In this episode of The Select Committee, National wants to break up New Zealand’s supermarket duopoly. Could the shake-up really deliver cheaper groceries, or are there trade-offs lurking beneath the headline?

Next: ACT wants to freeze the minimum wage for three years—with workers under 20 potentially earning just $14.37 an hour. What is the economic case for holding wages steady, and what could it mean for workers struggling to keep up with the cost of living?

Finally, we turn to AI and political campaigning in New Zealand. Where does satire end and deception begin? 

Wrapping the show is our favourite segment: Fantasy Beehive. MP performance is ranked using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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In this episode of The Select Committee, we examine the Greens’ plan for KiwiMart, a government-owned supermarket chain designed to increase competition and bring down grocery prices. Could it really deliver cheaper food, or would the costs end up outweighing the benefits?

Next: a shock poll result for Labour. With ACT and the Greens gaining ground, is Chris Hipkins for the chop, or is Labour’s problem bigger than its leader?

Finally, ACT wants to repeal the Zero Carbon Act. Is climate change losing its place as a political priority, and how should New Zealand balance emissions targets with our agricultural economy?

Wrapping the show is our favourite segment: Fantasy Beehive. MP performance is ranked using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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In this episode of The Select Committee, we discuss Sir Brian Roche’s preference to consolidate the public service. Would fewer agencies improve accountability, or will this turn out to be another costly restructure?

Paolo Garcia’s valedictory speech highlights the darker side of politics. He described the abuse he has faced and said safety concerns forced him to move house. What does his experience say about the need for political civility?

Te Pāti Māori has released a sweeping tax plan, including a $30,000 tax-free threshold and a wealth tax on net assets above $2 million. What behavioural effects could follow, and how much it could a minor party realistically take into coalition talks?

Wrapping the show is our favourite segment: Fantasy Beehive. MP performance is ranked using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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In this episode of The Select Committee, we examine Labour’s fiscal promises for the election. Their policy includes returning to surplus by 2029/30 and keeping government spending at 33% of GDP. But do Labour’s numbers add up when further tax revenue has yet to be identified?

Next: allegations of ballot theft and fraudulent voting in the 2025 local elections. A secret whistleblower and gang threats are also claimed. What does it mean for our general election?

Finally, ACT’s “one law for all” policy would strengthen property rights and reinforce parliamentary sovereignty over the courts. Is this a different version of the Treaty Principles Bill?

Wrapping the show is our favourite segment: Fantasy Beehive. MP performance is ranked using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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Something in our cultural moment has shifted. Across the globe, people feel disconnected. They’re unsure of where they belong, yet paradoxically more tribal. Education is shaped by ideology. Politics infuses every sphere. We struggle to disagree well.

These are symptoms of what Dr Sarah Irving-Stonebraker calls our “Ahistoric Age.”

She argues that we are forgetting how to remember. The past is often treated as irrelevant, discarded in favour of narratives of self-fulfilment and self-creation. As our historical understanding dims, so too does our ability to comprehend the present. We become foreigners in our own time.

So how might history ground us when it so often divides? Dr Irving-Stonebraker explores what it means to steward history, and explains how recovering lost and overlooked stories can restore a sense of belonging and inheritance.

When we can’t remember the past, not only are we condemned to repeat it; we actually lose what holds us together.

In this episode of The Select Committee, we examine TOP’s tax and universal income proposals after a bruising Q&A interview. Can TOP’s appeal survive the shift from political “vibe” to detailed policy scrutiny?

We then turn to Te Pāti Māori’s election strategy, with its focus on winning Māori electorate seats while encouraging supporters to party vote elsewhere. If successful, the move could create an overhang in Parliament—a quirk of our MMP system.

Finally, we reflect on the fallout from the attempted National Party coup. We discuss Christopher Luxon’s demotion of Minister Chris Penk: How this will affect National going forward?

We wrap the show with our favourite segment, Fantasy Beehive, where we rank MP performance using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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In this episode of The Select Committee, we take a look at the National Party’s latest leadership drama.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has survived a coup attempt less than 90 days out from the election. We ask what this reveals about dissatisfaction within the caucus—and the media’s role in amplifying instability. Can National now present a genuinely united front?

We then turn to Labour's two bad polls. It may be a good week for them to land, but what can Chris Hipkins do, and what role is The Opportunity Party playing in all this? 

Finally, what comes next for National: another coup attempt, or is bad publicity actually good publicity?

We wrap the show with your favourite segment, Fantasy Beehive: MP performance ranked using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology. 

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In this episode of The Select Committee, we take a look at New Zealand First’s proposed Kiwi Kids Grant: $5,000 a year for each of a family’s first three children during their first three years. We ask what this policy says about our culture and whether it would actually lift the birth rate.

We then turn to ACT’s classroom behaviour policy, which would allow disruptive students to be removed using reasonable and proportionate force. Is this a necessary intervention that protects students’ ability to learn, or does it risk escalating conflicts with students?

Finally, we discuss Winston Peters describing a statement by Chris Hipkins as a “lie”, and Chlöe Swarbrick’s ejection from the House after accusing Speaker Gerry Brownlee of “double standards”. We ask whether Parliament’s declining standards are weakening the quality of political debate.

We wrap the show with our favourite segment, Fantasy Beehive, where we rank MP performance using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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In this episode of The Select Committee, we examine Russia’s allegation that a man arrested there approached the NZSIS to spy for New Zealand. We ask what the claim—true or otherwise—reveals about New Zealand’s role in the Five Eyes intelligence network.

We then turn to National’s decision to rule out The Opportunity Party as a coalition partner. With TOP polling close to 5%, we consider whether the move legitimises the party and whether its “centrist” reputation matches its policies.

Finally, we discuss the Greens’ campaign launch and proposed one-year pause on new AI data centre consents. We ask what the rise of minor parties says about political fragmentation, coalition incentives, and voting as self-expression.

We wrap the show with our favourite segment, Fantasy Beehive, where we rank MP performance using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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In this episode of The Select Committee, we examine the Greens’ Kiwi Power proposal, support for rooftop solar, and New Zealand’s dry-winter problem. We ask whether a state-owned energy entity would lower electricity bills.

We then turn to the Government’s proposed changes to council–iwi agreements as part of Resource Management Act reform. Will national rules provide greater certainty?

Finally, we discuss the names chosen for the new Cook Strait ferries, Kupe and Cook, and explain how the political reaction reflects a culture war in search of an opponent.

We wrap the show with our favourite segment, Fantasy Beehive, where we rank MP performance using our highly advanced, completely proprietary technology.

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