The Wire with Caeden

This past week the government announced plans to reinstate the prisoner voting ban. The ban was altered in June 2020 by the Labour led coalition government in a change which allowed prisoners serving a sentence of less than three years to vote in elections. This change followed a recommendation from New Zealand’s High Court, which found a prisoner voting ban was inconsistent with New Zealand’s Bill of Rights.

In 2025, the government is now looking at repealing the bill and reinstating the ban. The National Party has argued that there are certain responsibilities that members of society must uphold, and that those who do not fulfil these responsibilities will have their rights taken away. Asked about human rights concerns and the High Court ruling on the bill, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said “I do not care what anyone else says about it.” The bill is set to join others as part of this government’s “tough on crime” approach. 

In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the prisoner voting ban and how the change would benefit the general public. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in London. Starmer thanked Aotearoa for its “support” for its “coalition of the willing” regarding safeguarding the potential peace deal being put forward by the Trump Administration.

However, concerns have been raised about what the administration is proposing, which could result in original Ukraine land annexed by Russia, such as Crimea in 2014, belonging to Moscow, and ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Host, Joel, spoke to Robert Patman, a Professor of International Relations at the University of Otago, about his article on the Conversation, discussing his concerns regarding this and how New Zealand should move forward in reiterating support for Ukraine.

*This caption has been edited to add "safeguarding" regarding Luxon and Starmer's meeting in London while discussing Ukraine and Russia.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced a total ban on prisoners voting will be reinstated. 

The move has been criticised by the opposition parties, as well as those working in criminal justice.

Today is May Day, also known as International Workers Day and unions across Aotearoa are taking action against what they say is an “anti-worker agenda” from this government.

Workers across a wide range of industries are stopping work and taking strike action. 

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these issues.

A recent review of Pharmac, also known as Te Pātaka Whaioranga,  has found their current approach not fit for purpose, calling for an overhaul of their strategy and internal culture. 

The pharmaceutical management agency faced criticism last year as a result of a lack of credibility and inconsistency of services. 

With the proposal this week to scrap Pharmac’s Māori directorate, concerns were especially emphasised about the equitable outcomes for Maaori and Pasifika populations.

While the aim of the independent review was to look into ways to improve the services of Pharmac, it found that staff were sceptical that any meaningful changes could occur.

Producer Sara spoke with University of Auckland’s Professor of Health Economics Paula Lorgelly about the review and what changes are necessary. She started by asking about the key findings