Public Interest

For a moment in 2019, it felt like something was changing as millions around the world took to the streets demanding climate action. But seven years on, emissions continue to rise, fossil fuel expansion is back on the agenda, and a new authoritarian politics committed to extraction is gaining ground globally. So how do we build a climate movement capable not just of protesting collapse – but of winning transformative change?

In this episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas speaks with climate justice organiser India Logan-Riley and journalist Simon Wilson about the state of climate politics in New Zealand – from the legacy of the school strikes through to the coalition government’s rollback of environmental protections, the rise of direct action movements, and the challenge of building mass political power for a just transition.

Wellington’s councils are under immense pressure. Rates are rising, infrastructure is failing, and public trust in council delivery has been badly damaged by a string of high-profile controversies.

But what if the problem isn’t that councils are doing too much, but that they’ve spent decades giving away the ability to do things themselves?

In this interview, Public Interest speaks with Unions Wellington secretary Ashok Jacob about the new ‘Wellington Works’ campaign to bring Wellington City Council services back in-house.

The discussion covers outsourcing, Wellington Water, public ownership, council governance, and why battles over who controls infrastructure are becoming some of the defining political fights in the capital.

The coalition Government’s decision to scrap the fees-free tertiary education scheme has sparked a fierce debate about student debt, access to university, and the future of public education in New Zealand.

In this interview, Public Interest speaks with Tertiary Education Union president Ti Lamusse about what the change means for students, and why he believes the controversy points to a much deeper crisis across the tertiary sector.

We discuss:

• Why the Government says fees-free failed• Whether student debt is really a barrier to study
• The growing financial pressure on universities and polytechnics
• Course cuts, job losses and campus closures
• The long-term impact of student debt on young people
• Whether free tertiary education could return to the political agenda

New Zealand's health system is supposed to be based on a simple idea: care based on need, not wealth. But today that model is under growing pressure as senior doctors warn of a "death spiral" – one that could leave NZ with a two-tier system, where wealth determines who gets treated and when. So who broke New Zealand’s healthcare system? What is replacing it? And who is fighting to save it? 

We unpack these questions and more in the latest episode of Undercurrents, featuring Rob Campbell, the former chair of Te Whatu Ora, and Justine Sachs, a union organiser in the health sector – in conversation with Ollie Neas.

It’s been two months since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, triggering an Iranian retaliation which has resulted in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, sending global oil prices through the roof. Here in New Zealand, fuel prices are smashing records amid an already brutal cost of living crisis. But this crisis didn’t come out of nowhere. How did we get here? Who’s to blame? And what do we do to make sure we never end up here again?

Never before in New Zealand history has there been a one-term National government. But this year might be different.

If the opinion polls are to be believed, the National-Act-NZ First coalition government led by Christopher Luxon could be headed toward what would be a historic loss at the general election in November.

So, what’s really going on here? Why is the government so unpopular? And what does the left need to do to seize the moment?

We unpack these questions and more in our first episode of Undercurrents, where you'll hear from Kassie Hartendorp, Jack McDonald and Justine Sachs – in conversation with Ollie Neas.