Duncan Garner - Editor In Chief

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 politics. Ani O’Brien and Maurice Williamson join us to dissect Chris Hipkins’ “state of the nation” speech, the cost of living reality facing households, and whether voters are actually feeling any economic bounce. We also get into billion-dollar power company profits, Air New Zealand’s big loss, and whether selling it is the answer.

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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.

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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.

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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. Sixty seats to the centre right, sixty to the centre left . We break down what that means, why Labour is playing it cautious, and why Winston Peters is polling higher during a term in government than almost anyone expected.

Election year is here. If you want another shot at running the country, words are not enough.

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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.

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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.

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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 forgotten how to teach kids how to think.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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