Politics Central
Newstalk ZB serves up what you need to know, on all things politics at home, and abroad. The show reviews, previews, analyses and challenges the biggest political issues of the week, with all the big players.
Episodes
New Zealand First's annual conference has just drawn to a close, and leader Winston Peters made a speech to his audience of near 1000.
He announced New Zealand First will campaign on making KiwiSaver compulsory, and introduced 10% contributions, which would be compensated by tax cuts.
All this on top of a potentila new candidate for next year's election - Stuart Nash.
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Former Labour minister Stuart Nash has put his hat in the ring to be a candidate to become a New Zealand First MP at the party's AGM this weekend.
Nash was sacked from Cabinet in 2023 after disclosing confidentiall information from a Cabinet meeting to two businessmen.
Now, Winston Peters says he would be a 'seamless' addition.
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The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey shows 156,000 victims of serious violent crimes in the year to May.
It's down 29,000 from when National took office in 2023, and the drop is largely made up of family violence incidents.
However, the number of sexual assault victims has increased by 3,000 in only three months.
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This week the Government announced an express lane to fast-track consent for supermarkets that would improve competition.
The question now being raised, is whether the cost of groceries is a supermarket problem, or a wage problem.
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NZ Post has suspended most shipping services to the United States and some surrounding countries as they brace for tariffs to come into effect.
Services will stop on the 29th of August, but NZ Post says it can't give customers an exact date for when things will get going again.
They expect the suspension to be short term, but it begs the question of what planning was being done when tariff discussions have been ongoing ...
The Government has announced a $2.7 billion defence spending boost to upgrade the aircraft fleet.
The money will be spent on five Seahawk helicopters and two Airbus aircrafts, to replace the Defence Force's "embarrassing" planes, in Judith Collins' words.
It's part of National's pledge to boost defence spending by $9 billion over the next four years, but why now?
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Submissions close tonight for the Online Casino Gambling Bill.
The community sports sector have banded together under the Community Sports Collective, and made a joint submission covering at least 1.67 million people.
They're urging the Government to share the proceeds of online casino gambling with the community, in the same way they do with current grants.
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Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin yesterday to come to an agreement over the war in Ukraine.
The two left the meeting seemingly happy with how it went, and Trump noted it "went very well", but no deal was announced.
Vlodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Trump at the White House later this week.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chris Luxon this weekend, in Queenstown for the annual Australia-New Zealand leaders meeting.
Luxon said in a world that's ever-changing, our relationship with Australia is a "bedrock", and Albanese shared a similar sentiment. But no announcements have been made so far between us.
So what can we expect to come from this? what issues do both leaders agree, or disagree on? and...
The Greens say they're the only ones offering solutions to tax issues, in a time where communities are crying out for change.
With next year's elections coming soon, they held their Annual meeting this weekend, and expressed their desire to lead the next government. The Party's co-leaders called for transformational change, and a future driven by fresh thinking.
So what will that actually look like, and how promising does it ...
Beef + Lamb New Zealand Chair Kate Acland joins Tim Beveridge to discuss the impacts of the newly announced 15% tariff on exports to the United States.
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The Government has announced they will revise the Conservation Act to allow for a fresh wave of concessions on DoC land, as well as increasing the charge for foreign visiters to access the more popular sites.
Forest and Bird have claimed these changes are not conservation reform, but rather "conservation retreat".
Forest and Bird Chief Executive Nicola Toki joins Tim Beveridge to discuss.
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A suite of Electoral Act changes were announced this week, and same-day enrolments are set to be scrapped.
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour caused some upset when he dropped the word 'drop-kick' into the conversation.
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Until now, one company's plasterboard has had a near-duopoly in New Zealand, leading to some of the highest prices in the world - 67% more expensive than the U.S. according to the Minister of Building and Construction.
From tomorrow, thousands of overseas building products including plasterboard and cladding systems will be given the green light for use in construction in New Zealand.
The Government's introduction of a ...
We've had a flurry of education news this past week - giving the impression things are actually starting to look up.
Numeracy and literacy results are up significantly year on year, attendance is improving, and now - the Government wants to put an end to open plan classrooms.
But today, a damning Government briefing points out significant concerns around the credibility of the NCEA system itself.
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The Government has announced the funidng of $6 billion worth of construction projects to begin by Christmas.
New and improved roads, school renovations, and hospital revamps - it's all been added to the National Infrastructure Pipeline which is now over $207 billion.
These projects are also expected to create tens of thousands of jobs in the coming months.
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Around 700 New Zealand soldiers and personnel are in Australia for the largest war-fighting and military training exercise in the Southern Hemisphere.
35-thousand soldiers from 19 nations are taking part in it.
The Defence Force says a key goal for them is to be able to integrate its capabilities into Australian and US relations.
The Government also announced ramping up defence spend earlier this year - but as it stands now, and wi...
With rising global tensions, market volatility, and an unpredictable international landscape, having a strong and credible foreign voice is becoming more important than ever for New Zealand.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travelled to Malaysia for a summit with his South East Asian counterparts, where he worked towards a comprehensive strategic partnership by October.
But what does that actually mean for us? What would that relati...
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop is also stopping in Houston, Texas to look at how they've implemented affordable housing.
He's speaking to local experts about their planning, funding and tools that have allowed them to deliver effective housing.
Can the same elements be brought to New Zealand?
ZB Political Editor Jason Walls speaks to Andrew Dickens...
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Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop is visiting New York to see the success of their congestion charging.
He's proposing a similar pricing strategy back here, but is it plausible for our roads?
What can be done to solve our traffic issues?
Andrew Dickens is joined by Martin Glynn, AA Policy Director...
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