Duncan Garner - Editor In Chief

Duncan’s back in a brand-new home studio and he isn't holding back on the "dishonest" polling currently misleading New Zealanders. He breaks down why the coalition question is the only one that matters under MMP. Later, former CTU economist Craig Renney joins the show to discuss his run for Parliament, the impact of Middle East conflict on your wallet, and why our electricity market is fundamental...

Are we holding Kiwi farmers to gold-plated standards while waving cheap imports straight through the border? This week we take on what Duncan calls the double standard threatening to force local producers out of business. From pork and eggs to animal welfare rules, farmers say they’re being hammered at home while competing against products made under standards we’ve already banned. Then it’s polit...

Imagine doing exactly what the government asks by finding work and starting a degree, only to end up with less money in your pocket. Duncan shares the frustrating story of a solo mum who is $30 a week worse off just for taking a 10-hour-a-week job. It is a systemic failure that punishes initiative and keeps people trapped on welfare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are diving into the absolute wrought that is the New Zealand power market. While families are rationing heat, the big electricity companies have banked nearly $2 billion in profit in just six months. Duncan is joined by Auckland Chamber of Commerce boss Simon Bridges to talk about the state of the economy, the lack of bold political leadership, and why it’s time to break open the current system...

We don’t hold back in this one. First, we deliver the brutally honest speech Chris Hipkins should have given. No spin. No tidy slogans. Just debt, KiwiBuild, light rail, inflation, energy policy and the reality of trying to do too much and delivering too little . It is satire, but it is grounded in real frustration. Then David Farrar joins us to talk numbers. A genuine dead heat in the polls. Sixt...

Winston Peters is moving to make English an official language in law, and the reaction from the Greens has been an absolute meltdown. Duncan and the panel dive into why this administrative tweak is being framed as a moral emergency. Plus, we look at the deeply disturbing job market numbers and the latest push for censorship on social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

The latest Freshwater poll is out, and it is a total shocker for National. With the party sliding to 30 percent, senior figures like Nicola Willis are suddenly facing the axe. Duncan, Rachel Smalley, and Ashley Church dive into whether a leadership change is coming and why Winston Peters is suddenly looking like a potential Prime Minister. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

A high-achieving Massey University student has walked away from their social work degree and New Zealand entirely. Duncan shares a chilling letter from a student who claims the Treaty and climate change are being shoved down their throats at the expense of practical skills. We are joined by Ghislaine Heather from the Free Speech Union to ask if our universities have become echo chambers that have...

Duncan asks the tough questions about who is actually running the show at National. With a floated $9 toll for the Auckland Harbor Bridge and new electricity levies, the party of "no new taxes" is looking a lot like the opposition. We dive into why these "optics" are making voters sick and whether Christopher Luxon is losing his grip on the party's economic soul. Learn more about your ad choices....

Duncan doesn't hold back today as he calls out Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer for celebrating the death of Captain Cook. He questions why the mainstream media is staying silent and asks if she is even fit to hold office. Plus, we look at the grim 10-year high for unemployment and whether millennial work ethics are part of the problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Winston Peters is back with a familiar policy to abolish the Maori seats. We look at why his timing is shrewd and why it’s making Christopher Luxon look so weak. Damien Grant and Jordan Williams join us to debate the future of our democracy. Plus, we dig into the cultural leave story the mainstream media refused to touch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duncan dives into the trust problem currently rotting New Zealand politics. Whether it is Chris Hipkins flipping on capital gains or Chris Luxon introducing a new power "levy" that looks suspiciously like a tax, we ask if anything said before an election actually survives. Plus, economist Craig Renney and the Taxpayers Union’s Jordan Williams join us to debate the state of the economy and why Well...

We dive into the controversial cultural leave entitlements for Māori staff at Oranga Tamariki. Minister Karen Chhour joins us to explain why she finds the PSA contract disappointing and how she is campaigning for equality from within the system. Plus, Duncan tackles the Green Party proposal to grant whales legal personhood, calling it a constitutional experiment that could cause a logistical night...

On today's podcast, more on the whistleblower who came forward from Oranga Tamariki, with claims of race-based cultural leave that isn't available to other staff. Duncan digs into why this government hasn't scrapped these entitlements yet, and reveals Minister Karen Chhour’s "please explain" that has been issued to her own ministry. We also look at the "ethnic rankings" still being used in our hea...

This episode starts with a whistleblower from inside Oranga Tamariki who says a newly negotiated collective agreement has crossed a serious line. Duncan reveals a clause agreed between Oranga Tamariki and the Public Service Association that grants Māori staff discretionary paid cultural leave, with obligations self-defined and not open to challenge by managers. No equivalent entitlement exists for...

Waitangi 2026 has come and gone, and all we got was noise, anger, and performance. Duncan breaks down why Māori politics looks broken and asks who is actually looking out for the aspirational Kiwis worried about jobs and housing. Plus, NZ First's Shane Jones joins us to discuss the "pantomime" at Waitangi and a major new minerals deal with the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

It was meant to be our year. That’s what we were told. But as 2026 kicks off, the numbers are telling a very different story. Inflation is back up, unemployment is rising, and interest rates may not be done yet. On the podcast, Duncan Garner asks the hard question. Where are the green shoots we were promised? And what does it mean for Christopher Luxon as the election clock starts ticking loudly?...

Is New Zealand being sold a lazy political narrative about Māori and this government? We reckon so. As Waitangi approaches, Duncan takes aim at the claim that National is anti-Māori and starts pulling apart the record. From treaty settlements and co-governance to iwi wealth, education reform and charter schools, the evidence doesn’t match the rhetoric. Duncan lays out why the media keeps repeating...

For 20 years, our education system has quietly failed kids while the adults argued ideology, avoided accountability, and buried the data. Today, Duncan takes a hard look at why that matters and why things are finally changing. We unpack the introduction of clear, national assessments and honest reporting in schools, why literacy and numeracy were allowed to slide for decades, and how measuring pro...

What happens when the right to protest depends on who you are, not the rules? This episode dives headfirst into the decision to block Brian Tamaki from marching across the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and why Duncan believes authorities have walked straight into a hypocrisy trap. You don’t have to like Tamaki, agree with him, or support his views. That’s not the point. The issue is consistency, fairne...

The Broadcasting Standards Authority is facing a terminal decline and they've come up with a desperate plan to stay relevant. They want the government to rewrite the law so they can police the internet and control what we say on podcasts and live streams. We talk to Ashley Church and Maurice Williamson about why this mission creep is a massive overreach for a 35-year-old regulator. Learn more abou...

Duncan Garner digs into the collapse of the government’s retail crime advisory committee, a group set up to respond to ram raids and rising violence, but now facing resignations, lavish spending claims, and serious questions about accountability. With three of five members gone, six-figure invoices, and silence from the responsible minister, it looks less like crime fighting and more like a gravy...

This investigation just took a sharp turn. What started as concerns about the India free trade deal has now landed right in the heart of New Zealand workplaces. We share detailed allegations from a franchise owner at a pizza chain, claiming migrant workers are paying tens of thousands of dollars for jobs delivering pizzas, while Kiwis remain out of work. The claims include fee payments of up to $3...

Six people are dead, and the questions won’t go away. On this episode of Duncan Garner: Editor in Chief, we dig into what’s being called an avoidable tragedy and why so many warnings appear to have gone unanswered. We look at the role of the council, the one-one-one system, and the decisions made years earlier that may have destabilised the land. Were people too slow to act, too afraid to make a c...

This one lit a fire. We dig deeper into the India free trade deal and the uncapped student numbers that have sparked huge backlash. An immigration insider speaks out about fraud, weak controls, and the real pressures being felt on housing, jobs, and schools. It’s raw, detailed, and confronting. We also break down the first major poll of the year, and it’s a warning sign National voters should not...