The Panel

The Pre-Panel for 8 December 2025

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

Photo: RNZ / Jeff McEwan

The Panel with Ali Jones and Andie McCombs, Part 1
 
Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Ali Jones and Andie McCombs.
 
First up, is summer too long? Business advisor Toss Grumely argued in an opinion piece last week that New Zealand's productivity is hindered by the leisurely month-long breaks many of our businesses take. Is he right? The Panel investigates. 

Then, newly built townhouses are overheating so badly they're almost unlivable. The Panel hears from an architect about why this happening and what can be done. 

Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel

 
The Panel with Ali Jones and Andie McCombs, Part 2
 
In part two, Netflix has agreed to but Warner Bros Discovery in a $72 billion US dollar deal. What does that mean for us here in New Zealand and, indeed, the world? 

Photo: JAKUB PORZYCKI / NURPHOTO / AFP

 
The Panel Plus
 
An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan.
 
Then: it's been billed as the biggest mistake a New Zealand politician has ever made. In 1975 Robert Muldoon, newly elected to power, scrapped the previous Labour government's plan to start a compulsory saving scheme; in parts very KiwiSaver-like. It's estimated the collective KiwiSaver kitty would now hold $750 million dollars. Why did he do it and what happened during this pivotal moment in our history? 

National Party leader Rob Muldoon at the party's annual conference, 1975. Evening Post newspaper [Alexander Turnbull Library] Photo: