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The Panel for Friday 13 February 2026

The Pre-Panel for 13 February 2026

Wallace Chapman and producer José preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Relaxed smile portrait of Wallace Chapman on grey background

Photo: RNZ / Jeff McEwan

The Panel with Holly Bennett and Richard Pamatatau, Part 1  

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Holly Bennett and Richard Pamatatau.  

First up, Clifton Motor Camp in Hawke's Bay is evacuated due to the extreme risk of major landslide. The panel are talk to Keith, long-time Haumoana resident Keith Newman, who knows the site and the community well. Then, we check in with Tairawhiti Civil Defence to see how the region is faring under a orange heavy rain warning.

Finally, Max Rashbrooke, senior research fellow in the School of Government at Victoria University chats with the panel about the large multinational company Veolia charged with running the now infamous Moa Point treatment plant. They've had similar issues in the past in other countries, should critical infrastructure be run by overseas companies?

Untreated water is leaking onto the capital's south coast beaches due to the Moa Point Treatment Plant flooding and being turned off from early this morning.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The Panel with Holly Bennett and Richard Pamatatau , Part 2  

In part two, the last piece of nuclear arms control still in place between the US and Russia has now lapsed. Nuclear weapons testing may be restarted as a result - is this something we want to see return? Then, a US hitchhiker travelling the world says New Zealand is THE best country to hitchhike in. We hear why.

Terrible explosion of a nuclear bomb with a mushroom in the desert. Hydrogen bomb test. World War 3. Nuclear catastrophe

Photo: 123RF