Focus on Politics

The government has acknowledged it has to restrict the numbers of new residents allowed to come to New Zealand, as those numbers show no sign of abating. Changes introduced this week are aimed at… Read more Audio

A proposal by the Police Minister Judith Collins to boost front-line officers has been given to the Prime Minister and other senior members of Cabinet. The level of police numbers have been in the… Read more Audio

The Law Society says the Government has its head in the sand over the state of the legal aid system. The society says over the past five years, there's been a 25 percent drop in the number of lawyers… Read more Audio

Sweeping changes to family violence laws were unveiled this week, lifting the lid on what have been described as devastating and insidious statistics. Cabinet papers say the police attend an average… Read more Audio

The Government is facing continued criticism for not having a plan to deal with the housing crisis. This week it passed legislation allowing special housing areas to be extended for another three… Read more Audio

Much of the debate around national security centres around the threat of a physical terrorist attack in New Zealand, but cyber security is also gaining an increasing amount of attention. The… Read more Audio

The Maori King dealt a blow to the Labour Party this week by backing the Maori party and saying he would not be voting for Labour again. However, Labour have the upper hand heading into the election… Read more Audio

In a law change that had its genesis in the illegal spying operation against Kim Dotcom in 2012, the Government Communications Security Bureau will be given an explicit mandate to spy on New… Read more Audio

Record immigration levels have reignited debate in Parliament over whether it's time to put a cap on numbers. The new arrivals put stresses on the nation, and that can cause dangerous resentments… Read more Audio

While National is the main governing party, it could not do so without support arrangements with other, much smaller, political parties. Since being elected in 2008 National has had agreements with… Read more Audio

Parliament has launched an inquiry into whether registration for social workers should be made mandatory. Currently, a national register for those who work with New Zealand's most vulnerable exists… Read more Audio

The Prime Minister this week took a business delegation up to Indonesia in an attempt to boost trade between the two countries. The trade relationship has been rocky over recent years, because despite… Read more Audio