The Front Page

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 t...

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 ch...

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 ...

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, Geoff...

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 healt...

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 cas...

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 commi...

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 ...

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...

More and more Kiwis are heading overseas to see if the grass is really greener on the other side.

Most of us are heading to Australia, with latest figures showing 27,000 moved last year, but thousands are still flocking to the United Kingdom for their OE.

People are gambling on getting better pay and conditions overseas, and escaping New Zealand’s high cost of living, but are things really better overseas?

Today on The Front Page, ...

In this breaking news edition of The Front Page, former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to have been shot at at a rally in Pennsylvania.  

Trump was pushed to the ground by Secret Service Agents before being pulled off stage with blood covering his ear. US media is now reporting that the shooter and someone from the crowd is dead.

For the latest, Chelsea talks with Newstalk ZB reporter, Blake...

With a price tag of $153 million – the coalition government’s paving the way for charter schools to make a comeback in 2025. 

Government has places to fund 15 charter schools and the conversion of up to 35 state schools to charter schools. 

The application process is officially open, despite ongoing criticism from the Opposition and teaching unions about the return of the controversial system.  

Today on The Front Page, Associate M...

The Reserve Bank has delivered their last judgement on the Official Cash Rate – and surprise surprise, there’s been no change.  

The Reserve Bank still says it won’t be cutting rates anytime soon, but economists believe that such a cut will need to come later this year. 

It comes as the economic outlook for New Zealand continues to look bleak, with more people heading either overseas, or to the Jobseeker queue.  

Today on The Front...

Crime is one of the key issues the coalition government was voted in on, and it’s easy to see why.

The latest data shows overall crime is sitting steady – but despite barely moving figures, people are feeling more unsafe.

The government wants to tackle crime and create fewer victims of violent offences, but with law and order their key focus for the coming months, are they focusing on the right crimes?

To run us through the numbers...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is off to the United States this week – the world’s largest economy and our second biggest trading partner.

He’s there for what’s described as “D.C.’s diplomatic Super Bowl”, where dozens of foreign leaders will descend upon Washington for the NATO Summit.

A number of bilaterals with other NATO leaders is on the cards – as well as a spattering of sideline meetings with top US politicians.

Today on T...

Green MP Darleen Tana has spent half of her short Parliamentary career under investigation, after allegations she is linked to migrant exploitation at her husband’s bicycle company. 

A report on the lengthy investigation was delivered to the Green Party on Friday night, and the party has now called on Tana to resign. 

To explain what’s happening, and why they aren’t firing Tana themselves, for this bonus episode of The Front Page, ...

Each year around 40,000 New Zealanders are disconnected from the power supply for non-payment, according to Consumer NZ.  

They are surviving winter in cold, dark homes without access to a warm shower or a homecooked meal – sometimes for months at a time.  

It comes at a time when the main players in the power business are making huge profits - including charging hundreds for reconnections done by the touch of a button.  

So how do...

While the final results are set to trickle in slowly, the exit poll for the UK election has shown a historic landslide for the Labour Party.

The poll suggests Sir Keir Starmer will be the next Prime Minister of one of our closest allies, with a potential majority of 170 seats, while the ruling Conservative Party is out after 14 years of power, and has suffered their worst ever defeat to boot.

To discuss the seismic change in UK pol...

The Government has unveiled grand plans to ‘flood’ the market with more houses, announcing new changes to planning rules that will require councils to plan for 30 years of housing growth.

It comes after Housing Minister Chris Bishop said he wants to see house prices fall.

He’s already getting his wish though, with prices dropping to a point that in some of the country’s biggest cities, homeowners are delisting their properties rath...