Public Interest

As rents fall in parts of New Zealand, some have claimed we’re finally in a “renter’s market”. But the bigger picture tells a different story: rents increased 25% between 2020 and 2025, low-income New Zealanders pay some of the highest rents in the world, and homelessness is at an all-time high.

Renters United president Luke Somervell joins Ollie Neas to discuss the reality of life for renters in New Zealand, the role renters play in sustaining New Zealand’s system of housing speculation, and what it would take to make renting a genuine long-term alternative to home ownership.

The Democratic Socialists of America is winning elections and building political power across the United States. What explains its success – and could something similar happen here in New Zealand?

Longtime DSA organiser David Duhalde and union organiser Justine Sachs join Undercurrents to discuss Mamdani, movement politics, and what New Zealand can learn from the DSA.

A new lawsuit alleges satellites launched from New Zealand by Rocket Lab may be providing intelligence used by Israel in Gaza.Ollie Neas speaks to plaintiff Yasser Abdulaal, a Palestinian New Zealander, and his lawyer Sam Vincent about the case, Rocket Lab’s role as a US military contractor, and what it could mean for New Zealand’s involvement in the war.

More than a year after the government’s shock rewrite of New Zealand’s pay equity laws, the fight over the value of women’s work continues.

Dame Marilyn Waring joins Public Interest to discuss what the changes have meant for workers, the decades-long struggle for pay equity, why women’s work remains undervalued, and what it will take to restore the progress that has been lost.

Is farming really the backbone of the New Zealand economy? In this episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas speaks with freshwater ecologist Dr Mike Joy and economist Dr Geoff Bertram about the rise of intensive dairying, the political influence of the agricultural sector, and the environmental costs that have been pushed onto the public. They explore why farming's changing place in the economy, why meaningful reform has proved so difficult, and whether New Zealand's attachment to the "backbone" myth is holding us back. So, is big agriculture holding New Zealand hostage?

A growing chorus of voices is arguing that New Zealand simply cannot afford universal superannuation any longer. But is this true? 

In this episode of Public Interest, Ollie Neas speaks to economist Dr Bill Rosenberg about whether New Zealand really has a superannuation crisis. They discuss the affordability of NZ Super, the case for and against means testing and raising the retirement age, the influence of the private retirement savings industry, and why the biggest long-term threat to retirement security may not be demographics at all.

The climate crisis and war are usually treated as separate issues. Journalist Abby Martin argues they're inseparable. 

In this episode, Ollie Neas speaks to Martin about her new documentary, Earth's Greatest Enemy, the US military's environmental footprint, the links between militarism and the fossil fuel economy, and why military emissions remain absent from global climate targets.

How should governments respond when prices rise – and who bears the cost? In part two of this special two-part episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas talks to economist Geoff Bertram about the politics of inflation, the Reserve Bank's reliance on interest rates, and why the burden of bringing inflation down often falls on ordinary households. We also explore inequality, taxation and what a different approach to economic policy might look like.

Why is life becoming more expensive? Politicians often blame inflation, global shocks or government spending. But what if the roots of New Zealand's cost of living crisis run much deeper? In part one of this special two-part episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas speaks with Dr Geoff Bertram about how decades of deregulation, privatisation and growing monopoly power have reshaped New Zealand's economy – and why many households now pay more for the things they can't do without.

Newsrooms are shrinking, public media is facing renewed political attacks, and ownership of commercial media is becoming increasingly concentrated. So what does this mean for our democracy?

Ollie Neas speaks with media scholar Peter Thompson about the state of New Zealand's media, the future of RNZ and public broadcasting, the politics of media reform, and why a strong, independent fourth estate matters now more than ever.