Kate Newton
Homeowners under-insuring as premiums go up
Homeowners are under-insuring their houses, ratcheting up their excesses and using savings to help cover "shocking" increases to their insurance premiums. Kate Newton reports. Audio
Data shows cost of insuring a house jumped more than 30 percent
Treasury data shows the cost of insuring a house jumped by more than 30 percent in some parts of the country, in less than a year.
The data, released to RNZ under the Official Information Act, also… Audio
PM’s tobacco ‘talking points’ contradicted official advice emails show
Ministers, including the Prime Minister, repeatedly insisted that the Labour government's smoke free legislation would increase tobacco-related crime, despite officials telling them it could have the… Audio
Health minister's notes similar to tobacco industry investigation finds
An RNZ investigation has highlighted similarities between notes the associate health minister's office sent to officials, and strategies and arguments used by the tobacco industry.
The notes repeated… Audio
Over a thousand consents granted to build on flood plains in Auckland
More than 1400 new house consents have been granted in flood plains in Auckland since devastating flooding damaged thousands of homes a year ago.
The number has been released just days before the… Audio
What's happening at the most accurate polling booth in NZ?
If you want to know who will win this year's election, you could do worse than ask the residents of Birkdale - a suburb on Auckland's North Shore.
For at least four elections in a row, Birkenhead… Audio
New Zealand's climate future
The drought began early this year. Before January was even half-over, Auckland, Kaipara and Whangarei were already registering on the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's drought… Audio
NZ First Foundation spent $130k on company run by Peters' lawyer
Tens of thousands in donors' funds given to the New Zealand First Foundation were spent paying expenses, wages and bills for people closely associated with the New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.
…NZ First stays silent on foundation donations
New Zealand First has once again opted not to name any donations from the mysterious foundation bankrolling the party on its electoral return.
But an electoral law expert says for the first time the… Audio
"The plan is working"
NZ is down to just 29 new cases and plans are underway to start moving down from Level Four. But new modelling suggests the lockdown may need to be extended an extra week or two to fully eradicate the… Audio
Coronavirus: What lockdown ending could look like
Covid-19 researchers are optimistic the level four restrictions could be lifted in at least some regions in a few weeks - but warn that New Zealanders should brace themselves to do things differently… Audio
Coronavirus: What we know about NZ's confirmed cases
Two-thirds of New Zealand's Covid-19 cases so far are in older people but the patterns are still too "idiosyncratic" to draw any strong predictions from, a researcher modelling the virus says.
New… Audio
'Bella' crowned New Zealand's most popular dog name
This year's Census showed New Zealand has become even more diverse - but what about our canine population?
The national dog database, which contains registration data from every council in the… Audio
Warning on push to use pine trees
Environmental campaigners are warning that an ongoing push to use pine trees as vast carbon sinks may create more environmental problems than it solves. Kate Newton reports. Audio
Half of private land owned by 0.1 percent of population
Half the private land in New Zealand is owned by just 0.1 percent of the population and six of the top ten private land owners are foreign-owned forestry companies. An analysis of Land Information New… Audio
Who really owns New Zealand land?
Journalist, Kate Newton breaks down her investigation into land ownership in Aotearoa. Audio
Calls to ditch 'unfair', 'archaic' local election law
An obscure law that gives owners of multiple properties extra voting rights in local elections is being called unfair, archaic and ripe to be ditched. The ratepayer's roll has existed in some form… Audio
Kim Dotcom makes final stand against extradition
Kim Dotcom will make his final stand against extradition to the United States in the Supreme Court on Monday, more than seven years after he was arrested in dramatic fashion at his mansion in… Audio
Is this Kim Dotcom's last hurrah?
Kim Dotcom's seven year saga to avoid extradition to the United States for piracy crimes is finally coming to an end. Audio
Measles and the 'Immunity Gap'
This year, more than 50 people in New Zealand have been hospitalised with measles. And 2019 isn't a mere blip - it's the fourth such outbreak in a single decade. Blame is often apportioned to hardline… Audio