The Government's action plan and Trump's tariffs w/ Labour's Shanan Halbert: 17 April, 2025

The government released its second quarterly action plan for 2025 this week, outlining their targets across a range of sectors. Included in the plan is legislation around free speech at universities. When pitching this legislation previously, ACT leader David Seymour said the change would protect academics and individual freedom of speech, while disallowing universities from deplatforming speakers with controversial or offensive views. Seymour says the bill will ensure universities remain neutral on non-operational issues. 

The action plan was joined by the new 2025 defence capability plan, which includes 9 billion dollars of new funding for the defence sector. Included in this 9 billion is 450 million dollars for killer drones, a first for New Zealand’s defence force. 

The past few weeks have also seen economic instability in the US following a series of tariffs introduced by president Donald Trump. While New Zealand is only affected by the lowest 10 per cent tariff rate, the consequences remain uncertain for our still recovering economy. 

In our weekly catchup with the Labour Party, Thursday Wire host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about each of these issues, beginning with free speech at universities.