Kerre Woodham: Why does everyone have to march to Labour's educational drumbeat?

This election is highlighting yet another war being fought on the ideological battleground that is education. Charter schools, as they operate now, are in the sights of Labour because they're doing something different. To be fair, Labour's never liked the idea of schools operating under their own c…

Mark Lenton: Protect Whangaparaoa Rockpools Founder on the crackdown on recreational gathering of shellfish and mussels, rockpool vandalism

Hopes new rules will stop people stripping our beaches of kaimoana.  From November 1st there will be a ban on collecting and recreational gathering of shellfish and mussels from Auckland and Coromandel's rockpools and intertidal zones.  There will also be daily limits on crabs, octopus, prawns, s…

Kerre Woodham: Did we learn anything from the leaders debate?

Well last night I took my mum to the Q Theatre to see a performance of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, which was fantastic. Last couple of days, I really recommend you get along and see it – I think there's a few tickets left. It was fantastic. And then I had to come home and watch t…

Kerre Woodham: Where is Labour's pay equity funding actually going to come from?

Finally, after much hinting and promising and ooh, winking and teasing, Labour's revealed how it will fund the core pay equity policy it has been promising for the past three years. Except that they didn't. "In terms of being able to pay for pay equity, you'll see there's plenty of headroom withi…

Steve Jurkovich: Kiwibank CEO on their position in the market, banking competition, New Zealand-owned banks

The topic of New Zealand-owned banks is arising again, with NZ First pitching to buy back BNZ to bolster competition.  Kiwibank is already New Zealand-owned, but only holds a little over 6% of the lending market, raising the question – how much do Kiwis actually care about backing a Kiwi bank?  K…

Kerre Woodham: There must be a way to keep public servants accountable

I talked about accountability this time last month, specifically about MBIE boss Nick Blakely. You'll remember that the Privileges Committee found Blakely and former Immigration New Zealand head Alison McDonald deliberately misled —what you and I know as lying— Parliament. The Privileges Committee …

Kerre Woodham: Just how big is Labour's fiscal hole?

How big is his hole? Nicola Willis was asking Grant Robertson back in 2023, where are you going to find the money to fill that Government's financial fiscal hole? And now yesterday, she says that Labour has another fiscal hole to fill and it's a beauty. She told us yesterday when she was a guest in…

Kerre Woodham: Is school zoning archaic?

I really like the idea of David Seymour's to turn the old teachers' training college in Epsom into a new co-ed public school. I like even more the idea that it not be zoned. In David Seymour's ideal world, the lovely old 37 acre site that is owned by the University of Auckland and currently lies em…

David Seymour: ACT Leader and Epsom MP on the proposal for a new co-ed school in Epsom

The idea of a new co-ed school in the Auckland suburb of Epsom came from the schools involved – Epsom Girls and Auckland Grammar.  ACT Leader and Epsom MP David Seymour says the idea is to ease pressure on the existing single-sex schools.  He'll campaign on acquiring Auckland University's $150 mi…

Nicola Willis: Finance Minister reacts to PREFU, economy, Government spending

The Finance Minister says tough choices aren't just made for the sake of it with the Crown books now opened for pre-election scrutiny.  It shows we're on track for a good surplus in the 2028/29 financial year, with a much smaller current deficit than expected.  But it’s not entirely rosy, with pr…