The 2024 Paris Olympics have come to an end – and what a fortnight it has been for the New Zealand Team. With ten golds, seven silver and three bronze, our athletes are bringing home the most Gold medals ever won in a single Olympics, and have equalled our record set in Tokyo. With the likes of Dame Lisa Carrington and Lydia Ko ensuring their place in the history books, to rising stars like Hamish Kerr, Ellesse Andrews and Finn Butcher, there were plenty of Kiwi sporting stars in action. With th...
Aug 12, 2024•21 min
Day 10 saw the jury visit to the home of Pauline Hanna and Phllip Polkinghorne to see where Pauline had died. That was before a parade of ex-colleagues took to the stand to shed light on their relationship with Pauline, and what she told them about her concern for her marriage and her finances. Plus, an explanation as to why Pauline Hanna’s niece recorded a family conversation. You can listen to episodes of Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial through The Front Page podcast feed, or find it on iHeart...
Aug 12, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 9
A new report has suggested that the country’s biggest city is going backwards. The second annual State of the City report, which compares Auckland’s progress against nine major cities around the globe, has shown that things are on the backwards trend. While outside factors like the Anniversary weekend floods, inflation and post-Covid recovery contributed to the worse than expected outcomes, the report highlights a number of longer-term problem areas that the city needs to address. Today on The F...
Aug 11, 2024•18 min
Tipene Funerals, of television show The Casketeers fame, is 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 were disinterred, and grieving families discovered what had happened. Funerals and the loss of a loved ones are already an emotional time for families, and this case has highlighted not only the high le...
Aug 08, 2024•20 min
Pauline Hanna’s voice echoed throughout the courtroom on Day 9 of the trial of her husband, Philip Polkinghorne, who is accused of murdering her. It came in the form of a covert recording of a family dinner – providing Hanna a chance to explain their relationship in her own words to the jury, who’ll decide whether she died of foul play, or, whether she took her own life. That was before a bombshell was dropped by the defence, as they revealed new information about the state of her mental health ...
Aug 08, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 8
The 2024 Olympics has seen plenty of sporting highs as well as heartbreak for competitors around the world. But no competition has sparked more debate and controversy than the woman’s boxing. The inclusion of Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting has sparked a firestorm, after they were both banned from International Boxing Association competitions last year, citing negative gender tests. The issue has blown up during the Olympics after Italy’s Angela Carini called off her match agains...
Aug 07, 2024•19 min
The court has gotten its first glimpse of evidence from those closest to Philip Polkinghorne and Paulina Hanna – and some insight into his infidelity. And we have heard directly from Polkinghorne, with the court hearing his interview with Police for the first time. The former Auckland eye surgeon is accused of murdering his DHB boss wife in April 2021 - but he says, she took her own life. Day 7 heard from a friend of the couple who owned the bach next to them, before the court heard from a power...
Aug 07, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Fears of a war in the Middle East are growing – after a senior Hamas leader was killed in Tehran last week. It’s prompted Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters to urge New Zealanders in Lebanon and Iran to leave now while options remain available. Those in Israel are also being asked to consider ‘whether they need to remain in the country’. It comes as the war between Israel and Hamas nears the 10 month mark, with no sign of abating, despite multiple efforts from the US and Middle Eastern lead...
Aug 06, 2024•18 min
On January 29, 2019, 3-year-old Gore toddler Lachie Jones was found dead in an oxidation pond, a little over a kilometre away from his mother’s home. Two police investigations concluded Lachie drowned, but his father, Paul Jones, does not accept these findings, and believes he was murdered. Ahead of the second phase of a coronial inquest into Lachie’s death, his mother, Michelle Officer, has spoken for the first time to the Herald’s Ben Tomsett about her side of the story. Today on The Front Pag...
Aug 05, 2024•12 min
As the trial begins its second week, Day 6 began with a cross-examination of ESR forensic scientist, Fiona Matheson, and later the court heard from ESR forensic scientist Nicholas Curno, to discuss DNA evidence. Last week, the jury heard how police and forensic scientists spent 11 days at the scene. We already know the Crown isn’t relying too much on forensics done at the scene – but, it’s important for ESR to walk the jury through what they didn’t find, just as much as what they may have. You c...
Aug 05, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Does it seem like people are a bit sicker than usual this winter? It’s been the talk of offices around the country, as people seem to be falling sick and staying sick for longer than usual. And it’s not just Covid that is continuing to claim lives, with the Herald reporting on two cases in the last month of people dying suddenly after developing flu symptoms. So how bad are the bugs and diseases going around Aotearoa this winter, and what do we need to know to be vigilant about our health? Today...
Aug 04, 2024•18 min
The first week of the trial of Philip Polkinghorne has come to an end. While we’re in the early stages of evidence, the topics that will be covered in the case have been made clear. Infidelity, threesomes, sex workers, a meth habit, financial concerns, depression, stress, and a Covid vaccine rollout: All this will be traversed over the next six weeks to answer the ultimate question of murder or suicide? Day 4 focused on the rope found at the scene and analysis of it from a Canadian expert, befor...
Aug 02, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 5
The National Party will be gathering for its Annual General Meeting this weekend. It comes as the party recently marked eight months in power, and as key campaign promises of tax cuts and youth boot camps take effect, giving them plenty to celebrate. But it’s not been an easy ride for the biggest party in Parliament, caught in the middle of a coalition it would rather not be in, and facing continued pushback over its handling of Māori relations and the environment. Today on The Front Page, we di...
Aug 01, 2024•18 min
Police have found remains in the search for missing Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao. It comes just a few weeks after the one year anniversary of her disappearance. A process has been underway to formally identify the remains, but Police believe they’ve finally solved this part of a case that’s shocked the country. For more details and how police got here, we’re joined on The Front Page by Newstalk ZB Christchurch reporter, Emily Ansell. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podca...
Jul 31, 2024•14 min
Day three of the trial of Philip Polkinghorne centred around a bright orange rope hanging from a balustrade, and a detailed walk-through of the scene examination of the couple’s Remuera home. The former Auckland eye surgeon maintains his wife took her own life on the morning of April 5, 2021 - an Easter Monday. But, the Crown claims he staged the scene to look like suicide. You can listen to episodes of Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial through The Front Page podcast feed, or find it on iHeartRadi...
Jul 31, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 4
The Government’s long-awaited tax cuts are finally coming into effect from today. National campaigned strongly on the cuts, and on Budget Day announced a $14 billion tax package for the next four years. The average Kiwi should soon receive an extra $40 a fortnight to spend how they wish, with more benefits coming for parents, but the lowest income earners are only set to gain $9. So, is this tax package fair for all – and will it provide the cost of living relief the Government promised? Today o...
Jul 30, 2024•20 min
Warning: This podcast contains disturbing content. The second day of the trial focused on those who first attended the scene where Pauline Hanna's body was found. Was Philip Polkinghorne reasonably calm on the morning of his wife’s death or just composed and trying to help? Was the injury on his forehead a scratch, graze, scrape, or cut? How was Pauline Hanna’s body found - and what injuries did she have? And why, by late morning, before a statement was even given, did Police deem the scene susp...
Jul 30, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 3
The future of KiwiRail is at risk of going off the rails. There has been an exodus of directors from the Board following the early retirement of chairman David McLean, and the company has been under intense scrutiny of how it’s handled the Cook Strait ferry business. So, what does the future hold for a state owned enterprise responsible for a significant part of our transport network? And is there a way to get its fortunes back on track? Today on The Front Page, we’re joined by BusinessDesk Infr...
Jul 29, 2024•20 min
Warning: This podcast contains disturbing content. The Crown has alleged extramarital affairs, dealings with sex workers, and a drug habit. The defence claims a suicide, casual drug use, and an open and loving relationship. All the cards were laid on the table on the first day of Philip Polkinghorne's trial. He’s accused of murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna – whose body was found in the couple’s Remuera home in April 2021. You can listen to episodes of Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial through The...
Jul 29, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 2
On Easter Monday 2021, Paulina Hanna was found dead at the Remuera home she shared with her husband of 30 years, Philip Polkinghorne. For 16 months, her death was treated as “unexplained”. That’s until it emerged Polkinghorne had been charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty in August 2022. From the team behind The Front Page, the New Zealand Herald's daily news podcast, comes Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial. Listen to Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your pod...
Jul 28, 2024•10 min•Season 1Ep. 1
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 snap election ended his nine years in power. Best remembered for enshrining New Zealand’s nuclear free status, Lange also oversaw controversial economic policies that ultimately divided his caucus, and saw his time on the ninth floor only last five years. With this Ruby Jubilee prompting reflections on Lange’s leadership and the lega...
Jul 25, 2024•20 min
Aotearoa’s complicated history of land sales is the focus of a new series from the New Zealand Herald. Whenua: Our Land, Our History , is an interactive map showing how Māori land passed into Pākehā ownership and the stories surrounding it. It confronts questions some of us prefer not to ask because they raise uncomfortable issues about Aotearoa’s colonial legacy, and how those impacts are still being felt today. On The Front Page today, we get the story of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei with their Trust’s...
Jul 24, 2024•22 min
Nearly three-thousand experiences have been heard in 133 days of public hearings, and more than a million documents received. It’s been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established – to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Over the years, the Inquiry’s heard from countless survivors, government heads and church leaders. Common themes have included significant sexual, ver...
Jul 23, 2024•17 min
Our Y2K bug fears became a reality when millions of computers were disabled worldwide over the weekend. Microsoft estimates the outage meant about 8.5 million computers were disabled when an update from global cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike, went wrong. Banks, airports, supermarkets, media companies and retailers were left scrambling – and the company’s chief executive says it could be ‘some time’ before systems are completely back to normal. It’s believed to have been the biggest tech outag...
Jul 22, 2024•14 min
Joe Biden is stepping down from the US presidential election race. He says his decision to stand down "is in the best interest of his party and the country" Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris, the current vice-president, to be the new Democratic candidate – along with a strings of other key Democrats. It comes four months before Americans go to the polls. In this bonus episode, geopolitical analyst at The Democracy Project, Geoffrey Miller joins to explain what happens next. Follow The Front Page ...
Jul 22, 2024•13 min
It’s no secret New Zealand is suffering a major mental health crisis. Many people, including teens and children, often wait weeks to see someone when they seek help. It's so dire, a survey of those at the coal face of the crisis describes a system that’s under pressure, under-resourced, and under-delivering for New Zealanders. So, is there hope on the horizon with the coalition Government’s addition of a specialised mental health portfolio? Today on The Front Page, Mental Health Minister Matt Do...
Jul 21, 2024•26 min
SkyCity Auckland will close its casino for five days following a Department of Internal Affairs investigation – set to cost the company a million dollars a day. It was prompted by a complaint from a customer who gambled there between 2017 and 2021 – with 23 incidents where they were able to gamble continuously without detection. This will mark the first voluntary closure of a casino and the longest suspension of operations in a casino under the Gambling Act. NZ Herald property editor Anne Gibson...
Jul 18, 2024•18 min
An investigation into the supermarket majors is underway as a merger of hundreds of stores around New Zealand fails to satisfy our competition watchdog. Ahead of its final decision later this year, the Commerce Commission said that a merger of Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island would effect “significant structural change” in the sector – and it continues to have concerns around competition. It’s all while the commission’s investigating after Consumer NZ lodged a complaint claimi...
Jul 17, 2024•20 min
An inquiry into New Zealand’s banking competition, or lack thereof, is currently underway. Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced it in June, putting particular emphasis on rural banking and lending. A ComCom market study has already, unsurprisingly, found a lack of competition among our largest financial institutions – with a full report due next month. So, what does it all mean for the average Kiwi consumer – and is there hope on the horizon for some healthy competition? Today, Victoria Univ...
Jul 16, 2024•19 min
US politics is in a freefall, after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The shooting killed a spectator and injured two others – while the Secret Service fatally shot the gunman, a 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania, where the rally was being held. The shocking incident comes at a time when the United States is already polarised politically, smack bang in the middle of the 2024 election race. The Republican National Convention is still going ahead this week, and pundits ...
Jul 15, 2024•19 min
