Duncan Garner - Editor In Chief

One week out from polling day, voters are being asked to hand over their power without seeing the fine print. We dig into whether Chris Hipkins can actually manage a four-party beast, what happens if Nicola Willis is out and David Seymour wants Finance, and why National has only themselves to blame for leaving the door wide open. Ashley Church and Maurice Williamson join Duncan in the studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National just dropped 25 percent in the latest poll, and politicians are spinning flat-out. Duncan sits down with veteran pollster David Farrar to rip past the talking points, break down the rogue numbers, and look at the real coalitions that could govern. We also hear from a Christchurch parent who says the basics are still slipping through the cracks at school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten days out from the election, neither major party has moved the dial. Millions have been spent, debates have been endless, and National is flatlining in the high 20s, with some of its biggest names facing political execution. Duncan breaks down our latest rolling poll of polls, why Luxon is struggling to pull away, and whether Chris Hipkins can actually stitch together an untried four-party government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica Stanford joins Duncan to warn that the hard-won gains in our classrooms could be wiped out if Labour gets the chance to roll back school reforms. Chris Hipkins will not front to debate it, leaving parents in the dark on structured literacy, curriculum rollouts, and regular testing. Plus, Duncan breaks down the Leone gang scandal fallout and the voter enrolment deadline debacle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mongrel Mob scandal has exploded right into the Labour Party, forcing candidate Kieran Leone to resign after misleading leader Chris Hipkins about her gang ties. With polls opening in 48 hours, this timing couldn't be worse for the left. Duncan Garner, Maurice Williamson, and Ashley Church break down whether this massive political mistake has handed the election to National, and why Hipkins' emotional response is making things even worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The country's top business leaders have delivered a brutal verdict, leaving Christopher Luxon outside the government’s top 10 ministers again. These are his people, and they do not rate him. Plus, if Luxon refuses to pick up the phone to Keeler Wong post-election, will National MPs axe him? We look at the mounting pressure on the Prime Minister. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hipkins is rewriting history to cover his back after Labour MPs met up with the Mongrel Mob. Trying to pin $2.75 million of gang funding on John Key is cobblers when Labour ministers signed off the paperwork. Plus, NZ First’s Shane Jones joins us after visiting the Santana gold mine site to explain why fast-tracking growth matters and why DOC needs a complete shake-up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon came out firing in the third leaders' debate, delivering a surprisingly dominant performance against Chris Hipkins. Joined by Taxpayers' Union director Jordan Williams and commentator Annie O'Brien, Duncan Garner dissects the key moments from the night, including the latest 1 News-Verium poll showing National at 32%. We break down the fiery exchanges over health workforce numbers, inflation, classroom building costs, and the controversial $2.7 million government funding given to the Mongrel Mob under Labour. Plus, we discuss whether Hipkins went too far with his aggressive approach, if The Opportunities Party holds the balance of power, and how the recent Green Party gang pad visits are impacting voters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To vote in this election, you need to be enrolled by midnight this Sunday, October 25th. Miss the deadline, and you cannot vote; you will be completely shut out. Chris Hipkins is calling National reckless, accusing them of changing the rules to disenfranchise thousands. Is it sour grapes, or has the government made it harder for regular Kiwis to exercise their democratic right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are in the final stretch of the election and it is looking like the tightest race in decades. ACT leader David Seymour joins us live to break down his party's $400 million health policy, primary care funding, cutting the public service, and why he refuses to hand over Epsom. Plus, Ashley Church and Maurice Williamson join the panel to crunch the numbers on our latest poll of polls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike King sits down with Duncan Garner for a deeply personal, wide-ranging yarn about where he has been and where he is headed. From his early years in a gang to navigating late puberty, school failure, and complex family dynamics, Mike opens up about the moments that shaped him. We dive into why so many Kiwi kids feel lost today, the truth about youth mental health, and what Gumboot Friday is really fighting for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Green and Te Pati Māori MPs visited a South Auckland gang pad to meet senior Mongrel Mob members and posted the photos online. With the election on a knife-edge, the judgment of these politicians is under heavy scrutiny. Chris Hipkins has called the photos abhorrent and completely unacceptable. We ask what on earth they were thinking and whether this error hands the election to their opponents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon looked stronger. Then Chris Hipkins found his weak spot and kept hitting it. Duncan Garner, Ani O’Brien and Jordan Williams deliver their verdict on the NZ Herald leaders’ debate. Luxon gets the edge overall, but his minimum wage answers come under fire, while Hipkins faces tough questions over COVID decisions and trust. Plus, the panel tackles government spending, the Greens’ Mongrel Mob visit and Luxon’s refusal to work with the Opportunity Party. Would he really choose opposition over picking up the phone? Did either leader win over undecided voters, or was Ryan Bridge the best performer of the night? Join Team Duncan. Text DUNCAN to 3598 for a link to sign up. With thanks to LifeDirect for supporting Editor-in-Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four weeks out from the election, Wellington is telling schools how to manage uniform costs. Is this really how we tackle a massive cost of living crisis, or is it just a cheap distraction? We dig into why central government needs to butt out of local decisions and start answering the big questions about who will actually run the country and how families are going to get ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The election is so close we could be looking at a completely hung parliament, leaving the major parties scrambling for votes. Kylee Wong joins us to lay down a challenge on how kingmaker negotiations should work, while National and ACT push tough welfare calls to rally their bases. We dig into whether these policies show true strategy or sheer desperation, and ask if MPs should face the same drug tests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Would Qiulae Wong put National or Labour into power? And what would she demand in return? The Opportunity Party leader joins Duncan Garner to explain her five bottom lines, why tax reform isn’t a condition of a deal, and where she stands on Winston Peters. Duncan presses her on the cost of living, supermarket competition, power bills and how much a minor party could actually deliver. Then Ani O’Brien and former National minister Maurice Williamson give their verdict on Wong’s answers and debate strategic voting, a possible hung Parliament and whether National has left its toughest decisions too late. Could the smallest shift in votes decide who gets the keys to the Beehive? With thanks to LifeDirect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A snarky debate, rehearsed answers and plenty of missed opportunities. Did either leader give New Zealanders a reason to feel confident? Duncan Garner, Ani O’Brien and former National minister Maurice Williamson give their verdict on the TVNZ leaders’ debate between Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins. Where did Luxon let Hipkins off the hook? Was Hipkins better at debating than answering the hard questions? And why wasn’t there more scrutiny of the coalition partners who could shape the next government? From the cost of living and tax promises to health, education and law and order, the panel picks apart the exchanges that mattered. Join Duncan LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 7pm for more Election 2026 coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong joins Duncan Garner in the studio as TOP surges in the polls and positions itself to potentially hold the balance of power this election. With the party sitting around the key 5% threshold, Qiulae breaks down TOP's five non-negotiable bottom lines, including cracking down on supermarket competition, regulating lobbying, reforming health, and recommitting to climate targets. Maurice Williamson and Ani O'Brien join Duncan on the panel to dissect whether Christopher Luxon can keep ruling TOP out, how vote splitting affects National and minor parties under MMP, and what a tight election result could mean for New Zealand's political landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government has officially stripped non-elected members of voting rights on Auckland Council committees, including the Auckland Māori Statutory Board. It brings us back to a basic democratic principle: if you want the power to vote, you should have to stand for election and face the voters. But while the core principle makes sense, the process behind it has been messy and rushed. We break it down with Maurice Williamson and Ashley Church. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices