November is Diabetes Awareness Action Month in which Diabetes New Zealand is calling attention to the rise in Diabetes amongst young people.

You can find out more here:

https://www.diabetesactionmonth.org.nz

In this episode I catch up with Dr Bryan Betty who is the Chair of General Practice New Zealand and is also a practicing GP in Cannons Creek Porirua, to discuss issues of concern to General Practitioners and Labour’s recent primary health proposals.

This public journalism interview has been made free to listen to thanks to the support of my paid subscribers.

For $10 a month including GST ( less than a cup of coffee a week) you can not only gain full access to all my paywalled fourth estate articles,dpcumentaries and podcasts, but you will get to comment in a chatroom of thoughtful Kiwis who care about our country and where it is going, in a troll- free social media environment.

As part of my Head2Head series I have been interviewing politicians to find out a little about who they are and what they believe.

Kieran McAnulty was a minister in the Ardern led government and is currently Labour’s Shadow Leader of The House and spokesperson for Housing, Infrastructure and Public Investment.

In this wide- ranging interview we discuss the legacy of the introduction of neoliberal economics by the Fourth Labour government, how he sees Labour has changed since the Lange/ Douglas days, the role of government in relation to the marketplace, their policy on Crown ownership of assets today, the economic relationship between town and country (why does the food we produce cost us so much?) as well as Labour’s latest Health policy.

Little wonder then that, at 45 minutes in duration, this is the longest interview in Head2Head series to date, but I hope you find it informative and I look forward to reading your comments.

PS If you would rather read the interview rather than watch it just click on the Transcribe button.

This public jounalism interview has been made free to listen to thanks to the support of my paid subscribers.

For $10 a month including GST ( less than a cup of coffee a week) you can not only gain full access to all my paywalled fourth estate articles and podcasts, but you will get to comment in a chatroom of thoughtful Kiwis who care about our country and where it is going, in a troll- free social media environment.

In this interview I talk with two of the organisers of Rā Whakamana, an event happening next Tuesday the 28th of October 2025. It is a national day of solidarity between Māori, the Unions and Tangata Tiriti allies which coincides withe the 190th anniversary of He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (1835 Declaration of Independence)

It is not a strike or protest, but a tikanga-led action that centres on Māori wellbeing, cultural identity, and mana motuhake throughout the motu.

Rā Whakamana is also a response.directly to the intensifying political, legal, and cultural attacks on Māori being driven by the current coalition government.

You can find out more about the Rā Whakamana event on their Facebook by clicking on the following link.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Ra%20Whakamana

And on the Together.org.nz website here :

https://www.together.org.nz/ra_whakamana

You can support this day of solidarity by attending at the following times and locations

28 October 2025

Waitangi: 10am, Te Tii Marae

Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland Central: 12pm, Okahu Bay

Tāmaki Makaurau | South Auckland: 12pm, Māngere Bridge (meeting at corner of Waterfront Rd & Coronation Rd)

Thames: 11.00am, Te Whariki Mana Wahine o Hauraki

Tauranga: 11.30am, Marine Park

Rotorua: 12pm, Lakefront

Whanganui: 12pm, Pakaitore

Te Whanganui-a-tara | Wellington: 12pm, Midland Park

Ōtepoti | Dunedin: 12pm, Queens Gardens

My public journalism work is made possible because of the generosity of my paid subscribers. If you are receiving this post as a free subscriber please consider upgrading. I post something to read, listen to, or watch every day, so right now you are probably seeing 1 item out of 9 that I produce.

For $10 a month you will not only get access to my fourth rstate writing, podcasts and documentaries, you will be able to comment and join our vibrant chat room in which New Zealanders from all walks of life intelligently discuss the issues we are facing as a nation in a environment safe from trolls.

.Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn (Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa) was part of protest group Te Waka Hourua, who defaced (she says “redacted” ) Te Papa’s large wooden display panel of the English version of the Treaty of Waitangi in 2023 for which she was recently fined $1500.

In this interview Catherine talks candidly about why she was one of those who did it - and what you hear isn’t the senseless ramblings of a vandal, but words of intelligence and reason spoken by a wahine toa.

Head2Head interviews are free to view and listen too thanks to the generosity of my paid subscribers.

If you are receiving this post as a free subscriber please consider upgrading. I post something to read, listen to, or watch every day, so right now you are probably seeing one item out of 12 that I produce.

For $10 a month you will not only get access to my fourth rstate writing, podcasts and documentaries, you will be able to join our vibrant chat room in which New Zealanders from all walks of life intelligently discuss the issues we are facing as a nation in a environment safe from trolls.

Please restack and share any posts you find useful.

Is the Israeli government committing genocide in Gaza? What should we be doing to assist Ukraine? What’s gone wrong with the New Zealand- Cook Islands relatiomship ? Should we be a neutral country? And what do we need to know about Pacific politics and environmental issues?

In this wide ranging and engaging conversation Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teanau Tuiono, speaks candidly about these issues and more.

He is the Greens first Pasifika MP, who also holds their portfolios for Defence and Disarmament,National Security and Intelligence, Oceans and Fisheries, Pacific Peoples, Space,Veterans and Workplace Relations and Safety.

You can find out more about Teanau Tuiono and his political views here:

https://www.greens.org.nz/teanau_tuiono

Please consider supporting my public journalism work.

$10 a month ( incl gst) gives you full access to all my posts, podcasts and documentaries. Plus you get to join a great chatroom with intelligent New Zealanders who are concerned about our country and where it is going. .

Last Friday I had the pleasure of talking with Sir Graeme Dingle and Lady Dingle - Jo-anne Wilkinson (pictured) who started the Graeme Dingle Foundation 30 years ago with the aim of improving the lives of young New Zealanders and helping them realise their full potential.

The Foundation works with Aotearoa New Zealand’s tamariki and rangatahi at different life stages through schools and communities, delivering life enhancing programmes that have now involved over 30,000 young people in 10 regions across the country.

One of the things that makes the Graeme Dingle Foundation special is their focus on being the fence at the top of the cliff, not the ambulance waiting at the bottom. They believe that prevention is better than cure, and their programmes are designed to empower youth to make positive choices and develop healthy habits early on in life.

While we talk about the work of the foundation in this podcast, much of our conversation is about a rugged 1200 km journey Sir Graeme undertook with six violent offenders back in 1988 and Jo- anne and Graeme’s views about how military-style Boot camps are not the way to help young people develop the resilience they need to turn their lives around.

You can find out more about the inspiring work of The Graeme Dingle Foundation here:

https://dinglefoundation.org.nz

Sir Graeme Dingle is a New Zealand outdoor adventurer and mountaineer. In 1968, Dingle and Murray Jones were the first to climb all six major European north faces and the Bonati pillar, including Eiger and Matterhorn in one season.He has achieved over 200 mountaineering and adventure firsts worldwide, including first ascents of mountains and faces in the Himalayas, the Andes, and in New Zealand.Dingle made the first traverse of the Himalayas, a distance of some 5000 km, in 265 days. He has made a 28,000 km traverse of the Arctic, the first winter traverse of the Southern Alps taking 100 days, and the first transit of the Northwest Passage by snow machine.

This interview has been made free to listen to thanks to the generosity of my paid subscribers who support my independent public journalism.

For $10 a month including GST ( less than a cup of coffee a week) you can not only gain full access to all my paywalled fourth estate articles and podcasts, but get to comment in a chatroom full of thoughtful Kiwis who care about our country and where it is going.

I post something everyday and all subscriptions go to meet production costs .