Duncan Garner - Editor In Chief

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/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 people a day arrested for opinions, online posts, and even satirical jokes.

Duncan and Andrew dive into the chilling reality of non-crime hate incidents, police ideological training, and how police guidelines are shifting away from fundamental equality before the law. They examine real-world cases, including comedy writer Graham Linehan’s arrest at Heathrow Airport by armed officers over Twitter posts, and a former police officer fined for a satirical meme.

Andrew warns that expanding protected characteristics to include religious belief in New Zealand could severely compromise satire, parody, and free thought. Is New Zealand already setting up the framework to head down the exact same path?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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'Brien join the show to break down council spending.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices