THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Matthew Hooton (Post): Right and left are both right about TOP (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Fact-checking Farmer Kev and Landlord Larry: Do Opportunity’s tax tales stack up?
Anneke Smith (Post): Opportunity scrapping board’s veto power over caucus (paywalled)
David Farrar: The all powerful TOP Board
David Farrar: How much land tax will you pay?

ELECTION LEADERS’ DEBATES
1News: Luxon vs Hipkins: TVNZ confirms live election Leaders Debate
Stuff: Two Leaders’ debates; interactive multichannel election night special - Stuff Group launches ‘Aotearoa Decides’
Post: Luxon-Hipkins showdown set for October 20 in The Post and Stuff Leaders’ Debate (paywalled)
Shayne Currie (Herald): Election debates – battle of leaders, hosts; TVNZ wants Breakfast case details kept secret; NZME, Sky, TVNZ results; Air NZ ad account (paywalled)

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Jack Riddell (Herald): Rod Drury accuser questions Prime Minister Christopher Luxon over National’s response to sexual harm
Stuff: Former Xero employee presses Luxon over workplace power and sexual harm
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Te Pāti Māori’s hidden path to major leverage
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Latest Election 2026 charts: Big-name donors come out for National
Stuff: Poll: More Kiwis support restricting voting to citizens than oppose it - across the political spectrum
Audrey Young (Herald): Chris Bishop up, Erica Stanford down after failed leadership coup (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): National enjoys a week of Opposition (paywalled)
Richard Harman: More power to Beehive (paywalled)
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): ‘I think it was an error’ – National MP says there is ‘zero’ logic behind Budget tax change
Giles Dexter (RNZ): National MP Greg Fleming breaks ranks, criticises Budget tax change
Brent Edwards (NBR): Labour’s plan to boost productivity and the economy (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Labour sets target for small business government contracts (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): Labour lays out how it will amend the Government’s RMA reforms (paywalled)
Press: Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb farewells Parliament with call to ‘find those people that need help’ (paywalled)
Martin Van Beynen (Press): The incredible difficulty of being likeable (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): ‘Anything’s possible’: Winston Peters on Russian missile warning (paywalled)
David Farrar: The Attorney-General gets it in one
Stuff: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon heckled at Christchurch meeting
Sinead Gill (Press): ‘Seriously, don’t be rude’ Christchurch protesters told at raucous Luxon meeting (paywalled)
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): ‘Get your hands off me’ says Luxon protester (she was one of six!)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Why winning Māngere is the ‘worst-case scenario’ for the Greens’ Michel Mulipola
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Review: Election Meltdown is the joy we need in the end times
Vihan Dalal (Herald): West Coast-Tasman Greens candidate vague on harvesting of pest animals
Tom Peters (World Socialist Website): New Zealand Greens candidate fought in SAS during Afghanistan war
James Pocock (Herald): Freight industry group pitches Minister of Supply Chain idea in ‘election manifesto’ (paywalled)
Blayne Slabbert (Press): The South Island wants new infrastructure. Neither major party wants to promise it (paywalled)
Metiria Stanton Turei (ODT): Hypocrisy and racism abounds in Parliament (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial: A taxing time ahead on election trail (paywalled)
Mike Grimshaw: The National party and the logic of sacrifice
Bryce Wilkinson (Herald): When is equal unfair and when is it fair? (paywalled)
Murray Rae (ODT): Poverty and the common good (paywalled)

MT MAUNGANUI LANDSLIDE AND TAURANGA COUNCIL
1News: Tauranga chief executive backs himself in top job following scathing review
Stuff: ‘Huge question mark’ over Tauranga council CEO after damning landslide review, MP says
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Fatal Mt Maunganui landslide: Minister to keep tabs on council after damning report
Felix Walton (RNZ): Former Tauranga mayor says he wasn’t warned about landslide risk amid damning review
Bijou Johnson (Herald): Mount Maunganui landslide: Business owners respond to council’s external review
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): If the Mount Maunganui landslide risk was known, why was nothing done?
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): The damning report on the Mount Maunganui landslide
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Why can’t we finger point over six avoidable deaths?
Erika Harvey: When “Systemic Failure” Becomes a Place to Hide
Peter Williams: When a system fails

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ELECTION 2026: CAMPAIGN, PARTIES AND POLLS
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Stuff’s Pulse of the Nation: Luxon best National MP to be PM
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Left, right or centre? How voters view the Opportunity Party
Isaac Davison (Stuff): Safe seats and political careers on the line as boundary changes and newcomers shake up election
Anna Whyte (Interest): The seats to watch this election: One in three will be interesting to follow, says pollster David Farrar
Mike Thorpe (Herald): Christopher Luxon Christchurch meeting disrupted by protestors
Adam Pearse (Herald): Polling shows majority of New Zealanders support restricting voting to citizens only
Nick James (Post): ACT and NZ First pull out of left-wing network’s debate (paywalled)
Julia Gabel (Herald): Christopher Luxon teasing ‘surprise’ retirement village policy
Brent Edwards (NBR): The Green Party’s campaign to get the nastiness out of politics (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Politicians deserve our admiration and pity (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): New Zealand First’s mission to make NZ great again (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Act Party pins hope on consistency, effectiveness (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Green Party pitches ‘for us all’ manifesto (paywalled)
Lifang Chen (Herald): New Zealand election: Why my budgie, dog and cat would all vote against me (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Opportunity’s plan to sack public servants would cause generational harm – Public Service Association boss (paywalled)
Lucy Cooper (Post): Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick target of backlash over ‘ute tax’ posts (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘Optics’ and ‘unfunded promises’ - Willis and Sepuloni debate tax
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): In an age of discontent, where is the left?

ELECTION 2026: MĀORI SEATS AND THE MĀORI VOTE
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Willie Jackson expresses doubt Labour can win all seven Māori seats
Graeme Edgeler (Spinoff): Te Pāti Māori will be in risky territory if it tries to engineer an overhang
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Māori Seat Showdown: Te Pāti Māori Strategy Comes Under Fire
Taiha Molyneux (RNZ): Political upheaval drives huge surge in Māori overseas enrolment
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): There are more Māori on the Māori roll than ever. Will they turn out to vote?

NATIONAL, LUXON AND GOVERNMENT
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Luxon the optimist tries to break through
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): Luxon tells cycleway city Wellington: ‘You kinda get what you deserve’
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Christopher Luxon denies ‘ridiculous’ accusation by Labour’s Chris Hipkins
Post: PM says Molesworth St cycle lanes made it difficult to get to work, blames Wellington voters (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Christopher Luxon accuses Chris Hipkins of having his ‘Chrises mixed up’ (paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): I lived: A true story of surviving the cycle lanes of Molesworth Street
RNZ: Urgent debate or urgent farewell: MPs discuss Chris Penk
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): How many portfolios can one minister handle?
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Chris Bishop softens comments criticising FENZ as ‘incompetent’
RNZ: Reviewer appointed to probe second Immigration IT project
Adam Pearse (Herald): Review launched into another MBIE IT project worth $336m

LABOUR AND THE OPPOSITION
Jamie Ensor (Herald): How Labour just gave National a win, and a distraction from its leadership woes (paywalled)
David Farrar: Dear “Chippy”: Why only 15% of voters want you as PM
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Who really believes Labour won’t give us more taxes?
Henry Cooke (Post): Labour emailed Louise Upston about winter payment issue in June (paywalled)

MOUNT MAUNGANUI (MAUAO) LANDSLIDE
Zoe Blake and Michael Morrah (Herald): Mount Maunganui landslide: Davison report prompts calls for action, accountability
Melanie Earley (RNZ): Actions of Mount Maunganui landslide victim Lisa Maclennan, who helped save the lives of others, detailed in report
RNZ: Govt inquiry into fatal landslides ‘will reach its own conclusions’ - chair
Rachel Moore (RNZ): Damning report into fatal Mount Maunganui landslide shows tragedy was preventable
Kelly Makiha (Herald): Mount Maunganui landslide: Review reveals victim Lisa Maclennan’s final hours
Bijou Johnson, Imogene Bedford and Michael Morrah (Herald): Mount Maunganui landslide: Review finds litany of failures
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Inside the damning Mt Maunganui review and one victim’s heroic actions

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NATIONAL PARTY LEADERSHIP CRISIS AND FALLOUT
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Stuff’s Pulse of the Nation: 30% less likely to vote National post-coup attempt
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Inside Luxon’s Monday morning therapy session
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Technically possible: How Paul Goldsmith can fit 11 ministerial roles into his schedule
Claire Robinson: The obstacle is the way out
Anneke Smith (Post): National won’t lose votes over second leadership crisis ‒ party president (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Making up is not so hard to do (paywalled)
Chris Trotter (ODT): Snakes and leaders (paywalled)
Stuff: Simeon Brown says Penk acted alone - but Penk won’t say
Jo Moir (RNZ): Sacked minister Chris Penk likely to return to Parliament next week
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Parliament debates Chris Penk’s sacking over failed National leadership coup
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): National Party rule stopping Goldsmith from running in Penk’s safe seat
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Paul Goldsmith hints at why he can’t stand in Chris Penk’s seat (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): Former minister Chris Penk’s social media account hacked (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly and Russell Palmer (RNZ): Christopher Luxon, Chris Bishop press fondness for Hutt Valley in show of party unity

MMP AND STRATEGIC VOTING
Julia Gabel (Herald): Labour’s Willie Jackson says Te Pāti Māori strategy could threaten integrity of Māori seats
Ani O’Brien: Don Brash & Te Pāti Māori agree on a strategy
Henry Cooke (Post): Gaming MMP: Experts say accidental National ‘overhang’ is possible, and TPM push for one is irresponsible (paywalled)
Post: Editorial: Gaming MMP risks the system itself (paywalled)
Ashley Church: Could an MMP loophole return a centre-right government?

NZ FIRST, WINSTON PETERS AND COALITION TENSIONS
1News: Peters calls harbour crossing report a gross waste of money
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Winston breaks Cabinet ranks over ‘gross waste of money’ on harbour crossing
Jamie Ensor and Adam Pearse (Herald): NZ First leader Winston Peters doubts Christopher Luxon leadership challenge was ‘one-man coup’
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Winston Peters refuses to say if he has confidence in the prime minister
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): NZ First leader Winston Peters stops short of support for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon

ELECTION 2026 — CAMPAIGN AND POLICY
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): An Opportunity to clean up lobbying
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Opportunity’s $200,000+ donor Alan Wilderland: ‘You have to play the game’
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Why all the angst around the Opportunity Party?
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): What a new Government means for science: back to blue skies (paywalled)
Azaria Howell (Herald): Electoral Commission sees fuel availability and price volatility as ‘active election delivery risk’
Herald: Editorial: Election campaign will be a contrast of ideologies and also strategies (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): PM hints at early childhood policy and gives Wellington tick of approval at public meeting (paywalled)
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): His brother is standing for Opportunity in his electorate, but he’ll be voting National
Stuff: Lower beer tax, immigration changes on hospitality sector’s election wishlist
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Winston Peters declines to support Greens’ proposed ban on ‘excessive’ supermarket prices (paywalled)

TAX AND THE STREAMING LEVY
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): National’s tax claims tripped up Labour, but misleading marketing comes with risks
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Hipkins ruled out new levy, but forgot his MP had a bill proposing it
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Labour blames mixed messaging on streaming levy on ‘administrative oversight’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Streaming ‘tax’ becomes election-year political football (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Labour quietly ditches streaming tax proposal as National brings it to light
David Farrar: Labour denies a tax it had in the ballot!

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ELECTION 2026, POLLS AND PARTY POLITICS
Farah Hancock (RNZ): RNZ political donations tracker: Billionaire Nick Mowbray puts $250,000 into National Party’s campaign
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): The six days Christopher Luxon took Defence Force planes while attending National fundraisers (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): National and Labour just achieved something unprecedented across 50 years of polling
1News: Most Kiwis still back MMP despite Luxon stance - new poll
Anna Whyte (Interest): Greens go after groceries, Helen Clark goes after Qiulae Wong and Christopher Luxon holds firm
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Labour rules out streaming, ute tax after National ‘desperation’
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Chris Hipkins calls National ‘hysterical’ over Labour’s plans
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Time to go back to the bigger picture for the election
The Standard: How to Ensure Power Shifts
Tom Hunt (Post): Attorney-General Chris Bishop ordered to remove rule-breaking billboards (paywalled)

TE PĀTI MĀORI
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): The Lesotho Option
Peter Williams: Should Nats follow the TPM Method?
Zoe Mills (Herald): Te Pāti Māori launches election campaign at Gisborne marae
Stuff: The Hui: Te Pāti Māori leaders defend their election strategy
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Eyes on the Prize: Tamihere says Te Pāti Māori is moving past the noise

NATIONAL PARTY LEADERSHIP FALLOUT
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Coup collateral: New defence minister cancels lucrative meeting with Japan, Australia
Jonathan Killick (Post): Chris Penk on his sacking, regrets and ‘unfinished business’ (paywalled)
Tara Ward (Spinoff): ‘I’m grossly imperfect’: Luxon in reflective mode for Monday morning media round
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): National’s failed coup shows a party that can’t even execute a takeover
Stuff: ‘I take them at their word’: Luxon accepts Bishop and Stanford’s assurances on leadership
1News: Luxon confident in backing from Stanford, Bishop
RNZ: ‘I know I have her full support’: Christopher Luxon says Erica Stanford backs his leadership
Herald: Prime Minister says he’s taking key ministers linked to failed coup at their word, sure Penk acted alone

THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): I wouldn’t be surprised if TOP peaks at 8 percent
Post: Editorial – Opportunity: Just a trendy avatar for the status quo? (paywalled)
RNZ: Helen Clark dismisses Opportunity Party’s tax plan as ‘fantasy posing as policy’
Zar Lilley (Stuff): Helen Clark: Opportunity Party leader’s interview a ‘train wreck’
Tom Rose (Herald): Labour’s Barbara Edmonds rules out Opportunity Party land tax but remains coy about funding public service, pay equity

GREENS’ SUPERMARKETS POLICY
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Greens propose fines up to $10m for supermarkets charging ‘excessive prices’
Julia Gabel (Herald): Green Party to campaign on banning supermarket price gouging
Newstalk ZB: ‘Stop excessive price gouging’: Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick on their proposed supermarket crackdown
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): ‘Food is not a luxury’: Greens unveil supermarket price plan
1News: Greens propose fines for supermarkets charging ‘excessive’ prices
Rob Stock and Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Greens propose Australian-style ban on ‘excessive’ supermarket prices (paywalled)
Steven Cowan: Why isn’t the Green Party campaigning for publicly-owned, low cost grocery stores?

AUCKLAND HARBOUR CROSSING
Katie Bradford and Adam Pearse (Herald): Auckland second harbour crossing: Meola Reef study to cost taxpayers, ratepayers $1m
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Government delays Auckland harbour bridge decision
Stuff: Auckland harbour crossing: $100m spent and still no plan
Justin Hu (1News): Auckland harbour crossing decision deferred to at least 2027
Nick James (Post): Government lays out steps for next Auckland harbour crossing - but still more water to flow under the bridge (paywalled)
RNZ: Another business case for Auckland harbour crossing confirmed despite recent NZTA study
Adam Pearse (Herald): Government delivers update on second Auckland Harbour crossing progress\
Amelia Wade (Post): Chris Bishop calls Wayne Brown’s bluff on his Auckland harbour crossing pet project (paywalled)

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OPPORTUNITY PARTY: TAX, DONATIONS AND LOBBYING
Chris Trotter (Interest): If nobody moves, then nobody, or at least nobody in the top one percent of income earners, is going to get hurt
RNZ: Opportunity Party vows to ‘clean up politics’ with lobbying and donations reforms
Harriet Laughton (Post): Opportunity Party want to ‘clean up politics’ with new policy (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Opportunity promises reform of lobbying rules and political donations
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Kiwis left $17,000 worse off by Opportunity tax plan should ‘look at the bigger picture’, Qiulae Wong says
Justin Hu (1News): Opportunity leader defends taking big donations she wants outlawed
Chris Lynch: Helen Clark calls Opportunity leader’s interview ‘train wreck’ as donation contradiction revealed
Stuff: Seymour attacks Opportunity’s donation limits as double standard
Gareth Morgan (Newsroom): Who’s the fiscal blowhard, Mr Luxon?
Gareth Morgan (Newsroom): How to understand Opportunity’s big tax and spending restructure
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Q & Q & A – Jack Tame Puts TOP Under the Blowtorch (paywalled)

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP TURMOIL
Verity Johnson (Stuff): Chris Bishop was National’s last hope for November
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Does Erica Stanford deserve the backlash?
Francesca Rudkin (Newstalk ZB): Luxon needs to rediscover the version of him people voted for
Simon O’Connor: Rinse, Repeat, Revolt
Julia Gabel (Herald): Erica Stanford denies role in Penk leadership challenge against Luxon
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Erica Stanford denies involvement in coup plot against Christopher Luxon
Justin Hu (1News): Stanford denies National coup role, wants education job ‘for nine years’
RNZ: ‘I didn’t challenge for the leadership’, Erica Stanford says in first media appearance this week
Harriet Laughton (Post): Stanford denies any involvement in National leadership bid (paywalled)
Stuff: ‘I don’t know’: Minister unsure if Penk acted alone in coup attempt

TE PĀTI MĀORI CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Te Pāti Māori reveals election strategy as campaign launches in Gisborne
Julia Gabel (Herald): Te Pāti Māori to campaign for candidate vote only
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Te Pāti Māori Launches 2026 Election Fight From Tairāwhiti
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Candidate Vote, Candidate Vote, Candidate Vote: Te Pāti Māori Reveals Its Election Strategy
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Te Pāti Māori Has the People Power — Now Comes the Test at the Ballot Box

GOLDSMITH AND THE KAIPARA KI MAHURANGI SEAT
Herald: Paul Goldsmith considering switch from Epsom to Kaipara ki Mahurangi seat after Chris Penk’s exit
Harriet Laughton (Post): National MP Paul Goldsmith flirts with run in Chris Penk’s seat (paywalled)
Justin Hu (1News): Goldsmith weighing a run in sacked challenger’s ‘beautiful seat’
Justin Hu (1News): Goldsmith rules out Kaipara ki Mahurangi run, will stay in Epsom

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): What Kiri Allan tells us about power and influence
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Form Guide: August
Anna Whyte and Mandy Te (Interest): The ingredients for election 2026: The cost of living, a message of hope and what National needs to do
Stuff: ACT pledges to end ‘race-based hiring’ in public service ‘reset’
Stuff: A busy Sunday of policy announcements from Act and TOP
Bella Bates (Critic): Politicians Make Their Pitch to Students at OUSA Leaders Debate
Kirsten Wise (Herald): The growing gap between MPs and everyday Kiwis (paywalled)
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Hey Labour, NZ is not Australia
Ashley Church: Has New Zealand permanently moved to the left?
Amelia Wade (Post): More than $106m spent on Auckland’s harbour crossing, with no decision in sight (paywalled)

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THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Andrea Vance (Post): The lanyard class has found its political party. Now what? (paywalled)
Sam Smith (Stuff): The ‘worm’ worked for Peter Dunne, but that ‘sudden’ surge not the Opportunity way, Qiulae Wong says
Vernon Small (Post): Opportunity knocks, but who has the door open? (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): How compulsory KiwiSaver could lead to an Opportunity-National deal (paywalled)
1News: What are the Opportunity party’s land tax and ‘citizen’s income’?
Chuan-Zheng Lee: Assorted thoughts on the Opportunity Party

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CRISIS
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): National has made their chances of re-election much worse (paywalled)
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): The media didn’t create Luxon’s leadership woes. Does he finally get it? (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Blood on the floor: Best and worst leadership coups and the ones that backfired (paywalled)
Damien Grant (Stuff): Ex-Navy officer Chris Penk can see the iceberg ahead, yet National threw him overboard
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Luxon leadership coup: Why surviving the confidence vote is only a reprieve (paywalled)
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): Christopher Luxon leadership: National caucus coup attempt overshadows election issues (paywalled)

ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN
Philip Matthews (Press): The age of outrage: Are we becoming more polarised? (paywalled)
Emily Simpson (1News): ‘National say they’re fixing the basics - here’s what I think about that’
Glenn McLean (Post): Taranaki’s political hopefuls say cost of living still at the forefront of voters’ minds (paywalled)
David Fisher (Herald): From the battlefield to the ballot: NZSAS veteran Josh Jacobsen stands for Green Party (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Act’s public service ‘reset’ includes removing ‘good employer’ requirements, enshrining ‘need, not race’
Max Rashbrooke (Post): If I was PM: Power to the people, respect for planet (paywalled)
Shane Te Pou (Daily Blog): Max Harris in Tāmaki Wonderland

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NATIONAL PARTY LEADERSHIP CRISIS
Adam Pearse (Herald): National’s penance begins as Bishop and Stanford’s claims pose election headache (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Erica Stanford dodges media after conference, as Christopher Luxon won’t say whether he thinks she tried to roll him
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): The secret mission of .. Chris Penk
Ben Thomas (Post): Piecing together the strange tale of two confidence votes (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (Listener): How can the National Party run the country if they can’t manage themselves? (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): ‘Relentlessly optimistic’: Luxon looks past coup attempt as election campaign resumes
Henry Cooke (Post): Chris Penk had to leave Cabinet. Did he have to leave politics? (paywalled)
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): Flights for National’s failed coup likely cost taxpayers $35k+
RNZ: ACT Minister labels National’s failed leadership coup a ‘shit show’
1News: Former National minister calls Luxon coup attempt ‘shambolic’
Nicholas Pointon (NBR): Construction industry mourns ‘exceptional listener’ Penk’s exit (paywalled)
Herald: National MP Paul Goldsmith doesn’t shut down suggestion he could run in Chris Penk’s seat
Brent Edwards (NBR): National’s leadership woes, and Labour’s Opportunity (paywalled)
Andrew Gunn (Press): When leaders throw their team under the bus (paywalled)
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): The story of the scapegoat

ELECTION 2026 — CAMPAIGN, POLLS AND PARTIES
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Why isn’t Labour doing better?
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Poll: National down and out of Government in new Talbot Mills poll
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): How to win the election
Simon Wilson: Opportunities lost: Learnings from a big political week
Nick James (Post): Another poll puts Opportunity in kingmaker position (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Winston Peters has a choice to make
James Nokise (Post): When the clowns start looking like the serious candidates (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor and Azaria Howell (Herald): How Paul Henry resigned from TVNZ to stand for Act - the letter he sent Government (paywalled)
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): Paul Henry praised TVNZ as ‘indisputably valuable’ in letter after joining party that wants to sell it (paywalled)
Justin Wong (Post): Wellington councillors run for minor parties (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): Napier without Nash: The bellwether seat struggling to feel normal again (paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Qiulae Wong on learning the political art of restraint
Keith Rankin: An Opportunity For Cautious Radicalism
No Right Turn: National channels Orban
Susan Botting (Herald): Far North councillor Davina Smolders could trigger $100,000 byelection

PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE AND GOVERNMENT
RNZ: Ex-politician Kiri Allan says public service bloated, slow and overpaid
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): New Zealand First, Chatham Islands second
RNZ: Kiri Allan: ‘It took a really long time to find that crack of light to pierce the dark’
André Chumko (Post): Parliament is changing. So is what it wears (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Apology, MMP referendum, small businesses and ignoring retailers (paywalled)

RNZ CUTS AND THE MEDIA
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): RNZ prepares to cut 10 percent of jobs
Shayne Currie (Herald): RNZ to cut 25-30 roles in major cost-cutting move
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): Leaked RNZ email reveals proposed 10% cut to workforce (paywalled)
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Cuts, court, and a $130m sale: NZ’s changing media landscape
David Cohen (Herald): Provocative UK journo Rod Liddle’s death reminds me what NZ’s political discourse lacks (paywalled)
Shayne Currie (Herald): Kamahl Santamaria v TVNZ in Employment Court; $130m sale: MediaWorks’ new owner opens up; Matthew Hooton and a newsroom flare-up (paywalled)
Shayne Currie (Herald): MediaWorks’ new owner, Sports Entertainment Group, opens up on its $130m acquisition - and why sport plays a pivotal role in growth (paywalled)

FREE SPEECH, THE BSA AND THE BRADBURY CASE
Ani O’Brien: I took Martyn Bradbury to court & still think the HDCA needs reform
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Free Speech, Apparently — But Only When the Free Speech Club Says So
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Free Speech Fight Turns Inward as FSU Board Member Revealed in Bradbury Case
David Harvey (LawNews): A regulator overreaching on its way out: What the BSA got wrong in WK v The Platform
Neil Sands (LawNews): Doomed regulator makes last-gasp finding against online broadcaster
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Free Speech Union extends influence at InternetNZ after Douglas Brown elected (paywalled)
Peter Williams: The BSA’s digging its own grave

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NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CRISIS: CHRIS PENK AND THE FAILED COUP
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Anatomy of a failed coup
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): National’s reluctance to jettison CEO PM locks us into an election of targets, delivery and KPIs (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Only 1 possible explanation behind Chris Penk’s attempt to launch a leadership coup (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Post): Facile Labour on track to be as bad as failing National (paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Chris crossed: Everyone feels sorry for Penk
Tom Day (1News): Luxon survives, but how long for?
Amanda Gillies (RNZ): Luxon’s survived, but ‘the fundamental issues are still there’
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Luxon had belief and came out a winner
RNZ: As it happened: Christopher Luxon won’t release count of confidence vote after failed coup
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Christopher Luxon insists he took ‘decisive action’ with Chris Penk’s leadership challenge
Nick James (Post): Christopher Luxon says ‘decisive action’ was taken after Chris Penk moved against him (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Erica Stanford denies having leadership ambitions when refusing to express confidence in Christopher Luxon
RNZ: Erica Stanford gives full backing to Christopher Luxon after failed leadership challenge
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Luxon, fresh from inexplicable caucus coup attempt, insists everything is normal
Poppy Clark (Stuff): How National’s secret vote works after Chris Penk’s failed leadership bid
RNZ: Who is Chris Penk: Instigator, numbers guy, fall guy, or nice guy?
Stuff: Chris Penk’s constituents weigh in on his exit
Nick James (Post): National working ‘as quickly as possible’ to find new candidate for Chris Penk’s seat (paywalled)
Post: Chris Penk might be on the outer with MPs, but will be missed by construction sector (paywalled)
Stuff: Luxon survives, Penk exits, and the memes write themselves
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Nelson voters provide Christopher Luxon with a welcome respite
Henry Cooke (Post): Aren’t kamikaze pilots supposed to sink ships? (paywalled)
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Centrist voters will be confused so far this election
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Luxon can’t do what he should do

ELECTION 2026: PARTIES, POLLS AND CAMPAIGNING
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Racism and coalition belligerence are double-edged swords for NZ First
Farah Hancock (RNZ): The National Party’s 92 political ads seen by only men
Thomas Coughlan and Chris Knox (Herald): Poll of polls: Likelihood of coalition forming a Government tumbles – Opportunity soars (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Has Luxon made a mistake ruling out Opportunity?
Herald: Opportunity’s Qiulae Wong on confidence-and-supply and bottom lines as poll puts party at 8%
1News: Opportunity Party leader on poll surge, working with Winston Peters
Adam Pearse (Herald): Labour’s ‘door open’ to Opportunity, senior roles for Te Pāti Māori ‘unlikely’ as Chris Hipkins clarifies vague remarks
Julia Gabel and Adam Pearse (Herald): Te Pāti Māori responds to Labour’s Chris Hipkins saying senior Govt roles unlikely in future coalition
Kiri Allan (Herald): Party leaders met NZ’s most influential iwi figures: Te Pāti Māori tanked and Luxon didn’t show (paywalled)
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Luxon’s botched MMP call is a chance to fix Parliament with STV
No Right Turn: Why I’m not voting for Opportunity
Liu Chen (RNZ): Political parties eye Asian mental health progress in bid for votes
Atereano Mateariki (RNZ): ‘Voter suppression by stealth’ - NZ govt accused of locking out Pasifika vote
Robert MacCulloch (Post): Ten exhibits exposing the PM’s preference for big corporations over SMEs (paywalled)\
Martin Van Beynen (Post): Are we still the Passionless People? (paywalled)
Reynold Macpherson (Herald): Will New Zealanders be better off? (paywalled)
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): When Government funding weakens community (paywalled)
Mandy Te (Interest): ‘The economy really is going to be the big thing that’s going to be fought out’: John Key on 2026 election

POLICE, MARK MITCHELL AND THE RAKESH NAIDOO AFFAIR
Adam Pearse (Herald): Police apologise for spreading incorrect information about Rakesh Naidoo party candidacy
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Police manager sorry for ‘confusion’ over Superintendent Rakesh Naidoo’s bid to stand for Labour
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Police apologise to Rakesh Naidoo after spreading ‘incorrect information’
Justin Hu (1News): Police clear senior officer turned Labour candidate after review
Stuff: Mark Mitchell stands firm over police candidate notice row
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Mitchell held ‘pre-existing concerns’ on sensitive briefing attended by Superintendent Naidoo
Henry Cooke (Post): Top cop apologises after incorrect info given to media about Labour candidate (paywalled)

FREE SPEECH, ANI O’BRIEN AND THE BRADBURY CASE
Katie Harris (Herald): Free Speech Union board member Ani O’Brien revealed as complainant accusing blogger Martyn Bradbury of ‘ridiculing’ posts
Paula Penfold (Stuff): She champions free speech – then went to court over what a blogger said about her
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): ‘Not a free speech absolutist’: FSU board member Ani O’Brien defends using legal action to take on high-profile blogger (paywalled)

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LUXON, NATIONAL AND THE FAILED COUP: COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Luxon leadership challenge: In the end, they didn’t have the numbers (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): What just happened? A total mess is what
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): National’s in a worst of all worlds situation now
Janet Wilson (Post): National is now marooned in the worst of all political worlds (paywalled)
Richard Harman: How not to organise a coup (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): Rebellion in the ranks leaves National firmly on back foot (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Christopher Luxon’s leadership victory: You come at the King, you best not miss
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Can National put the leadership questions behind them?
Anna Whyte (Interest): Luxon’s leadership: What on earth just happened and what happens next?
The Post: Editorial: A circus controlled by clowns (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): Christopher Luxon’s very downcast victory (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Christopher Luxon leadership challenge: Did the Prime Minister do the right thing? (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Yesterday Luxon won, again. Who lost?
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Nothing to see here: Christopher Luxon has the full support of his caucus
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): What will voters take away from Luxon’s chaotic two-day caucus crisis?
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Luxon remains National Party leader
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Hang in there, Chris Penk!
Ani O’Brien: Chris Penk took the fall, but here’s what I know
Brent Webling (Herald): Luxon’s comms team need to step up, and the PM needs to listen to them (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): The limits of the CEO Prime Minister (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Luxon wins second confidence vote as plotters can’t count (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Confidence only gets you so far: Undefeated, PM Christopher Luxon is still on the ropes
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Luxon is born again, again – but can he resurrect National?
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Labour’s dream and National’s nightmare: Luxon down but not out
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): All the times Christopher Luxon said ‘fix the basics and build the future’ in one 76-second press conference, ranked
Mandy Te (Interest): National MPs probably weighed up opportunity vs risk in leadership vote, political commentator says
Grant Duncan (The Conversation): Luxon survives. But why do National and Labour both struggle with effective leadership?
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): Those trying to roll Luxon are a pack of fools
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): What does National hope to achieve?
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Here’s what the National Party needs
Peter Williams: National’s Bad (Really Bad) Day
The Overhang: Putsch comes to shove
Steven Cowan: Christopher Luxon is just a symptom of a much deeper problem

NATIONAL PARTY LEADERSHIP: REPORTING
Justin Hu (1News): Luxon wins confidence vote, claims his caucus is united
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): PM Christopher Luxon survives another confidence vote with ‘full support’ of caucus
Stuff: Luxon survives second caucus challenge as Penk stripped of portfolios
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Luxon clings on as PM after surviving second confidence vote
Post: ‘A big mission and purpose’: Luxon turns focus to election after winning confidence vote (paywalled)
Julia Gabel, Thomas Coughlan, Jamie Ensor and Adam Pearse (Herald): PM Christopher Luxon sacks Chris Penk from Cabinet, strips portfolios after leadership challenge
Henry Cooke and Nick James (Post): Christopher Luxon sacks Chris Penk, says he mounted campaign against him (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): National MP Chris Penk announces retirement after failed leadership plot against Christopher Luxon
RNZ: Chris Penk says he will not seek re-election after losing ministerial portfolios
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The scene inside the National caucus room

ELECTION 2026, POLLING AND THE CAMPAIGN
Justin Hu (1News): Poll: Opportunity Party surges as NZ First slides amid Luxon saga
Zeb Tupa’i (Herald): Labour leads National as Opportunity Party hits 8% in new poll
RNZ: The Opportunity Party could decide next government, new poll shows
Nick James (Post): New poll shows Opportunity rising to kingmaker position (paywalled)
Julia Gabel (Herald): Poll: Christopher Luxon drops in preferred Prime Minister rankings
Adam Pearse (Herald): Labour’s ‘door open’ to Opportunity, senior roles for Te Pāti Māori ‘unlikely’ as Chris Hipkins clarifies vague remarks
Kelly Makiha (Herald): Chris Hipkins’ regret over Rotorua’s emergency housing crisis (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Make it make sense: Fact-checking National’s tax claims
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): National uses nonsensical AI website to attack Labour’s tax policy
Anneke Smith (Post): Labour quietly ditches promise to set out who it could work with (paywalled)
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Rakesh Naidoo told police boss two weeks before his Labour Party candidacy selection
Tara Ward (Spinoff): Eight parties vie for students’ votes in raucous Dunedin election debate

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LUXON’S LEADERSHIP: THE CAUCUS SHOWDOWN
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Luxon’s enemies are counting
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): National coup chat has mortally wounded PM
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Christopher Luxon’s power ebbing away – who will replace him? (paywalled)
The Post: Editorial: Search your conscience, Mr Luxon (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Things are not looking good for Chris Luxon
Anneke Smith (Post): Make or break for Luxon’s leadership: Is this his final takeoff? (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): The Luxon dilemma: Should he stay or should he go?
Nick James (Post): Who could replace Luxon if he is rolled? (paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Weighing the risks and rewards of rolling Christopher Luxon
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The last time a New Zealand prime minister was booted by their own party
Henry Cooke (Post): Christopher Luxon looks to rumble the rumblers - but can he play the same trick twice? (paywalled)
Josie Pagani (Post): In National’s leadership race, self-interest is streaking ahead (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): National MPs line up potential Erica Stanford leadership ticket as Christopher Luxon faces caucus test (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Numbers firm against Luxon (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Luxon breaks the emergency glass again, calls urgent caucus meeting on leadership (paywalled)
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Christopher Luxon’s leadership on the line as he fronts do-or-die caucus meeting
Paula Penfold (Stuff): So confident. So awkward. How did Christopher Luxon end up here?
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Twice bitten, twice hopeful
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Luxon’s leadership in question, yet again
Henry Cooke and Anneke Smith (Post): National MPs go quiet as Luxon leadership questions renewed (paywalled)
The Overhang: The Overhang 2.7: Putsch comes to shove
Peter Williams: National’s Big Day
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): National MPs face brutal maths as Luxon fights for survival
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The National ministers who could dethrone Christopher Luxon as PM
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Luxon’s hard-luck story not really that hard
RNZ: With Luxon’s leadership under pressure, who could be lined up to take the top job?
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): National leadership rumours: Is Luxon really under threat?
Justin Hu (1News): Luxon’s headline-grabbing fortnight: Opportunity, small business, MMP
Veronica Schmidt (Spinoff): Groundhog Day: Christopher Luxon calls a meeting about his leadership – again
Grant Duncan (The Conversation): Luxon’s leadership on the line – again. Neither National nor Labour stand to benefit
Keith Rankin: The Problem For National
No Right Turn: Shaking it up?
Jamie Ensor, Thomas Coughlan, Julia Gabel and Adam Pearse (Herald): National MPs to gather at Parliament to discuss Christopher Luxon’s leadership
Lauren Crimp, Lillian Hanly and Giles Dexter (RNZ): Christopher Luxon refuses to speak to media as he arrives in Wellington ahead of urgent leadership meeting
Henry Cooke and Anneke Smith (Post): Christopher Luxon calls urgent meeting about leadership (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor, Thomas Coughlan, Julia Gabel and Adam Pearse (Herald): Election 2026: National MPs set to decide Christopher Luxon’s leadership in caucus meeting
Jamie Ensor, Thomas Coughlan, Adam Pearse and Katie Bradford (Herald): Election 2026: National leader Christopher Luxon calls urgent caucus meeting amid ‘speculation about my leadership’
Jo Moir (RNZ): Christopher Luxon calls urgent meeting to resolve ‘increased speculation’ about leadership
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Luxon calls urgent caucus meeting amid leadership speculation
1News: Senior National MPs consider telling Luxon it is time to go
Herald: National leadership challenge: Heather du Plessis-Allan says Luxon has lost three loyal MPs
RNZ: Speculation over National Party leadership ‘divisive and corrosive’ says former MP
Ricky Wilson (Stuff): This National MP backs Luxon 150%: ‘He’s the man and he’s the boss’
Stuff: Speculation over Luxon’s leadership returns
The Post: National Leadership Timeline: From Luxon blunders to unity ticket? (paywalled)
Herald: Election 2026: A timeline of events that led to Christopher Luxon’s National Party leadership showdown (paywalled)

PARLIAMENT, ACCOUNTABILITY AND LOBBYING
David Williams (Newsroom): Power Play: The industry’s lobbying takes shape
Andrea Vance (Post): DIA warned Ombudsman over mass extensions to missing lobbyist memo requests (paywalled)
Harriet Laughton (Post): Labour calls out Customs’ secret meeting with industry-linked adviser (paywalled)
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): FMA chair James Miller quits Vista, Ryman boards amid conflict concerns (paywalled)
Julia Gabel (Herald): What Shane Jones said during controversial Waitangi Tribunal review (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Business of Government: Comity, calamity and contrition (paywalled)
David Farrar: We may have a census after all
Peter Watts (Law News): Terminating Smith v Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd and its ilk: a response to The Law Association submission on the Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill

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NATIONAL PARTY AND LEADERSHIP
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Luxon leadership: National MPs hit phones on possible change after MMP captain’s call
Richard Harman (Politik): Unconfirmed reports say Nats want to vote tonight on Luxon’s leadership (paywalled)
Chris Trotter (Interest): Losing the room
Stuff: Luxon ‘sorry for colleagues’ after MMP referendum commitment on talkback
Gordon Campbell: On National’s abusive, co-dependent relationship with Christopher Luxon
RNZ: Christopher Luxon suggests fuel excise tax rise, accommodation levy if National re-elected
Herald: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon eyes fuel excise, accommodation levy and banks for possible tax change

LABOUR PARTY
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): ‘Minimum viable opposition’: Is Labour’s election strategy backfiring?
Anneke Smith (Post): Labour MPs appear unrattled by low poll result (paywalled)
Grant Duncan: Hipkins’s pathway to another defeat
Thomas Coughlan and Julia Gabel (Herald): Chris Hipkins definitively rules out governing deal with NZ First
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Chris Hipkins officially rules out working with New Zealand First in any government he leads
Justin Hu (1News): Labour rules out NZ First, Hipkins says caucus call was unanimous
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Hipkins finally rules out NZ First over ‘overt racism’ — and gets a scathing response from Peters
Mandy Te (Interest): Labour leader Chris Hipkins officially rules out working with NZ First, says party’s behaviour ‘bad for social cohesion’
Sam Smith (Stuff): Labour MP reveals she is recovering from ‘unplanned’ surgery
RNZ: Labour MP Ayesha Verrall recovering from unplanned surgery

ELECTORAL SYSTEM, ENROLMENT AND VOTING
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Here’s what the 2023 election would look like if we used FPP
Dave Armstrong (Post): We should bend over backwards to get voters enrolled (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Electoral Commission campaign looks to educate voters after enrolment changes
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Voters’ digest: Election 2026 by the numbers
Julia Gabel (Herald): New enrolments from Māori more than double
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Labour MP among 115,000 NZers currently on dormant electoral roll

ELECTION 2026 AND PARTY POLITICS
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Calls for tighter rules as ‘misleading’ ads stack up
Gamaliel Ramos (Post): How New York’s ‘socialist’ mayor could be the NZ left’s best campaign ad (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): ACT kills off PM’s possible new bed and bank taxes as poll suggests National voters want ‘no new taxes’ (paywalled)
Herald: Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki vows to take firearms ban to court after licence revoked
Stuart Nash (Herald): Check your phone, there’s probably a text on it that you also wouldn’t want public (paywalled)

ECONOMY, FISCAL POLICY AND THE BUDGET
The Post: Editorial: National’s Budget rules are fiscal theatre (paywalled)
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Rules without consequences: Can National’s Budget plan be trusted?
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): New Zealand’s political parties face an impossible fiscal trilemma (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Opportunity willing to see debt breach 50% of GDP if that was for infrastructure (paywalled)
Dita De Boni (Post): Privatisation of key NZ assets made life more expensive for Kiwis, says new group (paywalled)
Alexia Russell (RNZ): The $55 million drain from Kiwi pockets
Kevin Norquay (Post): The heavy price of being young in Aotearoa (paywalled)
Kevin Norquay (Post): Crypto ATMs: The machines almost nobody knew we had (paywalled)

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NATIONAL’S FISCAL RULES AND TAX POLICY
Jamie Ensor (Herald): National challenges Labour on fiscal rules – but why can’t it rule out new taxes?
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): National’s debt reduction target lacks ambition - economist
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): National promises Budget Responsibility Rules if elected
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): National commits to no new taxes for working people, won’t go further
Jordan Williams (Post): National risks standing for nothing and getting run over (paywalled)
Justin Hu (1News): National lays down three budget ‘rules’, challenges Labour to match
Stuff: Nicola Willis promises no new taxes for “working people”
Mandy Te (Interest): National pledges no new taxes for working people
Stuff: National’s new budget rules to balance the books
Anneke Smith (Post): National renews pledge of Budget surplus, less Crown spending; Taxpayers’ Union says ‘nothing new’ (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): National’s fuss over fiscal rules more of the same - economists (paywalled)
Christopher Luxon (Post): We must end era of debt and deficits (paywalled)

ELECTION 2026
Verity Johnson (Stuff): Why don’t political parties address the only question that matters?
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): A National party PM insulting businesses is akin to a Green MP punching a dolphin (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor and Chris Knox (Herald): Left-wing Opposition’s chance of forming Govt tiny as Opportunity rises in Poll of Polls (paywalled)
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): A more NZ First-influenced govt will be baby boomers’ last throw of political dice
David Harvey (Herald): What the MMP party vote really decides (paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): The 20 most popular MPs, ranked by other MPs
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Is Qiulae Wong the new Peter Dunne? (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National has broken some promises. It wants Labour to start doing the same (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Welcome to the Herald’s policy grid (paywalled)
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Labour promises small businesses easier access to government contracts
Anneke Smith (Post): Parliament in recess as election campaign heats up (paywalled)

LUXON’S LEADERSHIP AND NATIONAL PARTY
Justin Hu (1News): Here’s why National’s campaign chair argues Luxon’s an ‘absolute asset’
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): National presses fiscal attack as questions over Luxon leadership remain
Richard Harman: Luxon, living dangerously (paywalled)
Claire Robinson: Thursday 6 August 2026: A tale of two leaders
John MacDonald (Herald): South Island businesses seek Government action after Luxon remarks (paywalled)
Ani O’Brien: National’s list and the quirks of MMP

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COUNCIL AMALGAMATION
James Ball (1News): Who’s merging with who? Councils reveal their amalgamation picks
RNZ: Deadline for local council amalgamation plans arrives
Charlie Dreaver (1News): ‘Very alarming’: Tiaki Wai bills causing upset for Wellington ratepayers
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington’s 11m housing intensification showdown: Residents fight developer’s plan (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington City councillor Tony Randle dies unexpectedly (paywalled)
Herald: Wellington City councillor Tony Randle dies at 65
RNZ: Wellington city councillor Tony Randle dies suddenly
David Farrar: RIP Tony Randle
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Tony Randle is the sort of brain needed around the council table

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NATIONAL PARTY LIST
Jamie Ensor (Herald): The National MPs at risk of losing their seats after party list revealed (paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Who’s up, down and in the danger zone as National releases its election party list
David Farrar: National’s 2026 party list
Anneke Smith (Post): Winners and losers: New National list sees Nancy Lu climb to Cabinet-level rank, Melissa Lee tumble (paywalled)
Craig McCulloch (1News): National reveals election line-up: Which MPs were thrown a list lifeline?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): National reveals party list for election, former minister plunges from 13th to 30th
Stuff: National reveals new list, but leaves one member blindsided
Stuff: National happy with female list candidates
Brent Edwards (NBR): National pitches ‘energised team’ with no surprises party list (paywalled)
Mandy Te (Interest): National releases election candidate list
Jack Tame (Newstalk ZB): The pressure over National’s list rankings
Cecilia Robinson (Herald): Why the candidates behind the party leaders matter this election (paywalled)

LUXON, LEADERSHIP AND THE MMP REFERENDUM
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Luxon is saved by a poll, damned by the verdicts
Damien Grant (Stuff): One blunt speech, one apology, and a Prime Minister losing control
Henry Cooke and Anneke Smith (Post): Erica Stanford rules out run as National leadership talk returns (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The trouble with revisiting MMP
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): MMP is best, even with the yahoos and numpties

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Simon Wilson: Everything everywhere all at once
Shane Te Pou (Daily Blog): Why the seats matter this election
Vernon Small (Post): Luxon is blundering, but when will Labour reap the benefits? (paywalled)
Herald: Editorial: Our next Prime Minister is already unpopular and that is a problem for New Zealand (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): Education watchdog under investigation over conduct concerns (paywalled)
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Luxon and Peters - who are you today?
1News: Time’s running out: What’s left on the Govt’s to-do list?
Henry Cooke (Sunday Star Times): Labour keen to see 15% of Government procurement go to small business (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Some political operators want to undermine your future
John Braddock (World Socialist Website): NZ First Party youth leader linked to neo-Nazi groups
1News: Govt announces shakeup of how parent resident visas are approved
Herald: Chronological selection process for Parent Resident Visa confirmed
Mandy Te (Interest): Despite funding concerns, Statistics NZ is expected to carry out a 2028 census after proposed reforms are put on ice

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LUXON AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Will Labour’s poll plunge save Christopher Luxon after his worst week? (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Helen Clark’s ‘restraint’ lesson for Christopher Luxon (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (Listener): Prime Minister, if you truly can’t see how bad things are, then stand aside for the good of NZ (paywalled)
Josie Pagani (Post): Make a change National, or the country will (paywalled)
Stuff: Luxon says average Irish person ‘is now twice as wealthy as average Kiwi’
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): The Secret Diary of .. Sheriff Luxon
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode to .. King Lux
Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Addressing the issues that matter

OPINION POLL
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Labour plummets, Opportunity breaches 6% in new poll
1News: Labour slides as coalition clings to power, Opportunity breaks 5% - poll
Jamie Ensor (Herald): New poll should shake Labour from fantasy it can gain power off back of unpopular Christopher Luxon (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Coalition still in position to form government in new Taxpayers’ Union Curia poll
Adam Pearse (Herald): Labour tumbles into the 20s in new poll, Opportunity hits 5% to enter Parliament
Henry Cooke (Post): New poll has Opportunity above 5%, Labour dipping well below 30% (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The Opportunity Party wave is real, new poll confirms

MMP REFERENDUM POLICY
1News: Luxon holds firm on MMP referendum call despite cross-party criticism
Adam Pearse (Herald): National MP Paul Goldsmith says MMP referendum ‘of course’ party policy, other MPs say just Luxon’s view
Richard Shaw (The Conversation): Coalition leadership is hard. Luxon’s ‘nuclear option’ of electoral reform is not the answer
Michael Swanson (Newsroom): Campaign Cut-through: MMP needs fixing, not ditching
Brent Edwards (NBR): Apology, MMP referendum, small businesses and ignoring retailers (paywalled)
Peter Collins: How can we make MMP work better?

ELECTION
Jo Moir (RNZ): Bad week? Try being a Chris
Harriet Laughton (Post): National’s declared campaign coffers grow $440,000, but still behind ACT (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): The election we were expecting is over - for now (paywalled)
No Right Turn: A state-assisted corruption scheme
Julia Gabel (Herald): Another Labour candidate backs out of election
Nick James (Post): Another Labour candidate drops out of election race (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): National Party to reveal its list for November 7 vote
Will Johnston (Post): Independent party’s ‘rigorous search’ ends with familiar face (paywalled)
George Heagney (Post): Luxon hypes up National candidate Bansal for upset in Palmerston North (paywalled)
Paul K. Gunson (LinkedIn): Testing the Pollsters

WINSTON PETERS
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Pressure on PM to sack Peters: ‘You make a mistake, the boss will fire you’
Stuff: Majority of voters want Winston Peters sacked as foreign minister
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Stuff’s Pulse of the Nation: Voters want Christopher Luxon to sack Winston Peters
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): The Winston Peters double standard

FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE
Anna Fifield: New Zealand’s Winston Peters falls flat
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Winston Peters says Pacific missed chance to issue statement after Chinese missile test
Anneke Smith (Post): Unified South Pacific response to China missile ‘not totally lost’ - Peters (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): The cost of consensus: Pacific bloc silent on China missile (paywalled)
Susana Suisuiki (RNZ): Pacific Islands Forum fails to reach consensus on anti-missile statement against China
RNZ: In China-US rivalry, NZ remains isolated but not insulated
Anna Fifield (Newsroom): As Trump creates global chaos, China sees a chance to influence NZ
Simon O’Connor: Foreign interference is very real in New Zealand
Andrea Vance (Post): Anger in the ranks over NZDF pay package as top brass get $20k boosts (paywalled)

GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The Air Force should not be a political party resource
Jo Moir (RNZ): New evidence immigration minister was kept in dark about major budget blowout
Alex Barker (IDEA): New data: Maybe public servants aren’t overpaid after all (paywalled)
Kiri Allan (Spinoff): The call that changed my life

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MMP REFERENDUM AND THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Constitutional reform by talkback
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Could Luxon’s ‘captain’s call’ on MMP sink his ship
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): No-one was asking for an MMP referendum
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Buckle up Luxon’s going rogue
Adam Pearse (Herald): Christopher Luxon’s problem with MMP is really a problem with National’s identity (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): Christopher Luxon goes off the cuff - again (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Luxon’s referendum on the wrong problem (paywalled)
Grant Duncan: Fancy another referendum on MMP?
David Farrar: It’s too soon for another MMP referendum
No Right Turn: National (still) hates democracy
Jamie Ensor (Herald): National in disarray over Christopher Luxon’s sudden bombshell MMP comments
Jamie Ensor, Adam Pearse and Zeb Tupa’i (Herald): Christopher Luxon stands by MMP referendum next term, Chris Bishop calls earlier comments ‘musings’
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): Luxon digs in: MMP referendum ‘will be our policy’ despite party confusion (paywalled)
Stuff: Luxon doubles down on MMP referendum call at public meeting
RNZ: Peter Dunne believes Luxon’s frustration with NZ First, ACT behind MMP referendum call
1News: Peters says Luxon’s call for MMP referendum ‘inexplicable’
Jo Moir (RNZ): Christopher Luxon will call referendum on MMP voting system if elected back into power
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Christopher Luxon says he’ll hold referendum on MMP if re-elected
Adam Pearse (Herald): PM Christopher Luxon says he’d hold referendum on MMP if re-elected
Henry Cooke (Post): Christopher Luxon says he wants MMP referendum - but Winston Peters rules it out (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Luxon catches caucus off-guard with promise to hold MMP referendum if re-elected
Harriet Laughton (Post): National MPs unclear on whether MMP call is party policy (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): The many positions of National MPs after Luxon’s MMP commitment
1News: ‘Absolute surprise’: Peters on Luxon’s call for MMP referendum
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Electoral law expert warns against pursuing MMP referendum alongside four-year term
RNZ: Christopher Luxon wants a referendum on MMP - How does the current system work?
Henry Cooke (Stuff): MMP: How an academic dream from West Germany changed New Zealand forever

ELECTION 2026 CAMPAIGN
Farah Hancock (RNZ): RNZ political donations tracker: National’s war chest climbs by $440,000
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Large anonymous political donations climb to almost $500k so far in election year
Matthew Hooton (Post): Luxon just gets worse and worse (paywalled)
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): ‘Gobbledegook’ or business speak? The origin of Luxon’s language
Simon Bridges (Herald): Christopher Luxon doesn’t understand NZ small businesses are forced to worry about the Government (paywalled)
Reynold Macpherson (Herald): Christopher Luxon’s Rotorua lecture exposes politics of self-reliance (paywalled)
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): What might have been: PM Chris Bishop
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Read my lips: We’re going all the way to November 7
Margalit Toledano (Post): Young voters have the most at stake this election – so why are so many of them not enrolled to vote? (paywalled)
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): AI is reshaping the world. Are our politicians ready to grapple with it? (paywalled)
Veronica Schmidt (Spinoff): The Spinoff fires the starting gun on Election 2026
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): A not-so-wet but still quite whiny week on the campaign trail
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): The 24-year-old who wears Winston Peters’ ink
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): One Candidate, One Pint: James Christmas on his angry teen years and ditching National
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Cameron Brewer on why being funny is the best skill an MP can have
Brent Edwards (NBR): New Zealand First’s mission to make NZ great again (paywalled)
Herald: Editorial – Are baby bonus schemes worth the money and would job creation be more effective? (paywalled)
Natalia Albert: Immigration Has Lost Social Licence
Samira Taghavi (Post): Why a mock execution is more than ‘political theatre’ (paywalled)

PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Audrey Young (Herald): Winston Peters is behaving like a fringe-dwelling thug, not an elder statesman (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Chris Bishop: Why Parliament is New Zealand’s supreme law-maker
Neil Sands (LawNews): Attorney-General Chris Bishop tells judiciary to leave policy to Parliament
Andrea Vance (Post): Simeon Brown grilled in Parliament over Medical Council appointment of doctor who sells turmeric pills (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Speaker will not take action over Winston Peters’ ‘racist’ comments
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Unreleased review recommends Waitangi Tribunal keep key power
Anneke Smith (Post): Rare inquiry into officials’ answers on failed $40m IT project reaches crunch point (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Microscope on Immigration NZ intensifies with fresh concerns
Layla Bailey-McDowell (RNZ): Is English a ‘predator language?’
RNZ: Human Rights Commission calls for human rights-centred, Te Tiriti-based approach to AI

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UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE ECONOMY
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): National backs its policies as unemployment rises to 11-year high
Giles Dexter (RNZ): What the latest unemployment figures could mean for the election
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): As unemployment hits 11-year high, how does it look under the hood?
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Over one third of 15 to 24-year-olds were unemployed or underemployed last quarter
RNZ: Salvation Army: Youth unemployment stats a ‘call to action’ for the country
Penny Smith (RNZ): ‘There are no jobs’: Support services warn unemployment crisis driving rising violence
Penny Smith (RNZ): Job seekers describe fear and frustration as unemployment soars
Nick James (Post): PM encourages people to move for jobs following high unemployment rate (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Unemployment jumps more than expected to 5.6% (paywalled)
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Unemployment rises to 11-year high of 5.6%
Liam Dann (Herald): Unemployment rate hits 5.6% - worse than expectations
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Unemployment isn’t as bad as it seems
Andy Macdonald (BusinessDesk): Worse than anticipated 5.6% unemployment rate rise (paywalled)
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao News): Unemployment hits 11-year high as Māori, rangatahi and Northland bear the brunt
Sandra Grey (Post): Full employment must be back on the agenda (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): How does your pay compare to the average?
RNZ: Older Kiwis choosing between ‘starving or heating’ as price increases bite

PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Luxon can’t control Winston Peters
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan grills Winston Peters on ‘racist’ comments that were directed at him
Victoria Meakin (Post): Dozens of complaints to Human Rights Commission about Winston Peters’ words to Chinese-born MP (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Dodging Xu Nan but running into the constitution (paywalled)
Gordon Campbell: On Christopher Luxon’s no good, very bad fortnight
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Christopher Luxon’s tough love routine has lost its shine (paywalled)
Virginia Fallon (Post): Behaviour problems start in parliament (paywalled)
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Responses and responsible government
Stuff: Parliament’s Got Talent? Singing visitor gets a ‘no’ from security
The Post: Editorial: Why Burnham matters beyond Britain (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Stats NZ forced to eye census Plan B as impasse threatens overhaul
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Stats NZ told to prepare for 2028 census without funding, as politicians squabble (paywalled)

ELECTION 2026
Julia Gabel (Herald): Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s new party approved by Electoral Commission
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): There is ‘huge appetite’ for new limits on standing for Parliament, says Shane Jones, as he promises new NZ First policy
Damien Venuto (Stuff): Four in ten Kiwis say they’re falling behind. We asked our politicians what they’re going to do about it
Anneke Smith (Post): Justice Minister won’t say if voting should be easier or harder (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Calm down, the election enrolment changes aren’t a problem
Andrew Ketels (Herald): Luxon avoided a nightmare scenario, but he’ll still talk with a kingmaker (paywalled)
Richard Prebble (Herald): How a losing party can decide this year’s vote (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Opportunity lays out plan to borrow more for infrastructure (paywalled)
Local Democracy Reporting: ACT candidate Paul Henry tells electorate to vote for a National MP
Justin Wong (Post): Poll showing Labour ahead at Kāpiti electorate (paywalled)
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Should Kiwis ignore the cost of living and trust the long-term plan?
Michael Swanson: Are voters choosing Labour?
Chuan-Zheng Lee: I didn’t actually vote for people
Steven Cowan: Don’t vote — it only encourages them

LUXON’S DEFENCE FORCE FLIGHTS
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Christopher Luxon defends using Air Force flight after attending National Party fundraiser
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Christopher Luxon took Defence Force flight home after National Party fundraiser (paywalled)
Harriet Laughton (Post): Christopher Luxon defends Defence Force flight after National Party fundraiser (paywalled)
Herald: Labour goes on the attack as John Key defends Christopher Luxon’s Defence Force flights (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): We’ve got to stop nitpicking legitimate uses of Defence Force flights

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AMALGAMATIONS
Luke Malpass (Post): Parent, child, amalgamator? How localist Luxon became the great centraliser (paywalled)
Anna Leask (Herald): Christchurch rejects Selwyn-Waimakariri super city amalgamation in narrow council vote
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Christchurch rejects super city proposal, votes for unitary authority with current boundaries
Tom Hunt (Post): Councils divided as Wellington faces two major decisions (paywalled)
Justin Wong (Post): Referendum needed to back local government structures, says Wellington regional council (paywalled)
Emily Ireland (Post): Councils split over best way forward for Wairarapa (paywalled)
Emily Ireland (Post): ‘So undemocratic’: Wairarapa lumped into supercity proposal (paywalled)
Mike Tweed (Herald): Whanganui District Council opts out of Government’s Head Start amalgamation process
Susan Botting (Herald): Far North District Council backs Northland councils’ amalgamation plan
Bronson Perich (Herald): ‘We don’t want to be part of a super city’: King Country Council proposed
Bronson Perich (Herald): South Waikato backs Western Unitary Authority proposal
Jordan Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Taupō mayor opposes ‘Western Waikato’ amalgamation proposal
Jordan Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): New Eastern Waikato bloc of councils says Government should accept merger
Janine Rankin and George Heagney (Post): Palmerston North and Horowhenua team up, open to more friends (paywalled)
Erika Harvey: Shotgun Amalgamations. Why Are Councils Being Rushed Down The Aisle Before Election Day?
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Time for the Govt to bang heads over council reforms
Jonathan Killick (Post): Auckland Transport’s ashes: Who gets to decide on speed humps now? (paywalled)
David Farrar: Wellington Community Fund
Herald: ‘We can see your washing’: NZ politician joins meeting from bathroom

JUSTICE MINISTRY AND RUSSELL HARRISON
Julia Gabel (Herald): Russell Harrison: Ministry of Justice under review, boss apologises over ‘utterly unacceptable’ saga
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Justice Ministry to be reviewed, as minister’s confidence in agency ‘seriously shaken’
1News: Govt orders review into ex-Lotto host in criminal case being paid for years
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Criminal paid $500,000 for a government job he barely worked in - and he won’t have to pay it back
Herald: Russell Harrison: Health NZ spent $490k on advertisement featuring ex-Lotto presenter involved in Comancheros money laundering

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WINSTON PETERS AND THE XU-NAN COMMENTS
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Is it farcical for PM to think his foreign minister has been racist and keep him? We asked. Here’s what Luxon said
Henry Cooke (Post): Nicola Willis suggests firing Winston Peters would bring down Government (paywalled)
RNZ: Labour leader Chris Hipkins rules out working with Winston Peters as foreign affairs minister
Raybon Kan (Herald): I’ve never talked about it, but Winston Peters also told me to go back to my own country
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Peters refuses to apologise for tirade against Kiwi-Chinese MP
Stuff: Peters refuses to apologise after ‘racist’ remarks
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Winston Peters refuses to apologise for ‘racist’ comments after meeting with PM
Stuff: Luxon questioned over Peters remaining as Foreign Minister
Emma Ricketts and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ‘Let’s not get caught up in the small things’ - Nat MPs grilled over Peters remaining Foreign Minister
Stuff: Nat MPs on whether Luxon should’ve sacked Peters
Stuff: Seymour likens Winston to a toddler ‘having a wobbly to get attention’
Mandy Te (Interest): Greens write to Speaker of the House over Winston Peters’ comments to Lawrence Xu-Nan

LUXON’S APOLOGY TO BUSINESS
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The party of business has a business problem
RNZ: National MPs back Luxon over his apology to businesses
Herald: Editorial: Politicians can’t shift responsibility when it doesn’t go their way (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor, Thomas Coughlan, Julia Gabel and Adam Pearse (Herald): ‘Obviously the words didn’t come out quite right’ - National MPs arrive at Parliament after Christopher Luxon apology
Julia Gabel and Adam Pearse (Herald): ‘Hurt and upset’: Erica Stanford says PM Christopher Luxon’s apology ‘necessary’
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Hipkins puts pressure on Luxon over his ‘parent-child mentality’ comments
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Can Luxon repair the damage with small business before the election?
1News: PM’s small business remark caused ‘a lot of hurt’ - National minister

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Farah Hancock (RNZ): ACT’s ‘visually misleading’ post: Is it a graphic or a graph?
Roy Morgan: New Zealand Poll: In July National-led Government leads Labour-led Parliamentary Opposition (49% vs. 41%)
Jenna Lynch, Emma Ricketts and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): PM took Defence Force plane to Air NZ-sponsored tourism conference
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): It’s getting harder to decide who to vote for
Andrea Vance (Post): Simeon Brown’s Medical Council pick under scrutiny over supplement marketing (paywalled)
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): The little shits are coming from inside the House
Brent Edwards (NBR): Act Party pins hope on consistency, effectiveness (paywalled)
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): Will TOP ever be more than a sideshow?
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The gang patch ban vs the Bill of Rights
1News: Te Tai Tonga: Meet the candidates for NZ’s biggest electorate
Julia Gabel (Herald): Electoral enrolment website outage ‘unacceptable’ in final days before roll-switch deadline
Jack Riddell (Herald): Political parties told to remove signs advertising meetings in Napier (paywalled)
David Harvey: The Limits Una Jagose KC Cannot Name

SWARBRICK VS THE SPEAKER
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Chlöe Swarbrick kicked out of House after challenging Speaker’s ‘double standards’
Justin Hu (1News): Swarbrick kicked from House, accuses Speaker of ‘double standards’
Henry Cooke (Post): Chlöe Swarbrick claims Speaker has privately told her he has different standard for Winston Peters (paywalled)

HOUSING
Henry Cooke (Post): Labour’s Helen White says she wants house prices to come down - contradicting party (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Labour’s Mt Albert MP Helen White wants house prices to fall - her boss doesn’t
Karyn Scherer (NBR): Property plunge: The ‘no longer wealthy’ effect (paywalled)
Luisa Girao (Post): Infrastructure minister to assess Wolfbrook’s Pegasus housing plan after receiving fast-track application (paywalled)
Tim Brown (RNZ): Government confirms controversial Pegasus fast-track application
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Volcanic viewshafts raise Auckland house prices, encourage sprawl and reduce household welfare, new report says (paywalled)
Sam Olley (1News): ‘No requirement’: Airtight solutions sought for NZ’s cold, draughty homes

HOMELESSNESS
Tom Hunt (Post): Bare shelves, freezing nights: Wellington’s rough sleepers at risk (paywalled)
RNZ: Some rough sleepers refusing emergency accommodation despite freezing temperatures
Glenn McLean (Post): Judge says tragic case ‘shines a light’ on the appalling way homeless are treated in NZ (paywalled)

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LUXON, BUSINESS AND THE ROTORUA APOLOGY
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon faces questions over claim business sector is ‘negative’, should act like an ‘adult’
Justin Hu (1News): ‘I got that wrong’: Luxon apologises for remarks about small businesses
Stuff: Luxon explains his call for businesses to ‘be adult, adult, adult’
Herald: PM Christopher Luxon speaks to Mike Hosking after saying businesses have ‘parent-child’ mentality
Nick James (Post): Prime minister apologises for comments at Rotorua event (paywalled)
RNZ: Business leaders equal to government, Christopher Luxon says, days after ‘parent-child mentality’ comments
Herald: Steel Worx director Chris Barrett says Labour destroyed economy, National failed to fix it
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Luxon’s rare business apology exposes deeper political weakness
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Is it too late for the Nats to roll Luxon?
The Post: Editorial: Luxon’s impotence makes him prime minister in name only (paywalled)
Andrew Dickson: Luxon’s Wearing Daddy’s Pants
Tara Ward (Spinoff): I get it, Prime Minister, I wouldn’t want to call Winston Peters either
Stuff: PM apologies for comments about Rotorua businesses
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): You should all be using Claude, Luxon told Rotorua businesspeople. So we did
Stuff: Prime Minister apologies for Rotorua businesses comment
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): No need for Luxon to apologise over Rotorua business meeting comments, mayor says

WINSTON PETERS, RACISM AND NZ FIRST
RNZ: Luxon speaks to Peters about comments: ‘That’s a conversation between us’
RNZ: Luxon plans chat with Peters about ‘racist’ remarks ‘at some point’, says they’ve both been on the road
Henry Cooke (Post): PM calls Foreign Minister’s comments ‘racist’; Hipkins says PM must sack him (paywalled)
Charlie Mitchell (Post): Senior NZ First youth figure linked to neo-Nazi group (paywalled)
Tom Peters (WSWS): NZ foreign minister tells Chinese-born MP: “Go back to your own country”
No Right Turn: NZ First’s Nazi problem
Gordon Campbell: On A Week Of Luxon And Peters, Unhinged
Michael Swanson: The language is the strategy, and it isn’t going anywhere
Jeremy Rose: Far from Winston’s first racist rodeo
Rituraj Sapkota (Te Ao Māori): ‘Go back to your own country’ is the laziest argument of all

WINSTON PETERS AND MOCK EXECUTION
Joel Kulasingham (Herald): Winston Peters effigy ‘chopped’ in mock guillotine protest against Foreign Minister’s ‘racist’ comments
Stuff: Winston Peters calls for arrests over mock guillotine protest targeting him
Ani O’Brien: The Activists Behind Winston Peters’ Mock Execution
Stuff: Pressure group stages mock execution of Winston Peters
David Farrar: Will this also be condemned?
Stuff: Group behind ‘execution’ of Winston Peters has no regrets

BIRTH RATE AND THE KIWI KIDS GRANT
Chris Trotter (Interest): NZ First’s baby bribe
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Our unbridgeable fertility deficit (paywalled)
Shamubeel Eaqub: Baby bonus? It’s been tried
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Not just another baby bonus: The figures driving Winston Peters $45k Kiwi Kids Grant
Herald: NZ First’s Kiwi Kids Grant unlikely to lift birth rate, sociologist Paul Spoonley says
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Need a carrot to have kids? Don’t have them
RNZ: Declining birth rate is more complex than a ‘baby bonus’ can fix, academic says
Julia Gabel (Herald): How Winston Peters’ plan to get Kiwis having babies compares to other countries

ELECTION 2026: ENROLMENT
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Tens of thousands could be turned away from voting – but no one is counting them
Stuff: Nearly half of 18-24 year-olds are not registered to vote
Alice Neville (Spinoff): As election day approaches, what do we know about who’s enrolled to vote?
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao Māori): Enrolment system failures alleged to threaten to disrupt Māori Electoral Option days before deadline

ELECTION 2026
Adam Pearse (Herald): Police Commissioner adviser criticises Police Minister Mark Mitchell in open letter over Rakesh Naidoo controversy
Henry Cooke (Post): Christopher Luxon says ‘triple your taxes’ ads refer to ‘three parties that want to raise taxes’ (paywalled)
Ian Taylor (Stuff): I voted National last time. This time I’m listening to Opportunity
Azriel Taylor (Herald): Real Life: Greens co-leader Marama Davidson on cancer recovery and the 2026 election
Richard Harman: Red to Green to Wildcard: The Battle for Wellington Bays (paywalled)
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Men are tripping over their alphahood in the year of the Bro Election

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PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Irra Lee (RNZ): More laws rushed through Parliament under urgency than any term since 2008
The Post: Editorial: National has one last chance to re-consider leadership before election (paywalled)
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): Whatever happened to govt promises of localism? (paywalled)
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): ‘Things are screwed anyway, why try?’ Youth voter enrolment rate plummets
Amanda Gillies (RNZ): Helen Clark: NZ can’t afford another three years of short-term policies
Kevin Norquay (Sunday Star Times): Baiting the hook: the digital election machine messing with your mind (paywalled)
Gareth Morgan (Newsroom): What a waste of capital
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): A tale of two leaders
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): The risk behind TOP’s rapid rise in the polls (paywalled)
George Heagney (Post): Call to check enrolment details after change to voting rules (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): RMA bills, unemployment statistics to take centre stage in politics this week (paywalled)
Mildred Armah (Stuff): Winston Peters effigy ‘executed’ in mock guillotine protest
Jonathan Killick (Post): Chris Hipkins ‘deeply disappointed’ by treatment of MP at union-backed event (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ‘parent-child mentality’ description of NZ businesses ‘valid’ in some cases - Seymour
Amelia Wade (Post): Doomed MBIE IT project: Advice blamed on ‘junior staffer’ was approved by four senior managers (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): Kiri, always crashing in the same car

NZ FIRST: RON MARK AND THE KIWI KIDS GRANT
RNZ: Ron Mark returns to NZ First for election
Adam Pearse (Herald): Election 2026: Ron Mark returns to NZ First, Winston Peters unveils $45,000 grant for parents with three kids
Stuff: Return of the Mark: Former Defence Minister Ron Mark to contest Wairarapa for NZ First
Adam Pearse (Herald): Ron Mark fills the Stuart Nash-shaped hole in NZ First (paywalled)
Mandy Te (Interest): NZ First announces Ron Mark’s return, unveils policy to tackle country’s ‘massively declining birthrate’
1News: NZ First’s proposed grant to encourage ‘more Kiwis having more children’
Stuff: Peters pitches $45,000 incentive for families to have three children
Giles Dexter (RNZ): New Zealand First Kiwi Kids Grant plans to pay parents for having children
Nick James (Post): NZ First’s baby policy expensive, complex and may not achieve its goals: National (paywalled)
Rodney Hide: Demography is destiny — and New Zealand is choosing decline

ACT, SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AND ‘REASONABLE FORCE’
Adam Pearse (Herald): Act to allow teachers to use ‘reasonable force’ to remove ‘disruptive students’, fine parents up to $3000
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): ACT candidate Paul Henry unveils plan to let teachers use ‘reasonable force’ on students
Stuff: ‘There are a lot of little s..ts in classrooms’: Henry unveils ACT’s school discipline plan
Stuff: ACT’s plan to restore school order: ‘We let our children down’
Zeb Tupa’i (Herald): Act’s ‘reasonable force’ plan for disruptive students sparks safety fears
Nick James (Post): ACT promises legal protection for teachers using physical restraint on disruptive students (paywalled)

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NZ FIRST’S BABY BONUS AND THE BIRTH RATE
Henry Cooke (Sunday Star Times): Exclusive: NZ First to offer families $45k for having three kids - if they are citizens (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Sunday Star Times): Winston wants more babies (paywalled)
Amy Ridout (Sunday Star Times): ‘It feels selfish, but what do you do?’: The cost of living is reshaping the modern Kiwi family (paywalled)

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): If a foreign diplomat can stand up to Winston Peters, why can’t Christopher Luxon? (paywalled)
Mengzhu Fu (E-Tangata): Why we call Winston Peters ‘Lao Pi’
Vernon Small (Sunday Star Times): Why National needs a tax enemy (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Sunday Star Times): What Kiritapu Allan regrets and what she doesn’t (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Public service bosses race against clock to submit job cut plans
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode to .. Sheriff Winstone
David Farrar: Aussie taxpayers making Jacinda rich
Mohan Dutta (E-Tangata): We must name racism when it happens

LUXON’S ‘PARENT-CHILD’ COMMENTS TO BUSINESS
Annabel Reid (Herald): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon responds to Rotorua business owners’ deflated economic confidence
Henry Cooke (Post): Luxon’s ‘patronising’ criticism of NZ business ‘mischaracterised’ by Labour, aides claim (paywalled)
Natalie Akoorie (Stuff): ‘Be adult’: Prime Minister’s Office hits back at ‘mischaracterisation’ of his comments to business owners
The Post: Patronising or mischaracterisation? You be the judge of PM’s criticism of NZ business (paywalled)
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Sometimes it’s worse when our prime minister does actually make himself clear
Deborah Coddington: Go Sack Yourself Prime Minister

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
Damien Grant (Stuff): Like an accelerating e-scooter, NZ’s inflation is moving faster than you think
Liam Dann (Herald): Slow recovery: Why it’s too late for the economy to save National now (paywalled)
Ella Somers (Interest): Will unemployment hit an 11-year high?
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Why it’s time for a review and reset at the FMA
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Property market’s ‘longest and deepest downturn’ in 30 or 40 years
Rob Stock (Sunday Star Times): No consent, no loan: The fight to protect co-owned homes steps up to Parliament (paywalled)

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