The Front Page

If you feel you have less than you did a few years ago, you’re not wrong.  
 
The latest data shows that Kiwis are indeed worse off overall than they were before the pandemic ripped through the economy.  

Dropping house prices and the rising cost of living mean that we own less and we’re spending more on the necessities to get by. And yet, many of us are still splashing out on luxuries and not changing our behaviour. 

So could this lead to a big financial shock down the road? And what changes should we be making right now?

NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann crunches the latest numbers and finds that some of us are not taking the risks seriously enough. 

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta, the owner of Facebook, is shaking up social media with an app some are calling the 'Twitter killer'. 
 
Threads will offer a very similar service, but it will be powered by the massive machine Mark Zuckerberg has built since starting FaceMash, as Facebook was first known, in his university dorm room.  

In the battle between the tech titans Twitter owner Elon Musk has been making a few moves of his own – but none of these have been well-received. 
 
So who will come out on top? And perhaps, more importantly, do either of these contenders have what it takes to defeat a rapidly rising TikTok?
  
Today on The Front Page, Melanie Spencer, the group CEO of advertising and marketing company Thompson Spencer helps Damien try make sense of the scrappy battle for social media.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A house, once owned by the Sultan of Brunei, in the affluent Auckland suburb of Herne Bay has become the centre of a dispute with community residents divided over whether the new owners should be allowed to build a boatshed.

Some wealthy backers have come out in support of the plan, while others reckon it would be an eyesore.
 
So why do people care so much about what wealthy people are doing in their backyards? Will this boatshed end up being built? And do communities even stand a chance going up against these well-resourced individuals?
 
NZ Herald property editor Anne Gibson is on The Front Page today to talk about what we can and can’t build in our backyards.  

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Paddy Fox and Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High winds this week once again closed Auckland’s Harbour Bridge, something that has become a regular and frustrating occurrence in recent years.  

After 64 years, there’s confusion as to why strong winds are now a concern – and what it means for the long-term stability of the vital transport link. 

But what are the options for a potential replacement or complementary harbour crossing, and is there the political appetite to do this?  

NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson joins Damien on The Front Page to discuss the present concerns with the bridge, and the future solutions.  

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justice Minister Kiri Allan is the latest Government Minister to have reportedly had significant issues with a member of their staff. 

The reports of the strained working relationship between Allan and a Department of Conservation employee, emerged last week, and have added further woes to Chris Hipkins’ tenure as Prime Minister.

But Allan is not the first MP in recent years to have reportedly clashed with one of their staffers. So why does this tension seem to be such a common occurrence, and is anything being done to change?

Newstalk ZB political correspondent Barry Soper joins Damien on The Front Page to share insights into Parliament’s culture from his many years in the press gallery.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the pandemic forced international flights to grind to a halt, the travel industry is slowly returning to normal. 

School and university winter holidays are now set to coincide with the European summer, and many Kiwis will undoubtedly be grabbing the opportunity to take flight overseas. 

But if you are heading to some dream destinations, you’ll find that their new normal looks a little different. 

Cities like Bali, Amsterdam, Venice and Rome have introduced visitor limits in certain areas to ensure that tourists don’t completely take over these treasured landmarks. 

What do these changes mean, and how does it feel for the everyday explorer to navigate them? And are these restrictions on major tourist hotspots a good excuse to head down the roads less traveled? 

NZ Herald travel editor Stephanie Holmes was recently in Italy and joins Damien on The Front Page to explain what’s being done to manage some of the planet’s major global attractions. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson and Paddy Fox
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, NZ Herald readers have pondered the identity of the ‘prominent businessman’ and his five-year journey through the courts for charges relating to sexual assault and perverting the course of justice.  

While co-conspirators such as entertainer Mika X and PR man Jevan Goulter were named, the businessman’s case dragged on.

Finally, this week the ‘prominent businessman’ has been unmasked as Sir James Wallace, a former rich lister well known for his financial contributions to major arts organisations and the highest-grossing local movie of all time.  

NZ Herald news director and crime reporter Sam Hurley has been following the case since the beginning. He joins Damien to explain who Wallace is, why this case went on for so long, and offer insight into a trial that feels ripped out of a Hollywood screenwriter’s imagination. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abuse from the sidelines. Media blackouts. Legal battles to keep players on the bench. 

This is the level of drama you’d expect from sports on an international level, but these are all headlines that have involved rugby at the high school level in New Zealand over the last year.  

So how is it that schoolboy rugby has become so controversial? 

NZ Herald editor at large Shayne Currie joins Damien on The Front Page to try and explain what is happening. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Paddy Fox and Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has stepped in to announce a $128 million funding package to assist our struggling universities.  

This comes after a proposal to cut more than 200 jobs at Victoria University of Wellington, which would have seen entire courses removed from the syllabus and others folded into neighbouring departments - just one of many universities that have had to take this measure amid growing budget holes. 
 
While the Government has responded to the furious calls from staff to plug the funding gap, serious questions persist about whether these steps go far enough.  

So why are our universities struggling to make ends meet, and what does this mean for the future of tertiary education? 
 
Dougal McNeill, a senior lecturer in English at Victoria University of Wellington and the Tertiary Education Union branch president gives Damien his take on whether the Government’s handout is enough. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took a stunning turn over the weekend, when the leader of the Wagner mercenary force threatened a coup against President Vladmir Putin.

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s long-brewing pushback against Russia’s military establishment was short-lived. Within 24 hours, Belarus had negotiated a deal that saw the man once dubbed Putin’s chef allowed to leave the country without any blood being shed.

The saga has baffled international onlookers, with many believing that even though this coup failed to topple the Russian leader, it may mark the beginning of the end of Putin’s long reign. 

Damien speaks to Otago University international relations professor Robert Patman to discuss the biggest challenge to Putin’s supremacy. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.