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Three years ago, Christopher Luxon came to power promising to get New Zealand back on track. Has the coalition government achieved that goal? In this episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas is joined by economist Susan St John and political scientist Brian Roper to examine the legacy of the National–ACT–NZ First government. They explore the coalition's economic agenda, its programme of austerity and deregulation, and why the promised economic recovery has been so slow to arrive. Is the government's record evidence of a failed economic strategy, or has it succeeded in advancing the interests of the wealthy and powerful? From the influence of business interests on politics to the consequences of growing inequality, they ask what the last three years reveal about New Zealand's economic model – and what might come next. Support independent journalism at publicinterest.nz. 00:00 What is the coalition government's legacy? 02:00 Why Labour lost the 2023 election 04:42 Housing, inequality and Labour's failures 07:25 National's story of what went wrong 09:30 Luxon vs Key: A different kind of National government 12:35 The logic behind the coalition's economic agenda 14:30 Has austerity made things worse? 18:30 Neoliberalism: Shrinking or reshaping the state? 23:19 Neoliberalism and the restoration of class power 27:00 Is New Zealand's tax system rigged for the rich? 29:07 How the welfare system traps people in poverty 31:55 Support Public Interest 32:55 Who are the real winners under this government? 36:40 How inequality hurts the economy 39:10 Why trickle-down economics doesn't work 41:12 Where would the money come from? 46:16 What would three more years of National mean? 50:07 Are we abandoning a generation of young people? 52:53 Would Labour deliver real change? 56:00 How will history judge this government?

Why does parking make everyone so angry? From speed bumps and yellow lines to cycleways and resident parking, few issues generate more outrage in local politics than the humble car park. But how did parking become such a political battleground? Is free parking a basic human right, or is our obsession with cars holding our cities back? In this episode of Who Broke My City, Christchurch city councillor Nathaniel Herz Jardine and Wellington city councillor Sam O’Brien share stories from the frontlines of parking politics, explore how we got here, and ask what it would take to make our streets – and the debate about them – a little more sane. Support independent journalism at publicinterest.nz. 00:00 Why does parking make everyone crazy? 01:38 Wellington’s Botanic Gardens cycleway controversy 03:38 When removing car parks goes wrong 06:23 The problem with free parking 09:14 How cars transformed our cities 13:14 The hidden costs of minimum parking requirements 17:22 Why parking politics divides voters 19:09 How to make better parking decisions 21:30 Lessons from Wellington’s suburban streets 24:09 Why we can’t just get rid of cars 26:00 A new social contract for transport 28:59 What should councils do next?

New research finds New Zealand's wealthiest families pay less than half the effective tax rate of ordinary New Zealanders – and the gap is growing. Economist Tayla Forward joins In Brief to unpack her new research into how our tax system favours the wealthy. We discuss the concentration of corporate ownership, the growing tax burden on wage earners, why past reforms have fallen short, and whether a capital gains tax or wealth tax could make the system fairer. Support independent journalism: Help us continue producing conversations about politics and power at publicinterest.nz 00:00 Highlights 00:30 Introduction 01:43 Why the IRD's landmark wealth study wasn't repeated 05:39 New findings: how little tax the wealthy pay 06:43 What counts as income for the super-rich? 10:16 How the wealthy minimise their tax bills 13:23 Fiscal drag: the growing tax burden on wage earners 16:23 How the tax system drives wealth inequality 18:10 The growing concentration of corporate ownership 21:20 Why we need both a capital gains tax and a wealth tax 23:23 Will Labour's capital gains tax make a difference? 24:32 Would a wealth tax affect ordinary New Zealanders? 25:45 Would taxing the rich cause capital flight? 29:39 Why is meaningful tax reform so difficult?

New Zealand's economy is struggling, but the country's richest people have never been wealthier. So what's going on? And how much money is too much money? This week on The State of It, Guy Williams and Avigail Allan dive into New Zealand's Rich List, drawing on a Public Interest interview with journalist and researcher Max Rashbrooke. They explore how some of New Zealand's biggest fortunes were made, why the super-rich pay so little tax, and whether we've got our very own oligarchs. Plus, Guy has been reading Atlas Shrugged, the bible of libertarian capitalism, which leads to an increasingly unhinged investigation into Ayn Rand, the philosophy of greed, and the surprisingly complicated sex lives of the people who invented it. Support independent media at publicinterest.nz.

All the parties this election are promising action to bring down the price of groceries. So whose plan is best? Economist Geoff Bertram joins Ollie Neas to explain how New Zealand ended up with one of the most concentrated supermarket industries in the world, how the duopoly exercises its market power over suppliers and consumers, and what the competing election policies would mean in practice. Support independent journalism: Help us keep producing in-depth conversations like this at publicinterest.nz 00:00 Introduction – Whose supermarket policy is best?01:33 Why competition doesn't always keep prices down06:30 How New Zealand ended up with a supermarket duopoly12:30 Are monopolies inevitable in a small country?17:00 How supermarkets gained their market power22:00 How supermarkets squeeze suppliers and smaller competitors30:42 Are supermarket profit margins really that small?32:15 Three approaches to fixing the supermarket sector36:24 ACT – Removing barriers to competition40:39 National and NZ First – Breaking up Foodstuffs48:40 Labour – Separating wholesale from retail54:49 Greens – Establishing a publicly owned Kiwi Mart1:03:35 The Opportunity Party's approach1:04:25 Which supermarket policy would work best?1:04:38 Why Geoff Bertram wants to overhaul the Commerce Act1:08:30 Could public ownership make butter and cheese cheaper?

Doctors and nurses are sounding the alarm about chronic understaffing in New Zealand's public hospitals, with growing waiting lists and patients missing out on essential care. Is this simply the result of years of underfunding, or is the government deliberately keeping hospital positions vacant to save money? In this episode of In Brief, Ollie Neas speaks with Grace Millar, lead author of the Public Service Association's Vacant by Design report. They discuss how New Zealand's health system reached breaking point, the evidence that government-imposed recruitment restrictions have left essential positions unfilled, and what Health Minister Simeon Brown knew about the consequences. Support independent journalism at publicinterest.nz.

Can Māori economic sovereignty be meaningfully realised within capitalism? Or does honouring Te Tiriti require us to rethink the foundations of our economic system? In part two of this two-part episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas, Jane Kelsey and Matthew Scobie explore the contradictions between the recognition of Treaty rights and the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s, the opportunities and constraints created by Treaty settlements, and whether the struggle for Māori sovereignty could help build a different economic future. Help us keep producing independent, in-depth journalism about politics and power in Aotearoa. Subscribe at https://www.publicinterest.nz

What does capitalism have to do with the colonisation of Aotearoa? And what did Te Tiriti promise Māori in terms of economic sovereignty? In part one of this two-part episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas is joined by Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey and University of Canterbury academic Matthew Scobie to explore the capitalist origins of New Zealand's colonisation. They discuss how Māori economies operated before European settlement, the role of British investors and the Crown in colonisation, and how the dispossession of Māori land and resources laid the foundations of the economy we have today. Help us keep producing independent, in-depth journalism about politics and power in Aotearoa. Subscribe at https://www.publicinterest.nz

Why is everything so expensive? And who's getting rich while the rest of us struggle to pay the bills? This week on The State of It, comedian Guy Williams and researcher Avigail Allan take on New Zealand's cost of living crisis, with a little help from economist Dr Geoff Bertram. From outrageous power bills and supermarket prices to $350 Ed Sheeran tickets, they explore how decades of privatisation, deregulation and corporate greed have made life increasingly unaffordable. Along the way, they discover that the class war might already be over, make the case for bringing back trains, and investigate the cosy relationship between big business and our political leaders. Can Guy and Avi fix the economy? Probably not. But they're going to give it a crack.

The Alliance Party is back – and it wants to bring socialism back to New Zealand politics. But is there room for another party on the left? Ollie Neas speaks to Alliance leader Victor Billot about the party's plans to revive public ownership, full employment and a bigger role for the state in the economy. They discuss what separates the Alliance from Labour and the Greens, why Billot believes parts of the left have lost touch with working-class voters, and the Alliance's prospects for becoming a political force once again. Support independent media at publicinterest.nz.

Watch the first episode of The State of It, a new show from Public Interest featuring comedian Guy Williams and researcher Avigail Allan. Join Guy and Avi as they tackle the state of crime and punishment in New Zealand. Why does New Zealand lock up so many people? Why do politicians keep promising to get tougher on crime? And what does a Melbourne Cup horse syndicate have to do with it all? Public Interest is independent and entirely supported by our audience. If you value what we do, consider supporting us at publicinterest.nz.

National said urgent changes to local democracy were needed to lower costs and fix the basics. Then, just two months out from an election, it abruptly halted its council amalgamation plans, deferring decisions until after the election. So what's going on here? What's really driving the reforms, and who stands to benefit? Christchurch City Councillor Nathaniel Herz Jardine and Wellington City Councillor Sam O’Brien take us on a crash course through rates capping, the urban-rural divide and the politics of local government. Are National's reforms straight from the Federated Farmers wishlist? Are city-dwellers about to lose control over the water they drink? And why do rural interests wield so much power in local politics? This is the first episode of Who Broke My City, a new series from Public Interest in which we explore how local government really works, who's calling the shots, and what it would take to fix our cities.

How do you manufacture a political movement? Ollie Neas talks to investigative journalist Nicky Hager about his new book Dirty Work, which investigates the Taxpayers’ Union and a network of lobby and campaign groups that Hager argues have helped reshape New Zealand politics. We discuss astroturfing, political donations, the manufacture of outrage, the Three Waters campaign – and how the methods Hager first documented in The Hollow Men and Dirty Politics have evolved. Support independent media and help us make more episodes like this at publicinterest.nz/support.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick wants the Greens to become the largest party of the left. But what would it take to get there? Ollie Neas talks to Swarbrick about the Greens’ changing politics, economic inequality, corporate power, public ownership, Labour, and building a mass political movement. Public Interest is independent and entirely supported by our audience. If you value what we do, consider supporting us at publicinterest.nz.

Nearly a decade after Jacinda Ardern swept into office promising transformation, what can we learn from where her government fell short? Ollie Neas talks to economist Dr Geoff Bertram about the weakening of the New Zealand state, the limits of Labour’s economic approach, and what a future progressive government would need to do differently. Public Interest is independent and entirely supported by our audience. If you value what we do, consider supporting us at publicinterest.nz