciles 6 to 10. In 2021 that gap had widened, there were just 28% taking up the fees free policy coming from deciles 1 to 5, 72% from deciles 6 to 10. So, you know, there's any number of reasons for that. It was a period of high unemployment in 2021 because we hadn't been opening the borders to workers so you might go straight into work rather than uni. There's a number of reasons for that, but ultimately the reason for the scheme being introduced was to have a greater representation of young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Didn't work. And it also doesn't work having the final year fees free in terms of encouraging people to complete their degrees because we've still got about a third of bachelor's degree level students not completing their qualifications even if they take six years to do it. So that's not working. I thought the final year fees free might encourage people to to stay on. No, data shows it hasn't. So let's be done with it. Absolutely let's be done with it. Put the money where it can better support the education and vocational needs of young people maybe. I mean university just does not have the cachet it once had and that's because it's a bums on seats model. It used to be that universities were centres for higher academic learning. And they're not now. It used to be that only a few people went to university and the taxpayer paid for them, all of their fees. Now hundreds of thousands of people go to university with a third of them never even completing their degree while the taxpayer picks up the tab for 80% of the course costs. Are we getting value for money? I don't think we are. As a model, and because the world is moving so fast, a lot of what young people are learning is out of date by the time they sit down and open their textbooks. It's not for everyone, so put that money, a lot of that money into where it can most be used by young people. I think, you know, universities still have a place, absolutely, but changing the focus away from higher academic learning to, 'hey anyone can have a go', I don't think is serving the young people, I don't think it's serving the universities and I don't think it's serving the taxpayer. The Greens have called the decision outrageous. Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says the Greens will fight to reinstate fees free support. They say it's a fantastic, wise and smart investment to invest in tertiary education for students and communities. Is it? The way it is right now, I don't I'm not entirely sure it is. I mean even 25-30 years ago I remember the the guy from Spark saying they don't take people from university in their technology and innovation and, I mean I'm sure they take some from other other areas, but if you're looking at the tech side of things they don't take them from university. They'd far rather have bright young things go from school into their departments, having new ideas, new innovations. And that was 25 years ago. So it's a nice to have the fees free tertiary education. If it was delivering, you might think about finding the money. It's not, not on any metric, not on any level. And if the Greens think it's a smart investment, you'd have to worry about their financial nous, wouldn't you? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EDITORIAL: Overnight, we've learnt that behind closed doors, at the very start of this war in Iran, our own Government wasn't quite on the same page. And as a New Zealander watching all of this unfold, what I wanted—what I think most of us wanted—was a clear, confident line about where we as a country stand. Instead, we've got emails, pushback—and a pretty uncomfortable question about who's actually in charge. Because cast your mind back to that first stand-up. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, fronting media, being pushed hard—simple question: does New Zealand support the strikes? And he couldn't give a straight answer. He said we “acknowledge” them—but wouldn't say support, wouldn't oppose. And at the time, that felt messy and unclear. It felt, frankly, like a bit of a wobble—and that's when the questions around his leadership really started to heat up. But now—now we've got a bit more context. Because the emails released under the Official Information Act show that, behind the scenes, Luxon was at least open to shifting New Zealand's position—looking at aligning more closely with countries like Australia, who explicitly supported the US-led action. And at the very same time, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and his team were saying: absolutely not. The advice was to hold the line. Stay neutral. Don't move toward explicit support—it would be “imprudent” and against New Zealand's national interest. So now you look back at that dress disastrous stand-up and you have to ask: was Luxon unclear because he didn't know what he thought? Or was he being pulled in two different directions at once? Because that's a very different story. Now, here's the interesting part. The position we ended up with—that careful middle ground of acknowledging but not supporting—actually lines up with public sentiment. An Ipsos poll in April showed 87% of Kiwis don't want military involvement, 83% think it would escalate things further, and about three-quarters don't think it's worth higher fuel prices. So the outcome? Probably right. But the process? That's where this gets shaky. Because what we've seen is internal disagreement, emails being released publicly by the Foreign Minister's office, a late-night Beehive meeting—and an admission from Peters that releasing those emails was a mistake. But Winston Peters doesn't make mistakes. That's not a Government speaking with one voice. And I'll say this—Winston Peters is experienced, he's a global operator, and he knows exactly how to play the diplomatic game. But when it starts to feel like he's the one holding the reins, and the Prime Minister is reacting— You've got to ask the question: Who's actually running the country? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's Official Information Act is under review as pressure grows over delays, workload, and calls for reform.

Remember back in February, the Government announced it was proposing to give police officers the power to issue move on orders to deal with, as it's described, disorderly behaviour in public places. What they mean is antisocial homeless people who are startling the horses, putting people off coming into the city, creating all sorts of disgusting messes for business owners to clean up. People who don't comply with the move on orders could be fined up to $2,000 or face three months in prison. Documents proactively released by the Ministry of Justice show that officials estimate up to six people a year could be jailed for noncompliance with the move on orders. The Labour Party obtained some documents under the Official Information Act, and those documents quoted Treasury saying it didn't support the orders given the benefits of the proposal are not clearly evidenced and implementation will exacerbate justice sector cost pressures. Treasury also questioned the highly uncertain modelling suggesting six people could be jailed per year. Treasury seems to think there will be far more than six. I don't know why they would think that. You can kill somebody as a drunk driver and not go to prison. You can commit all sorts of heinous crimes and be excused because you had a dreadful upbringing again, having been excused the previous two to three times you appeared before the beak. So I don't know why Treasury suddenly thinks that all of a sudden the judges are going to grow some cojones and send people to prison, because if they're not doing it for people who kill others because of their drunk driving and dangerous driving, they're not going to do it for some poor hapless soul who's got nowhere to go and addiction issues, are they? Paul Goldsmith, the Justice Minister, said just like the gang legislation, which prompted similar warnings from similar agencies, the Government was confident in its policy. He said police can operationalise this —what an ugly, terrible word, but nonetheless, that's the one he used— in a way that's highly effective. He said the policy was about reclaiming the streets and city centres for the enjoyment of everybody. He reiterated that only people who refuse the orders will face prosecution and said a move on order is not a criminal charge, although refusing to comply with one is. I have an awful lot of sympathy for retailers, business owners, those who live in the city or the cities around New Zealand having to put up with antisocial behaviour from very odd people. Not everybody is like that. There are a lot of people who are on the street who are lovely, who are perfectly reasonable humans who have had a string of bad luck – there but for the grace of God go you or I. They are not all the same at all. But having wandered the length of Queen Street at the end of last year, it was a beautiful day, I had to be somewhere, and I thought I'd take the long way and see for myself what the city was like. Yeah, there are real issues to deal with within, certainly within Auckland, Auckland's Queen Street, and no doubt in your main centre as well. There were drunken shirtless men brawling very close to the Louis Vuitton and the Christian Louboutin shops. There were troubled individuals displaying aggressive and frightening behaviour, the yipping, yelping man that jumped out at passersby. He wasn't bad, he was just sad, but you know, it was alarming, and especially if you had the kids with you while you were doing some last minute Christmas shopping. It wasn't conducive to an easy, pleasant experience. And it should have been, it was a beautiful day, you know, there are some lovely historic buildings, there's some nice parks where you can sit. It should have been lovely. But because of the unpredictable and in some cases aggressive behaviour of a small number of people, it wasn't. And I haven't been back since. But when the inner-city motels were opened to the homeless during Covid and communities were formed and made, it created a whole new vibe, if you will, in the city. When you have nothing, a routine, a bunch of mates, a place you know can be everything. So once they arrived, they stayed. I have some sympathy for those who are homeless for myriad reasons, but unacceptable behaviour is unacceptable behaviour. When people are brawling, when they're being public nuisances, when they're impinging on the right of other individuals to walk freely, when they're using shop entrances as bathrooms that other people then have to clean up, that is behaviour that needs to be curbed. And if move on orders help restore order to the cities, if move on orders sharpen the focus of social agencies to find permanent homes for those without them, so much the better. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Schools are pushing to be exempt from Official Information Act requests. The Secondary Principals' Association is seeking legal advice, after an Auckland law student sent an onerous request to nearly 2500 schools. Darfield High School Principal Andy England says requests like these burden already-stretched principals. "It meant digging through board minutes and conversations and outlining policies and procedures that are publicly available, in most cases, for the sake of somebody doing a bit of a research project." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nurses Organisation says violence in emergency departments will worsen if systemic issues aren't addressed. Figures released under the Official Information Act show more than 7,500 reports of violence against healthcare staff were logged last year, matching the year before, but up significantly on 2023. Just over 1000 reports came from emergency departments. Organisation Chief Executive Paul Goulter told Mike Hosking it comes down to understaffing and people waiting too long to get treated, and it often escalates from there. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Increasing reports of horrendous abuse directed towards staff at emergency departments. Figures released under the Official Information Act show more than 7,500 reports were logged last year, matching the year before, but up significantly on 2023. Just over 1000 reports came from emergency departments. Nurses Society Director David Wills told Ryan Bridge the assaults vary in severity but are all distressing for staff. He says it's everything from verbal abuse to spitting, biting, pushing, and occasionally sexual assault. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Thursday afternoon, almost 300 pages of police emails, text messages and documents were released about the Tom Phillips Netflix documentary, following an Official Information Act request. What was released raises real questions about the appropriateness of the relationship and communication between police and the production company - and whether the doco should be made at all. The planned Netflix documentary sits right in the middle of the tension between public interest storytelling, and the welfare of vulnerable children. It is not just a media issue - the information that was released poses legal, ethical, and social questions. On one hand, there is a clear argument for the documentary to go ahead. The Phillips case gripped the nation: three children were missing for nearly four years before being recovered after a violent police confrontation in 2025. A documentary could provide transparency, explain police decision-making, and help the public understand how such a prolonged disappearance was able to happen. From the production company perspective a documentary is a good business opportunity. Global true-crime documentaries sell, and this story has undeniable international appeal. Producer Dame Julie Christie isn't one to sit around discussing placing levy's on streaming services, rather she believes in producing globally appealing content they will buy. So, it was no surprise to learn this doco would be broadcast on Netflix - Christie has always walked the talk. However, the OIA documents complicate things. They show that filmmakers were granted unusually high levels of access to police operations, including briefings and access to a crime scene, in what could be seen as an exchange for police oversight of the final product. This raises two concerns. First, it risks turning the documentary into what critics describe as “police PR,” rather than an independent account. The police have final sign off on the editing of the documentary, which implies they have a certain amount of control over the narrative. Second, it suggests the production company was given privileges beyond what is typical for media. The production company was given a heads up about Philip's death before his family or the media, which the Police Commissioner Richard Chambers has expressed regret for. The Commissioner also added that the documentary was not always handled in line with the usual protocols and processes that apply to documentaries police are involved in. That's not on the production company, which clearly built a good working relationship with police and were just doing their job when asking for co-operation and access. If it's granted, they're not going to turn it down. But where most New Zealanders will be wary of this documentary is when it comes to the welfare of the children. Experts and family members have already warned that a film could retraumatise them, particularly given their prolonged isolation and the ongoing process of reintegration. There are court injunctions limiting what can be reported, signalling that the legal system prioritises their protection over public disclosure. But if there was not this documentary there will only be another one - or a book, or articles. Everyone has an opinion on this story; the interest won't go away. The Police Commissioner said, “There were strict conditions in place to protect the children and sensitive police operational information,” Let's hope that's the case. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police told a documentary crew they had shot fugative Tom Phillips before they told his parents he was dead. Hundreds of documents released under the Official Information Act gives a behind the scenes look at the relationship between the private documentary crew and police media staff. The newly released documents show text messages between police director of media Juli Clausen and documentary maker Dame Julie Christie. NZ Police executive director of media communications Cas Carter spoke to Lisa Owen.

When I heard David Seymour talking up the potential of New Zealand's medicinal cannabis industry, I was immediately transported to a world where the Far North was once again a thriving powerhouse of the New Zealand economy, as it used to be. Where bright young people could get meaningful jobs without having to leave home, where once again New Zealand's brilliant scientists combined with primary producers, just as they do in agriculture, to innovate and disrupt. Now, I realise I was getting a little ahead of myself, but only a bit. The medicinal cannabis export business is growing. A Ministry of Health paper released under the Official Information Act showed we exported more than a tonne of cannabis flower in 2024. That document was obtained by Newstalk ZB and showed that was more than double the 485.6 kilograms exported in 2023 So, you know, there is potential for growth there. I had the pleasure of visiting ANTG's cannabis growing facility in Armidale in New South Wales towards the end of last year. I had no idea what I was expecting to see when I went to see a cannabis growing lab, but it was just like visiting a high-level medical research lab, which is what it is. It's not a couple of old stoners growing some weed in the back garden. The security is military level. The level of hygiene and sanitation is exactly as you'd expect to see in a medical laboratory. Before you go in to where the bud has been dried and then is taken off the plant and put into the sterilised capsules to be sent off to its buyers, you have to go into a hermetically sealed room and then you have to put on outerwear and outer shoes and masks and then you can only go through one at a time. You're not allowed to pick anything up or put anything in your pocket. When you come back, you have to take off your outerwear. Like, it's the full rig. It's a full operation, as it should be. There's an entire research branch where you've got young graduates and young doctorate young people going through their doctorates working on they're either working in medicine, alternative therapies, horticulture, so there's a wide range of skills where they've been given research grants to either come up with ways of alleviating common conditions, get more out of the plant itself, find new ways of growing that are more that need less electricity or, you know, less of the anyway, it was amazing. I can't even begin to explain what I saw. Unless you've seen it, you probably unless you have been to something like this, you probably wouldn't appreciate the level of sophistication, the level of technology, the level of security that goes into exporting cannabis. We're so used to seeing cannabis as a way of gangs making money and people being sent to jail and it being something dirty and underhand. It's a complete reset of your thinking when you see it in this particular setting and this particular environment. In an interview, Seymour noted that people have said the industry could be the new high value export similar to New Zealand's wine industry. He said medicinal cannabis is some people's drug of choice and they're prepared to pay a lot of money for it. New Zealand could become, just as we are with wine, a high value powerhouse. He said the Government was looking to give exporters more permanent licenses to reduce red tape and bureaucracy and saw the rise in exports as a positive for the New Zealand economy. We need to get money into the country. Not everybody likes this stuff, but there is definitely a market for it, Seymour said. I would venture to suggest that not everybody likes the idea of cannabis being sold as a recreational drug. Some people really don't like that. Some people don't like the stuff because it's gang currency. Some people don't like the stuff because there are turf wars over it. But that's illegal cannabis. What we're talking about is medicinal cannabis, which is a whole universe away from the underhand drug dealing that goes on and is undertaken by gangs. This is next level with doctors, with scientists, with horticulturalists, with exporters putting their back into it and turning it into a billion-dollar industry. I think Seymour's quite right. I think we need to get absolutely in behind it and the very areas that would grow it best, where the investment should be, are the areas that need the jobs and the economic boost the most. The place I visited in New South Wales is just one of many, but is in a small rural area. Their primary industry appears to be private schools where farmers' daughters can take themselves and their ponies and be educated. And apart from that, it's medicinal cannabis. And it keeps really bright young minds in the district. There's a university there and the really bright ones get the research grants to be able to stay and work on cures for epilepsy and irritable bowel syndrome. There's a whole range of things they're working on. So I'm all for it. I see a golden future or a green-gold future. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we thought we'd have a look at jury duty, given a story in the New Zealand Herald this morning. I've only been called for jury service once, a couple of years ago, before Covid, which isn't really a couple of years, is it? It's like six years ago. I was keen as mustard. Couldn't wait. Fortunately, I have a very supportive employer who's able to sustain me doing my jury service. So I was able to take the week off and I duly reported to the Auckland District Court on the Monday along with a million other people. So we sort of sat around for a while and then somebody with a clipboard called us all together and I was absolutely chuffed to be selected in the first pool of potential jurors, but I didn't make the final 12 We were sitting in the courtroom, but my name wasn't called. Really did feel like I'd failed an audition. So we trooped back downstairs, those that didn't make it, and I found the person with the clipboard and said, "Look, if I do get called, can we make sure it's a short, sharp jury trial because I'm off to Europe at the end of the week?" And she said, "Oh, don't bother. It's fine. Don't bother coming back." Thanked me for my service and that was that. Couldn't have been easier. There were a lot of people milling around waiting to do their jury service and I knew about three of them. Very convivial. I'd brought a book, but I didn't really need it. One of those who milled recently, though, a 57 year old Auckland chap, is in the Herald this morning. He said it was a terrible time. He's incredulous that we have such an inefficient, expensive way of administering justice. He added up the daily rate paid to would be jurors and the reimbursement for parking fees, and although to each individual it's a pittance, it all adds up. And he says given that it's taxpayer money, there needs to be a better way of doing things. He didn't put this in his calculations, but could have. What about the lost productivity to companies that release their employees or for self employed people who have to give up their work to do their civic duty? Official Information Act figures from the Herald, they were supplied by the Ministry of Justice, shows that 7,138,000 was paid in fees and expenses to potential jurors who attended jury service in New Zealand in 2024 Like, it is an individual pittance, but man, he's right, it does add up. More than $7 million, and how much of that is wasted money? Help is on the way. Acting Minister of Justice, Courts and Justice Services Policy Acting General Manager Megan Noyce said the Regulatory Systems Courts Amendment Bill includes two amendments aimed at making the jury selection process more efficient. The Justice Committee has examined it and it's recommended that it be passed. The first amendment will enable summoned jurors to attend court only when required by the court. It would allow multiple jury panels to be convened in a week, one for each trial, instead of all jurors summoned for that week attending every day. The second amendment would allow the first part of jury selection to take place outside the court precinct, so you don't have to sit there and mill and catch up with old mates and read your book. It can be done electronically. Electronic balloting would be introduced in the future once the bill is passed and only jurors selected in the ballot would need to attend court. The remainder would only need to attend if they're selected for another trial during that week. So that bill's at the second reading stage. Presumably, there would be no strong objections from any party to it passing. Should we take the savings we make on jury selection and pass them on to those who actually make it onto the jury? Defence lawyer John Munro told the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning that a decent fee might be a way to reinforce that it's important to do your civic duty. Given the low figures, I'd actually like to see jury members get more money for sitting on juries because You reckon that would fix it? Not necessarily, not won't necessarily fix it, but I do shudder sometimes. I think it's something like $60 or $60 a day for a juror to sit on a jury and I think that's just not enough for people that are self employed. I think a lot of employers need to cover that cost and they should do so in their employment contracts. Yeah, I mean, if you're self employed, how on earth do you justify it? How on earth can you justify doing your civic duty, which is really, really important, when it's $60 a day? You have to see it basically as a donation of your time because you're not going to see the money back. And employers take a big hit when they let their employees off. And yet it is vitally important. You probably don't see it as vitally important when you turn up and see that kind of inefficiency. If you are somebody who's in business for yourself, that kind of inefficiency smacks you in the face, doesn't it? You look at that and think, What on earth's going on here? There's a million ways I could make this more efficient, less costly to the taxpayer, and still get the job done, and in fact possibly get the job done better." I would love to hear your experiences, especially if you have been on jury service in recent times. How would you make it better? Do the bills go far enough? Would you like to see an increase in the fee paid to those who actually make it onto juries? And when it comes to juries, do you trust them? Would you select trial by jury if you found yourself in court up on a serious charge? Do you have faith that your fellow New Zealanders would be able to reach a fair decision, would be unbiased, unprejudiced, understand the court proceedings? How much faith do you have in your fellow man? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A LGBTQ+ advocacy group is taking the Government to court over issues with transgender athlete inclusion. In July, Sport New Zealand announced it'll abandon its guidelines outlining how transgender athletes can be included in community sport. Auckland Pride says documents released through the Official Information Act show Sport and Recreation Minister Mark Mitchell had directed Sport NZ to withdraw the guidelines. Spokesperson Bhen Goodsir told Heather du Plessis-Allan Mitchell should be having a serious look at this. Goodsir says it sends a message from the Government that they don't see the inclusion of the transgender and rainbow community as a priority. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we look at Inland Revenue's annual report for the year ended 30th June 2025, how it is managing its responsibilities and tax debt and the results of additional funding. with Oracle New Zealand's May 2025 results highlight the issues identified in Tax Justice Aotearoa's Big Tech, Little Tax report. An interesting Official Information Act request reveals how many taxpayers are reporting foreign investment fund income.

A small business advocate says a Government grant must do more than throw money at a problem. The Taxpayers' Union has revealed the business start up grant has dished out $38 million with little to show for it. Documents retrieved through the Official Information Act show hundreds of the recipients struggled and returned to a benefit within two years. Small Business New Zealand Founder Phil Wicks told Andrew Dickens the recipients are the furthest people away from the labour market. He says they can still succeed but need more mentoring, structure, and clear expectations. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A welfare expert says one of the Government's grants is a good idea in principle. The Taxpayers' Union has revealed the business start up grant has dished out $38 million with little to show for it. Documents retrieved through the Official Information Act show hundreds of the recipients struggled and returned to a benefit within two years. Former Welfare Expert Advisory Group member Phil O'Reilly told Mike Hosking the execution was woefully bad. He says the problem is MSD spent far too much and there wasn't enough mentoring or measuring of outcomes. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act reveal disgraced Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jeveon McSkimming instigated changes to gun licence vetting rules, after being contacted by an aquaintance who was worried about losing his guns. National Crime Correspondent Sam Sherwood spoke to Corin Dann.

The rising number of people on electronically-monitored bail is being used to explain a surge in absconders. Figures released to Newstalk ZB through the Official Information Act show cases of a breach rose from 64 in 2015, to 832 last year. Corrections Chief Probation Officer Toni Stewart told Heather du Plessis-Allan over the last 10 years the courts have granted more electronically monitored bail. She says they report signs of breaches to police, and is assuring the public they have a zero tolerance for non-compliance. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rhetorical question - why do you think Neil Quigley quit on a Friday night? The key is, he would have been booted if he didn't walk. So it sort of ends a shambolic and shameful period for what should be one of our most esteemed institutions. Between Orr and Quigley (mainly Orr) they have made a joke of the Reserve Bank. What should have happened is simple. When the Government decided, rightly, that the gargantuan amount of money Orr wanted to run his fiefdom was never going to fly Orr should have, in an adult way, stated he disagreed and he disagreed to the point he could not see himself continuing in the job. He would then resign, they would organise a nice, but frugal, farewell morning tea and that would have been that. But what actually happened was Orr chucked his toys, yelled and stamped his feet to the extent that Quigley had to write to Orr. All this was also kept secret until the Official Information Act and the Ombudsman forced their hand and exposed them for the bunch of egotistical babies they are. Quigley was yelling at Treasury, Orr was yelling at Willis, deals were looking to be done, letters and proof was looking to be binned and cheques were being written to make it all go away. Lest we forget, in an irony of ironies, this is the same group of clowns who buried the economy in the hole we are still trying to get ourselves out of years after Covid. So they couldn't do their job, they stuffed the place, then packed a massive sad when their rain shower of funding was getting rectified, started a big tantrum and scrap with various departments and ministers, then tried to cover it all up. Have I missed anything? Oh, Orr vanished with the money, never to be heard from again. To his credit Quigley hung around and made a few public appearances while trying to paint a picture of normality, until the Ombudsman undid him last week and that was that. They really are an embarrassing, shambolic mess. On a side note, it's also why I assume Christian Hawkesby stands zero chance of getting Orr's old job. He is fatally linked to this period of mayhem. We'd be glad to see the back of them, if it wasn't for the fact we are still trying to clean up the mess and every one of us is paying the bill. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fishing practices are facing a major overhaul, on a scale not seen for decades. Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says his new reforms remove obstacles to growth, for the $1.5 billion dollar industry. The changes include simpler land and discard rules for fishers on monitored vessels - and the exclusion of on-board camera footage from the Official Information Act. Sport Fishing Council President Scott Macindoe says he doesn't approve of these proposed changes. "Anyone who takes these proposals seriously and takes them forward into legislation - we're staggered. Nothing of what we've offered has been taken seriously." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concern over an increasing number of children bringing weapons to school. Figures released under the Official Information Act show 526 students were stood down, suspended, or excluded for using or having a weapon at school last year. It's an 80% rise on 2018. Secondary Principals' Association President Louise Anaru told Mike Hosking that in a vast majority of cases, children have no intent to use the weapon - but regardless, the matter needs to be treated seriously. She says it's important to get the message out that they can cause harm, and to take a real strong stance on it. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hardly a surprise, is it? Adrian looks at what Nicola is offering to run the place, packs a sad, and is off. It's a pathetic end to a tumultuous period in which we, the people who paid him, deserved an awful lot better. The fact this information on the Orr resignation had to be dragged out of the bank by way of the Official Information Act, the rules of which were ignored as the bank failed to meet deadlines, shows you just what sort of place we are dealing with. How you conduct yourself is critical. It's critical to all of us and even more critical the further up the totem pole you are. There's nothing wrong with Adrian quitting if he genuinely believed the money being offered to run the bank wasn't enough. But you do it with some dignity. You quit, you serve out your period, you offer reasons for you quitting and you move on with life. In doing it that way you give us all an insight into what sort of human being you are. And in this case, you might well have been able to give us insight into how your organisation runs, what its thinking is, what the gap is between the bank and the Government and why you might be right, and they might be wrong. It doesn't have to turn into a scrap or a fallout. Just a series of adult ideas as to why people might see things at odds to each other. If Covid taught us nothing else, it taught us the critical role of a central bank and what sort of people run it. The way Adrian ran it is well documented and the general view held by many is widely traversed. But the sudden departure was another insight into why Adrian did things the way he did. He is petulant. You don't leave out of the blue and in silence. You don't bail on hosting an international finance conference having said you were looking forward to it. It's toys and sandpits with Adrian and then obfuscation from the bank when a few simple questions were asked. If you can't conduct yourself, and the bank can't conduct themselves, with any great level of clarity, transparency and professionalism, is it any wonder the economy got run over the way it did? Ol' Adrian won't be missed. But you would have hoped for something a bit more sophisticated on the way out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's episode, the Labour Party is critical of the government's plans to redevelop Nelson Hospital, saying it will deliver half the number of new beds as the previous government had planned, documents obtained under the Official Information Act show strict limits on coconut cream and soy sauce in school lunches provided by the cut-price scheme's contract-holder, the School Lunch Collective, the greyhound racing industry is heading to court to challenge the Racing Minister's decision to ban the sport from July next year, and some lower North Island councils have written to the Infrastructure Minister with their concerns about cost-cutting on the Otaki to north of Levin highway.

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act show strict limits on coconut cream and soy sauce in school lunches provided by the cut-price scheme's contract-holder, the School Lunch Collective. Education correspondent John Gerritsen spoke to Corin Dann.

The Government's being accused of rushing a greyhound racing ban, affecting hundreds of jobs. Racing Minister Winston Peters gave the industry 20 months to wind down from November. Greyhound Racing NZ is applying for a judicial review, saying the Government failed to inform, prepare, and consult on the ban. CEO Edward Rennell says many only found out shortly before the announcement. He told Mike Hosking they've had no engagement from the Government and nothing in writing on the decision – the only way they've been able to determine how it was made was through the Official Information Act. Based on that information, Rennell says the paper that went to cabinet was highly selective and didn't present complete facts. “When you're looking to take away $159 million from the economy and 1,054 jobs, surely you have an obligation to review the full facts.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Justice Minister says he's hunting for a solution to make sure victims of crime get their reparations. Figures released under the Official Information Act show almost half of all court-ordered reparation payments are overdue – $105 million owed to victims. Paul Goldsmith says there's scope for taking it out of people's benefits. He told Mike Hosking while they don't want to send people to prison, there needs to be an incentive to pay. Goldsmith says he's looking for an annoying and painful punishment that will make criminals pay up. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier is leaving his role next month after 10 years in the role. The current Government asked him to stay in the role after he quit last year as he approaches 72, the oldest someone can be in the position. His ten year term is coming to an end once and for all and he has a strong parting message. LISTEN ABOVE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ombudsman has released a lengthy list of concerns about the Official Information Act ahead of his departure at the end of this month. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A raft of changes have been proposed for the Fisheries Act - including removing public access to on-boat camera footage through the Official Information Act. Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

On today's episode, the United States defence secretary Pete Hegseth says Ukraine cannot expect to return to its 2014 borders and has downplayed the chance of it becoming a member of NATO, the union representing 25,000 Health New Zealand workers has launched legal action to halt sweeping job cuts at the agency, a dispute between Israel and Hamas over the release of hostages has pushed the Gaza ceasefire deal closer to collapse, a raft of changes have been proposed for the Fisheries Act - including removing public access to on-boat camera footage through the Official Information Act, and McDonalds New Zealand is not ruling out appealing a decision from Commissioners, who decided not to grant consent to open a restaurant in Wanaka.

Documents released under the Official Information Act show just how close health officials came to shutting down Dargaville Hospital. Northland reporter Peter de Graaf has been looking at the documents and he spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A Health New Zealand incident report, obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act, reveals patient care may have been impacted in some regions when the Crowdstrike outage hit in July. Reporter Ellen O'Dwyer spoke to Corin Dann.

The newly appointed Minister for Rail Winston Peters has said very little about the Government's ferry plans, mostly sparring with Newstalk ZB host Heather du Plessis-Allan over her questions. “We inherited, coming back into government in 2023, an unholy mess where the costs were blowing out to $3.2 billion," Peters told her. “And then you had all the other uncertainties as well. That was not the project they were charged with doing when I was last Minister of Railways. “So this was a circumstance which took some time to unravel. But here we are set to go now, and very shortly we'll announce what the long-term future will be. “But what we want is efficient, effective transport systems in this country. And the ferry operations in the Cook Strait are critical to that,” he said. Peters said he was not trying to “better” any deal put up by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, as questioned by du Plessis-Allan. “No, no … for the third time, no,” Peters said. “Probably some claimed insiders have been telling you that, but it's not true. “The wider it gets reported, it just carries on. We've got to do better.” Peters said rushing out the Government's plans would “set the bottom price from where the shipbuilders will start increasing their profits - and we're not going to start making those silly mistakes”. “I just told you that three times and now I'm telling you a fourth time. “You'll have plenty of time under the Official Information Act in the future to find out whether what I'm saying is true. And when you do, can you please go on the programme and say, ‘I'm so sorry, I maligned Winston'.” The Government has announced their plans to procure replacements to replace the aging Interislander fleet. Photo / Mark Mitchell Peters said: “I admit it's taken too long. But we've been in the job less than one day, give us some time and we'll show you what we can do. “What you've got to do [as a Government] is find out from all sources what is the best option at the best price for the greatest level of efficiency with the greatest longevity.” Peters said the break fee was confidential “for a whole lot of reasons”. “Do you know anything about commercial practice? That's why it's confidential. Which law school did you go to? “This is embarrassing for the country, you're quite right. The darned boats were only 20% of the costs.” Peters sparred with du Plessis Allan several times. “You're telling me it's embarrassing? Of course, it is. I'm here to fix it and I'm going to fix it,” he told her. Peters said he had “no idea” about Act leader David Seymour's comments about the ferries. “Who said that was true?” Peters said in response to du Plessis Allan's questions. “You know, I've never seen so much rudeness. Somebody is trying to explain to you about a critical issue that costs so much to the taxpayer and you're interrupting. Here's the point: It'll cost way, way less than [iRex], and that, I'm certain.” He said the final decision would come “just as soon as we can responsibly make it”. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Minister holds the view that the Ihumātao committee's achieved nothing. Documents seen under the Official Information Act show that Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka considered dissolving the committee. It's now been almost four years since the previous Labour Government supported the sale of the land, after controversial protests. Former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson told Mike Hosking all this group is capable of doing is talking. He says he wouldn't give them an ultimatum, he'd just boot them now. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No new oil and gas fields are likely to be discovered in the next ten years. That's according to the government's own advice on repealing the oil and gas exploraton ban. The latest modelling, urgently released under the Official Information Act and obtained by RNZ, says in the short term repealing the ban is not likely to significantly bolster gas supplies from existing fields, either. Instead, the analysis shows government officials think reversing the ban will encourage fossil fuel companies to release more gas for extracton from the existing fields.

There's a belief from the Minister that reopening oil and gas exploration won't make a dent in New Zealand's climate impacts. The public have until tonight to submit on the Government's bill, reversing the previous Governments ban on exploration off the coast. MBIE figures show it will result in millions of tonnes of additional emissions. But Shane Jones told Heather du Plessis-Allan New Zealand needs energy. He says those opposed are simply "woke" in thinking it is a mortal threat, a claim he's rubbishing. Jones says protestors are entitled to their views, and he's happy to engage with those who disagree with him. He says kiwis want to hear someone put an alternative view to these frog-loving and lizard-obsessed environmentalists. The Government's own advice on repealing the oil and gas exploration ban, released under the Official Information Act and obtained by RNZ, says no new gas fields are likely to be discovered and developed in the next 10 years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Officials told Associate Health Minister Casey Costello that tobacco giant Philip Morris would be the biggest winner from tax cuts for Heated Tobacco Products, which they said could damage health and were more harmful than vaping. Documents released by Treasury under the Official Information Act also said cutting the excise tax on HTPs may give a commercial advantage to Philip Morris as the monopoly provider. Guyon Espiner has the story and spoke with Ingrid Hipkiss.

Advice received by Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said big tobacco company Philip Morris would benefit the most from tax cuts for Heated Tobacco Products. New documents obtained under the Official Information Act show Treasury officials also warned the products were toxic and more harmful than vaping. Despite the warning, the associate health minister claimed she received contrary "independent" advice and went ahead with a 50 percent excise tax cut. Labour's Health Spokesperson Ayesha Verrall spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has revealed a proposal to build a second harbour bridge between Pt Chevalier and the North Shore as a cheaper alternative crossing option.  This would involve using the naturally existing lava flow at Meola Reef to support a new bridge across the Waitematā Harbour crossing to Kauri Point on the North Shore.  In response, critics have questioned the investment, whether the proposal would solve issues of traffic congestion, and have raised concerns regarding environmental implications, disrupting suburban areas, and iwi consultation.  Additionally, Auckland Council received criticism earlier this week over information revealed through an Official Information Act request by the Auckland Ratepayers Alliance that Council spent over $250k on repairing four sets of stairs on Milford Beach.  Sofia spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.

Calls for a review of New Zealand's child support system, which is being described by some as broken.. Figures released under the Official Information Act reveal just 0.05 percent, or 36 of 66-thousand New Zealanders in breach of child support responsibilities have been referred to court, in 12 months. Family law barrister Sharon Chandra says the general tenor of feedback she gets, is that the system is broken. She says that's not solely because of a lack of enforcement action, but also because of the assessed amounts that IRD direct parents to pay. The total that New Zealanders are currently in arrears by is 663-million dollars. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions to Ministers Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? TIM COSTLEY to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the economy? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by her statement, "On this side of the House, we take economic management extremely seriously"; if so, have her decisions since the Budget exemplified that? NANCY LU to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: What recent announcements has he made about the Government's one-stop-shop fast-track legislation? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS to the Minister for Energy: Does he agree with Mark Ogge, a climate and energy expert at the Australia Institute, that "only import liquefied natural gas if you like your energy very, very expensive, and if you want it to be very emissions intensive. Otherwise go for renewable energy, with storage, which is cheaper and virtually zero emissions"; if not, why not? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? MIKE BUTTERICK to the Minister for Energy: What steps is the Government taking to bolster New Zealand's energy security? Hon RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he stand by his statement that "we've replicated ... the same law that Labour adopted" about the proposed changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill? JENNY MARCROFT to the Minister for Resources: What reports has he seen regarding the need for more resource extraction to support New Zealand's energy security? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by her response to written question No. 405 (2024), "There was no specific document written. A range of information was provided to officials, including material like Hansard reports, the Coalition Agreement and previous NZ First policy positions"; if so, how is this consistent with her having now released the document in question under the Official Information Act? LAN PHAM to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? DAN BIDOIS to the Minister of Local Government: What recent announcements has he made on getting councils back to basics?

Road maintenance is becoming both more expensive, and more urgent.  A Government briefing document —released to our newsroom under the Official Information Act— shows road repair costs have gone up 50% in six years.  Drainage renewal costs have gone up 350%.  Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking costs have been rising at the same time roads have been degrading.  He says weather in the past couple of years has wrecked the roading system even more.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Official Information Act request reported on last week by Newsroom revealed Minister for Resources Shane Jones obscured the nature of an undeclared meeting with multiple mining companies about the Fast-Track Approvals process in February.  Initially, Jones told Newsroom the dinner was a “last minute thing”, however he corrected the record the following day saying the dinner was arranged in advance with two other participants.  In response, Communities Against the Fast-Track, a coalition of communities, groups and other individual community organisers, have called for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to remove Jones from his portfolio. Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to spokesperson for Communities Against the Fast-Track, Augusta Macassey-Pickard, about this, starting the interview asking her how concerned she and the Communities Against the Fast-Track groups were about this behaviour. 

A new standard to keep our homes warm and dry introduced just last year, may be rolled back if Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk gets his way. Information obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act shows that Minister Penk is considering reverting to the old building standards despite being advised the new standards were overwhelmingly supported. Chris Penk speaks to Susana Lei'ataua.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has been severely reprimanded by the Chief Ombudsman and forced to apologise for trying to keep information about tobacco and vaping policy secret. Chief Ombudsman Judge Peter Boshier took the rare step of forcing the New Zealand First Minister to apologise to RNZ and to Otago University Professor of Public Health Janet Hoek for her handling of Official Information Act requests. Guyon Espiner spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Cabinet Minister Judith Collins wants the government to expand the use of AI, starting with the health and education sectors where it could be used to assess mammogram results and provide AI tutors for children. Collins, whose Digitising Government portfolio gives her responsibility for AI policy, says the technology could also be used for government productivity gains, including processing Official Information Act requests. RNZ'S Guyon Espiner spoke to Corin Dann.

Two Ministry of Justice workers have been called out for using foul language to complain about a researcher in an online chat. Academic Barbara Sumner has made a number of Official Information Act requests as part of her P-h-D research into adoption systems. But she was in for a shock when she asked for any correspondence about her. She spoke to Ingrid Hipikiss.

BusinessDesk launches its Business of Education series today, looking at the role of the private sector in education. Dileepa discusses Official Information Act figures which reveal a four and a half-fold increase (450%) in the amount the Ministry has spent on contractors over the last five years. And Trade Minister Todd McClay is in Abu Dhabi where he is vice chair for the World Trade Organisation's 13th Ministerial. He is set to chair a contentious part of the meeting which will discuss tariffs on digital services like Netflix.