Focus on Politics

RNZ

A weekly analysis of significant political issues.

  • 16 minutes
    Trump triumph touches NZ shores
    Mark this one down in the history books: Donald Trump, on his way back to the White House after a nail-biter race for the American presidency. No doubt the ramifications will be momentous for the United States - but what for New Zealand? RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch breaks down the consequences.
    8 November 2024, 6:00 am
  • 16 minutes
    Minister Chris Penk lays foundations for self-certified building scheme
    The government wants to speed up house building, aiming to allow builders to sign off their own work. It would be a risk-based approach, only used for straightforward jobs or by trusted groups - and paired with harsher penalties for rule-breakers. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ Political Reporter Russell Palmer sits down with Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk to nail down some details and his thinking around the government's self-certification scheme aimed at getting homes built faster.
    1 November 2024, 6:00 am
  • 15 minutes 56 seconds
    Scandals dog National, the Greens while New Zealand First takes aim at Labour
    Multiple parties brushed up against scandal this week as National struggled to defend a bumbling minister and the Greens farewelled a rogue MP. Meanwhile New Zealand First and Labour were at loggerheads over an alleged conflict of interest. It all played out in the same week the Government intervened at Wellington City Council - trying to sort out the capital kerfuffle. Deputy political Craig McCulloch looks back at a busy week in politics.
    25 October 2024, 6:00 am
  • 15 minutes 58 seconds
    Wellington woes - government threatens council intervention
    Wellington City Council has been under scrutiny this week, with the coalition government threatening to intervene. Last week, the capital's councilors voted to stop the sale of its 34 percent stake in the Wellington Airport. The decision has left the council's Long Term Plan in limbo - its investment plan for the next ten years. Political reporter Lillian Hanly breaks down the capital kerfuffle.
    18 October 2024, 5:07 am
  • 15 minutes 55 seconds
    Winston Peters bangs drum on UN veto reform
    Fresh off a trip to the United Nations General Assembly leaders' week, the foreign minister Winston Peters is defending New Zealand's support for a resolution calling for Israel to leave occupied Palestinian territories within 12 months. That decision raised some eyebrows back home, as it was out of step with our Five Eyes partners, and Act leader David Seymour believes it was a big enough change in position to warrant having a conversation at Cabinet - but that did not happen. Political editor Jo Moir sat down with Peters this week and began by asking whether he left New York this year feeling anymore hopeful for change at the United Nations.
    10 October 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 16 minutes
    Tobacco debate getting heated at Parliament
    Casey Costello is the Smokefree Minister accused of helping Big Tobacco - something she strongly denies. The pressure on her has only grown amid questions about the advice she's relied on to push through tax cuts on heated tobacco products. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch lays out the latest revelations surrounding New Zealand's Smokefree strategy as overseen by the minister and NZ First MP Casey Costello.
    4 October 2024, 6:00 am
  • 15 minutes 56 seconds
    Interislander ferry's future adrift amid coalition indecision
    In December last year the Coalition government pulled the pin on the Interislander ferry replacement project, saying it was time to get real about what had been a significant budget blowout from $700m to about $3b. More than 10 months on, Cabinet has yet to discuss what will replace the project due to coalition disagreement about the best solution, as the ageing current fleet faces maintenance difficulties. In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jo Moir examines the government's rocky relationship with its Cook Strait crossing.
    27 September 2024, 7:00 am
  • 15 minutes 50 seconds
    Tough-on-crime talk becomes a numbers game
    The coalition campaigned on a return to law-and-order with a hardline approach emphasising personal responsibility and a crackdown on gangs. Nearly a year in power, many of the numbers seem to be going the wrong way - but statistics on crime and policing are notoriously difficult to draw conclusions from. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch assesses how the government's tough-on-crime crusade is going, and what's ahead.
    20 September 2024, 7:00 am
  • 16 minutes
    Not-so-super markets? Commissioner warns of slow progress
    Between 2019 and 2023, groceries went up in price by more than any other common household bill. High hopes were placed on new Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden to boost competition, but he says the current tools are still not enough. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ's Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch digs into the first report card from the Grocery Commissioner - and considers what is to come.
    6 September 2024, 7:00 am
  • 15 minutes 50 seconds
    Sovereignty debate sees major parties weighing in for first time
    Tributes are flowing from across Aotearoa and around the world after Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died early on Friday morning. Moe mai raa e te kiingi. It ends a fortnight in which the question of whether Māori ceded sovereignty - a question as old as the Treaty itself - saw the major parties in Parliament taking stronger positions in the debate than ever before.
    30 August 2024, 7:00 am
  • 15 minutes 49 seconds
    Coalition positions on Treaty principles crystallise at Koroneihana
    In the pouring rain and whipping winds, politicians arrived at Ngāruawāhia's Tūrangawaewae marae for te Koroneihana, the 18th anniversary of the Māori King's coronation. The typically apolitical event was instead this year full of challenges to the government and the man at the top, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
    23 August 2024, 7:00 am
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