Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories.
This week, we looked at why our big banks are posting even bigger profits, the new national ticketing system for public transport, new Auckland mayor Wayne Brown's unusual media strategy, the decision to pull the live broadcasting of high school rugby matches, and how nuclear power really works.
Whakarongo mai to any episodes you might have missed.
Why are banks making big bucks?
The New Zealand banking sector is set to post an annual profit of $10 billion.
That's a one with ten zeros after it.
Photo: RNZ / 123rf
It's good for the big banks' offshore shareholders, but at a time when many households are feeling the pinch from soaring inflation, posting such enormous profit could paint a picture of economic prosperity ticking up without trickling down.
Sharon Brettkelly talks to KPMG head of banking and finance John Kensington and Massey University business school's Claire Matthews about why banks' profits are so enormous, and whether that's actually a good thing.
Public transport's $1.3 billion ticketing facelift
It's been more than a decade in the making, but New Zealand is finally set to have a single payment system across all public transport.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Whether you travel by bus, train or ferry, or live in Auckland, Christchurch or Hawke's Bay, once the system is in place, commuters will be able to pay for their trips using contactless debit or credit cards, digital payment methods like Google Pay or Apple Pay, or a pre-paid transport card that works anywhere.
These sorts of systems are commonplace overseas - why has it taken New Zealand, with its population of just five million, so long?
Sharon Brettkelly takes a train with Stuff's senior Auckland affairs journalist Todd Niall, and speaks to Dominion Post reporter Erin Gourley about the policy's long, bumpy ride.
Wayne Brown and controlling the message
It's nearly four weeks since Wayne Brown was elected mayor of Auckland and he's done just a handful of interviews and press conferences.
Photo: Jay Farnsworth
That's less than other mayors do in one day. Despite daily requests from some journalists and news producers for interviews, the answer from Brown's media team is no, with the mayor instead electing to send daily press releases.
With Brown's controversially bold style of calling the shots, he leaves little room for asking questions.
Sharon Brettkelly speaks to TVNZ journalist Katie Bradford - one of the only journalists to get a one-on-one chat with Brown - and Glyn Jones, former chief press secretary to Auckland mayor Len Brown from 2010 to 2016, about the new mayor's media strategy.
No more screen time for Auckland school rugby stars
When Kelston Boys' High School beat St Peter's College in the nail-biting top-tier final of the Auckland secondary schools' rugby tournament back in August, the match was broadcast live on Sky Sport.
But when this fixture happens next year, things will be a bit different.
Kelston BHS players celebrate winning the Auckland 1st XV rugby final at Eden Park in August. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
That's because last week, a group of Auckland secondary school principals announced that the live broadcast of 1st XV matches would stop, over concerns that the young players were being exploited and put under undue pressure.
Emile Donovan hears from two different camps on the decision: Heath Mills, chief executive of the Cricket Players' Association; and Ollie Ritchie, Newshub sports reporter.
What's the deal with nuclear power?
Nuclear power is an interesting proposition for the world – in climate terms, it's a zero-emission clean energy source - though less so for New Zealand, whose nuclear-free status has long been a point of both national pride and international branding.
Photo: AFP
It's undeniably dangerous. The lessons learnt from Chernobyl and Fukushima live long in the memory, which is not to mention the recent nerves-inducing fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine.
But how does it even work?
Emile Donovan speaks to nuclear physicist David Krofcheck.
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