Parliament was brought to a standstill on Wednesday, with politics set aside after the sudden and shocking death of  first-term Green MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins. A champion for his people, a tireless advocate, a good man - such were the tributes as Parliament mourned the loss of one its own.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch marks the death of Green MP Efeso Collins, pulling together the tributes and reflections shared this week by those whose lives he touched.

The coalition has ticked off another objective - repealing the troubled Three Waters programme - but in doing so may have just delayed the bigger problem for another day. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch tests the temperature as the coalition moves to repeal and replace Labour's water reforms.

This year's record-breaking Waitangi celebrations drew 80,000 people to the Treaty grounds over four days, half that on Waitangi Day alone.  With the dust settling on the event's biggest turnout in decades, the sense of unity and anger among many Māori will linger long after the Treaty Principles legislation is gone.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Anneke Smith examines the coalition government's performance at a Waitangi Day for the history books.

Green Party co-leader James Shaw talks about his decision to step down, his time in the role, and the message he has for whoever succeeds him.

Coming hot on the heels of last weekend's Hui-aa-Motu and the Rātana celebrations, Waitangi Day this year promises to be highly emotive and political.  The government's policies have prompted calls for resilience and resistance, and a dramatic show of unity from much of Māoridom. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch assesses the coalition's response to the challenge laid down by many in Māoridom, as the political year gets back under way.

Three prime ministers, four ministerial scandals, one general election and a three-way coalition: New Zealand's political landscape has been well and truly shaken up in 2023.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Katie Scotcher takes a look back on what was a turbulent year at Parliament and on the campaign trail. 

Summary

The resumption of Parliament this week has been underlined by outcry from Māori, soon matched by fury within the debating chamber. With just two weeks before the Christmas break and Waitangi Day fast approaching on the other side, the government will have plenty to work through.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch examines the start of the 54th Parliament and the racially charged indignation that heralded it.

The new government's first week in office saw it get straight to work, setting high expectations and unveiling its 100-day plan - but it's not exactly been smooth sailing.  Fixing the economy and making a material difference for New Zealanders is a hefty workload for a Cabinet which has so far been dogged by distractions - driven partly by new Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Katie Scotcher looks back at the coalition's first week in power and the distractions that dogged it.

When ACT's Brooke van Velden won the Auckland seat of Tamaki at the election, it was a triumph of shrewd campaigning. But it was also a failure for Christian conservatism in mainstream politics. In this bonus episode of Focus on Politics, Susie Ferguson takes a close look at the meaning of Tamaki.

It took 40 days and 40 nights - but at long last, the country knows what its new government will look like. New Zealand's first-ever three-way coalition: National, ACT and New Zealand First finally signing on the dotted line in the ultimate Black Friday deal.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch examines the coalition deals and the personalities behind them. 

After its most successful election - taking all but one of the Māori seats - Te Pāti Māori is amping up for the next three years as "the only true opposition".  It's a dramatic turnaround for a party dumped out of Parliament entirely in 2017, but co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says that was a critical part of the party's growth.  They are also looking ahead to their next generation of leaders, she says, and plans are afoot to shake Parliament up and normalise it for Māori.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Giles Dexter asks Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to reflect on what the party did to win all but one of the Māori electorates and what it has planned for the 54th Parliament.

With National's potential partners ACT and NZ First finally getting together in Wellington this week, a sense of momentum is building for the trio to form a government.  Labour's Chris Hipkins meanwhile has survived a vote on his MPs' endorsement of him as leader with Carmel Sepuloni taking the deputy leadership as the party prepares for opposition. In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jane Patterson examines politicians' progress towards the incoming government and opposition. 

The final act of the 2023 election has reset the calculus, blowing apart National's dream scenario and driving up the price for forming government.  With NZ First's support now a requirement, Winston Peters is sure to demand more in negotiations.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jane Patterson speaks to Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch, analysing the state of play after the final election result. 

After a devastating collapse in their vote on election night, the Labour Party is examining what went so wrong and who is best to lead them from the opposition benches.  Current and former MPs alike are calling for a wider refocusing on the party's values and relationships to avoid the kind of fracturing that often so plagues parties banished from government.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Katie Scotcher explores the challenge  Labour faces in rebuilding after its clear election defeat. 

The battle for the hearts, minds and votes of New Zealanders is over - nearly - with the preliminary results on Saturday putting National in a position to form the next government and Labour consigned to the opposition benches. National's exact path to government is not fully clear, and depends on the final vote count. Even so, it's far preferable to the position Labour's in, having to put on a brave face despite anger and recriminations at the result. In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jane Patterson gets the lay of the land as the nation waits on the final election results. 

It has been a rollercoaster campaign, fiscal fights, feisty debates - all with the aim of taking the government benches. In Focus on Politics this week, a look at the campaign as it all comes down to the voters. 

TVNZ's multi-party debate this week illustrated key features of this election campaign: the minor parties' rising popularity, and the complicated role of NZ First.  With polls they would need Winston Peters, National and ACT have been continuing to talk down his appeal - but it remains preferable to defeat.  In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch dissects the past week, speaking to Guyon Espiner alongside RNZ and NBR political editors Jane Patterson and Brent Edwards, and RNZ political reporter Anneke Smith.

Call this the week of Winston Peters - with the New Zealand First leader, riding a wave of renewed relevancy.  In not one, but two TV polls, New Zealand First featured above that critical 5 percent threshold - and furthermore in that most pivotal of spots - necessary for National to form a government. In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ's gallery team breaks down the latest week of the election campaign, a week where Winston Peters came to the fore.

The minor parties gave glimpses of their own cooperation styles at the Newshub Nation Powerbrokers' debate, while polls continued to signal Labour on the downturn.  GDP numbers also showed no recession for New Zealand, although inflation remains high. This week's Focus on Politics is RNZ's roundtable discussion covering the major happenings of the 2023 election campaign. RNZ political editor Jane Patterson, deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, and Newsroom and Stuff political editors Jo Moir and Luke Malpass spoke to Morning Report host Corin Dann. 

The second week of the election campaign has been all about the economy. There was the pre-election opening of the books, with National's tax plans and Labour's spending coming under fire. This week's Focus on Politics is RNZ's roundtable discussion covering the major happenings of the 2023 election campaign. Political editor Jane Patterson, political reporter Katie Scotcher, and NZ Herald's political editor and deputy political editor Claire Trevett and Thomas Coughlan spoke to Morning Report host Corin Dann.

One week into the official election campaign and the hyperbole is flying thick and fast.  Distractions persisted throughout the week, with protesters at the major parties' campaign launches, outrage over advertising, and MPs spreading blatant misinformation.  This week's Focus on Politics is RNZ's first roundtable discussion covering the major happenings of the 2023 election campaign. Political editor Jane Patterson, deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, and political reporter Anneke Smith spoke to Morning Report host Corin Dann about the first official week on the road. 

The Parliamentary term came to an end this week after a tumultuous term, and Labour and National's election campaigns are launching this weekend - with just six weeks remaining before the big day.  Knowing voters will ultimately decide their future, the parties spoke about their position and plans for the coming campaign - and considerations for any negotiations afterwards.  In this week's Focus on Politics, RNZ's political team speaks to each party in Parliament about their strategy for the campaign. 

The government's pointed to vapes as a key weapon in the war against cigarettes.  In the rush to reach its smokefree targets, however, there are fears the horse has bolted - with children exposed to a whole new addiction.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Giles Dexter explores the conflicting priorities that meant Labour's vaping regulations may have come too late.

Set the table for bread and butter - or in this case, fruit and veg: Labour fired its opening election campaign salvo on Sunday with a starkly populist pitch for tax-free produce. The party is pushing ahead with the pre-announced policy despite hiccups in the reveal and near-universal opposition from experts - including in its own ranks: a clear sign the party is putting polling ahead of principle.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch assesses the political calculus behind Labour's vote-grabbing GST policy. 

ACT has not only held onto the 10-fold increase in voter support it enjoyed last election, it's maintained a stable caucus and gained further traction.  With polls anticipating an even bigger stable of MPs after October, the minor party is lining up for a potentially major say in the shape of the next government.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Anneke Smith interviews the top six on the ACT Party's list, asking about their priorities for the power they could wield.

With recent polling giving both major parties cause for concern and the election less than three months away, the countdown is on - and the policies are starting to roll out. Labour has launched accusations of fiscal mismanagement over one of National's this week, but had to defend against the same after worsening economic forecasts.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jane Patterson tallies the numbers on Labour and National's economic claims and electoral chances.

Tragic circumstances putting a halt to the political career of one of Labour's rising stars, East Coast MP Kiri Allan, was just the start of the party's headaches this week.  Along with speculation over its tax plans and signs of caucus disunity, leader Chris Hipkins is left with an incredible challenge to refocus Labour on the fast-approaching election.   In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Anneke Smith examines the sudden resignation of a minister and the implications for Labour as the election nears.

In Focus on Politics, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch breaks down Labour's law-and-order week and the tragic events which brought it to an end.

Police Minister is a tough gig: focusing on social issues leads to 'soft-on-crime' criticism while going too hard can look like populism.  With four ministers in eight months it's ended up a hot-potato portfolio for Labour, and the latest appointee Ginny Andersen has only been in Cabinet since February - raising a few eyebrows.  She evidently wanted the role and says she's more than capable of steadying the ship, but the law-and-order focused opposition will be eager to test her mettle in an election year: she will have her work cut out for her.  In this week's Focus on Politics Political Reporter Giles Dexter assesses how police has proven so challenging for Labour, and the prospects of its latest appointee.

National's leader Christopher Luxon ditched Parliament for the playground this week, touring schools to sell his party's solution to declining student performance with a back-to-basics focus on literacy and numeracy.  Teacher unions have criticised the plan, but the party was unlikely to ever get their backing - instead targeting concerned parents and his political opponent, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.  In this week's Focus on Politics Political Reporter Katie Scotcher grades National on its new education policy.

Stuart Nash's rapid resignation from his treasured police portfolio - just two months after getting it back -  is one of the clearest examples of a political own-goal.  It's highlighted poor ministerial judgement and a pattern of recklessness - and cost his boss no small amount of political capital.  In this week's Focus on Politics Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch recounts the self-inflicted demotion of Stuart Nash. 

Consultants and contractors are a favourite punching bag for opposition parties - of all colours - and National is just the latest to land a solid blow, leaving Labour off-balance.  The numbers show public service spending on consultants and contractors has recently surged, and the prime minister has largely left it to the sector's watchdog to mount a defence.  In this week's Focus on Politics Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch drills into the public service consultant and contractor numbers, the policies and politics.

While National's solution to the Three Waters problem may please the councils steadfastly opposed to the government's plan, it remains plagued by a financial fishhook.  But, as journalist Bernard Hickey warns, Labour's plan is no done deal either, and still faces some complex political and monetary hurdles.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch and Political Editor Jane Patterson tally the relative merits of each policy, and hear from Hickey what a middle ground could look like. 

While somewhat bound politically by Labour's promise of no new taxes this term, Finance Minister Grant Robertson is keeping all options open in his search for a way to fund the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary floods. It's the first big test for his pairing with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins - and they will need to carefully balance the practicalities of on-the-ground response with longer-term preparation for future challenges - all while keeping faith with voters, many of them still traumatised by the crises.  In this week's Focus on Politics, RNZ political editor Jane Patterson assesses the impact of the cyclone and the financial tools the government has for dealing with it. 

In this week's Focus on Politics, RNZ's political editor Jane Patterson parses the co-governance rhetoric of the past few weeks.