All Episodes
Focus on Politics — 257 episodes
Outrage over emergency housing targets
National converts to KiwiSaver
Officials in firing line over $30m immigration failure
Labour joins election race with fare cap promise
Penk's verbal nuclear bomb inflames defence debates
The deliberately boring election-year Budget
Public service cuts spur debates on AI, shorts and flying
Te Pāti Māori's shrinking caucus: "No story here"
The GP crisis politicians can't ignore
Coalition parties trade blows over India agreement
Confidence call: Luxon's uneasy victory
Vaianu: better safe than sorry?
Iran war dominates Winston Peters’ US trip
Fuel crisis forces rationing plan revisions - just in case
Fuel fears rise as government shifts tone
Peeni Henare farewells Parliament after 12 years
Prime Minister flubs his lines as Iran conflict reignites
Move-on powers move safety nets into the spotlight
Coalition pulls a U-turn on Auckland housing plans
Gas plan derailed by definitional dispute
Minor parties plot major influence on election year
Luxon and Hipkins give election-year teaser
Councils prepare to tighten belts with rates relief in sight
How the council 'reset' aims to spur amalgamations
Coalition tempers ACT’s influence on gun laws
IPCA bombshell forces reckoning at top of police
Introducing: Politics NZ
From reset to regret: Te Pāti Māori at war
Leaked and launched: Labour debuts its tax plan
Strike and counter-strike: the pitch for public sympathy
Farmers celebrate as coalition slashes methane target
Questions linger after Te Pāti Māori reset
Energy tweaks expose electoral live wire for National
Promises of transparency from new Reserve Bank governor
Poll paints picture of discontent
Coalition partners jostle for votes as polls predict tight race
Coalition cracks door open to foreign buyers
Tāmaki Makaurau by-election
Coalition hopes for a winter thaw after OCR cut
The state of the opposition
NCEA gets failing grade from government, but has it done its homework?
NZ resists global push to recognise Palestinian state
Butter battle fizzles as cost of living war drags on
ACT’s rallying cry meets reality check
Regulatory Standards Bill gets its week of scrutiny
Moe mai rā: Takutai Tarsh Kemp laid to rest
The United States strikes Iran
Meth use and organised crime in New Zealand
Coalition turfed out in latest RNZ Reid-Research poll
Trading places: Seymour steps up, Peters gears up
A Budget of give and take, cuts and credits
From urgency to uproar: a House of Chaos?
Pay equity shake-up: billions saved, trust lost
The pros and cons of public-private partnerships
Defence Capability Plan spend-up shows the new strategic normal
Razor-sharp race in first RNZ-Reid Research poll
Politics and the police
Government ups engagement with India, United States during global volatility
The beleaguered school lunches programme battles through another week
The impact of tougher access to emergency housing.
Winston Peters' takes NZ's defence and security concerns direct to Beijing
Shaken trust in the public service's data safeguards
Why the coalition's squabbles are likely to escalate
Waitangi Day from the Treaty Grounds
Oral submissions begin on the Treaty Principles Bill
2024 in Politics: Change, Challenge, and Chuckles
All aboard the Winston Peters' rail mission
Scrutiny week's political fireworks: is it all just for show?
The Coalition's First Year: Compromise and Controversy
Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrives at Parliament
Crown apologises as Cabinet mulls 'complex' redress for abuse in care
Trump triumph touches NZ shores
Minister Chris Penk lays foundations for self-certified building scheme
Scandals dog National, the Greens while New Zealand First takes aim at Labour
Wellington woes - government threatens council intervention
Winston Peters bangs drum on UN veto reform
Tobacco debate getting heated at Parliament
Interislander ferry's future adrift amid coalition indecision
Tough-on-crime talk becomes a numbers game
Mill closures put spotlight on power prices, profits and planning
Not-so-super markets? Commissioner warns of slow progress
Sovereignty debate sees major parties weighing in for first time
Coalition positions on Treaty principles crystallise at Koroneihana
Green for go for coalition's new beneficiary traffic light system
7AA repeal: Why ACT's policy faces heartfelt resistance
Swarbrick opens up about a tense AGM and the Green dream
Abuse in care report delivers survivors' demands for justice
Coalition's climate plan falls short of targets
501 deportations: The thorn in the Trans-Tasman relationship returns
"Every minute counts" in National's cancer commitment clean-up
Careful cuts with little room for error: Willis' first Budget
Fast Track bill hits hurdles of public outrage
Focus on Politics for Friday 17 May 2024
Lunch cuts and cut lunch for secondary schools
Sideshows overshadow substance at Parliament
Vaping regulations battle 'immeasurably harder' under coalition - campaigner
Luxon boosts defence amid rising global tensions
From lobbyist to legislator: Andrew Hoggard's vision for reform
Aim and fire? Public service targets return amid job cuts
Winston Peters navigates troubled waters with India, China
Labour prepares to be prepared for power
Clock stops on coalition's urgency-filled 100-day plan
When no news is bad news
Fa'anānā Efeso Collins' death brings unity in grief
Councils get their Three Waters wish - but will they regret it?
Government faces the music at Waitangi
Shaw's message for his successor as he prepares to bow out
Luxon fronts fierce criticism from Māori ahead of Waitangi
A year of political turmoil comes to an end
Peters defies opposition as repeals and rollbacks roll on
Māori dissent sets the scene as Parliament returns
Distractions assail coalition as it lays out ambitious agenda
Bonus episode: The meaning of Tāmaki
Coalition deals signed and sealed, now it's time to deliver
Te Pāti Māori plans for future as it reflects on success in Māori seats
Coalition talks pick up pace behind closed doors
Peters' stock rises on final vote count, how much will Luxon pay?
Labour faces vexed reset and return to opposition
Election results in a clear winner, a clear loser, a complex path to power
On the campaign trail, final week: The highs and lows
On the campaign trail, week five: Luxon grapples with his 'last resort'
On the campaign trail, week four: The week of Winston Peters
On the campaign trail, week three: Debates, polls, sausage and cheese rolls
On the campaign trail, week two: Tax plans and spending
On the campaign trail, week one: False claims and ad campaigns
Political parties talk strategy as campaigning begins in earnest
Labour sells its vaping crackdown - but is it too late?
Labour's GST-free fruit and vege strategy falls foul of the experts
ACT's top six candidates share their history and priorities
Polls and fiscal holes put major parties on notice
Labour grapples with Kiri Allan's resignation, leak claims
Focus on Politics for Friday 21 July 2023
Green co-leader Davidson touts party's 'healing' ahead of AGM
Hipkins passes diplomatic test with China's Xi
Ethnicity in health debate gets under MPs' skin
Politicians pitch for rural vote
Ministerial rule-breakers in hot water
Politicians tackling AI regulation - but will it be too late?
Hipkins juggles competing ideologies over PNG-US deal
Budget 2023: bare bones, blowout, or both?
Meka Whaitiri rebellion hones parties' loyalties
Staffing woes menace Te Whatu Ora winter health plan
Parties navigate fresh tax debate ahead of 'no frills' Budget
Focus on Politics for 5:10p Sat 22 Apr
Three Waters rebrand: Bitterness remains despite refresh
New Police Minister Ginny Andersen in opposition's sights
National's policy aims to school Labour on education decline
Making a Nash of it: The self-destruct sequence of a police minister
Do public service consultancy criticisms stack up?
National's three waters plan leaves councils to carry the can
Cyclone makes Robertson's Budget balancing act perilous
Co-governance debate heats up at Rātana, Waitangi
National, ACT, Greens and Te Pāti Māori on the year ahead
Ardern weighs spending priorities and Cabinet line-up ahead of election year
Hamilton West by-election offers teaser for 2023
Recession prediction leaves Labour with a labour problem
Poland missile crisis dominates amid summits in Asia
Under-fire Labour turns sights on bank profits and fuel
Labour, National cross swords over tax, social insurance
Three waters on the boil as elections loom
Queen's death reignites discussions over constitution and Te Tiriti
Focus on Politics for Sun 11 September
How government's youth crime rhetoric misses the bigger picture
New Zealand democracy on 'shaky foundations': Electoral law ripe for change
EU-NZ trade agreement 'by no means a done deal'
Law and order policies 'no magic bullet' on crime and gangs - experts
Uffindell exposed: National, Labour grapple with bullying accusations
Focus on Politics: an extended interview with Christopher Luxon
United States trip proves Jacinda Ardern's pulling power
A Budget searching for balance
Immigration angst pervades border reopening
Budgeting during a cost-of-living crisis
Covid-19 variants: Government resurgence plan
Regional security weighs on Ardern's Asia trade trip
Finding solutions to Russia's Putin in diplomacy and law
IPCA constrained: How independent is NZ's police watchdog?
Media merger raises stakes for NZ journalism
Russia's war, New Zealand's sanctions, and the question of China
Cost of living crisis: Luxon's cuts put Labour on guard
Border breakthrough: Ending the siege of Fortress New Zealand
Red light and rapid antigen requisition
An end-of-year chat with the minor party leaders
A sit-down with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
A sit-down with National leader Christopher Luxon
Collins, National's nuclear option, self destructs
Intensive care: Can New Zealand weather the surge?
Family Court frustrations stoke calls for deeper change
Will traffic lights see Covid hitting the gas?
New Zealand's UK and EU free trade ambitions
Leaving lockdown at the traffic lights: Is New Zealand ready?
Focus on Politics: The road ahead for transport
Viral inequality and ganging up on Covid-19
Three waters: Councils tapping out as minister steams ahead
Focus on Politics: Is New Zealand moving away from elimination?
Lockdown: Delta outbreak raises the stakes
Aotearoa referendum debate fuels racist abuse
Focus on Politics: Conversion therapy
Education system grapples with te reo Māori, tikanga and systemic racism
Hate speech debate gets mired in politics
Focus on Politics: NZ’s not-so-healthy homes
Focus on Politics: Goodbye Muller
Focus on Politics: OT back under-fire
Focus on Politics: Defence under Labour
Focus on Politics: Stage Four
Focus on Politics: Nurse Strike
Focus on Politics: ScoMo in Town
Focus on Politics: Samoa in Turmoil
Focus on Politics: Budget 2021
Focus on Politics: Race Relations
Focus on Politics: The China Question
Focus on Politics: Emergency Housing
Focus on Politics: DHBs on the Scrap Heap
Focus on Politics: The Bubble and the Border
Focus on Politics: The Housing Solution?
Focus on Politics: Trans Tasman Tensions
Focus on Politics: The Vaccine Rollout
Focus on Politics: Covid rule-breakers
Focus on Politics: An Immigration Rethink
Focus on Politics: Locked Down Again
Focus on Politics: Repeal & Replace the RMA
Focus on Politics: The Political Road to Waitangi
Focus on Politics: Reflecting on March 15
Focus on Politics: China-Australia clash
Focus on Politics: Robertson vs. Orr
Focus on Politics: A housing market aflame
Focus on Politics: Leaving behind Oranga Tamariki
Focus on Politics: A Full Cabinet
Focus on Politics: Referenda Madness
Focus on Politics: The Campaign Mop Up
Focus on Politics: Campaign Week Five
Focus on Politics: Campaign Week Four
Focus on Politics: Campaign Chat
Focus on Politics: Grim reading
Focus on Politics: Campaign Week One
Focus on Politics: The Green School Fiasco
Focus on Politics: Mandatory mass masking
Focus on Politics: False-start to the Campaign
Focus on Politics: Into the Campaign
Focus on Politics: Polls, Policies and Political spats
Focus on Politics: Scandals and Sackings
Focus on Politics: Collins takes control
Focus on Politics: Leaks, escapees and resignations
Focus on Politics: A World in Lockdown
Focus on Politics: Bloomfield vs Clark
Focus on Politics: Breakdown at the Border
Focus on Politics: An eye on the purse strings
Focus on Politics: A Creaking Coalition
First week for new National Party leader
Focus on Politics: Unprecedented Times
Focus on Politics: Covid-19 and economic turmoil
Focus on Politics: Covid-19 reaches NZ
Focus on Politics: Alarm over Covid-19
Focus on Politics: Serious Fraud Office investigations
Focus on Politics: SFO looks at NZ First Foundation
Focus on Politics: Waitangi 2020
Focus on Politics: The Big Infrastructure Spend-Up
Focus on Politics: Māori politics in election year