The Front Page

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the movement to tackle our entrenched domestic violence problem. Hosted by Frances Cook. Every year one million New Zealanders are affected by family or sexual violence. It's a shocking number, and one that both the Government and private groups seem determined to bring...

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's what needs to come next, after the Christchurch Call to Action summit in Paris. Hosted by Frances Cook. The world was shocked when a gunman went on a rampage in Christchurch, weaponising social media to livestream gunning down innocent people. Now world powers are decid...

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the second wave of meth swamping New Zealand communities. Hosted by Frances Cook. New Zealand has been fighting meth for 20 years, and yet it's now more available than ever. A new documentary from the NZ Herald talks to drug users, drug dealers, police and rehabilitatio...

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the shocking rise of amputations caused by diabetes. Hosted by Frances Cook. In New Zealand, a first-world country, people are losing limbs when they don't need to. They are suffering from diabetes, and a medical system overwhelmed with patients isn't able to keep up. C...

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A sweeping audit has revealed our environment is under attack from virtually every direction – with climate change now also adding to the pressure. The Government's Environment Aotearoa 2019 report gives a largely bleak stocktake of our natural heritage. Problems range from polluted waterways in farming areas and our myriad under-threat species, to our dismally high per-capita emissions and the em...

There will be no capital gains tax. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Cabinet could not reach a consensus. She says she still believes such a tax would have made a difference, but a Government that reflects the majority of New Zealanders has not been able to find support for this proposal. Ardern says the Labour Party has campaigned on this for three elections, but it's now off the table. She has...

The growing number of New Zealanders who do not own their homes are in for a tough retirement. That's according to a study out of the University of Otago that argues for a revamp of NZ Super to better protect Kiwis who will still be paying a mortgage when they stop working. Data from the Commission for Financial Capability says that while today 70 per cent of people over 65 are mortgage-free, anot...

A New Zealand nurse has been held captive by Islamic state for almost six years - but until now, it was kept secret. Louisa Akavi's identity was kept under wraps until today because of fears it would put her life in danger. The 62-year-old nurse was named in the New York Times today with confirmation from the International Committee of the Red Cross. It effectively ends a five and a half year agre...

Real Estate Institute data out today revealed a whopping 12.9% drop in sales volumes in the last month. It's significant not only because of the figure, but because at this time of year, sales volumes are normally very strong. In fact, typically the number of sales usually sit well over the 7000 mark - but 6938 sales was the lowest number of properties sold for the month of March since 2011. The m...

Sports stars and politicians are united in their condemnation of homophobia today, after Israel Folau once again used social media to attack the gay community. Tasmania has just become the first Australian jurisdiction to make gender an option on birth certificates. After the announcement, the Wallabies star took to Twitter to tell people to repent, and "turn away" from their evil ways. The tweet...

Most New Zealand fashion retailers are doing a good job of looking after the people who make their clothes, but some brands have work to do. Department store Farmers was among those who got a poor ranking in this year's Ethical Fashion report by relief and development groups Tearfund and Baptist World Aid Australia. Farmers is one of 10 New Zealand retailers to receive an F or D ranking for supply...

Tighter gun laws are now almost reality, and we've have our first look at what the details of that would be. The bill banning military-style semi-automatics and assault rifles was back in front of Parliament today, and the Government wants it to be law by Friday. There are just two exemptions to the tougher rules. But with the country on high alert, Anzac Day services are being cancelled. See omny...

Facebook has been labelled 'morally bankrupt, pathological liars', by New Zealand's Privacy Commissioner. John Edwards used Twitter last night to post his most pointed attack on the social network yet, although he has been heavily critical since the platform was used to livestream the terror attack in Christchurch. He says the social network cannot be trusted, as they are 'morally bankrupt patholo...

Today was the first High Court appearance for the 28-year-old man accused of the Christchurch mosque attacks. Because he's being held at New Zealand's maximum security prison in Paremoremo, he appeared through audio-visual link from custody in the High Court at Christchurch today. Naturally there was a significant media presence, with more than two dozen reporters from New Zealand and around the w...

Catholic cross-emblazoned knights on horses have been scrapped from the Crusaders' pre-match entertainment, after the Christchurch mosque attacks. The Canterbury team have been considering moving away from the association with the Crusades, a religious war started by the Latin Church against Muslims. Today, they've announced the Crusaders Horsemen won't feature in the rest of this year's games, in...

Jacinda Ardern has finished her whirlwind visit to Beijing with a clear message from the Chinese President ... our two countries must trust each other. In his opening remarks to Jacinda Ardern, Xi Jinping spoke about taking an already very good relationship to new heights but also said the two countries had to trust each other. Meanwhile Huawei is stepping up to the plate, saying it would be willi...

A series of public debates start tonight to discuss moves to legalise euthanasia, as new figures show a huge majority of people are against the idea. More than 90 per cent of Kiwis who made submissions on the euthanasia bill say no to assisted dying. The Care Alliance analysed virtually all of the more than 38,000 submissions made to Parliament's justice select committee on Act leader David Seymou...

Spoken and sung words of unity and hope, have resounded throughout Christchurch's Hagley Park. Event organisers estimate 20 to 25 thousand people attended the National Remembrance service in the city today, two weeks to the day since the March 15 mosque shootings, where 50 people were killed. Another tribute service was then held in Auckland this afternoon. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received a...

Movement at last from Facebook. It's banning white nationalism and white separatism, in the wake of the mosque attacks. The social media giant says such views, deeply linked to organised hate groups, have no place on its Facebook and Instagram sites. It will ban the praise, support and representation of those views from the start of next week. Facebook has also acknowledged it needs to be better a...

A man has died from stab wounds after a protracted standoff with armed police in a Christchurch suburban street. Police are now investigating whether the dead man had any link to the March 15 mosque attacks. The 54-year-old man had been sought in relation to a firearms incident yesterday. After a tip-off from a member of the public, a search warrant was executed at a St Martins property late yeste...

Political and business leaders worldwide are turning against social media giants, in the wake of the Christchurch terror attacks. Representatives from Facebook, YouTube-owner Google and Twitter are meeting with the Australian Prime Minister this afternoon, where it's expected they will be threatened with new restrictions and 'significant' penalties. Ahead of the meeting, Scott Morrison said we nee...

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry will be held into the Christchurch mosques terror attack. She says people are asking how the attack, in which 50 people died and dozens more injured, was able to take place, including how the alleged gunman obtained the weapons, the role of social media and the role of agencies. Ardern says she also has questions. The inquir...

Today at 1.30pm all of New Zealand came to a halt to remember the victims of the Christchurch terror attacks a week ago. It started with a call to prayer, followed by two minutes silence. It was marked in cities around the country, and even some overseas. Fifty people, of Muslim religion, died in the terrorist attack perpetrated by one accused gunman. 48 were wounded, some critically, including a...

Military style semi-automatics and assault rifles will be banned under stronger new gun laws announced today. The country's rules around guns have been in the spotlight since last Friday's mosque shootings in Christchurch, where 50 people died and many more were wounded. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has just revealed the changes in a press conference. And a security expert says New Zealand's stro...