The Panel

Join Wallace for New Zealand's most explosive 30 minutes of politics. He is joined by panellists Wayne Mapp, Andrea Vance and Grant Duncan. On the block for discussion tonight: the government's move-on policy for rough sleepers; should politicians use X?; the defence minister Judith Collins halts a NZDF bicultural programme, and the government quietly dropped it's quarterly action plans - otherwise known as "dashboard crap" by one Winston Peters.

An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan. Then: our in-house linguist Rory O'Sullivan is back and tonight he asks: what's the hardest language to learn?

In part two, as a toddler Nathan Kim moved to New Zealand from South Korea. he grew up in New Zealand but never really felt he belonged. He faced racism and an identity crisis, and it's a journey he's been documenting on Instagram. Then, plenty of us dump old clothes on op shops, leaving them with tonnes of costly, un-sellable products. But one exciting new way to repurpose them is taking shape in Northland. The local environmental hub is shredding up the fabric and turning it into mattresses.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Jennie Moreton and Simon Wilson. First up, yet another health data breach in NZ: health portal MediMap. Live patients were labelled as dead, and people's names changed to "Charlie Kirk". The Panel talks to Callum McMenamin, a digital standards consultant and disabled accessibility advocate. Then, should kids be cycling on footpaths? Many already do, but the government is looking to formalise this as part of a raft of road rule changes.

Wallace Chapman previews tonight's edition of The Panel,

An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan. Then: design historian Michael Smythe is back in studio to discuss another kiwi nugget. This time: Phil & Ted's Baby Buggies.

In part two, when it comes to the government's changes to the Equal Pay Act, you can't go past these words: a 'flagrant and significant abuse of power.' That's a description of the process parliament followed, when the changes were passed under urgency. That prompted the formation of the People's Select Committee on Pay Equity, which did it's own consultation on the changes. Former Women's Affairs minister Steve Chadwick served on the committee and joins the Panel. Then, Craig Piner is the chief fire officer in Richmond, outside of Nelson, he's marking 27 years of volunteer service. The Panel salutes him and all volunteers everywhere.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Eve McCallum and Andie McCombs. First up, we return to the issue of dog control, as pressure builds for government intervention to avoid fatal dog attacks. Then, after being swamped with correspondence on the issue, the CEO of Water NZ is on the show to answer once and for all: should you run your tap before pouring yourself a nice glass of water?

An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan. Then: the new BBC adaptation of William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies got Alexander Howard thinking. The senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney says the original book took its lessons from Hitler's Germany and sasy it has resonances for us today.

In part two, columnist Martin van Beynen says it's a national disgrace that after 15 years Cathedral Square is still a building site. Then, Wellington Volunteer Fire Support has offered to help clean the outside of houses affected by the recent storms. The Panel hears more about this lovely community imitative to help people who can't do the cleanup themselves.