Head2Head

Northland Specialist Emergency Doctor and outspoken public health advocate Gary Payinda has just become The Labour Party Candidate for Whangarei for the upcoming General Election. Why has he entered politics? Why Labour? What does he believe ? And what does he want to do to improve the lives of the people of Northland? Head 2 Head is made possible by the generosity of my paid subscribers (thank yo...

About a month ago I posed the Big Question - Should We Buy Back Our Electricity Network? and one of my readers, who took part in that poll, put me in touch with Sam Kivi. Sam is on the board of the Lyttleton Energy Transition Society (or LETS for short ) who are fostering sustainable independent electricity production in the South Island port town where he lives. When it comes to controlling the e...

Yesterday I featured a documentary I made twenty-six years ago about how the State promised that people with mental disabilities would not be sent indefinitely to institutions but would be cared for in the community. Today, at least 65 mentally disabled New Zealanders are currently denied that right. Instead, they are detained in institutions and, as a recent Supreme Court case revealed, some of t...

The Wellbeing Economic Alliance Aotearoa (WEAll Aotearoa) isn’t a political party. It’s an independent “think and do” tank driven by the belief our economy should exist for the wellbeing of our people and the planet, and is working to make that happen. They take an evidence approach towards solving the economic issues that face us in order develop practical, long-term solutions for the public good...

November is Diabetes Awareness Action Month in which Diabetes New Zealand is calling attention to the rise in Diabetes amongst young people. You can find out more here: https://www.diabetesactionmonth.org.nz This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bryanbruce.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I catch up with Dr Bryan Betty who is the Chair of General Practice New Zealand and is also a practicing GP in Cannons Creek Porirua, to discuss issues of concern to General Practitioners and Labour’s recent primary health proposals. This public journalism interview has been made free to listen to thanks to the support of my paid subscribers. For $10 a month including GST ( less th...

As part of my Head2Head series I have been interviewing politicians to find out a little about who they are and what they believe. Kieran McAnulty was a minister in the Ardern led government and is currently Labour’s Shadow Leader of The House and spokesperson for Housing, Infrastructure and Public Investment. In this wide- ranging interview we discuss the legacy of the introduction of neoliberal...

In this interview I talk with two of the organisers of Rā Whakamana, an event happening next Tuesday the 28th of October 2025. It is a national day of solidarity between Māori, the Unions and Tangata Tiriti allies which coincides withe the 190th anniversary of He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (1835 Declaration of Independence) It is not a strike or protest, but a tikanga-led action...

.Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn (Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa) was part of protest group Te Waka Hourua, who defaced (she says “redacted” ) Te Papa’s large wooden display panel of the English version of the Treaty of Waitangi in 2023 for which she was recently fined $1500. In this interview Catherine talks candidly about why she was one of those who did it - and what you hear isn’t the senseless ramblings of...

I recently caught up with Dr Ganesh Rajaram Ahirao who was formerly the Research Director at BERL and Chair of the now disestablished Productivity Commission ,who has been analyzing data from Stats NZ on wealth distribution in our country - and what he has uncovered is truly alarming. You can find his research on his Substack here: However I have copied his research post below in case you can’t ac...

Is the Israeli government committing genocide in Gaza? What should we be doing to assist Ukraine? What’s gone wrong with the New Zealand- Cook Islands relatiomship ? Should we be a neutral country? And what do we need to know about Pacific politics and environmental issues? In this wide ranging and engaging conversation Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teanau Tuiono, speaks candidly about...

Last Friday I had the pleasure of talking with Sir Graeme Dingle and Lady Dingle - Jo-anne Wilkinson (pictured) who started the Graeme Dingle Foundation 30 years ago with the aim of improving the lives of young New Zealanders and helping them realise their full potential. The Foundation works with Aotearoa New Zealand’s tamariki and rangatahi at different life stages through schools and communitie...

Monday Is Hope Day Do you think everyone should be able to access free dental care? I do. It has always seemed ridiculous to me that if something goes wrong with any other part of your body you can get help through our public health system - but not teeth. Well, this week’s Monday Is Hope Day story is about Action Station’s campaign to do something about the bad teeth situation and are calling on...

The Sunday Long Read and Listen I had the very enjoyable experience of interviewing Chlöe Swarbrick last Thursday. I’d never met or spoken with Chlöe before and I was taken by how the MP for Central Auckland and Co-Leader of the Greens, has carefully thought through in detail big issues such as What is the role of government in the economy? and How can we pay for better housing, healthcare, educat...

As part of my Head2Head series I have been interviewing politicians to find out a little about who they are,why thet got into politics, and what they believe. In this episode I meet Vanushi Walters who is Labour’s Shadow Attorney- General and an Associate Spokesperon on Foreign Affairs . We discuss the threats to our rule of law and our democracy by legislation that has been brought before the Hou...

Bryan Bruce catches up with Dr Ganesh Ahirao, former BERL Research Director and Chair of the now disestablished Productivity Commission , to talk about the direction and purpose of our Economy, privatisation concerns for our Public Health System and why Early Childhood Education is much more than baby sitting. This interview has been made free to listen to thanks to the generosity of my paid subsc...

The Sunday Long Read gives way this week to a Sunday Long Watch and Long Listen. Last week I had the privilege of interviewing two Jesus and 1st Century historians – Professors Joan Taylor, currently in Wellington, and Prof. Helen Bond at the University of Edinburgh, who jointly authored and presented the BBC Channel 4 documentary J esus’ Female Disciples and the book Women Remembered about Jesus’...

Today I am catching up with Blake Forbes and Paul Barlow Blake has a disability. He has spastic cerebral palsy with mild autism and ADHD, but that hasn’t stopped him running a very effective interview podcast called BFG (short for Blake Forbes Gentle) which he produces with co-host Paul Barlow . Paul has a media background and, in addition to working with Blake, runs his own podcast show entitled...

Part of my job as a public interest journalist and documentary maker is to give a voice to people in our community who find it difficult to be heard. Disability access to houses and public buildings is one of those issues that doesn’t get enough attention in Aotearoa New Zealand, and as advocate Nick Ruane points out in today’s interview, any of us can find ourselves having to use a wheel chair as...

As regular readers will know, Monday on my Susbstack is Hope day, and for over 30 years Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has been bringing hope to children living in our most deprived homes, by fighting for their rights to food, housing, health and education. They are an independent, registered charity, that since its inception has been working to eliminate child poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand t...

The dull sounding Regulatory Standards Bill presents one of the gravest threats to our democratic way of life to ever come before our parliament. It is a Trogan Horse bill that pretends to be about transparency, but is in fact a power grab on behalf of David Setmours Corporate masters, and if passed, will achieve what he and his ACT party failed to foist on us with his defeated Treaty Principles B...

Last Monday I wrote a Hope post about two independent film makers who are trying to crowd fund the money to finish their self- funded feature film 1978 . They need $15,000 to do the post production and finish their film so it can be shown in cinemas up and down the country. As I write they have reached $10,834 on the Arts Foundation Boosted site. If they reach their target in the next 7 days they...

Dr. Ganesh Nana is one of New Zealand’s most distinguished economists who has dedicated his career to addressing complex economic challenges. He was formerly BERL Research Director and Chair of the Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa leveraging his expertise to advocate for equitable policy reforms until the Commission was shut down by Finance Minister Nicola Wills who refused...

Who am I? What do I stand for and believe? What is the purpose of my life? are all questions any thinking person will ask themselves at some point in their life’s journey. Am I happy living up to the image others have defined for me? Or am I unhappy because I am not being true to myself - what psychologists call being “ authentic”? Harold Hillman Ph. D, the author of Passion and Purpose, was marri...

Peter Bruce - Iri is a climate activist based in Whangarei who has written a quite remarkable book about the important role plants play in cooling our planet. He says we humans have degraded about half of the vegetation of land and oceans and thereby destabilising the climate and warming the planet. His message is that by stopping this destruction, revegetating as much as possible, regenerating so...