Free to Disagree: Are voters just going on vibes?
About this episode
The hosts discuss New Zealand's economic challenges and voter behavior leading up to the election.
Free to Disagree is a new weekly podcast produced by The New Zealand Initaitive. Join Oliver Hartwich and Damien Grant as they talk about New Zealand politics and economics. Two friends on broadly the same side of politics who find plenty to disagree about anyway. Each week they discuss three big issues, leading up to the election. In this episode they start with the economy, where unemployment is at its highest since 2015 and inflation is running hot, so what should the Reserve Bank do? They turn to TOP, polling at 8 per cent when almost nobody has read its policies, and ask whether voters are just going on vibes. And with 7 November closing in, they debate whether the coalition is really coming back. Recorded on Thursday 6 August 2026.
People in this episode
Hosts: Oliver Hartwich, Damien Grant
Topics covered
- New Zealand politics
- economics
- unemployment
- inflation
- voter behavior
- coalition debate
Keywords
- New Zealand
- politics
- economics
- unemployment
- inflation
- voter behavior
- TOP
- coalition
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The New Zealand Initiative, TOP
Places: New Zealand
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