In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch recounts the siege of Fortress New Zealand and reckons with its reconnection to the world. "It's time to move forward together, safely" - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Fortress New Zealand - the 'hermit kingdom' - is soon to be no more. For almost two years, Aotearoa has been cut off - foreigners for the most part have been barred entry, with returning New Zealanders having to complete a stay i...
Feb 04, 2022•16 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Editor Jane Patterson assesses the government's readiness for the Omicron variant. "We know that the boosters are only just rolling out now, and we've only just started to immunise our children ... we just want people to be safe." - Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere After two years of dealing with Covid-19 in its various forms, the government and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are heading into another gauntlet, likely compounded by supply c...
Jan 28, 2022•16 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast In Focus on politics, RNZ's political team catch up with the minor party leaders to discuss 2021, potential allies, and Covid-19. RNZ's political team catch up with the minor party leaders to discuss 2021, potential allies, and Covid-19. With much of the political year focused on the Covid-19 response, Labour and National have soaked up much of the attention, but the minor parties have still played a role. ACT has been soaking up some of National's lost support, the Greens have had to ...
Dec 17, 2021•16 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch talks with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about the year that's been. "It was the year of the vaccine and to finish with rates in the mid-90 percent mark for first dose, 85 percent for Māori, over 90 percent for Pacific, I'm really proud of what New Zealand's done," - Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern accepts the government could have done more to assist community-led vaccination efforts, ...
Dec 10, 2021•16 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Editor Jane Patterson talks to National's leader Chris Luxon in his new office to assess what his leadership will look like. "It's easy to say the words 'unify, unify, unify' ... but, you know, that's an intellectual rational thing - you've got to make it emotional and actually get people to reset and leave some of the baggage behind," - Chris Luxon It was only just over a week ago Chris Luxon took the National Pa...
Dec 03, 2021•16 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch delineates the nuclear destruction of Judith Collins' leadership and assesses the fallout. "This is not our best day," - Shane Reti In July 2020, at what seemed like National's nadir, Judith Collins took the helm and promised to rebuild the party. She was - somewhat presciently - described as the nuclear option. This week, she leaves the job with the party in ruins, turfed out by a shell-shocked caucus a...
Nov 26, 2021•16 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Editor Jane Patterson and Health Correspondent Rowan Quinn examine New Zealand's ICU and health capacity as Covid-19 spreads, and elimination shifts to suppression. "We want to be able to provide the standard of care that we're used to providing ... the other thing that I'm concerned for is even for business as usual we're shortstaffed from a nursing point of view" - ICU nurse Tania Mitchell Doctors and nurses are at the po...
Nov 19, 2021•16 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Reporter Anneke Smith looks into the Family Court system as it nears its 40-year anniversary. "It's something that just hangs over someone's head constantly ... to be under that constant stress is just not good for families and it's not justice, really," - Family Court lawyer Marieke van den Bergh Trish - not her real name - has been waiting 16 months for an urgent protection order application hearing. In that time, her ex-...
Nov 12, 2021•16 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Editor Jane Patterson hits the brakes and looks ahead to the traffic light system, and what it means for Covid-19 in New Zealand. "If we do follow the rules, if a lot of people continue to work from home, if we don't all rush back out to try and get back to that level 1 life then the system will work better" - Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy On 23 March last year life changed forever with the pandemic wreaking global devastation but af...
Nov 05, 2021•16 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Reporter Katie Scotcher takes a deeper look at New Zealand's free trade ambitions with the UK and Europe. "We've scrummed down, with packed tight and together we've got the ball over the line, and we have a deal - and I think it's a great deal." - Boris Johnson New Zealand is on the hunt for new trading opportunities across the globe, both to help the economic recovery, and diversify away from China. The in-principle free t...
Oct 31, 2021•16 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast In Focus on politics, Is New Zealand ready to move to the new Covid future? "The whole of the system is already under pressure ... they're anticipating what the next shift is gonna be like, are the gonna have enough nurses to be able to cope with the demand?" - Nurses organisation kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku Once New Zealand moves to the traffic light system, that's an acceptance that Covid will be circulating within the community - which will lead to more cases, hospitalisation...
Oct 22, 2021•16 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast In Focus on politics, Katie Scotcher explores the challenges and priorities in the inherently political transport sector. The government is at a transport crunch point - Labour's first year as a majority has seen it scrap or reshape major projects and programmes, while decisions about the future of others loom. The usual challenges of the inherently political sector are being compounded by the financial pressures from the pandemic and the urgent need to respond to climate change. National&#...
Oct 15, 2021•16 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Editor Jane Patterson takes politicians' temperature on Covid-19 and the economic response, and how that impacts efforts to combat inequality. "We have a program around reducing inequality that's been running throughout our time in government but when we're in a crisis we work with those local communities ... we've worked closely, for example, with gang leadership..." - Finance Minister Grant Robertson The government's...
Oct 08, 2021•16 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Editor Jane Patterson dives into the three waters debate, plumbing the depths of local governments' opposition to the centralisation of water infrastructure. "There is near universal agreement that the status quo is not sustainable. Our three waters assets are now liabilities" - Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta Water is one of Aotearoa's most precious resources and the government's embarked on an ambitious plan to better ...
Oct 01, 2021•16 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast Focus on Politics, is New Zealand moving away from elimination? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Sep 25, 2021•16 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch details the latest Covid-19 outbreak, the government's response, and how that's been received by the public and politicians alike. "Just as we successfully stayed home and saved lives last year, I'm asking the team of five million to unite once more to defeat what is likely to be this more dangerous variant of the virus." - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Having gone 170 days without community transmission...
Aug 20, 2021•16 min•Ep 63•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Long Form Journalist Te Aniwa Hurihanganui explores the harm caused when politicians question Māori values and language. "For Māori people to see words like Aotearoa or te reo Māori and its use in general to be thrown around so lightly and so harmfully, I think it's dispiriting for a lot of people in that they start to disengage from the debate as well." - Morgan Godfery Political commentator Morgan Godfery says that to be told your name for y...
Aug 13, 2021•16 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast Legislation banning gay conversion therapy, a practice described as monstrous and traumatising, is making its way through Parliament but not everyone is on board. "I was sent to a counsellor who told me that I could change my sexuality ... if you have people who are telling you that you need to change something which is actually fundamental to who you are, it does do lasting damage." Paul Stevens has first-hand experience of so-called conversion "therapy" - the harmful practi...
Aug 06, 2021•16 min•Ep 61•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Māori News Journalist Jamie Tahana and Education Correspondent John Gerritsen look at a suite of new initiatives being brought in to improve Māori achievement, reduce racism in the system and to teach history. "We're making sure that every Māori child can see themselves and their language and their culture valued in the education system ... it's basically what non-Māori children see in the education system already." Associate Education Mi...
Jul 30, 2021•16 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast In today's Focus on Politics podcast, Political Reporter Anneke Smith explores how the conversation on hate speech shifted - from an effort to curb terrorism to a political bunfight - and what the minorities the law change aims to protect want to happen next. "We want to avoid the whole politicisation of hate speech ... because at the end of the day our communities suffered greatly and politicising it is actually demeaning. So what we're really wanting is effective change." Federa...
Jul 23, 2021•16 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast The Government is feeling the heat from those left in the cold. RNZ political reporter Charlie Dreaver takes stock of New Zealand's not-so-healthy homes and the standards meant to improve them. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Jul 16, 2021•16 min•Ep 58•Transcript available on Metacast The National Party is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with revelations former leader Todd Muller was pressured to retire after being dobbed in for anonymously criticising a colleague. RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson breaks down the latest in a long list of problems for the opposition. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Jul 14, 2021•16 min•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast Leaked footage of a young person being manhandled at an Oranga Tamariki care and protection unit has put the agency back under the microscope. RNZ political reporter Katie Scotcher examines the events that followed. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Jul 09, 2021•16 min•Ep 56•Transcript available on Metacast In Focus on Politics, RNZ political editor Jane Patterson digs into Labour's plan for the Defence Force, now it is unshackled from last term's coalition constraints. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Jun 25, 2021•16 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast This week brought some more clarity to the country's Covid-19 vaccine programme as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed the first details of the wider roll-out to the general population. RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch takes a look at the Government's plans for "Stage Four". Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Jun 18, 2021•16 min•Ep 54•Transcript available on Metacast About 30,000 nurses, midwives and other health workers have been on a seven-hour strike after nurses voted to go ahead with a strike having rejected a revised pay offer from district health boards. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Jun 11, 2021•16 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison made use of the Trans-Tasman travel bubble, flying into Queenstown for a sit-down meeting with NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern - one of her first since the Covid-19 pandemic. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Jun 07, 2021•16 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast Samoa is in the grips of a constitutional crisis: a bitter power struggle between two competing governments and two political heavyweights. Both sides are claiming power and accusing the other of a coup. RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch breaks down the turmoil in a country not used to instability. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
May 28, 2021•16 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast Beneficiaries will reap the rewards of this year's Budget with a welfare boost billed as the "biggest in a generation". Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
May 21, 2021•16 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast Race relations have been a flash point for conflict and reconciliation in NZ politics over the years. National leader Judith Collins reignited the fire this week with her speech to party faithful. RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson has this week's Focus on Politics. RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
May 17, 2021•16 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast 
