There’s a new movement on social media in response to celebrities’ views – or lack thereof – on the war in Palestine. “Blockout 2024” started with an inconspicuous video of a TikTok influencer posed outside the glamorous Met Gala with the sound bite “let them eat cake”. Now, an online movement to unfollow and block celebrities is gaining momentum – with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner losing hundreds of thousands of followers. It's raised questions like: Will this effort have any ef...
May 15, 2024•19 min
The National-led Government is continuing its crackdown on gangs. Police Minister Mark Mitchell this week announced New Zealand will get its own National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units. The announcement follows a rise in gang violence, including the fatal shooting of a man on Auckland’s Ponsonby Rd by a Killer Beez gang member. It comes off the back of anti-gang legislation that continues to make its way through Parliament – which will see non-consorting laws and gang patch bans in...
May 14, 2024•16 min
As the world becomes increasingly online, the lines between work life and home life are becoming increasingly blurred. When you can check your emails on the same device you use to stream TV or talk to friends, avoiding that late night question from your boss is becoming harder to do. Now many are calling for the ‘Right to Disconnect’ to be enshrined in law to save us from becoming perpetually available 24/7. Today on The Front Page, Dr Amanda Reilly, Senior Lecturer in Law at Victoria University...
May 13, 2024•14 min
The conversation around New Zealand's power supply is heating up again, just before winter. Last week Kiwis were told to conserve electricity amidst a cold snap, over concerns there was not enough power to supply the country. This is not the first time such a warning has been issued, and has prompted debate about where we get our energy from, and how we should be powering our national grid. Today on The Front Page, Major Electricity Users Group Chair John Harbord joins us to explain what the iss...
May 12, 2024•17 min
Auckland Council’s financial situation has been under the spotlight for months now. With costs rising, the council has been trying to find some ways to save money without cutting back on services. Those decisions have ranged from removing rubbish bins around the city, to a since U-turned proposal for a long-term lease for Port of Auckland. And while the Government has offered hope on water prices, Mayor Wayne Brown and his councillors still have some tough choices to make. Today on The Front Pag...
May 09, 2024•18 min
Head injuries and sports players have been a hot topic of debate in recent years. While the risk of concussions and long-term injuries has been well known for decades, recent concerns have arisen about how those injuries can turn into long term issues like dementia, and that’s despite efforts to reform the game to limit those concerns. As global legal cases and suspected illnesses mount, multiple researchers here in New Zealand are part of a global effort to identify the causes and the risks. To...
May 08, 2024•19 min
To tax sugar, or not to tax sugar – that's the debate that’s raged on for years. More than 100 countries worldwide have taxed sugary drinks, but New Zealand hasn’t made the plunge yet. As the number of countries making the move to tax sugar increases, so has the data into how well it's worked, or not. So how do we delve through this information to make an informed decision on what would be best for New Zealand? Today on The Front Page, Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health at the U...
May 07, 2024•17 min
Last week, former Green Party co-leader James Shaw delivered his valedictory speech, marking the end of his decade in politics. But, rather than a smooth transition to a new era, just a few hours later, Green MP Julie-Anne Genter sparked outcry across the aisle after she stood over and shouted at Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey during a Parlimentary debate. It’s the fourth scandal to hit the Greens in under a year, prompting questions about the party's future as the Shaw era ends and a new on...
May 06, 2024•17 min
The rate of women killed by an intimate partner in Australia has increased by nearly 30% in the year 2022-23, compared to the previous year. And the deaths of dozens of women across the country this year alone has prompted mass protests – with thousands taking to the streets rallying against gender-based violence. But the issue isn't one that isn’t limited to our trans-Tasman neighbours. In New Zealand, between 2009 and 2020, 178 women and girls were killed in family violence-related killings. T...
May 05, 2024•23 min
The Government has put improving education as one of its top priorities. Yesterday, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced plans to refocus education around ‘structured literacy’, with that teaching style winning the so-called ‘reading wars’ against ‘balanced literacy’. It marks the end of a big week for the Minister, with the nationwide cellphone ban at schools coming into effect on Monday, the same day she announced the new top priorities for education in New Zealand. Erica Stanford joins...
May 02, 2024•17 min
In the weeks since Warner Bros Discovery and TVNZ announced cutbacks in their newsrooms, much of the focus has been on what this means for journalism in this country. The moves come amid wider belt-tightening across the television sector, as falling terrestrial TV ratings means companies are now competing against global giants more than ever to hold our attention. And that means it's not only newsrooms that could soon be fighting for survival. This episode, Chelsea talks with Kelly Martin, CEO o...
May 01, 2024•21 min
Youth crime has been a hot topic over the last two years, particularly when our youngest offenders are involved in brazen robberies and violent ram raids across the country. NZ Herald senior crime reporter Anna Leask has been travelling across Australia, witnessing first-hand what groups there have been doing to try and help their troubled youth. She joins us today on The Front Page to discuss her research and what New Zealand can learn from our closest neighbours. Reporting costs for the series...
Apr 30, 2024•15 min
It’s time to put away your shorts and sunhats and start getting out your winter coats. Temperatures are dropping across the country as winter makes its mark on Aotearoa. And the big news here is that El Nino is starting to fade, and La Nina is set to take its place. But does that actually mean for weather in the coming months, and just how cold and wet will it be? Today on The Front Page, NZ Herald reporter Jamie Morton joins us to run us through the weather maps for the months ahead. Follow The...
Apr 29, 2024•14 min
The concept of 15-minute cities is the idea that all daily necessities – like work, shopping, education, healthcare, and leisure – can all be reached with a 5-minute walk, bike ride, or by public transit. While the idea has been embraced by many countries, some conspiracy theorists have described the notion as an instrument of government repression. Today on The Front Page, University of Auckland school of architecture and planning lecturer Bill McKay joins to explain 15-minute cities and discus...
Apr 28, 2024•15 min
The Australian government has found themselves in a battle with billionaire Elon Musk and his legions of supporters. Australia’s eSafety commissioner last week ordered Musk’s social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – to remove images of the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, which was captured on a live stream earlier this month. X only blocked the images to Australian users, prompting a further legal challenge that was upheld temporarily by an Australian federal court. Pa...
Apr 25, 2024•20 min
Pressure continues to pile up on the systems intended to support our military veterans. The government agency charged with meeting veterans’ needs is cutting services and has a year-long waiting list. The VIP scheme, until now, had been seen as a way of acknowledging service and offering support to those otherwise excluded from our veterans’ welfare system. So, as we come together to remember the fallen – is it about time we start thinking more about those who survived? Today on The Front Page, ...
Apr 24, 2024•19 min
The Coalition Government has seen its first cabinet reshuffle. Melissa Lee has lost her Broadcasting Minister portfolio and has been demoted out of Cabinet. Meanwhile, Penny Simmonds has lost her Disability Commission portfolio. To discuss this, Chelsea Daniels is joined by the host of the On the Tiles podcast, and NZ Herald deputy political editor, Thomas Coughlan. Follow The Front Page and On The Tiles on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more...
Apr 24, 2024•9 min
For eight months, New Zealand Rugby’s biggest test has been happening behind the scenes. NZR has been at loggerheads with the provincial unions about how to reform governance for the country’s most popular sport. The battle could be nearing an end, with a meeting to take place in the coming weeks that could resolve it, but will the two sides reach an agreement, and will it be enough to help rugby bounce back from its recent woes? Today on The Front Page, NZ Herald sports writer Gregor Paul joins...
Apr 23, 2024•18 min
Rarely a week goes by without some sort of headline proclaiming the woes of New Zealand’s ‘low productivity’. It’s a phrase that has been discussed by economists and politicians for years, and was a particular bug-bear of Sir John Key. The Herald’s very own Liam Dann is the latest columnist to highlight it as a potential cause for some of our economic problems. But what exactly does low productivity mean, how does it impact your back pocket, and why do we struggle to do anything about it? Today ...
Apr 22, 2024•18 min
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has spent the last week in South East Asia. His first overseas trip beyond the Tasman Sea saw Luxon visit Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, joined by several MPs and a delegation of business leaders for a trip largely focused on “reinvigorating” New Zealand’s relationships across Southeast Asia. So did he make much of a splash there, and does he have any wins to bring back home? NZME Managing Business Editor and managing director of NZ Inc Ltd Fran O’Sulli...
Apr 21, 2024•18 min
Our Minister for Space has been working overseas promoting New Zealand’s space industry over in the US. Judith Collins has returned from the US where she spoke at the Space Symposium -- putting us on the global stage – and she met with senior US government space officials. According to Deloitte, in 2018 and 2019 New Zealand's space industry contributed $1.7 billion to the economy – but, our Space Minister thinks by now it should be three or more times larger than that. Today on The Front Page, J...
Apr 18, 2024•18 min
"Unproductive and unwilling to change" - a scathing report from outgoing Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has slammed our country’s prison system. He told the government’s Justice Committee he’ll “leave the job with disappointment” that he hasn’t made “any impact in having the Department of Corrections as an organisation we can be proud of.” A report from the Office of the Inspectorate released just yesterday shows that prisoners in three units at Auckland Prison were not able to leave their cells ...
Apr 17, 2024•20 min
There are growing fears the Middle East could be on the brink of war. Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel, in retaliation for what is believed to have been an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria last week. It comes after six months of fighting in Gaza, which has drawn the ire of Muslim-majority countries in the region. With no end in sight for the Gaza conflict, there are now fears that Israel may seek revenge against Iran, sparking a region-w...
Apr 16, 2024•27 min
Today, US time, marks the beginning of Donald Trump’s slew of criminal trials. In what’s been coined the ‘hush money’ case, the former President is being accused of falsifying his company’s business records in connection to a payment to an adult film star in the run-up to the 2016 election. After a judge just last week dismissed Trump’s motion to toss out the indictment altogether, or delay the trial further, the 45th President will now must fight a criminal trial and an election campaign at the...
Apr 15, 2024•19 min
At least six people are dead and many more injured after a lone attacker stabbed shoppers at a Westfield shopping mall in Sydney’s Bondi Junction on Saturday. 40-year-old Joel Cauchi was killed at the scene by Police but not until he had upended countless lives in his brutal attack. In this bonus episode of The Front Page, Sydney-based ABC News reporter Penny Timms joins to give an update on this horrific attack. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get y...
Apr 15, 2024•18 min
A new docu-drama has revisited the horrors of Dilworth. The Auckland boarding school was intended to help disadvantaged boys, but over the decades multiple teachers have been charged and found guilty of sexual abuse – with the number of victims believed to be more than 200. On The Front Page, Open Justice editor Elizabeth Binning joins to discuss the background to this shocking abuse, and co-directors of TVNZ’s The Lost Boys of Dilworth, Mary Durham and Peter Burger, go behind the scenes of thei...
Apr 14, 2024•17 min
School holidays kick off tomorrow, and hundreds of families are set to take to the roads and skies to head off on vacation. For those of us travelling internationally though, the main hope is that the ongoing renovations at Auckland Airport won’t lead to the usual ‘travel chaos’ many of us have come to expect. So how are those developments going, and is the travel industry as a whole on the road to recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic? Today on The Front Page, business travel editor Grant Bradle...
Apr 11, 2024•17 min
Newshub is officially closing down. Despite hopes of a last-minute lifeline, Warner Bros Discovery has confirmed all news operations will shut up shop from July 5th. It comes as TVNZ also confirms its Midday and Tonight bulletins will end in mid-May, while Fair Go will shift to digital only. So, with so many jobs going over the next three months, what does the future hold for news in New Zealand – particularly as trust falls to a new low? Today on The Front Page, Media Insider Shayne Currie join...
Apr 10, 2024•18 min
Government ministries are on a mission to cut spending by 6.5 to 7.5 per cent before the coalition Government’s first Budget next month. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has asked all departments to look for savings to “restore discipline” to taxpayer spending. For some agencies, cutting costs means cutting jobs – and that number is already at about a thousand roles, give or take. Today on The Front Page, Newstalk ZB reporter Azaria Howell discusses the challenges facing our public sector as depar...
Apr 09, 2024•18 min
The coalition Government’s signalled “everything’s on the table” when it comes to a major shake-up of New Zealand’s gun laws. The world praised us when we took swift action following the Christchurch terror attack – banning semi-automatic firearms and assault rifles. But now a coalition agreement between National and Act could see semi-automatics make a return to gun ranges. In the US, this month marks 25 years since the Columbine high school massacre – where two teenagers murdered 12 students a...
Apr 08, 2024•18 min
