Duncan Garner - Editor In Chief

The 2026 election battle is officially underway, and cost of living is front and centre. We sit down with Finance Minister Nicola Willis to unpack Labour’s fiscal plan, soaring petrol prices, and whether supermarket structural changes can actually lower your grocery bill. Plus, we look at the brutal MMP mathematics that could leave senior ministers without a seat in Parliament. Learn more about yo...

Buried in the minor parties debate, Winston Peters dropped a massive election grenade: an extra $120 a week for working families. That is over $6,000 a year, but when pushed on how to pay for it, he pointed to economic growth, mining, and a future fund we know little about. Promises are easy, but numbers are hard. We look at whether this holds up or triggers a massive spending auction. Learn more...

Chris Hipkins goes missing when asked how Labour will pay for its promises. Duncan Garner tracks down the missing Labour leader who refuses to front for the Editor-in-Chief podcast after getting put through the political wringer on his uncosted $18 billion budget. Plus, former All Blacks captain Tane Randall joins the show to talk about standing for New Zealand First, cutting SME taxes, and gettin...

It is only day three of the election campaign, and the left is already fighting over the Treasury keys. Chlöe Swarbrick wants the finance portfolio, Chris Hipkins says Barbara Edmonds gets it bottom line, and Labour is talking up a mini budget to cover its promises. We break down the massive numbers, the pay equity demands, and why the arithmetic simply does not add up. Learn more about your ad ch...

The latest poll just blew the election wide open with a massive Green surge, leaving National and Labour tied at 28%. But behind the headline numbers, who actually holds the balance of power? Plus, New Zealand First candidate Bernadette Soares joins us to blow the whistle on dodgy migration deals, worker exploitation, and why she believes current immigration settings are failing everyday Kiwis. Le...

National is facing an internal battle over how best to return a centre-right government under MMP. Former Cabinet Minister Maurice Williamson argues that with National polling around 30% while holding a large number of electorate seats, extra party votes for National will not produce extra MPs. He suggests National voters strategically give their party vote to ACT or New Zealand First to maximize...

Christopher Luxon versus Chris Hipkins is shaping up as one of the most vanilla, stale political battles in recent history. With both major party leaders playing it safe, the real fire is coming from the fringes. Winston Peters wants to buy back BNZ, TOP is pitching massive tax overhauls, and David Seymour wants Paul Henry as broadcasting minister. We ask who is actually offering real change, plus...

Parliament has risen, the politicians are hitting the hustings, and our latest rolling poll of polls shows a dead heat. National and Labour are sitting tied at 29.1 percent. The center-right holds a razor-thin margin, but with a fresh cost of living crisis biting families hard, voters are asking a brutal question: what has this government actually delivered? We break down the numbers. Learn more a...

Nicky Hager is back with a new book targeting the Taxpayers' Union, but does his evidence actually stack up? Former insiders Ani O'Brien and Ashley Church join us to tear apart the claims, address the serious allegations against Jordan Williams, and break down why effective political advocacy isn't a conspiracy. Plus, we look at the tight election race and Labour's latest tax backdown. Learn more...

We dig into feedback from an Otago Med School grad who claims entry standards for Māori and Pacific students are far lower than the public knows. Plus, long-time National supporters feel gaslit by the party's recent supermarket policies, while David Seymour faces backlash over a proposed minimum wage freeze. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every major political player suddenly wants to take a wrecking ball to the supermarkets, but is any of it actually going to make your weekly shop cheaper? We break down the sudden wave of political panic six weeks out from the election. Plus, NZ First leader Winston Peters joins us to defend his supermarket policy, lay out his plan to buy back the BNZ, and explain why he refuses to work with Labou...

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer dropped the C-bomb and got booted from Parliament, while Willie Jackson followed right behind her. We ask whether it’s a genuine double standard or pure political theater from Te Pāti Māori. Plus, National is threatening to forcibly break up the supermarket duopoly. We look at whether Nicola Willis has abandoned core party principles just to chase a short-term electoral bounc...

Three years of cost-of-living pain, and what do we get? Election-year gimmicks. National wants to forcibly break up Foodstuffs, Labour wants to cap profits, and the Greens want the state behind the checkout. We look at why none of these political fixes will lower your grocery bill, and share a devastating message from a Kiwi who has lost all faith in our nation. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

The latest rolling polls show both major parties stuck in the 20s, with voters turning away from the standard blue-versus-red match-up. National’s lost ground, Labour hasn't gained it, and the minor parties are now calling the shots. Duncan Garner, Ani O'Brien, and Ashley Church break down why MMP fragmentation could derail election night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

Every time Willie Jackson opens his mouth, Labour drops in the polls. From co-governance to spending and failing to explain his own party's capital gains tax policy, Willie has become a walking liability. Does Chris Hipkins actually have authority over his own party? Plus, we talk to the Cannabis Clinic about how new roadside drug testing is catching out Kiwis using legal, prescribed medication. L...

British author, academic, and free speech advocate Andrew Doyle joins Duncan Garner in the studio while on tour with the Free Speech Union to deliver an urgent warning to New Zealand. Looking at the United Kingdom as a cautionary tale, Andrew breaks down staggering stats from a recent Big Brother Watch report revealing 62,000 arrests for offensive speech between 2021 and 2025. That is roughly 30 p...

Wellington ratepayers are shelling out $280,000 for a Chief Māori Officer, which is $78,000 more than the city’s mayor takes home. Over in the regional council, there is another executive doing the same work for over $200,000. We look at why ratepayers are funding duplicate bureaucracy in a cost-of-living crisis and ask where the actual outcomes are. Former minister Maurice Williamson and Ani O'Br...

Aucklanders are getting hammered by rates, congestion, and failing infrastructure, yet Auckland Transport is advertising for a Head of Māori Outcomes reporting straight to the CEO. A passenger is a passenger, and standard public transport should deliver one service for everyone. We look at how bloated public sector bureaucracy keeps expanding while the basics remain broken. Learn more about your a...

We take a look at the extraordinary entry numbers coming out of Otago Medical School. Around 90% of Māori applicants receive offers compared to just 31% in the general category, turning away candidates with superior grades. David Seymour joins us after being briefed on a secret report into race-based admissions. He says it fails to justify the policy, so why won't the government release it to the...

Winston Peters has just thrown a hand grenade into the superannuation debate. New Zealand First wants to change the rules so that from 2029 you must be a New Zealand citizen to qualify for NZ Super. Right now, permanent residents can get it after meeting residency requirements. We speak with New Zealand First candidate Craig Stobo about why they are pushing for this change and whether our current...

The Greens want to spend $6 billion on a government-owned supermarket chain, acquiring 120 stores to give us cheaper groceries. But is KiwiMart a genius fix or an expensive fantasy? We break down why forcing private businesses out won't magically lower your checkout bill. Plus, Retail NZ’s Carolyn Young joins us to reveal the real costs, huge legal risks, and what this means for Kiwis. Learn more...

This election is starting to look less like two competing visions and more like a choice between dumb and dumber. National’s telling us to wait while spending $20 billion more than Labour’s last budget, but Labour is turning up with an uncosted $21 billion shopping list. Chris Hipkins refuses to show us the money, Willie Jackson says they didn't spend enough, and everyday Kiwis are left carrying t...

A real estate agent with a 30-year career faces a lifetime ban for refusing to take a compulsory 90-minute course on tikanga Māori. She lost her license not for misconduct, but for holding firm to her personal beliefs. We ask when regulators got the power to take away a person's right to work over a compulsory course. Plus, interest rates go up again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

Labour has a massive problem 10 weeks out from the election. Between ditching fuel tax increases, entertaining pay equity claims, and relying on capital gains tax that will not bring in revenue for years, their numbers just do not add up. We look at how Willie Jackson is pouring fuel on the fire by telling unions Labour was too conservative on spending, completely torpedoing Chris Hipkins' message...

Willie Jackson just let the cat out of the bag on co-governance. Labour hasn't dropped the policy; they are just planning to rebrand it under a new name to avoid scaring voters. We break down what this deceit means for middle New Zealand, why Chris Hipkins seems unable to control his Māori caucus, and how voters are reacting as National and Labour lock into a dead heat. Learn more about your ad ch...