Focus on Politics

The Director of the Security Intelligence Service has spoken out this week about her agency's role in the jihadi brides controversy. Rebecca Kitteridge has also addressed a Privacy Act exemption, that… Read more Audio

The depth of New Zealand's involvement in the global network of secretive trusts was laid bare this week by further revelations in the Panama Papers. The new information may have created big waves in… Read more Audio

The fallout from the Panama Papers has continued to dog the Government this week. It's been just over a month now since the millions of documents from a Panamanian law firm showed how the world's rich… Read more Audio

As New Zealanders waistlines continue to expand, the lists of measures politicians say they are taking to combat obesity also grows. But there is fierce resistance to putting in place a tax on fizzy… Read more Audio

New Zealand has made it clear to China during the Prime Minister's visit there this week that dairy access must be improved, as both parties negotiate an upgrade to the existing free trade agreement… Read more Audio

The controversy over the use of foreign trusts to dodge tax has continued to dominate Parliament this week. The government bowed to pressure and announced a review of the rules governing foreign… Read more Audio

The government remains stubborn in its refusal to acknowledge New Zealand is acting as tax haven for wealthy foreigners, and possibly criminals. And senior ministers continue to insist there's no need… Read more Audio

This week a major international study concluded that the War on Drugs has been a failure. It found that rather than stopping the trade and use of drugs, the so-called war had created parallel… Read more Audio

The financial squeeze on farmers is moving further into the political spotlight after dairy prices fell and Fonterra again cut its forecast payout. But the political debate around dairy broadened as… Read more Audio

A review of New Zealand's intelligence agencies has found the laws governing the SIS and the GCSB are clunky, inconsistent and preventing those agencies from properly carrying out their jobs. It… Read more Audio

Gang members and their families are now in the Government's sights, with the release of a multi-pronged anti-gang initiative. The Police Minister, and the Minister of Social Development have announced… Read more Audio

Five years on from the devastating Christchurch earthquakes and there are still thousands of unresolved insurance claims and delays to the government's so-called anchor projects. The Government is… Read more Audio