This week on the Raw Politics podcast: The latest 1News poll confirms Labour really is the underdog now. Plus: Will National's 'diverse' party list lead to a diverse caucus after the election?Raw Politics tries to make sense of a wild political week in which a senior National MP threw in the towel with some glancing blows and faint praise, one of his colleagues was found guilty of being "objectively threatening" at Parliament, and the Prime Minister finally embraced the position of underdog.National's party list 'reveal' left leader Christopher Luxon tongue-tied when asked if gender had played a role in the selections, but the sidelined MP Michael Woodhouse had no such hesitancy in revealing the disadvantage that he and some of his colleagues might have felt as diversity took centre stage. The panel analyses the latest 1News-Verian poll, the one that showed the gap between the major parties opening to 8 points and Labour dipping officially under the 30 percent mark. It confirms a trend that's basically been building since late last year, except for the blip of a brief honeymoon of bonfires when Chris Hipkins took over from Jacinda Ardern in the first quarter of 2023.Later in the podcast, we answer a question on whether departing MPs took Newsroom co-editor Tim Murphy's advice from Raw Politics last week on what not to say in their valedictory speeches. Marc Daalder wishes some of the high-minded democratic ideals on display in MPs' final 15 minutes of fame had been exhibited more openly in the rest of their careers.This week's recommendations include a recent Beehive insider's insights to the approaches National and Labour are taking into the campaign, a big-read in the New Yorker about Mr X, Elon Musk, and an almost-live, automatically updating set of charts and tables on Newsroom displaying polling and political donations data.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: What's wrong with Labour governing by focus group, if its GST and parental leave policies help it win back support? And National is about to release its party list for the election with little room to diversify its team.Raw Politics pulls back the curtains on Labour's blitz of populist policy announcements - to discover that while they're 'in it for you', they're also in it to win. If that means running on things they think are popular, they'll be no brainers, despite the views of experts, opponents and even some of their own party members.The removal of GST from fresh fruit and veges, extension of partner parental leave, the Covid-19 rule relaxation and another multi-billion dollar packaging of transport measures have thrust Labour from managers to campaigners and there'll be little turning back.On the eve of National's big reveal of its party list rankings for October 14, the panel discovers there's little room for the party to diversify the top end of who it's offering for election. A combination of needy incumbents and a likely gain of electorate seats means few plumb list places are up for grabs.Later in the podcast, we answer a question on what the departing MPs giving valedictory speeches in Parliament this week will be remembered for.This week's recommendations include a courtroom report from Newsroom - where else? - on the appeal by three donors to the National Party who were found guilty in a serious fraud prosecution, an innovative analysis of the possible/probable gender imbalance of a new Parliament, and a revealing look at the high flying Chinese former foreign minister who was, quietly, disappeared.Every week, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.Watch Raw Politics on YouTube, or download or listen to it as a podcast on Spotify, or via Apple Podcasts.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Why is it so hard to believe any party when they promise tens of billions of spending in NZ over many decades? And, we ask if it really matters to get to 100 percent renewable energy in this country.Raw Politics takes on two big, bold but unlikely spending goals outlined by the Government this week - the multi-billion dollar plan for cross-harbour tunnels in Auckland and the billions to be spent on wind and solar energy to meet an 'aspirational' climate target.Labour is certainly not ceding territory to National this campaign on investing big-time in roading, but its tunnel plan costing up to $45 billion left many in the city in Tui advertisement territory, with the two-word reaction of 'Yeah, Right'. The panel looks at parties' records of following through on such big bold visions and asks if the big numbers are just props to impress the uninformed.Later in the podcast, our climate writer Marc Daalder explains the Government's song and dance act this week in revealing that it has persuaded giant funds manager Blackrock to get its clients behind a $2 billion investment in renewable energy here. New Zealand is already one of the highest in the world for renewables as a proportion of energy output and, overall, electricity use accounts for under 5 percent of the country's total emissions.This week's recommendations from the panel include a strong academic opinion piece on Newsroom over both major parties' obsession with roads, a Herald investigation into John Tamihere and Te Pāti Māori, and a story in which a party leader suggests an interviewer might have been high.Every week, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.Watch Raw Politics on YouTube, or download or listen to it as a podcast on Spotify, or via Apple Podcasts.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: National rolls out its tried, trusted – and a bit exaggerated – spend-up on roads, Labour promises to patch things up, and the polls reflect a new reality with NZ First.Raw Politics drives over National's future roads of national significance and analyses why the party keeps going back to that policy well, election after election. There must be polling data beyond the urban areas of public transport that promises electoral gain for the party, and our provincial highways are relatively poor quality and unsafe.Labour continues to hold back its election policies, leaving the field open to other parties for now and lowering its profile and impact in critical weeks ahead of formal campaigning. A strange vote in Parliament this week might, Newsroom's political editor Jo Moir suggests, point to one big policy being developed on paid parental leave.Later in the podcast, senior political reporter Marc Daalder outlines the current trends in the major political polls and we weigh the still-small-but-growing support being recorded for New Zealand First. Is this the result of a whole new group of people, with different political drivers, swinging in behind Winston Peters' party for 2023?Our question asks why so many MPs are suddenly ending up before Parliament's privileges committee.And this week's recommendations from the panel include a smart and easy-to-read RNZ data package on the polls, donations and spending data, a New York Times Magazine long read on the origins of Covid and a Stuff column appealing for a safe campaign for Māori this election.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: What are the longer-term ramifications for Labour of minister Kiri Allan's arrest and resignation? Plus a big reversal on climate policy, and how to handle opinionated public board members.Raw Politics examines how the Kiri Allan saga leaves Labour this close to the election. Newsroom co-editor Tim Murphy suggests it might be a point where a shapeless campaign for Labour has to urgently take shape, with the caucus and party unified in the face of being written off.And we talk about the unique sensitivities in politics, more than other workplaces, of dealing with private and public instances of individuals suffering mental health issues.Later in the podcast, political writer and climate policy expert Marc Daalder leads us through the significance of Cabinet this week back-tracking on its previous decisions on the Emissions Trading Scheme settings. We discuss what that means for our wider climate commitments and how, if at all, it changes the climate policy equation for other parties in the upcoming election.Our question is whether appointees to public boards should be prevented from speaking out publicly, and how many restrictions they should face.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.

Raw Politics examines how our political leaders responded to the highly public tragedy in central Auckland and how long they will be able to refrain from arguing about blame and recriminations.The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and party leaders in the House concentrated, correctly, on condolences to those who had lost family in the double killing and shooting of seven others. They explicitly put political arguments over law and order aside for another day.Act's David Seymour couldn't resist setting out what those arguments might be about, but didn't make them, just yet. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni thanked other parties for their "graciousness" in their speeches to the Government's statement in the House on the shooting.This week was already sharply focused on law and order, with the Government outlining three waves of criminal justice measures, mainly aimed at young offenders. The Raw Politics panel this week includes Newsroom political reporter Emma Hatton who reports regularly on justice policy.Later in the podcast we examine who might succeed either Chris Hipkins or Christopher Luxon should they lose the election on October 14, and whether Luxon will ever convince a cohort of National-aligned voters that he is the man for the job.This week's recommendations from the panel include media coverage of the Christchurch murder case involving a mother killing her three children, an in-depth feature on the life and times of Chris Hipkins, and a story revealing smart water meters have over-charged thousands.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Two polls show different fortunes for the major parties but still a tight election, and Labour steps away from the ledge on a wealth and capital gains tax.Raw Politics is out a day early for the long Matariki weekend, with in-depth discussion on the latest polling and the impacts on Labour of its half-hearted dalliance with a wealth and capital gains tax.What were they thinking to examine the possible new taxes only to have to reveal that they had been in the pre-Budget musings and then rejected? And why reveal it this week when, again, the Prime Minister is on a diplomatic mission overseas?The panel discusses reaction to two new and slightly discordant polls – by the companies that also do polling for the Labour and National parties – and the ever-greater importance of the smaller parties, including Te Pāti Māori in determining our next government.Our other topic is the relative public performances of the two main parties' deputy leaders: Nicola Willis for National and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni. Do the deputies matter, do their roles change over the next 90 or so days of campaigning?And our recommended reads include a story on Act's brave or delusional challenge to National in the electorate of Tāmaki, a behind-the-scenes piece on a sweary and angry Joe Biden by, and the damning King's Counsel report into Government and official inaction over dawn raids after the solemn Crown apology.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Can the Greens save Labour and the left bloc between now and the election, and Mr Hipkins goes to Brussels.On the eve of the Green Party's annual meeting, the Raw Politics team looks at its leader James Shaw, its policies so far and what it might do to bolster the left bloc's chances of retaining power.This time a year ago Shaw faced an effective vote of no confidence, but political editor Jo Moir says he's learned and changed to meet the needs of the Greens base, and senior writer Marc Daalder says this year will be all quiet on the leadership front.With the Greens polling somewhere between 7 and 12 percent in various polls they are still tracking historically well and the left bloc is tracking marginally upwards on polls of polls since about January. The team also discusses Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' success in China and what that means for his next visit, from this weekend, to Nato's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania and to the EU in Brussels to sign our Free Trade Agreement with the union.This week's question asks if Taieri MP Ingrid Leary really thought she was at an Electoral Commission enrolment meeting when she joined a gathering of the Mongrel Mob in Dunedin.And our recommended reads include a fascinating look at extreme groups urging new Nuremberg-style trials, a University of Otago essay asking What if the Māori Health Authority actually works, and an evocative Herald story from inside a seedy, political celebrity debate.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Another week, another two ministerial issues for Chris Hipkins, plus: is Labour's funding for universities too little, too late, and are there votes in National's criminal sentencing plans?Political editor Jo Moir is in China and national affairs editor Sam Sachdeva is in Europe, so this week Tim Murphy is joined by senior political writer Marc Daalder and The Detail podcast senior producer Sarah Robson.The Raw Politics team examines Kiri Allan's latest headline-making behaviour and whether it matters or is just indicative of end-of-termitis for a government.The team also discusses the 11th hour intervention by Labour to pour another $128m into universities, and who is to blame for the financial holes the institutions found themselves in, before turning to National's big play on getting tough on crime.This week's question asks if the Air Force really needs a passenger transport jet, with two used this week to make sure the Prime Minister and a trade delegation made it on time to Beijing for his China engagements.This week's recommended reads include an in-depth New York Times report on a phenomenon in physics and the real world, a Guardian story revealing the UK PM uses a disappearing ink pen on official documents, and a notable The Detail podcast on a tale of two NZ gang towns.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders. Watch Raw Politics on YouTube, or download or listen to it as a podcast on Spotify, or via Apple Podcasts. And send us your burning political questions to tim.murphy@newsroom.co.nz and we’ll endeavour to find the answer and explain the issues.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Are the wheels falling off the Labour light rail car, is the government's battery running low or is a fatalism at work leading to the run of ministerial errors and embarrassments.The Raw Politics team tries to fathom the strange cases of Michael Wood, Stuart Nash and their errant colleagues who have inexplicably started to drag down their new leader and government.Political editor Jo Moir believes things have gotten ridiculous and weird, with indications of a lack of regard for the office held by Chris Hipkins.The team also looks at Hipkins' important journey to China, beginning on June 26 and how trying such a highly sensitive diplomatic mission might be for a relative newbie.This week's question asks if there is structural racism in the health system or if National's Christopher Luxon is right that it's wrong to base clinical decisions on ethnicity. Newsroom co-editor Tim Murphy argues Luxon would be right, that it'd wrong to base clinical judgments on race, but that's not what's going on - he's taken one element out of a complex matrix and made it his everything.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.Watch Raw Politics on YouTube, or download or listen to it as a podcast on Spotify, or via Apple Podcasts. And send us your burning political questions to sam.sachdeva@newsroom.co.nz and we’ll endeavour to find the answer and explain the issues.