The Panel for Wednesday 19 November 2025

The Panel with Denise L'Estrange Corbet and Peter Field, Part 1
 
Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Denise L'Estrange Corbet and Peter Field.
 
First up, ultra processed food has been linked to harm in every major organ system of the human body. That's according to the world's largest review just published in The Lancet. In New Zealand how is our food policy? is it protecting us from UPFs? 

Then, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that four Uber drivers were employees in a test case, entitling them to benefits such as sick leave, holiday pay and a minimum wage. A win for them, but does this have any implications for future cases?

Jomon Perumayan Joseph was caught with a stun gun on the dashboard of his Uber vehicle. Photo: NZME

The Panel with Denise L'Estrange Corbet and Peter Field, Part 2

In part two: Northland has always been notorious for its power cuts, but havoc wreaked by recent outages has called into question the robustness of the network. Far North Mayor Moko Tepania says a 'detailed investigation' into the cause of the power cuts is needed.

Then, while many of you are preparing for the Metallica concert in Auckland we talk to one New Zealander who has an amazing story to tell about the band and their lead singer James Hetfield.    

Join Wallace for New Zealand's most explosive 30 minutes of politics. He is joined by panellists Ruwani Perera, Dan Brunskill and Tracey Martin. 

On the show: the continuing fallout from the IPCA report on how police handled accusations of sexual offending by former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming; The Opportunities Party is now Opportunity; Labour is now the most trusted party to respond to the most important issues to voters, according to a new survey and Bhissy's Bridge: was it kosher for Chris Bishop to agree to reallocate funds from Kāinga Ora to a bridge in his electorate ... a bridge he campaigned on. 

Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii