Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the mood for change in transport, and whether it will actually happen. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Emotions run hot over traffic in this country, and it's no wonder when you see how frustrating our transport systems can be.

Well the debate is now wide open again, as the Government gave $1 billion for rail in the latest budget.

KiwiRail will get the funding over two years, with $375 million for new wagons and locomotives, and $331m earmarked for buying new tracks and supporting other infrastructure.

On the other hand, the NZTA is debating lowering speed limits for our dangerous roads.

The Agency estimates about 87 per cent of speed limits in New Zealand are too high for the conditions.

For the latest Front Page podcast I talked to Herald senior writer Simon Wilson about where this debate is headed.

We discussed whether there's a "war on cars", whether the funding boost for rail will be enough, and whether we're giving enough thought to alternative modes of transport.

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

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Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's whether we can trust polls any more. Hosted by Frances Cook.

People love to rag on political polls, and for the latest lot, they might actually have a point.

Newshub and 1 News released polls on the same night that showed drastically different results. One where Labour plummeted and National came out ahead, the other where Labour could govern alone.

What on earth is going on, and how can two reputable polls have such entirely different results?

It's not the first time either, with pollsters missing Brexit, and the election on Donald Trump.

Polls have long been a way to check the mood of the nation, and sometimes important decisions are made on the basis of them.

But now you could be forgiven for thinking we should give up on them entirely.

Herald reporter Damien Venuto has investigated this, and the answers are fascinating.

We discussed the many elements that can make a poll go wrong, and how the experts want to change things.

To read Damien's full story on the issue, click here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12238919

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

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Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's what you need to know about changes in our housing market around the country. Hosted by Frances Cook.

If you've paid the slightest attention to the news over the past few years, you will have noticed house prices shooting up - causing happiness for those who already own, and anxiety for those who want to get on to the property ladder.

The latest OneRoof Property Report sheds light on whether that's still the case, and what's happening now.

It finds an interesting two-track system. While Auckland is coming off the boil, and prices going down in some areas, the rest of the country is still seeing prices going up.

But you also need to know what to look for beyond the headline figures.

Part of the price drop is the boom in sales of affordable homes.

First-home buyers seem to have decided that now is their time, making up 29 per cent of new mortgages. While they make hay, those with more expensive properties seem to be holding back, waiting for prices to bounce back in their favour.

To break down the figures and what it means for regular people, I talked to OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan, and James Wilson from Valocity.

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

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Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the rising fear we're not doing enough to save our planet. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Eco-anxiety is on the rise, with a growing sense that we're not doing enough to look after our environment and fight the looming threat of climate change.

People are dealing with it in different ways.

Some are swearing off having children, convinced we won't do enough in time to save the planet.

They don't want their children to face the reality of what we're leaving behind.

Others are taking part in direct political pressure, like school strikes for climate.

But as movements like the school strikes become larger and more mainstream, the question is when it will be enough to push politicians to act.

For the latest Front Page podcast I talked to Herald reporter Michael Neilson and science reporter Jamie Morton.

We discussed whether the tide of public opinion is turning, and what options are open to people who want to see change.

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the movement to tackle our entrenched domestic violence problem. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Every year one million New Zealanders are affected by family or sexual violence.

It's a shocking number, and one that both the Government and private groups seem determined to bring down.

The Government has just pledged to spend $320 million on initiatives aimed at preventing family and sexual violence, and breaking the cycle of violence.

The pre-Budget announcement is, according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the largest ever Government spend on family and sexual violence and support services.

Meanwhile, new research from Women's Refuge reveals a huge number of women delay leaving abusive relationships because they fear what will happen to their pets.

The first Pet Refuge is now being set up, removing one of the barriers to people escaping domestic violence.

But are these moves enough when the problem is so entrenched in New Zealand?

For the latest Front Page podcast I talked to Herald political journalist Jason Walls, and senior crime reporter Anna Leask.

If you want to donate to the Pet Refuge, click here https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6092-pet-refuge-shelter-fit-out' target='_blank

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's what needs to come next, after the Christchurch Call to Action summit in Paris. Hosted by Frances Cook.

The world was shocked when a gunman went on a rampage in Christchurch, weaponising social media to livestream gunning down innocent people.

Now world powers are deciding what to do about it, with the Christchurch Call summit held in Paris.

Seventeen countries, the European Commission, and eight major tech companies signed up to a widespread agreement to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

But the accord is voluntary, and in another blow to the strength of the agreement, the United States has opted out.

The question now is what more can be done, who should do it, and what further threats are lurking in the shadows of the internet.

So for the latest Front Page podcast I talked to Catalyst IT managing director Don Christie.

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the second wave of meth swamping New Zealand communities. Hosted by Frances Cook.

New Zealand has been fighting meth for 20 years, and yet it's now more available than ever.

A new documentary from the NZ Herald talks to drug users, drug dealers, police and rehabilitation specialists, to get to the bottom of what is going wrong.

The result is a gripping insight into the lives of those struggling with addiction, and the frustration of those fighting a losing battle against the second wave of meth.

For this week's Front Page podcast, I talked to investigative journalist Kirsty Johnston and visual journalist Mike Scott, about how they gained the trust of vulnerable people, and what it was like to work intensively on such a difficult topic for six months.

To watch the documentary, click here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/indepth/national/new-zealands-meth-crisis-documentary/

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's the shocking rise of amputations caused by diabetes. Hosted by Frances Cook.

In New Zealand, a first-world country, people are losing limbs when they don't need to.

They are suffering from diabetes, and a medical system overwhelmed with patients isn't able to keep up.

Crucial preventive care is missed, leading to infection, amputation, and sometimes death.

Investigative journalist Nick Jones has found that, in the past four years, New Zealand has had more lower-limb amputee cases from diabetes than were performed on returned soldiers from World War I.

The cases have increased 40 per cent over the past 10 years, and are now approaching 1000 per year.

On this week's Front Page podcast, host Frances Cook talks to Nick about how he uncovered this story, the balance between sensitivity and the raw truth, and what needs to happen next.

To read more from Nick's series, you can see the story of our hidden amputation shame here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12222478, or read the personal trauma of Pam Abraham's amputation here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12222501

If you like to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say a change is as good as a holiday...

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A sweeping audit has revealed our environment is under attack from virtually every direction – with climate change now also adding to the pressure.

The Government's Environment Aotearoa 2019 report gives a largely bleak stocktake of our natural heritage.

Problems range from polluted waterways in farming areas and our myriad under-threat species, to our dismally high per-capita emissions and the emerging hand of climate change.

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