Episodes

  • Tobacco debate getting heated at Parliament

    Tobacco debate getting heated at Parliament
    Oct 4 2024
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Interislander ferry's future adrift amid coalition indecision

    Interislander ferry's future adrift amid coalition indecision
    Sep 27 2024
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Tough-on-crime talk becomes a numbers game

    Tough-on-crime talk becomes a numbers game
    Sep 20 2024
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Not-so-super markets? Commissioner warns of slow progress

    Not-so-super markets? Commissioner warns of slow progress
    Sep 6 2024
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Sovereignty debate sees major parties weighing in for first time

    Sovereignty debate sees major parties weighing in for first time
    Aug 30 2024
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Coalition positions on Treaty principles crystallise at Koroneihana

    Coalition positions on Treaty principles crystallise at Koroneihana
    Aug 23 2024
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Green for go for coalition's new beneficiary traffic light system

    Green for go for coalition's new beneficiary traffic light system
    Aug 16 2024
    With Parliament in recess this week, the coalition used the clear air to clear the decks, rattling through a laundry list of announcements - congestion charging, genetic engineering, and two separate ministry overhauls. But the announcement the government tried hardest to highlight was its new hardline approach to welfare.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • 7AA repeal: Why ACT's policy faces heartfelt resistance

    7AA repeal: Why ACT's policy faces heartfelt resistance
    Aug 9 2024
    In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Lillian Hanly examines the coalition policy of repealing section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act, and the resulting backlash.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins