Podcast appearances and mentions of Paul Goldsmith

The Government wants to deal with shoplifting offences in a quicker way instead of going through the entire court system. The Justice Minister's newly released Cabinet paper proposes the burden of proof should fall on the suspect to prove their innocence. This clashes with the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, as protected in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. But Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking this could be compared to a traffic offence. He says someone caught speeding is given a ticket and must pay a fine unless there is a reasonable excuse. He's also welcoming a High Court ruling that the decision to extradite Kim Dotcom was legal. The Megaupload millionaire had challenged Paul Goldsmith's decision to surrender him to the US earlier this year, arguing the charges against him are politically motivated. Dotcom fought the extradition process all the the way to the Supreme Court and his latest effort was a judicial review. The Justice Minister told Hosking he's pleased to see his decision upheld but notes there are still potential appeals to be had. The Dotcom legal battle began 13 years ago. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 11th of September, the Government are looking at the idea of guilty until proven innocent when it comes to shoplifting. MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University and Mike provides the latest details throughout the morning. Warriors coach Andrew Webster details how the Warriors are going to win this weekend in their do-or-die playoff game against the Panthers. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fixing major challenges in the justice system might need to be a team effort from key players across the board. Concern around mounting stress in the system is highlighted by Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann in her Annual Report. It identifies key stressors including delays, limited capacity, security challenges, and insufficient funding. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking speeding up the courts is a classic system challenge. He says there's a whole lot of different players, like Police and Judges, and everyone tends to blame each other for the situation. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 4th of September, does Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith have a fix for a system a new report says is under “considerable stress”? Great news for the teaching sector as we see a 30% rise in training enrolments. Kiwi robotics genius Dave Ferguson's company Nuro is now worth over $10 billion, and he talks to Mike about wanting to lead the way when it comes to robotaxis. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changes could be in store for gang legislation after a judge handed back a patch to a Mongrel Mob member. Police were ordered to return the patch after its owner was arrested for wearing it publicly. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says he can't comment on decisions of judges, but isn't ruling out changing the law. "There's a legal process to go through, it may be appealed - I don't know. We'll wait and see how it all plays out, and if we find that we've got a problem, we'll fix it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey shows 156,000 victims of serious violent crimes in the year to May. It's down 29,000 from when National took office in 2023, and the drop is largely made up of family violence incidents. However, the number of sexual assault victims has increased by 3,000 in only three months. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Justice Minister's promising the right to protest is being protected - as the Government moves to outlaw action outside people's homes. Its new Bill would create a new offence for engaging in a targeted and disruptive demonstration outside a residence. It would carry a maximum fine of two-thousand dollars, or three months in jail. Paul Goldsmith says New Zealanders value the right to protest, and also value privacy He says they're dealing with issues targeted at individuals and personal residences. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Paul Goldsmith is in for Nicola Willis and Labour's Carmel Sepuloni spoke to Corin Dann.

The minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area Act says the Government would have passed the bill even if the Supreme Court had agreed with a lower court's ruling against it. The Government will proceed with the bill which will tighten criteria for Māori claiming Customary Marine Titles. Justice and Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking he thinks the settings will be right after the legislation's passed. He says they want Māori to be able to apply for the titles but there has to be a high bar. Goldsmith says they want to move on this quickly, and he's hoping to have the legislation introduced in October. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 6th of August, we look forward to the unemployment figures due today, and the Government pushing ahead with the foreshore and seabed law. Mike looks at our wine industry and all the grapes going unharvested. Are the golden days of Sauvignon Blanc over? Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell cover some of the major announcements of the week on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Controversial new foreshore and seabed legislation is expected to pass within months. The Government has confirmed it'll go ahead with changing the Marine and Coastal Areas Act. It follows a Supreme Court ruling, opposing an original Court of Appeal decision that could've made it easier for iwi to have ownership rights over coastlines. Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says there will be a reasonable hurdle to get over if a group wants a customary marine title. "The Supreme Court dealt with some of the issues that we were concerned about, but not all." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justice Minister, Paul Goldsmith, recently announced a proposal to the Electoral Act and Constitution Act, removing the ability for an individual to enrol on election day. Alongside this comes the proposal of halting the ability to enrol during the advanced voting period. This move has received backlash - including from within the government. This morning, Attorney-General, Judith Collins KC, says the move goes against the Bill of Rights Act. During the 2023 general election, over 450,000 enrolled in the 12-day period, with 110,000 enrolling on election day. A significant proportion of those later enrolments consist of young people, and in areas of bigger Māori, Pacific, and Asian communities. In light of this move, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, says those who have left voting to the last minute are “drop-kicks”. As well as this, the ACT Party's justice spokesperson, Todd Stephenson, added to this, saying “Democracy works best when voters are informed, engaged, and take the process seriously,” and that “It's outrageous that someone completely disengaged and lazy can rock up to the voting booth, get registered there and then, and then vote to tax other people's money away.” For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel spoke to him about this move.

People with unpaid court fines could be at risk of having cars clamped or seized from tonight. The Government's trialling number plate scanning technology, which bailiffs can use at police checkpoints to identify fine evaders. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking there's more than $100 million in unpaid fines. He hopes the trial's effective in clamping lots of cars, because the rest of the country is sick of people not facing consequences. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 25th of July, the Government is changing election rules to stop same-day enrolment and banning food and drink within 100 meters of voting stations. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced a new measure that would see the cars of court fine evaders clamped or seized. Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson Wrap the Week, complete with another development in Mike's lemon and hot water saga. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government says its overhaul of electoral laws - will bring swifter and simpler election processing. It plans to end same-day enrolments - with a cut off 13 days before election day. The Justice Minister says late enrolling contributed to vote counting ballooning to three weeks. Paul Goldsmith says it could have grown to four weeks, without change. "More and more people have been enrolling on election day - or just before - and that all has to be sorted out before they can do the vote counting, so we're just having to get the system sustainable because we're proud of our electoral system and we want it to work well." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emeritus Professor David Brown joins us LIVE at 9pm to talk about the research behind what harsher prison penalties leads to. This government is telling us it's the answer...Professor Brown will explain to us if that is correct or not.Paul Goldsmith embarrassed himself on Breakfast this morning thinking he had turned up to a joke-fest with Kieran McAnulty...he had not as the Minister and the MP talked about bias in the media and the RSB and Tens of thousands of New Zealanders packed their bags for Australia last year, with a net migration loss across the Tasman of 30,000 people. Stats NZ released its net migration figures for 2024 on Thursday, which confirmed the “brain drain” remained high, at a rate similar to 2012 which bodes the question why do our best and brightest flee when a right wing party gets voted in?=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

It's the second week of the winter recess at Parliament - known around the building as one of the quietest weeks in politics of the year. But despite many politicians taking the week off or working back in their electorates, there's still work being done in the halls of power - including public submissions on the Regulatory Standards Bill today. What does the bill do, and why has it been so controversial? Also, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says it's possible the government could introduce mandatory sentences for some crimes. What could this look like? Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls joined Nick Mills for the Beehive Buzz. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Paul Goldsmith, Haehaetu Barrett, David Wilson and Cameron Luxton

A criminal defence lawyer isn't sure changing trespassing laws will significantly impact retail crime. The Justice Minister's latest law and order proposal would double maximum fines for trespassing on businesses. It will also let owners ban people from multiple sites - and for longer. John Munro says the move, alongside an earlier announcement on harsher moves against shoplifting, won't make much difference. "Most of those sorts of people, I would think, don't have much money in the first place to end up paying a fine - does it really deter them?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Thursday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) No. Me Neither/More EV Myths Busted/Trying to Turn ACC Around/Minister of Nothing/Who's Draining All These Brains?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is introducing instant fines for shoplifters, with penalities up to $1000. It said low level theft is a real scourge on the community and public confidence in the justice system is undermined if people can steal with apparently impunity. Retail New Zealand says just over $1.3 billion of goods were stolen in 2023. Under the new regime anyone caught stealing up to $500 worth of retail can be fined up to $500. For goods valued at more than $500 the fine will be up to $1000. Justice Minister, Paul Goldsmith spoke to Lisa Owen.

A slew of justice announcements this week. The Government's rolling out harsher punishments for theft and new fines for shoplifting – including a proposed infringement fee of up to $1000, based on item value. Maximum penalties for shoplifting less than $2000 will be one year behind bars, and seven if worth more than that. They also made coward punching a specific offence, which could carry a life sentence if fatal. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking all of their measures are to send the clear message that if you commit a crime, there will be consequences. He says their primary goal is to reduce the number of victims of crime, which they're making good progress on. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 2nd of July, we've got the retail crime crackdown promised at the start of the week. Will it work, or does it look better on paper? Jaffas have been 86'd, along with the likes of snifters, tangy fruits, and smarties. Could someone else come onboard and save our iconic sweet? Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell debate whether youth MPs are being repressed, the various crime announcements, and whether Mike should be a patron for a police college wing on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Justice Minister's confirmed the Government aims to send a clear message to offenders as part of the latest legislation. The Government recently announced 'coward punches' will be treated as a new offence, giving offenders longer sentences. The reform makes good on a National and NZ First coalition promise. Paul Goldsmith says the Government's hoping to disincentivise these 'unacceptable' attacks. "We're going to send a very strong message from Parliament to the judiciary - that we expect serious consequences for serious crime." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shoplifting and trespassing laws are expected to get a revamp this week. Newstalk ZB understands policy changes relating to Retail Crime Ministerial Advisory Group recommendations are imminent. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's previously labelled current trespassing laws as not fit for purpose. Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young told Ryan Bridge the changes should deal with recidivist offending.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A spate of new sentencing reforms will take effect today, including the sentence discount caps that promise to restore 'real consequences' for crime. As part of the reforms, judges won't be able to reduce an offender's sentence by more than 40 percent for mitigating factors. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says the Government's top priority is to restore law and order. "Remember, people were very worried about disorder in their communities and streets and high levels of crime - and over the last 18 months, we've been doing a lot of things. But a big part of it is about ensuring there are real consequences for crime." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 27th of June, it's accountability Friday! Paul Goldsmith, Tama Potaka, and Erica Stanford have questions to answer about scandals, non-scandals, and accusations. After the unfortunate passing of Takutai Tarsh Kemp, what is the process going forward in filling her seat? Tim and Katie talk Tim's latest injury and Mike's best musical discovery of the week as they Wrap the Week. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Treaty Negotiations Minister admits people are losing patience on a Ngāpuhi settlement, but says they want it to last. New Zealand First is launching a Bill, proposing a one-and-done treaty settlement for the largest iwi, rather than multiple hapu settlements. Paul Goldsmith says that although he sympathises with the desire for a faster resolution, if you want an enduring settlement, you need people to be prepared to settle. He told Mike Hosking that the settlement has to have the support of around 200,000 to 300,000 people, which has been the challenge in the past. Goldsmith says that they have a good plan now, and they're making good progress on the work that's currently underway. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A single Treaty settlement is being drafted by New Zealand First for the country's largest iwi. Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith has signalled he's open to settlements with smaller groups - within iwi. Ngāti Hine leader Pita Tipene says they continue to hold talks with Paul Goldsmith, but not Shane Jones. "He is the minister, that's who we have conversations with and that's how we want to keep it. We don't want to be talking to the minister - or anybody else for that matter - through the media." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A High Court judge has ordered right-wing activist Chantelle Baker to pay a $100,000 bond ahead of a defamation case against Stuff for its disinformation documentary Fire and Fury. We'll show you some never seen before footage tonight from a 2 hour interview Pat had with Baker.Paul Goldsmith and Ginny Anderson were on Breakfast this morning talking the cost of living crisis where it seems the current government is happy to blame international forces on where we are...all while saying to the last government they couldn't use that as an excuseThe ferries are "hanging on by a thread" according to the Maritime Union with more breakdowns and ship retirements on the way all while this government is yet to give us the plans for replacements.=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

The government has strengthened its proposed anti-stalking legislation, so a person could be convicted after two specified acts within two years, with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. Justice minister Paul Goldsmith spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Proposed anti-stalking laws are being strengthened - following recommendations from Parliament's Justice Select Committee. Originally the proposed offence, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison, captured three specified acts within a one year period. It'll now be triggered after two acts within two years, which Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says better recognises patterns of behaviour and the time that can pass between incidents. He explained they took feedback on board - and agreed to make some changes. "What we've seen is plenty of evidence that, in certain circumstances, these sorts of stalking behaviours can lead to more serious outcomes - and we're all aware of terrible examples of that." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Justice Minister says reinstating a total ban on prisoner voting is not likely to change the outcome of elections. The proposal would reverse changes introduced in 2020 allowing prisoners serving sentences of less than three years to vote. People detained on remand or serving sentences of home detention will still be able to vote. Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking the number of votes coming out of prisons is not enough to sway a result. He says it's about sending a signal to people who breach the rights and responsibilities of living in society. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government says it's doing so well in lowering violent crime that it's surpassing its own best-case-scenario targets. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith spoke to Corin Dann.

The Government hopes victim figures will continue on a downward trend as new legislation takes effect. The Justice Minister expects the data to remain volatile and says more work is still needed. Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking the three strikes and tougher sentencing laws will kick in from June. He says the best place to start is the small group of New Zealanders creating multiple victims. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 16th of April, the Government is hitting its crime targets – Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith discusses their progress. Physios want to be able to authorise someone to come off ACC and head back to work, clearing backlogs. Should they be allowed to? Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the crime stats, golden visas, and whether they trust the media on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all. Donald Trump: 1/10 Complete and utter chaotic clown. You don't treat the world economy like this. Clowns: 2/10 In order: Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick, Pete Hegseth, and Karoline Leavitt. The IRD: 6/10 Collected close to a billion dollars in unpaid tax, simply by looking – quite a good concept! Paul Goldsmith: 6/10 Is it ingenious or worrying when you're asking the Mike Hosking Breakfast for policy ideas? Wool: 8/10 Wool deserves a break. In pure economic terms I'm not sure this is on the Government to spin the line, far less the yarn. But it's Winston's baby and he's 80-years-old today so, why not? Andrew Little: 6/10 Is he the answer for Wellington, or a retired politician looking for work? LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW 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 Justice Minister says the Government is still fleshing out some sentencing details as new rules pass through Parliament. Legislation passed today caps judges' sentence discounts at 40 percent. It also encourages cumulative sentencing for offences done on bail, in custody, or on parole. Minister Paul Goldsmith says it sends a bad signal if sentences aren't added together. "We haven't gone so far as legislating that that should always happen every time at this stage, because it does have very, very significant impacts on our prison populations - and our ability to cope with it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The trick, and we fail it virtually every time, is not to get bogged down in the minutiae. There aren't prizes for coming up with dumb scenarios to try and catch the idea out. Amending the law to allow greater use of locals to grab a scumbag and hold them till the coppers arise is a good, and welcome, idea. If the Government is making tangible and positive progress anywhere, it's on the crime front. More people are in jail, more people are being rounded up, more of us feel safe, the police feel better about doing their job, or being allowed to do their job, and the citizens arrest news is merely adding to that progress. Coming up with scenarios about criminals bringing bigger weapons to robberies won't happen, the same way we haven't seen the gangs give the bird to the coppers over patches. At the Prime Minister's press conference this week with Paul Goldsmith, Mark Mitchell, and Commissioner Richard Chambers, they were asked about there being more gang members, with the inference being the law is failing. Yes, said Richard Chambers, there are more members because we are putting more groups on the register. And arrests aren't going up commensurately because gangs aren't flouting the law and retail thugs won't flout this one either. Thugs are cowards and opportunists. They try it on because they know they can. The moment they know a guard in a supermarket can jump on top of them they won't bother, the same way they tried to get work when the traffic light system came in for Jobseeker. Bottom feeders are essentially lazy. If it's easy, they'll abuse it or nick it. If you crack down the game's up and they will give up. This sort of thing should be welcomed. This is what we wanted. Memories can't be so short that we have forgotten the madness that filled our streets just a year or so back. The ram raids, the gangs, the blocked roads with their intimidation, the non-existent police to round them up, the endless criminals on ankle bracelets reoffending - we hated that! We got furious at that. A year and a bit later the change has happened, and the statistics have turned. Let's not get bogged down in a petty game of "but what if".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government hopes criminals will be deterred as it proposes loosening restrictions on citizen's arrests. It would mean businesses could arrest and detain people stealing at any hour, and use reasonable force. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says this doesn't mean people can't tackle others or force them to the ground - but they will be able to directly intervene. "The definition of reasonable force is something that the courts will work their way through - but yes, holding on to somebody's arm and stopping them from getting away is reasonable." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday increasing citizen's arrest powers. Goldsmith spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Dealing with retail crime could be about to get easier. Incoming new Government measures are expected to address the possibility of citizen's arrests and make it clearer how people can protect their properties. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking a government advisory group has been working very hard on recommendations and next steps, which will be confirmed later today. It comes as new data shows overall retail crime increased 12%, however ram raids halved last year, and violent crime dropped 2%. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 26th of February, violent crime is down for the first time since 2018, much to the pleasure of the Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. The Government is making an announcement today, loosening the citizen's arrest laws. So would you, if you could? Or is it a recipe for disaster? Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell debate policing strategies and Andrew Bayly on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So it looks like, on paper at least, that this is a big win for the Government's crackdown on crime. Violent crime is down for the first time in five years - sure, it's only by two percent, but at least it's not going up. 2019 - up. 2020 - up. 2021, 2022, 2023 - up, up up. 2024 - down. And over those five years of increase, violence went up 51 percent. You basically had to just walk down the street and you'd get punched in the eye. Mark Mitchell and Paul Goldsmith have fired off press releases quicker than a Chinese warship in the Tasman about this, they're crowing and beating their chests, they're very happy. And you can see why - serious assaults have come down, injuries have reduced, ram raids are down massively, total victimisations are down as well. And here's the kicker - guess what else has changed at the same time? The prison population has just hit its highest level since 2018. Police foot patrols are up 40 percent. So it's almost like - if more bad people are in prison, they're not punching us in the streets. I know, completely unbelievable. And who would have thought police patrolling the streets might actually prevent crime? This is, of course, not radical stuff. It's basic stuff. And on these numbers, the Government finally has something tangible to be proud of. But - and there's always a but with these stats - retail theft is up 12 percent. People are still walking into shops with their tote bags and taking stuff. And then there's the stats themselves - this survey that they're using here covers a 24 month window, so it's not a crystal-clear picture that we're getting. Plus, the violence numbers that they're looking at come from a mish-mash of police data via Twitter, of all places. This is from the Government release. So we can expect some blowback from Labour on that. But you don't need the stats to tell you - what you feel and what I feel and what we feel and see in our neighbourhoods, and that's more cops on the beat and less violence on our streets. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duncan Greive goes solo to break down a discussion document with profound implications for local media. He explains why he thinks this is the best and most coherent policy outline we've seen in a decade, what's in it, what the challenges are and how it would impact local media if it went through. A reminder: The Fold is live in Wellington next week! Get your tickets here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Media and Communications Minister says cutting funding for NZ on Air and the Film Commission isn't on the table. The Government is asking for feedback on five proposals, aiming to help local media go up against international competitors. One includes merging the Commission and NZ on Air. Paul Goldsmith says the two categories are becoming far less distinct - and a merger could even give both more funds. "Rather than having two organisations doling it out - if you had one, that could be a more efficient way of doing it. We're not suggesting changing the overall funding levels, that's just how it's administered." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Goldsmith shares the power of having a singular purpose and eliminating distractions, even good things, to create a SURGE toward a bigger future in your life.

"Before you have Jesus, you have Joe Rogan". Known on social media as the "Recovering Californian", Comedian Carollynn Xavier sits down with Paul Goldsmith to discuss her unique faith journey, moving from California to Tennessee, marrying another comedian, and living in a tiny home in the woods. The conversation also explores how Carollynn plans to leave stand-up comedy, and what's next for her. Plus, Paul finally gets invited to a book club! Follow Carollynn on Instagram @CarollynnXavier.

Tonight, on Trackside, it's championship week! IndyCar descends on Nashville Superspeedway for the season's final race and determines who will be the IndyCar champion. Kevin and Curt talk about all the championship scenarios. They also preview some of the special things they will do on the final NBC IndyCar broadcast. They also address the battery issue with Palou during the Milwaukee race, and some championships of the past. They also talk about Scott McLaughlin's push-to-pass penalty taking him out of the championship race early, and Will Power's losing 10 points because of the push-to-pass debacle.  Later, Kevin and Curt talk about what lineup Chip Ganassi Racing will have in 2025 with the new charter system. They talk about where Marcus Armstrong will go, and where Alexander Rossi will be next season. Sting Ray Robb is also brought up, and how he and Rossi may go to the same team because Peter Rossi manages both drivers.  To round out the first hour, Kevin previews the next hour.  In the second hour of the show, Kevin and Curt talk about the talent of Linus Lundqvist, and where he will be in 2025. They also go down the list of some of the other drivers who are looking for open seats and where they could be racing in 2025. They mention Valteri Bottas and his comments about possibly coming to IndyCar. They also talk about Kyle Larson returning next year to do the double. Tony Kanaan will be the relief driver if Larson must leave the race to go to Charlotte. They also pay respect to Paul Goldsmith.   Later, they talk about the success of Milwaukee, how Nashville will race, and the new charter system.   To end the show, Kevin recaps what they missed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.