The Front Page

The political year is ready to kick off. While Prime Minister Christopher Luxon may have got an early start with his Cabinet reshuffle, over the next coming days we’ll see a flurry of party caucus retreats, state of the nation speeches, and the annual visit to Ratana as politicians return from their summer holidays. And while central government has plenty to tend to this year – local politicians are preparing for the country to return to the polls in October to vote for our councils and mayors. Today on The Front Page we're joined by Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls for a preview of the year ahead in politics, and Newstalk ZB news director Michael Sergel lets us know what to expect when it comes to this year's local elections. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After 15 months and the deaths of around 47,000 Palestinians, the war between Israel and Hamas has ended – for now. A six-week ceasefire has begun in Gaza, after agreements were reached for the release of Israeli hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners and aid. The start of the agreement coincides with Donald Trump returning to the White House, with the US President taking credit for the deal – though so did his predecessor, Joe Biden. So, what will happen next in Gaza, and what does Trump’s comeback mean for other world issues? Today on The Front Page, University of Waikato Professor of Law, Alexander Gillespie, joins us to discuss the long-awaited ceasefire and what’s next in world politics. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Georgina CampbellSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has kicked off the political year with the first major reshuffle of his Cabinet. Dr Shane Reti has lost Health to Simeon Brown and has been bumped down Cabinet rankings, while Melissa Lee has been stripped of all portfolios, in favour of first-term MP James Meager. Today on The Front Page, we’re joined by NZ Herald political editor Claire Trevett to discuss the big winners and losers. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Sound Engineer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. After four years out of office after losing in 2020, Trump is set to return to the White House with a vengeance – with his ‘Make America Great Again’ agenda front and centre. His administration has already raised eyebrows for some of his unusual Cabinet appointments, and Trump’s usual bluster has seen him make bold promises about what he’ll get done on day one – including being a “dictator” just for the day. So what are Trump’s plans for his second term in office – and why are so many tech giants falling to his side this time around? Today on The Front Page, Washington-based New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel is with us to discuss what to expect from the next four years of Trump? Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you ever get the feeling New Zealand just doesn’t know how to build houses properly? We had the leaky homes crisis – where timber-framed homes built from 1988 to 2004 were not fully weather-tight. And now, construction experts are warning that tens of thousands of Auckland families will suffer in overheating terraced houses unless designs change. Terraced houses are being built at pace in Auckland, with even more expected after the Government mooted 55,000 new ones to be fast-tracked through the consent process. Today on The Front Page, we’re joined by New Zealand Green Building Council business development manager Matthew Cutler-Welsh to dig into what’s gone wrong with these new houses. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this month, Justin Trudeau resigned as Canada’s Prime Minister, marking the end of his nine years in office. Trudeau was also one of the last leaders standing from an era of younger, left-leaning or liberal politicians, alongside the likes of Finland’s Sanna Marin and our own Jacinda Ardern, who garnered global attention for bringing a fresher approach to politics. That era seems well and truly over. Last year, more than 60 countries went to the polls, and many countries saw voters swing to the right, or voting against incumbent governments rather than necessarily voting in favour of their opposition. Peter Frankopan is an author and professor of global history at Oxford University, and joined us on The Front Page last year to preview ‘the year of elections’. He joins us today on The Front Page to discuss the shifting sands of global politics. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing concern about public safety has reignited the idea of arming our frontline police officers. The police union says 68% of officers support routine arming – and, our new police commissioner, Richard Chambers, is apparently ‘open’ to discussions around it – although he’s also said we’re ‘proud of having unarmed police’ and he’d like to keep it that way. This is all while, in the first hours of 2025, a car rammed into a police vehicle at a Nelson gathering – Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming later died in hospital, another officer was critically injured. This was followed by another attempted ramming a week later. So do we need to look at better protect those whose jobs are to protect us – or are there risks to giving more power to the police? Today on The Front Page, Auckland University criminology lecturer Dr. Emmy Rākete joins us to discuss. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Destructive. Devastating. Apocalyptic. That’s how the wildfires burning across Los Angeles over the last week have been described. The blazes have largely brought the US’ second largest city to a standstill, destroying thousands of buildings have been destroyed, and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate. It comes as officials declare 2024 the hottest year on record, with temperatures breaching the target of 1 point 5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the first time. Today on The Front Page, we’ll be discussing the ongoing climate risks that New Zealand faces with Victoria University of Wellington Professor Jonathan Boston. But first, we’re in Los Angeles with 9 News USA correspondent, Lauren Tomasi. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Billionaire Elon Musk is not content with just having the ear of US President elect Donald Trump. Over the past few weeks, the world’s richest man has weighed in on European politics, first writing an op-ed backing Germany’s far-right AFD party. But the UK has become a particular obsession, with Musk frequently commenting on his social media platform, X, about child grooming and rape gangs, laying the blame squarely at the feet of the six-month old Labour Government. So why is the tech mogul so interested in politics overseas, and how are the US’ European allies meant to respond when Musk is firmly in Trump’s inner circle? Today on The Front Page, senior reporter for CNN Politics Stephen Collinson joins us from Washington DC to discuss the thinking behind Musk’s political commentary. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer/Producer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While The Front Page is on summer break, we’re taking a look back at some of the biggest news stories and top-rated episodes from the podcast in 2024.    The 2023 general election was a battle between the two Chrises – Labour's Chris Hipkins, and National’s Christopher Luxon.  It was a battle that Luxon ended up winning, thanks to the support of two coalition partners in Act and NZ First. But it’s a match-up that currently looks set to be repeated next year, with Hipkins sticking around as Labour’s leader – and showing no signs of stepping aside.  That’s likely because the polls between the coalition and Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori remain pretty evenly split.   At the end of 2024, we caught up with both leaders a week apart for a wrap of the year. New episodes return January 13th.  Host: Chelsea Daniels Audio Engineers: Richard Martin Executive Producer: Ethan Sills See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.