The Front Page

The US and Iran are exchanging the biggest strikes in months amid ceasefire talks. It comes just days after a call between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu apparently got heated as negotiations over the Iran War continue. Iranian media signal talks between Tehran and Washington are ongoing, despite reports that Iran suspended them.  Trump has said that negotiations are going “very we...

Australia has just handed its lowest-paid workers a 4.75% pay rise, lifting the minimum wage to just over $25-Australian-dollars an hour – which is about $32-New Zealand-dollars.   That means a full-time worker across the Tasman will now earn nearly $1004-Aussie-dollars, before tax. -- or $1216- Kiwi dollars.  Here, the minimum wage went up just 2% this year to $23.95 an...

Frigates, freeloading, and our nuclear-free identity are all suddenly up for debate.  New Zealand is being called a “freeloader” by the US Secretary of War for not increasing our defence spending as much as he’d like.  Meanwhile, there’s a suggestion that we should have...

Infrastructure and health are the big priorities in this year's Budget, as banks face a new levy, and cuts take shape.  There are no specific cost-of-living payments or Budget sugar hits - but Finance Minister Nicola Willis promises spending initiatives will create thousands of jobs.  And our books are set to return to surplus earlier than expected.  But, Opposition parties&nbs...

While everyone counts the dollars and tries to make sense of Budget 2026 – there are thousands of public servants staring down losing their jobs. In her pre-Budget speech, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced plans to slash the sector by about 8,700 roles by mid-2029. The overhaul will also include reducing the number of government departments and increasing the use of AI. The Public Ser...

Energy security. Financial security. International security. Social cohesion.  These are the government’s priorities for Budget 2026 that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon laid out earlier this month. Finance Minister Nicola Willis says this Budget will lay out a clear plan. Where the country is now, where we're headed, and the road we'll take to get there. So, what should we look out fo...

The Government's announced a $1.2 billion gas transition loan scheme – a big bet on keeping some of New Zealand’s most gas hungry businesses afloat.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the government will guarantee 80% of each loan, with about $48 million set aside to cover potential losses.    It’s being framed as a lifeline: help gas‑hea...

Just weeks out from the end of greyhound racing in New Zealand, a secretive charter flight plan is raising eyebrows. It’s understood a number of dogs are being prepped for a trip across the ditch before the sport’s banned here. But, why now? What about the welfare of these animals? And is this just a last ditch effort to make some cash before it’s lights out for the industry. Tod...

Football fever is about to hit Auckland like we’ve never seen before.  Auckland FC is hosting the Grand Final at Go Media Stadium against Sydney FC on Saturday.  It’s the first time New Zealand has hosted an A‑League decider, and the city is on the brink of a huge sporting moment.  Today on The Front Page, Newstalk ZB’s Weeke...

It started with a young Māori man trying to help a stranger on the street. He ended up being pinned to the ground, handcuffed, locked in a cell, and a four-year court battle.   Jamie Lawry ended up being found not guilty, but the case raises harder questions about racism and systemic bias in the north. Many Māori parents up north have to have what is called “the talk&rdqu...

A Mongrel Mob-run meth rehab programme ended up at the centre of a fierce political fight. After being funded by Jacinda Ardern’s government, the Coalition government turned off the tap for drug rehabilitation programme Kahukura. But behind the politics, did Kahukura actually help people get off meth? And what does it tell us about who is best placed to deliver addiction treatment? Today on...

If you’ve spent any time on Auckland’s motorways, you’ll know the city’s traffic problem is no joke – and one of the big fixes being talked about is charging people to sit in it. The AA has surveyed its Auckland members on time-of-use charging, and while the results show plenty of scepticism, a lot of people back the principle. But only if the scheme is designed fairl...

New Zealand First will campaign on buying back the BNZ bank and making KiwiSaver enrolment compulsory at birth.  Winston Peters’ appearance at Trusts Arena in West Auckland at the weekend comes at a time when his party is surging in the polls...   He’s also closing in on National leader Christopher Luxon in the preferred Prime Minister ranking, months out from...

Artificial intelligence is being sold to us as the future.   Faster, smarter, more efficient, maybe even world changing.  But as a handful of tech companies race to build ever more powerful AI, there are growing questions about secrecy, exploitation, and the extraordinary concentration of power behind the scenes.  Journalist Karen Hao has spent years reporting on Open...

Auckland’s long-running second harbour crossing debate is back in the spotlight. It’s a project that politicians love to talk about but have long struggled to deliver - given the complex work, the very high price tag, and the wide range of very heated opinion on what would be best for the City of Sails. NZTA is in the final stages of refining both a tunnel and a bridge option and will...

On paper, New Zealand Super is one of the simplest parts of our welfare system.  Most people become eligible at 65, it’s not means tested, and for decades it’s been treated as a kind of social contract: work hard, reach retirement, and the state will be there. But that contract is under growing pressure. As our population ages and governments look for ways to contain long-term cos...

You may have heard there’s a new virus making headlines.  Three people have died and several others have fallen ill after an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship.   Governments and health agencies around the world are coordinating a mass evacuation of passengers – working together to get people home while at the same time trying to prevent any...

If an election were held today, the coalition Government would likely be returned to power and not by a narrow margin. A new NZ Herald–Motu Research Poll of Polls model suggests the Government has an 88.3% chance of winning a second term, with support across National, Act and New Zealand First holding steady.   NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan joins The Front Page to talk thro...

Barbara Demick has spent her career telling the stories of people living under some of the world’s most repressive and dangerous regimes. From North Korea to Tibet and Bosnia, her reporting and books have helped readers understand what life looks like far beyond the headlines. Her latest book, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove , chronicles the true story of Chinese twin girls, born in rural Huna...

A new Youthline ASB report is shining a light on the mounting pressures facing young Kiwis. The 2026 State of the Generation report includes Gen Alpha for the first time and is based on a nationwide survey of more than 1000 people aged 12 to 24. The report reveals a lot is worrying our younger generations, and the consequences of these pressures are dire. In the past three months, Youthline record...

A new Salvation Army report is putting a spotlight on why an alarming number of ex-prisoners go on to reoffend. In New Zealand, more than 43% of people released from prison end up back there within two years. Almost two-thirds reoffend. The Salvos reckon more focus is needed on ‘reintegration’ services, to make sure people return to the community with stability, support, and resources....

New Zealand businesses are running on fumes, with cash reserves dwindling amid surging fuel prices and KiwiSaver costs... all while the full shockwave hasn't fully hit yet. Economist and publisher of The Kākā, Bernard Hickey, joins us to explain why the fuel crisis reality is only dawning, the supply chain pain ahead, and what it means for New Zealand's economy.  He also answers the question...

New Zealand’s unemployment rate is expected to hold steady - at least on paper - when new data is released this week.  But beneath that headline number, economists are warning the labour market may already be weakening, just as global tensions and an oil shock begin to bite.  There are also growing concerns about something called ‘stagflation’... whe...

Barry Soper is a name and certainly a voice that’s recognisable across New Zealand. After decades in the Beehive, Soper put pen to paper outlining his time covering 12 Prime Ministers, from Muldoon to Luxon. He blends personal stories, policy critiques, and behind-the-scenes tales ... like Muldoon’s drunken Schnapps election call, Lange’s antics in Africa, and Bolger’s mimi...

A man has been charged with attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump after trying to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner. The 31-year-old was carrying a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shot gun, and three knives as he charged past security. A White House security review’s been launched to understand how this person managed to get so close to the President. So...