Security software used widely by retail staff is in the spotlight after an incident involving a former Green MP. Golriz Ghahraman quit politics last year after being caught shoplifting from boutique fashion stores, and news emerged earlier this month suggesting she had done it again at a PakNSave supermarket. But the former MP did not steal anything, and the store never reported the case to Police – yet as the incident was logged in the Auror security system, Police were able to access it,...
Jan 26, 2025•17 min
New Zealand's economic outlook for 2025 is expected to be a recovery from the previous two years of weakness. With inflation stagnant and the number of Kiwis leaving the country appearing to have peaked, economists are predicting we will see an uptick. Yet it could be a long road to get to the light at the end of the tunnel – with the Government’s books at the end of December painting a grim picture for the years ahead, and the impacts of job cuts likely to still be felt this year. B...
Jan 23, 2025•19 min
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 ...
Jan 22, 2025•21 min
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...
Jan 21, 2025•18 min
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...
Jan 20, 2025•14 min
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...
Jan 19, 2025•18 min
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-trac...
Jan 16, 2025•17 min
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 ...
Jan 15, 2025•19 min
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 ...
Jan 14, 2025•21 min
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...
Jan 13, 2025•20 min
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 te...
Jan 12, 2025•19 min
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...
Jan 09, 2025•35 min
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. People respond to election losses in various ways, from protesting to legal action to considering moving country. But, what about adopting a vow of celibacy through something called the “4B movement”? That’s what some young women in the US promised on social media in protest of Donald Trump winnin...
Jan 08, 2025•23 min
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. Once it came into power, the coalition Government 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.&nbs...
Jan 07, 2025•18 min
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. For over 50 years, the secretive Christian community of Gloriavale has fascinated New Zealanders. While the community has long been discussed by former members who have left Gloriavale behind, in the last few years, multiple official investigations and Employment Court proceedings have shone more light on what's happening...
Jan 06, 2025•20 min
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. It’s safe to say that in recent years, Boeing has gone through a patch of turbulence. In 2024 alone, we saw a door plug blow off mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 in January – while closer to home, a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland plunged mid-air, injuring at least 50 passengers....
Jan 05, 2025•18 min
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. This year, Tipene Funerals, best known for the television show 'The Casketeers', came under fire because one of its funeral directors allegedly swindled her grieving clients and put their dead relatives in plastic rubbish bags instead of the coffins they had paid for. It was only revealed when bodies in a public mausoleum...
Jan 02, 2025•20 min
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. Major earthquakes may not be a regular occurrence in New Zealand, but the threat of them is often in the back of our minds. With a major faultline running through the middle of the country, you only have to look to the events in Christchurch and Kaikoura to know the risk they pose. In May, new modelling was publish...
Jan 01, 2025•17 min
While The Front Page is taking its summer break, we will be shining a spotlight on some of the biggest podcasts from the New Zealand Herald network over the last year. In 2011, then Herald on Sunday journalist David Fisher reported on what the paper dubbed ‘the Facebook Predator’, an adult woman who had been caught catfishing dozens of teenage boys in the South Island. She would be named as Natalia Burgess. Fisher covered the Burgess case for months, before she ev...
Dec 31, 2024•27 min
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 disappearances of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope on New Year’s Day 1998 remain one of New Zealand’s infamous cases. Scott Watson has spent the last 25 years behind bars after being convicted of murdering them, despite no bodies ever being found. In June, Watson headed back to the courtroom four years aft...
Dec 30, 2024•29 min
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. Kiwis have departed New Zealand in record numbers this year. News reports covering monthly migration data have repeatedly announced new records of net migration loss, with the latest stats from the year to September showing 79,700 migrant departures. Just over half of those leaving the country moved to Australia, wh...
Dec 29, 2024•14 min
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. On July 26th 1984, David Lange was sworn in as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand. His ascension into the country’s top job came after Robert Muldoon’s infamous 'Schnapps Election' ended his nine years in power. Best remembered for enshrining New Zealand’s nuclear free status, Lange also overs...
Dec 26, 2024•20 min
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. June 20 this year marked 30 years since five members of the Bain family in Dunedin were found dead in their family home. The one survivor, David, would be convicted of murdering his parents and three siblings. He served 13 years in prison before the Privy Council quashed his convictions, and he was found not guilty ...
Dec 25, 2024•26 min
While The Front Page is taking its summer break, we will be shining a spotlight on some of the biggest podcasts from the New Zealand Herald network over the last year. In 2022, BusinessDesk journalist Murray Jones investigated the finances of the New Zealand branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – better known as the Mormons. That investigation sparked a lot of feedback on social media, including a number of posts that suggested there was more to the Churc...
Dec 24, 2024•23 min
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. Travelling is often a stressful experience, particularly over the Christmas break and summer holidays when it seems we’re all rushing to get away. Those trips aren’t made easy when violent turbulence or technical errors have an impact. In 2024, stories of extreme turbulence popped up around the world, in...
Dec 23, 2024•20 min
While we’re on our summer break, The Front Page is taking a look back at some of the biggest news stories and top-rated episodes from the podcast this year. Losing a loved one is one of the worst things a family can go through. But it can get a lot worse if people start fighting over the will before the body’s even cold. In June, we spoke to NZ Herald senior journalist Jane Phare about the dos and don'ts when it comes to inheritance – including how you...
Dec 22, 2024•15 min
The year in politics has been a bumpy road for many. The coalition Government dived in quickly to reverse previous Labour policy, and pushed numerous bills through Parliament to reach quarterly deadlines and targets – with a mixed response from voters around some policies. Labour meanwhile has spent much of the last year recovering from their election wipeout in 2023, leaving Te Pati Maori to lead the pushback against the Treaty Principles Bill. At a local level, huge rates increases were ...
Dec 19, 2024•42 min
It’s been a huge year for sport here in New Zealand. In one weekend in October, Team New Zealand took to the water in Barcelona and took home the America’s Cup for the third time in a row, while the White Ferns won the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup final. There were major wins across the board for the Black Caps, the Silver Ferns, and our latest football team, Auckland FC. But in this major year, there was perhaps no bigger cause for celebration than the Paris Olympics, when Kiwi a...
Dec 18, 2024•41 min
The economy has been in an uncertain place for quite some time, and 2024 was no different. Over the last year, we’ve seen some improvement. In October, the annual rate for inflation had fallen from 3.3 percent to 2.2 percent. The official cash rate ended the year on 4 point 25 percent. Elsewhere, the news hasn’t been so positive. The country’s gross domestic product contracted 0.2 percent in the June quarter, only just missing out on a technical recession. Job cuts across multi...
Dec 17, 2024•41 min
While 2024 has been a big year of news in New Zealand, there’s been plenty happening around the world over the last 12 months. From wars and conflicts to extreme-weather events -- new pandemic threats to cancer coming to Buckingham Palace -- we’ve seen it all over the last 12 months. Today on The Front Page, we’ll be revisiting the many conversations we’ve had about the biggest stories from around the world in 2024, including the impacts of Donald Trump's re-election on N...
Dec 16, 2024•39 min
