CHINA MISSILE TEST AND PACIFIC SECURITY
Barbara Dreaver (1News): Barbara Dreaver: China’s missile test sends unmistakable Pacific message
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): China missile test sends strong signal to South Pacific - law expert
1News: ‘Deeply concerning’: China fires nuclear-capable test missile in South Pacific
Jamie Ensor (Herald): New Zealand warned by China of incoming missile test in South Pacific
Henry Cooke (Post): China flexes: Test ballistic missile fired in South Pacific after Australia-Fiji defence pact (paywalled)
Mike Smith (The Standard): Official talk of independent foreign policy is farcical

INDIA VISIT AND TRADE
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Prime Minister downplays absence of Foreign Affairs Minister during Narendra Modi visit
Taylor Rice (1News): Modi’s NZ visit ‘convenient’ timing with Peters’ Asia trip – expert
Amelia Wade (Post): ‘Concerned about Hindutva? No’: PM will be at controversial Narendra Modi party (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): Indian nationals face tougher pathway to residency from August - lawyer (paywalled)
1News: Govt touts rising India trade – PM condemns anti-immigrant rhetoric
RNZ: Free Trade Deal discrimination claim ‘just wrong’, Luxon says
Tom Rose (Herald): Christopher Luxon says Indian PM Narendra Modi visiting NZ will be ‘historic’
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Why National’s trade plan is about not falling behind
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Indian govt wants ‘mobility’ not ‘migration’ out of India-NZ FTA (paywalled)

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Commissioner calls on politicians to avoid hateful speech
Katie Bradford (Herald): Outspoken developer Matthew Horncastle referred to police over political billboard
Stuff: Property developer Matthew Horncastle referred to police over political billboards
Chris Trotter (Interest): In any struggle between Parliament and the Courts there can be only one winner – and it’s not the Courts
Chris Trotter (Law News): Election 2026: the committed, the courageous, the tired and the timid
John Gregoriadis (Spinoff): Are we really the fastest repealers in the west? I counted
Henry Cooke (Post): ‘Oppressive’: Government looks at VPN ban or restrictions as part of under-16 social media ban (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): Political scientist says NZ stands apart on one-year voting rule (paywalled)
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Compulsory reporting of pay gap data worth a conversation, National leader says
Michael Swanson: Hamilton West: The ‘Guess the Government’ Bellwether
Richard Harman: Negotiating with Winston (paywalled)
Hanna McCallum (Newsroom): Boost for local innovation but scepticism hangs over Opportunity economic policy
Derek Cheng (Herald): Covid-19: Minister asks officials what to do following Royal Commission’s incorrect finding (paywalled)
Qiulae Wong (Stuff): ‘We stand by our numbers’: Opportunity responds to tax policy attack
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Te Pāti Māori Focused on Campaign Despite Leadership Questions and Funding Gap
ODT: Editorial: The solid South? (paywalled)

RESERVE BANK AND OCR
Justin Hu (1News): ‘Popcorn time’: Is a ‘nail biter’ OCR hike coming tomorrow?
Liam Dann (Herald): OCR preview: Economists split as RBNZ weighs knife-edge cash-rate call (paywalled)
Nicholas Pointon (NBR): OCR preview: the case for holding or hiking (paywalled)

AI AND DATA CENTRES
Anna Whyte (Interest): Unpacking AI: How the govt plans to change NZ’s dysfunctional digital agency
Chris Keall (Herald): Crown agency pushes for $30 billion investment in new data centres (paywalled)
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): NZ Inc is going all in on AI data centres
Herald: AI paradox: New research gives insights into AI behaviour in Kiwi workplaces
RNZ: NZ workers slow to adopt AI, but many hide how much they use it - report
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Infratil’s share of data centre company CDC blooms in value

CRITICAL MINERALS
RNZ: Two West Coast critical minerals projects get government funding
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Westland and Taiko to get $50m in public loans for mineral plants, Rua Gold waits to hear (paywalled)
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Regional Infrastructure Fund loans buy social good (we’re told) so why hide details for commercial reasons? (paywalled)
Joanne Naish (Post): Government loans $50m for two West Coast mining projects (paywalled)
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Critical minerals mining: Tāiko, Westland get Government funding up to $50m (paywalled)
NBR: Taiko Critical Minerals announces capital raise, govt funding (paywalled)

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PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Don’t underestimate NZ First and Michael Laws
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Are we about to elect our least popular prime minister for 33 years?
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): Ministerial spend-ups are a symptom of a deeper sickness buried beneath the state (paywalled)
1News: Ardern tougher than public saw, sacked ministers with ‘steel’ - new book
Phil Smith (RNZ): The outcomes of a long week of lawmaking
David Harvey (Herald): Jefferson’s vision of individual liberty shows New Zealand’s constitutional gap (paywalled)
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Govt board members’ fees soar as private sector directors tighten their belts
Rachel Pannett (BusinessDesk): Why officials’ AI experiment is testing trust in policy work (paywalled)
1News: ACT announces policy to prevent abusers from ‘weaponising’ pets
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): ACT policy aims to stop abusers ‘weaponising’ pets to control victims
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode to .. Qiulae Wong

TRADE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS
RNZ: National promises to prioritise seven trade deals if elected
Stuff: National promises trade talks with seven new markets in bid for ‘next billion customers’
Herald: National pledges new trade deals with seven economies if re-elected
Anneke Smith (Post): National lifts trade stakes in direct challenge to NZ First (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): National promises to chase seven new trade deals (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Dairy dash: National targets Bangladesh amid US tariff deal (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Todd McClay says no reason for concern about India migration changes
Anna Fifield: Modi comes to NZ, Penk goes to NATO
Phil Pennington (RNZ): New Zealand joins US project to accelerate AI warfighting
Kaya Selby (RNZ): New US ambassador to New Zealand says Cook Islands is a top priority

NZ FIRST AND VOTING RIGHTS
Tom Rose (Herald): Winston Peters announces citizens-only voting policy
RNZ: NZ First announces policy to restrict voting to citizens only
The Post: NZ First to campaign on voting rights for citizens only (paywalled)
Stuff: NZ First to campaign on ending voting rights for permanent residents

HEALTH
Jim Kayes (Stuff): Bad, but not the worst. Chris Bishop says other hospitals in worse shape than leaky Hutt
Kate Green (RNZ): More temporary beds added to hospitals around NZ to meet winter demand
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): The attention on the Waikato ED case could increase the odds of fixing the problem
ODT: Editorial: Horrors of ward 10a exposed (paywalled)
Bonnie Sumner (Newsroom): What is going on at Starship’s child protection unit?
Cass Mason (Newsroom): ‘If we think it’s abuse, it’s abuse’
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Health NZ’s silence on child abuse misdiagnoses
Amanda Gillies (RNZ): The ‘Trumpian’ Disability Support Services that critics say strips workers of help
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Health NZ apologises over paused bowel cancer procedures - but what next?
1News: Cancer specialists call for rehab to become standard part of treatment
Isaac Davison (Stuff): More Kiwis are too sick to work. What can be done?
Paula Penfold (Stuff): How one woman’s eight-year fight raises questions about ACC’s ‘abhorrent’ new approach to weekly compensation

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NZ FIRST AND MICHAEL LAWS
Herald: Editorial: Is Michael Laws a step back for NZ First? (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): NZ First’s revival of Michael Laws feels desperate (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): Welcome to the NZ First manosphere: now featuring the undead (paywalled)

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Damien Grant (Stuff): The maths behind TOP’s biggest promise falls apart
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Paul Goldsmith seeks advice on protection of electoral systems from growing AI threat
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): Election 2026: Why more ‘free’ policies could cost New Zealand dearly (paywalled)
Tom Peters (WSWS): New Zealand: Labour’s hollow promises in lead up to November election
Moana Ellis (LDR): ‘Duties as normal’: National’s Te Tai Hauāuru candidate keeps council seat during election bid
Louis Collins (RNZ): Ten bills to cross the lawmaking finishing line during urgency
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Stop focusing on the trivialities
Kevin Norquay (Sunday Star Times): Mike Munro memoir: Death threats, rage and a toxic shift in political life (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): A plate of roast rat please, with plenty of tomato sauce (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): Farewell after 30 years at the heart of events that shaped our democracy (paywalled)

KIWISAVER AND RETIREMENT INCOME
Liam Dann (Herald): Time for a bipartisan approach: Why Labour should get on board with compulsory KiwiSaver (paywalled)
Bevan Graham (Herald): NZ needs a retirement income strategy, not three separate debates (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Sunday Star Times): Dollars and Sense: Compulsory KiwiSaver has a property loophole banks will exploit (paywalled)
Vernon Small (Sunday Star Times): When it comes to savings, does nanny state really know best? (paywalled)

MEDIA
Amelia Wade (Sunday Star Times): The Google files: Inside the lobbying that stalled New Zealand’s media law (paywalled)
Jordan Meyers (Sunday Star Times): The media Kiwis trust most are the ones under attack (paywalled)
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Sunday Star Times): ‘We’re just three dudes that made a documentary that blew up’ (paywalled)

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PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Off the record, off the hook
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Men and women have never been so polarised; who will decide this year’s election? (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Here’s how Willis and Edmonds will really dodge the fiscal potholes along the campaign trail
Brent Edwards (NBR): Recycling old policies and old politicians (paywalled)
Harriet Laughton (Post): MBIE chief executive to submit to cross examination on pay equity changes (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): NZ First opposing clauses in Government’s Crimes Act reform
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: Death by a thousand amendments
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Rawiri Waititi Faces Questions on Health, Leadership and Te Pāti Māori’s Election Vision

MICHAEL LAWS AND NZ FIRST
Adam Pearse (Herald): New NZ First candidate Michael Laws wants broadcasting portfolio to scrap RNZ
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Luigi and the Ferret ride again: the long, dazzling double-act of Michael Laws and Winston Peters
RNZ: Former mayor, broadcaster Michael Laws to stand for NZ First in upcoming election
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Laws NZ First’s Waitaki candidate (paywalled)

THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Ben Thomas (Post): Opportunity’s positioning not new, but it has a radical idea (paywalled)
Nigel Haworth (The Standard): Opportunity knocks
Josh Drummond: Should you vote for the Opportunity Party?

US AMBASSADOR TO NEW ZEALAND
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Trump’s man in NZ wants to prove US is no boogeyman
Henry Cooke (Post): Trump’s new man in Wellington will need a lot more than self-deprecation to turn the tide (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): New US ambassador says there ‘has to be give and take’ on Kiwi film subsidies (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): NZ need not worry about a nuclear power ‘bogeyman’, says new US ambassador Jared Novelly (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): New US Ambassador would like chance to work on New Zealand’s nuclear policy
Zar Lilley (Stuff): New US ambassador to NZ: I want to get in a DeLorean, go back to 1985 and fix this nuclear thing

MODI VISIT AND NZ–INDIA RELATIONS
Russell Palmer (RNZ): India’s Modi to visit New Zealand this month
Stuff: India PM Modi set for ‘historic’ visit to NZ, flying in for one night next week
Amelia Wade (Post): Where are the tickets to Modi? Confusion mars lead-up to Indian PM’s Auckland visit (paywalled)
Mohan Dutta (Post): What is Hindutva and why should New Zealand care? (paywalled)

EX-LOTTO HOST PAID SUSPENSION
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Ex-Lotto presenter suspended on full taxpayer-funded-salary for five years after global FBI sting arrest
Catrin Owen (Stuff): ‘Utterly unbelievable’: Prime Minister responds after criminal paid by taxpayers for five years
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): What real employer would do what the Ministry of Justice did?
1News: Ex-Lotto host’s 5-year paid suspension from Govt job amid criminal case
Dubby Henry (Herald): Paul Goldsmith demands answers after ex-Lotto presenter gets taxpayer-funded wage for five years while on leave

KIWISAVER AND RETIREMENT
Brian Easton: The Origins of KiwiSaver
Post: Editorial: National’s KiwiSaver conversion is Labour’s historical victory (paywalled)
Mary Holm (Herald): Compulsory KiwiSaver - the pros and cons and the group that risks being left behind (paywalled)

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THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Sam Smith (Stuff): The Opportunity Party ‘would be happy’ to go into coalition with National
Natalia Albert: What The Opportunities Party Is Attempting to Do Is Nearly Impossible. Yet…
David Farrar: No, TOP is not a centrist party
Brent Edwards (NBR): Opportunity Party outlines its plans for economic growth (paywalled)

TE PĀTI MĀORI
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Former Te Pāti Māori co-leader suggests party may need change in leadership
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Te Pāti Māori former co-leader calls for leadership change
1News: Te Pāti Māori needs to balance protest with relationships – Flavell
Julia Gabel (Herald): Former Te Pāti Māori co-leader calls for party leadership change amid ‘infighting’, ‘personal attacks’
Nick James (Post): Debbie Ngarewa-Packer responds to ex-Te Pāti Māori leader’s calls for leadership change (paywalled)

LABOUR PARTY
Martin Van Beynen (Post): Labour’s cautious pragmatism and a ‘fair go’ may be a recipe for regret (paywalled)
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Why Labour’s cringing return to ‘kindness’ can’t mask its polling mountain
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Damien O’Connor on how shovelling shit prepared him for parliament

GOVERNMENT
Matthew Hooton (Post): Murkiness around India deal takes gloss off PM’s triumph (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): ‘Major worry’: Winston Peters says he fears India has been misled over trade deal (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial: Putting it right counts (paywalled)
Alexia Russell (RNZ): Fixing our ad hoc, inconsistent refugee rules
Henry Cooke (Post): Is the coalition cracking, or just cranky? (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): National will ‘continue to listen to feedback’ on just-passed heath and safety bill (paywalled)
RNZ: Business to back health and safety changes despite Labour’s repeal threat

PUBLIC SERVICE AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
The Post: Editorial: Fixing the public service without building another Death Star (paywalled)
RNZ: Eyes turn to Immigration’s new IT project after it misses first milestone
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Review calls for urgent reset of Government’s digital projects (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): NZTA says $22k India trip gave staff confidence boost in $1.36b ticketing system (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Union expects pay negotiations at MBIE to end in strikes (paywalled)
RNZ: Digital revamp of government services not effective review finds

PARLIAMENT AND ELECTION
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Michael Laws to announce candidacy for NZ First tomorrow morning
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Michael Laws won’t be a good get for NZ First
Chlöe Swarbrick (Herald): Jonathan Ayling’s criticism of Greens’ tax policy is out of line with economists (paywalled)
The Post: ‘We are so much more than just the job’: Marama Davidson on returning to work after cancer (paywalled)
Katie Bradford (Herald): Detain, Search, Use Force: Act’s big security guard overhaul
Andrew Dickson: Staining the Poor: The Cruelty and Coercive Control of Seymour’s New Card
Grant Duncan: How much does money count in an election?
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: The ‘not my circus’ defence versus the rules
Henry Cooke (Post): Wigram to Westminster: Kiwi Labour hand Hayden Munro running Andy Burnham leadership campaign (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Life-saving law change comes years too late; the low-key political veteran everybody loves (paywalled)

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Kāinga Ora chairman gets $54k pay hike, despite believing his agency will become ‘smaller’
1News: ‘There’s gonna be a war’: Former rough sleepers on move-on orders
Julia Gabel (Herald): Should Auckland have an all-access, night shelter? The debate over the best way to help the homeless (paywalled)
Cordelia Stewart and Suzette Jackson (The Conversation): Homelessness has been framed as a housing problem in NZ. The reality is more complex
Zoe Mills (Herald): Gisborne misses out on share of $14.5m rough sleeping support (paywalled)
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Local board votes for widespread intensification in Auckland’s central suburbs
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): MSD boss defends linking staff performance with cutting emergency housing
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): The supposedly progressive campaign to restrict housing in posh suburbs
RNZ: Performance targets for emergency housing up to MSD - Tama Potaka
Kate Newton (RNZ): Flood-risk homes defy analysts’ expectations, gain value faster than unaffected properties

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OMBUDSMAN RULING: PM’S OFFICE AND CLIMATE LOBBYING
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Second Z Energy lobbying document will be released: Luxon
Henry Cooke (Post): ‘Stinks to high heaven’: Hipkins suggests PM’s office deliberately withheld missing lobbyist memo (paywalled)
RNZ: Watchdog finds decision by Prime Minister’s Office about official information request unreasonable
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Ombudsman upholds OIA complaint against Prime Minister’s Office
Julia Gabel & Adam Pearse (Herald): Ombudsman rules against PM Christopher Luxon in climate lobbying document blunder
1News: PM’s office breached OIA over climate note - Ombudsman
No Right Turn: Completely unsurprising

GOVERNMENT
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Revealed: The talking points Christopher Luxon failed to nail on Iran
Audrey Young (Herald): Coalition insults escalate as Peters labelled ‘confused’ by top National figures (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Treasury reveals its advice to government during early days of fuel crisis
Jamie Ensor & Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Inside Government’s fuel disruption response: Document dump reveals how ministers decided on financial support, worst-case scenario (paywalled)
RNZ: Defence minister received no advice over nuclear comments
RNZ: Improved learning support for kids with disabilities considered by Audit Office
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Government to recognise United States and European children’s toy standards
James Ball (1News): One entity to rule them all: What’s in the Govt’s new mega-ministry?
Erin Jackson (Newsroom): When the rule of law was torched overnight
Mary Argue (RNZ): Minister accuses Forest and Bird of ‘unnecessary scaremongering’ over game animal bill
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): ‘Brazen’ plan to rescue NZ’s racing industry with high-risk gambling

THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Opportunity is no longer a wasted vote
Peter Dunne: Since 1996 no new party has entered Parliament without a sitting or former MP leading it
Ashley Church: TOP is a Trojan horse for the left

LABOUR PARTY
Janet Wilson (Post): Will tired, stale Labour seize this Opportunity? (paywalled)
The Post: Editorial: The limits of Labour’s small-target strategy (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): This is why Labour will lose the election
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Chris Hipkins calls rental support ‘subsidy for private landlords’ – Labour increased it in Govt

NATIONAL’S GREEN ATTACK AD
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): National backs attack ad after Greens claim ‘gross misrepresentation’
Giles Dexter (RNZ): ‘AI slop’ - Greens criticise National attack ad
1News: National’s attack post spreading ‘misinformation’, Greens say

PARLIAMENT AND ELECTION
Richard Prebble (Herald): Why MPs who travel least may be failing the people they serve (paywalled)
Louis Collins (RNZ): Rare ‘inconsistency’ debate starts Parliament’s week
Michael Swanson: What Maungakiekie can and can’t tell us
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Labour and National signal bipartisan push for trade transparency
Hanna McCallum (Newsroom): ‘I’m not a scientist’: MP defends sex definition bill that omits intersex Kiwis
Elspeth McLean (ODT): The magic of snake lollies needed to corral MPs (paywalled)

IMF VISIT AND REPORT CARD
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): IMF releases NZ report card. How do political parties’ policies stack up? (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): IMF backs superannuation reform and public service cuts during visit to NZ (paywalled)
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): IMF calls on Reserve Bank to raise interest rates soon
Brent Edwards (NBR): IMF’s capital gains tax recommendation gets short shrift, again (paywalled)
Richard Harman: We may not be able to afford Willis’s spending cuts (paywalled)
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Should we care what the IMF thinks?

MICHELIN GUIDE
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Government defends $6.3m Michelin deal despite no three-star restaurants
Emma Stanford (Stuff): Michelin Guide’s NZ debut called ‘an absolute joke’ by chef
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Disgraced Amisfield chef Vaughan Mabee is the new govt-backed Michelin man
Brent Melville (NBR): Michelin campaign pushed to $8m over three years (paywalled)
Emma Gleason (Spinoff): The top tidbits and takeaways from New Zealand’s first Michelin ceremony
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Here’s why I’m so stoked about the NZ Michelin launch
Peter Williams: Selling food and tyres on the news
Kim Knight (Herald): Michelin Guide launch: Tourism NZ adds $1.7m for global ‘invitation to dinner’

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MPS’ TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION ALLOWANCES
Harriet Laughton (Post): The $63,000 Toronto trip isn’t the only costly ministerial journey (paywalled)
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): 3 MPs racked up $20,000-plus travel bills as Parliament sat for 6 weeks
Stuff: ‘I’d be so embarrassed’: Seymour takes swipe at Jones over $5k limo bill
Gordon Campbell (Scoop): On the Shaky Iran Truce and MPs’ Housing Rorts

NZ FIRST
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Winston Peters says no to Labour, so why do doubts remain?
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Political curse: Winston Peters keeps voting for legislation he hates
Jack Riddell (Herald): More than 600 gather in Hawke’s Bay to hear Winston Peters’ attacks and vision

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Labour’s broken-politics congress
Chris Trotter (Interest): Political parties threatening to pare back the conservation estate, even by ‘bits and bobs,’ do so at their electoral peril
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Christopher Luxon hits back at Labour’s spending plans, brushes off Winston Peters on India FTA
Anneke Smith (Post): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon ‘compartmentalises’ coalition dispute over India FTA (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Two MPs took a photo, then debated whether they could take credit for breast cancer policy
Henry Cooke (Post): Simon Watts overrules officials to keep ‘cumbersome’ Working for Families rule (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘No one wants to be sick forever’ - ACT Party’s new welfare policy slammed
Stuff: ‘We’re gonna die trying to do something’ on social media ban, PM says
RNZ: Political candidate files complaint with police over threats
Azaria Howell (Herald): Oranga Tamariki defends $3m consultant spend on Royal Commission support
Jean Edwards (RNZ): Out of office? Oranga Tamariki takes months to respond to Gloriavale child safety concerns
1News: Bird flu ‘on its way’ to New Zealand, says Biosecurity Minister
Anneke Smith (Post): New US ambassador, billionaire businessman Jared Novelly, takes up NZ post this week (paywalled)
Dave Armstrong (Post): Inside the mind (and mines) of the Mātua (paywalled)
Mike White (Post): Labour MP claims gold mine’s promised benefits ‘absolute bullshit’ (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial: Reading the riot Act (paywalled)
Tom Peters (WSWS): New Zealand Greens advance fraudulent wealth tax policy
Michael Swanson: The Future of New Zealand’s Democratic Institutions
Anna Fifield: Europe’s warning for New Zealand
Tom Rose (Herald): Police Minister Mark Mitchell suffers two broken ribs in charity rugby match
Caron Copek (Stuff): How old is too old for contact sports? Minister Mark Mitchell breaks two ribs during golden oldies rugby
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Rumble in Russell: Politicians have a bruising encounter with ex-All Blacks

HEALTH
Bill Hickman (RNZ): Staff warn of ‘disgraceful’ leaks at Hutt Hospital
Jim Kayes (Stuff): ‘Do we need gumboots and hard hats?’: Nurses sound alarm over hospital leaks
Rachel Maher (Herald): Leak forces repairs at Middlemore Hospital’s ageing maternity block
Nikki Macdonald (Post): Delays, missed treatment opportunities in boy’s death at Wellington Hospital ED, review finds (paywalled)
Aaron Smale (Listener): If anyone has an ‘ideological agenda’ in healthcare, it’s Simeon Brown (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘It is a challenge’ - Health NZ denies poor planning led to lack of gastro doctors at Palmerston North Hospital
RNZ: ‘We’re running out of specialist blood cancer scientists in NZ’
1News: ‘Health system is dangerous for Māori’ says Dr Lance O’Sullivan
Louise Duffy (Post): We all deserve a dignified death, which is why I’m fighting for this law change (paywalled)

CLIMATE, INSURANCE AND ADAPTATION
Kate Newton (RNZ): 1 in 2 people worried about insurance affordability as risk of climate disasters grows - poll
Deborah Morris (Post): Storms are getting closer while insurance is getting further away (paywalled)
Katie Bradford (Herald): Climate change: New Zealanders have little confidence in plan to cut threat, survey finds
Brent Edwards (NBR): Majority believe Govt should act on climate adaptation (paywalled)
Kate Newton (RNZ): Climate change activist files High Court proceedings over government ruling
Shaun Eaves, Cathrine Dyer and James Renwick (The Conversation): As communities face more frequent hazard warnings, we need better systems to avoid emergency fatigue

SUPERANNUATION
1News: 1News Verian Poll: Voters split on raising superannuation eligibility age
Amelia Wade (Post): ANZ CEO says age and means testing should be on the table (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Why taxing a shrinking pool of workers more isn’t the way to pay for our ageing population, ANZ chief economist Richard Yetsenga argues (paywalled)

HOUSING
Julia Gabel (Herald): Homelessness: Christopher Luxon unaware there is no night shelter in Auckland amid emergency housing crackdown
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon admits he didn’t know there was no night shelter for rough sleepers in Auckland
Mina Martin (NZ Adviser): NZ had one of the world’s deepest house price falls — so why aren’t prices cheap?
Mina Martin (NZ Adviser): Labour’s landlord tax question looms large over NZ property market
Amy Williams (RNZ): Broad support for boarding house landlord register
Giles Dexter (RNZ): National abandons 2023 campaign policy to allow KiwiSaver for rental bonds
1News: National quietly ditches under-30s KiwiSaver rent bond policy
Martin Hawes (Post): The welcome return of first home buyers (paywalled)
Mandy Te (Interest): Mandatory home warranties: Positive signs of ‘potential increased competition’
Lucy Gestro (Newsroom): All in together: why we need houses designed for multi-generational living

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LABOUR PARTY
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour thinks New Zealand is very broken — it’s not promising to fix it
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): What’s in a name? Labour’s congress and ACT’s rally fail to find election-year reset
Henry Cooke (Post): Labour looks to reframe election around jobs as parties stick to comfort zones (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Hipkins echoes Reagan: ‘Are you better off than three years ago?’
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Labour’s hype train has finally arrived in Wellington
Richard Harman: Hipkins goes back to the future (paywalled)
1News: Labour ‘won’t’ work with ACT, but NZ First ‘highly unlikely’ – McAnulty
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Labour’s Chris Hipkins calls for a ‘Fair Go’: For apprentices, workers, and even on TV
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour to expand Covid-era subsidy for apprenticeships if elected, expands eligibility to road-builders and hairdressers
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Labour proposes Apprenticeship Boost expansion
Nick James (Post): Labour pledges to restore two‑year apprenticeship boost and widen eligibility (paywalled)

ACT PARTY
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): ACT Party leader David Seymour takes aim at parliamentary allies, opponents - but especially Labour
Hanna McCallum (Newsroom): Act kicks off campaign with a hint of a Trump-style rally
Katie Bradford (Herald): ‘Lock Labour out’ the rallying cry as Act kicks off election campaign
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): Aura edits and protests: Field notes from the Act Party’s big flash rally
Rob Stock (Post): Former gun lobbyist Nicole McKee named as ACT Party deputy leader to replace Brooke van Velden (paywalled)
RNZ: Nicole McKee announced as ACT’s new deputy
1News: ACT reveals its new deputy leader: ‘My whakapapa is mine’
Mandy Te (Interest): ACT Party leader David Seymour shares details of plan to make government smaller
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ACT campaigning to halve number of Government departments, and limit Jobseekers’ spending

THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Isaac Davison (Stuff): What is TOP? A left-wing party in disguise, pure hype, or something else?
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): The Opportunity Party needs more time to hit five percent this election
Ryan Ward: ACT version 2.0
Lindsay Mitchell: TOP’s Citizen’s Income policy

PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Chris Knox (Herald): MP Housing Perks: See how the number of MPs claiming all their housing allowance has skyrocketed (paywalled)
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): National & Green policies may have fishhooks but they leave Labour in the shade (paywalled)
Verity Johnson (Stuff): Chloe Swarbick and Winston Peters are the same person in different pants
1News: Ex-National minister returns, but this time for NZ First
1News: ‘Temu Napoleon’ and ‘kleptomaniacs’: Shane Jones punches left and right
Anna Whyte (Interest): Trust in Parliament is a valuable currency, and right now, the ledger is looking shaky
The Post: Editorial: Failure without consequence (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): Winston Peters says clause in India FTA contradicts NZ First’s coalition deal (paywalled)
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Labour’s Ginny Andersen received complaint about Police Commissioner last year
Penny Smith (RNZ): English Language Bill: No changes suggested by Justice Select Committee
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): The story behind National donor Chris Meehan’s sudden exit from his own firm
Rebecca Graham: Legislation must embed disabled people’s rights
Louis Collins (RNZ): Question time not campaign time

TAX AND FISCAL POLICY
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The Greens should be making NZ’s tax reform debate much bolder
Brent Melville (NBR): Devil’s in the detail on ‘Valuation Day’ CGT: tax expert (paywalled)
Janika ter Ellen (Stuff): Will Labour cancel ‘tax breaks for landlords’? Here’s what it could mean for rents and house prices

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LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE
Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): In search of Labour’s soul (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Stormy start to Labour’s election push as party takes aim at a winter of discontent
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Labour caught between ‘hope and reality’ as it tries to rally supporters
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour candidates make it to Wellington conference by taking a leaf from Jami-Lee Ross (paywalled)
Nick James (Sunday Star Times): Labour focuses on the future and National on opening day of party congress (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Election a choice between two futures: Labour’s Edmonds

PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Simon Wilson: The case for voting Green
Vernon Small (Sunday Star Times): Back pedalling to the centre: National’s pragmatic pivot three months from election day (paywalled)
Ruth Richardson (Sunday Star Times): National’s KiwiSaver plan double-charges workers (paywalled)
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Misleading Parliament - do MPs set a bad example?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Sunday Star Times): If MPs feel need to support a bill they think is bad and will result in deaths, something’s wrong (paywalled)
Greg Presland (The Standard): With friends like NZ First …
Steven Cowan: The left is on the move, but not in New Zealand
Richard Prebble: Why We Cannot Talk About Climate Change

THE OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Opportunity is the most interesting thing to happen since ACT’s rise six years ago (paywalled)
Liam Hehir: Opportunity Knocks
John McLean: Opportunity... But for what? Analysis of an ascendant political party

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ELECTION ‘26, PARTIES AND CAMPAIGN
Grant Duncan (The Conversation): As NZ’s Chris Hipkins pursues power, what can he learn from Keir Starmer’s downfall?
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Labour Party getting ‘fired up’ for election at annual conference
Nick James (Post): Labour to rally in Wellington this weekend if storm allows it (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Is Christopher Luxon flying - or falling with style? (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (Listener): This political party is adding intrigue to Election ‘26 (paywalled)
Hanna McCallum (Newsroom): Opportunity knocks with return to old-fashioned political campaigning
Emily Simpson (1News): I’m smack-bang in the political centre, and I know how I’ll vote in November
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Is this a policy platform or a debating chamber?
Josie Pagani (Post): Spatchcocked politics in the UK offer us a useful guide (paywalled)
Federico Magrin (Post): NZ Loyal makes bid for political return (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Election policies and coalition squabbling (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The truth about the Dancing Cossacks ad

KIWISAVER AND NATIONAL’S POLICY SHIFT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Who really wins from compulsory KiwiSaver?
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): National ends 50-year superannuation war – but a new retirement equity battle begins
Henry Cooke (Post): If National’s big push to the centre doesn’t work, what then? (paywalled)
Max Rashbrooke (Post): National’s compulsory turn leaves the left with a bigger question (paywalled)
Nick Leggett (Post): We need a bigger plan the next election (paywalled)

PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Charlie Mitchell (Post): $11,000 bill for luxury London hotel amongst millions in total travel spend by ministers (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Ministers say Pāti Māori MP is ‘telling porkies’ about visiting jailed rangatahi
Nikki Macdonald (Post): The life and times of Mr Fixit, Sir Brian Roche (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): Costly rebrand sinks Motu Move name change (paywalled)
Harriet Laughton (Post): SAS crisis: Defence Minister says repair job under way following Post revelations (paywalled)
RNZ: MPs don rugby boots and netball bibs for charity
Jack Riddell (Herald): Should the Govt buy a closing McCain factory? The Greens say it’s worth trying (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Sorry, not sorry, or distasteful? Redress brings rancour (paywalled)
ODT: Robustly criticising feedback (paywalled)

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CONSERVATION LAND BACKDOWN, MINING
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): ‘God as my witness’ – Jones says public land will still be up for development
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Did the Government botch their conservation announcement?
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Emotion has overcome facts on conservation
Richard Harman: Not quite a panic, but close (paywalled)
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): ‘That’s on me’: Minister does u-turn on conservation land swap and sale provisions
RNZ: Controversial clause in Conservation Amendment Bill that allows sale of conservation land to be removed
RNZ: Shane Jones faces person dressed as Grim Reaper outside environment conference
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Conservation bill backdown: Tama Potaka promises to drop law change for disposal of DOC land
Julia Gabel (Herald): Minister Tama Potaka to remove controversial disposal and exchange clauses from Conservation Act
Te Ao News: Greens vow to scrap conservation reforms as Potaka rejects ‘up for grabs’ claims
RNZ: Fast-track application for Otago gold mine paused
Mike White (Post): Santana pauses application for gold mine (paywalled)
Linda Hall (Herald): Conservation law change puts Hawke’s Bay treasures at risk of losing safeguards, conservationists say

POLICE COMMISSIONER INVESTIGATION
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Police Commissioner investigation: Who knew what, and when?
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Police Commissioner Richard Chambers under investigation after complaints
Michael Morrah (Herald): Public Service Commission backs Police Commissioner Richard Chambers staying amid conduct probe
Stuff: Police Commissioner Richard Chambers under investigation after complaint of sexual nature
Michael Morrah (Herald): Sexual allegations against Police Commissioner Richard Chambers: Detectives fly to Australia to interview woman

OPPORTUNITY PARTY
Lochlan Lineham (Herald): Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong willing to discuss common ground with National
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Could a new kingmaker be emerging as coalition support slips?
Ani O’Brien: The media isn’t reporting on TOP’s rise, they are creating it
Audrey Young (Herald): The Opportunity Party’s tax policy in spotlight amid poll surge (paywalled)

GREEN PARTY POLITICS
Sam Crawley: Is there room for a blue-green party? Environmental opinion in New Zealand
Natalia Albert: The 2026 Greens Tax Policy: the good and the bad
Tom Eley (Herald): Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick on anger, politics and change

ELECTION
Chris Trotter (LawNews): Election 2026: why the prospects for preserving political stability just took a turn for the worse
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): Luxon warns against strategic voting at ‘posh’ launch of Tāmaki election bid (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The only winner of the political polls
1News: ‘We do not want to be on 29% on election day’: Bishop on new poll
Katie Bradford (Herald): Australia’s Budget watchdog shows how New Zealand could cost election promises
Paul Foster-Bell (ODT): How to safeguard Kiwi democracy? (paywalled)
Doug Laing (Herald): Another John Ormond in on the Act in Napier – fourth in long line of election candidates
Listener: After years on opposing sides, Chris Finlayson and Phil Goff cross party lines for less tribal politics (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): Tax changes, four-year terms: what our business leaders want (paywalled)

GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Winston Peters and Shane Jones don’t like our questions. But here is what hasn’t been answered
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): Chris Bishop moves fast. It’s his super power and Achilles heel
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): NZ First treads awkward line as health & safety bill it says will kill workers returns to Parliament (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): RMA replacement legislation delayed by four weeks as MPs grapple with detail (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): Reform-addicted Government rushes to the centre (paywalled)

KIWISAVER
Mandy Te (Interest): National yet to work through detail of how KiwiSaver policies would apply to workers with side hustles
Tim Hunter (NBR): Compulsory KiwiSaver is just stage one (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): The arguments over whether KiwiSaver should be compulsory (paywalled)

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Siloed teams, limited communication: Former MBIE employee on the failed $33m IT project
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Winston Peters wants MBIE officials locked up, but prison no longer a punishment for misleading MPs
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Psychologist quits Oranga Tamariki bootcamp after two months
Phil Pennington (RNZ): No money for upgrades to vital police despatch system due to start next month

SOLAR AND HOUSEHOLD ENERGY
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): National promises homeowners low-cost loans to install solar power
Stuff: National proposes household energy renovations scheme paid for through rates
Nick James (Post): National promises renewable energy fund for households, repaid through rates (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Govt green bank locks down $78m public funds as second solar project hits hurdles
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): What would National’s solar scheme offer that we can’t currently get?
Brent Edwards (NBR): National backs rooftop solar as it heads into the election (paywalled)
No Right Turn: The bare minimum
Julie Anne Genter (Post): How to decrease our diesel dependency (paywalled)

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ELECTION, POLLS AND POLITICAL STRATEGY
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Electoral Commission adjusting to AI threat in lead-up to November
Amanda Gillies (RNZ): New Zealand’s game of political chess
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): What happens if the Opportunity Party gets into Parliament?
Herald: Editorial: What are we voting for? A shambolic few days of policy announcements (paywalled)
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): The Greens need to commit more crimes
Harriet Laughton, Henry Cooke and Nick James (Post): ‘Haven’t given them any thought’: PM dismisses Opportunity as a vote for the left following poll (paywalled)
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): Greens’ tax policy best chance to produce first Kiwi trillionaire (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan and Chris Knox (Herald): Poll of polls: Coalition’s likelihood of being re-elected continues to fall, Top on the cusp of Parliament (paywalled)
Michael Swanson: Bellwether Seats: The Electorates that Help Project Elections
Audrey Young (Herald): Simeon Brown’s rise: From health fix-it minister to National campaign chief (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): National MPs back Christopher Luxon after poor poll, one says he ‘hasn’t put a foot wrong’
RNZ: Labour, National downplay tepid results in 1News Verian poll
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Luxon says party closing in on 5% ‘want to make every New Zealander a beneficiary’
Greg Presland (The Standard): National panics with KiwiSaver announcement as polling crashes
Elliot Crossan: Why have the Greens watered down their tax policy?
Nick Rockel: Shout to the TOP

PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Shane Jones refuses to confirm if hotel was three-minute walk from Toronto mining conference
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): The most bonkers govt Big Tech spending revelations
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): PM puts on ‘usual Luxon charm’ for rural sector at primary industries summit
Giles Dexter (RNZ): If I only had time - Winston Peters saw hope for Moana Pasifika deal
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Paul Goldsmith aware of complaints about Human Rights Commission head for a ‘couple of weeks’
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Government shifts more responsibility for refugees to community organisations
RNZ: Abuse in care redress legislation passes final reading in Parliament

CONSERVATION BILL AND PUBLIC LAND
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Explainer: Could the Conservation Amendment Bill really lead to billionaires buying up the national estate?
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Luxon offers to change bill after conservation land sale backlash
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Potaka says conservation maps ‘misrepresent’ plans to sell public land
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): Reality lost in conservation bill rhetoric
ODT: Editorial: Losing the PR battle (paywalled)
Te Ao News: Concerns grow over Conservation Bill and weakened land protections

HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW REFORM
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Winston Peters says law change will result in deaths, but party won’t block it (paywalled)
Anna Sargent (RNZ): Pike River families rally against overhaul of workplace safety laws
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Van Velden rebuffs NZ First’s 11th-hour ‘politicking’ on health and safety overhaul
Julia Gabel (Herald): Winston Peters says Government’s health and safety reforms will be ‘dead on arrival’
No Right Turn: National gets Winstoned

KIWISAVER AND SUPERANNUATION
Stuff: Here are 5 things Nicola Willis said about KiwiSaver
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Pension procrastination isn’t an option. But this is
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Compulsory KiwiSaver: Could mandatory saving close the wealth gap with Australia?
Brent Edwards (NBR): The arguments over whether KiwiSaver should be compulsory (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): How KiwiSaver could give kids tens of thousands of dollars
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Exhaust other options first, withdrawing KiwiSavers told

MBIE, IMMIGRATION AND PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): MBIE faces probe after IT project canned amid cost blowout claims
Phil Smith (RNZ): Parliament and ministers kept in dark: two issues, two investigations
Phil Smith (RNZ): Conduct of MBIE officials referred to Parliament’s Privileges Committee
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Public sector cuts: Where does the front-line end?
Adam Pearse (Herald): Parliament’s Privileges Committee to assess if MPs were deliberately misled over failed immigration project
John McLean: Immigration biometric project exposed

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THE 1NEWS VERIAN POLL
Tom Day (1News): Poll: Big two parties at 30-year low, Opportunity nears 5% threshold
Tom Day (1News): NZ sours on National and Labour, minor parties on the rise
Justin Hu (1News): Party leaders react to new 1News poll, play down newcomer’s rise
RNZ: Left bloc leads in latest poll despite Labour slump
Nick James (Post): Coalition would be gone at election, Opportunity nears 5% new TVNZ poll suggests (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Coalition out in new poll, Opportunity nudging so close to 5%
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Chris, Chris and the purple devolution
RNZ: Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong on the party’s surprise surge in a new poll
Henry Cooke (Post): New poll suggests the coalition Government has a problem, not just National (paywalled)

ELECTION 2026: CAMPAIGN, COALITION AND PARTIES
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): ‘We’ll swallow our ego’: Te Pāti Māori ponders the ultimate tactical sacrifice
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Te Pāti Māori lay out their strategy to defeat the coalition
1News: Hipkins confident he can form coalition with Greens without budging on tax
Stuff: ‘No to wealth taxes and inheritance taxes’: Hipkins draws red line on Greens’ proposals
Caroline Williams (Stuff): Would NZ First form a government with Labour? Winston Peters calls that a ‘w....r question’
Herald: Winston Peters calls Ryan Bridge’s coalition query a ‘w***er question’ during on-air interview
Stuff: ‘Sliding towards 25%’: Winston Peters attacks ‘desperate’ National
RNZ: Peters chafes at ‘w****r question’, bemoans ‘career politicians’
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Does National want to win electorate seats? Electorate success could expel senior MPs
Sam Smith (Stuff): Five times politicians attacked, defended, and ducked claims of fiscal holes
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Chlöe Swarbrick says Greens ‘rolling with punches’, ‘transparent’, as it issues another correction (paywalled)
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): Labour takes huge election gamble
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Electoral fantasy vs what will actually happen
Stuff: ‘I did not complain’: Louise Upston says she only sought rule clarification over Stuff photo
Asia Pacific Report: Why NZ’s ‘Free Palestine’ party seeks to put Gaza genocide at centre of politics
Chris Lynch: Why the media is obsessed with TOP
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): Let’s put the ‘demos’ back in democracy
Chris Trotter: Holding Back the Revolution (paywalled)

GOVERNMENT
Luke Malpass (Post): Why Christopher Luxon outlasted Keir Starmer (paywalled)
RNZ: Christopher Luxon wishes UK’s Keir Starmer well after resignation announcement
Azaria Howell (Herald): $200 All Blacks jersey gifted to Marco Rubio from Foreign Minister Winston Peters
Adam Pearse (Herald): Investigation into Human Rights Commissioner Stephen Rainbow in regard to conduct concerns
RNZ: Human Rights Commission head to be investigated over conduct
Inside Government: Ombudsman’s survey blows whistle on disclosure retaliation
NBR: A third of whistleblowers say they lost their job as a result (paywalled)
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): The pain points for public service job cuts (paywalled)

KIWISAVER, SUPERANNUATION AND TAX
Herald: Editorial: KiwiSaver reform needs to be lasting (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour says superannuation is sustainable without changes, Treasury warns that may cost billions of dollars in tax or debt (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): ACT against compulsory KiwiSaver - but won’t call it a bottom line (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Nicola Willis responds to equity concerns over KiwiSaver, Super mix, saying ‘we can have both’ (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘Fundamental issues’ need to be addressed with National’s KiwiSaver policy, Labour says
Greg Smith (Herald): How a 12% KiwiSaver rate reshapes retirement saving – Generate Wealth Weekly
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): How KiwiSaver could give kids tens of thousands of dollars
Mandy Te (Interest): Early KiwiSaver withdrawals hit $243 million in May
Mandy Te (Interest): Luxon says National’s KiwiSaver policy for the self-employed is ‘fair and reasonable’
Anna Whyte (Interest): Politicians want New Zealanders to save this election, but can they save themselves?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): The Super bill is staggering. See how much it costs us in the time it takes to read this article
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Seymour thinks Peters could be convinced to support raising retirement age
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Money looms large in election as National, Greens set out economic policies
Henry Cooke (Post): Calculator: How the Green Party’s tax policy would impact you (paywalled)
Grant Duncan: MMP: Is it a problem?

THE FAILED IMMIGRATION IT PROJECT
Adam Pearse (Herald): Michael Heron KC to lead review into immigration IT upgrade scandal
Nick James (Post): Michael Heron heads inquiry into whether officials misled ministers over failed $33m project (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): MBIE officials told MPs they were re-working the $33m immigration upgrade. The project was already dead
Justin Hu (1News): Claim Parliament may have been misled over failed $33m govt IT project
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Public service commissioner outlines scope of IT upgrade inquiry
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Immigration New Zealand head didn’t tell select committee $35m IT project had been axed
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Failed IT project: Greens question what would have happened if it had continued

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KIWISAVER AND SUPERANNUATION
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Labour rules out changing superannuation settings if elected
Andrea Vance (Post): Poll shows overwhelming support for compulsory KiwiSaver (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): The beginning of the end of NZ Super? Eight unanswered questions on National’s about-face on KiwiSaver (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Christopher Luxon keen for cross-party support on compulsory KiwiSaver
Damien Venuto (Stuff): There’s a fly in National’s KiwiSaver ointment – and it’s one John Key put there in 2008
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Workers could wear cost of National’s proposed KiwiSaver changes - business leaders
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): The pros and cons of National’s KiwiSaver plan
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): The Super bill keeps growing: Can KiwiSaver bring down the cost?
Stuff: PM wants politics out of KiwiSaver changes, while Winston says National blatantly stole policy
ODT: Editorial: Thinking about tomorrow (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): 12 percent KiwiSaver contribution rate could be too much, actuaries say
1News: Nats’ KiwiSaver proposals ‘big gift’ for financial services sector - Seymour
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): New tool to make KiwiSaver hardship process easier
Mandy Te (Interest): National eyes consultation with employers & employees about KiwiSaver & total remuneration packages
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): National ‘open to considering’ end to total remuneration pay
David Chaplin (BusinessDesk): Make me love you: compulsive KiwiSaver behaviour (paywalled)

TAX POLICY AND THE ELECTION
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Greens release tax plan, but nothing goes to plan
Justin Hu (1News): Greens correct $800m tax policy error, Swarbrick calls it a ‘typo’
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Tax changes: What’s been suggested so far?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): The global ideas behind the Greens’ tax plan (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Green tax plan taps anger over assets, wages and inequality (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): The Greens have made another mistake with their new tax policy
No Right Turn: Time to tax the rich
Steven Cowan: Labour rejects the Green Party’s tax policy. Where does that leave the Greens?
Mandy Te (Interest): Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says the only tax policy Labour will campaign on is its capital gains tax
Ani O’Brien: Tall Poppy Economics: the politics of envy won’t make New Zealand rich
1News: Chlöe Swarbrick pressed on how wealth, inheritance taxes would work

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Geoffrey Palmer and Andrew Butler (Newsroom): Twelve policy questions to ask political parties ahead of the election
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): All the times National has trashed its own campaign policies
Max Rashbrooke (Spinoff): One of Brooke van Velden’s final acts as a politician will also be her most dangerous
Hanna McCallum (Newsroom): Seymour eyes bigger portfolios and more deregulation
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): ‘Riding the gravy train’: Why our politicians are no longer us
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Greens up on every measure in IPSOS polling
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Money looms large in election as National, Greens set out economic policies
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): A coalition house divided cannot stand … each other
Veronica Schmidt (Spinoff): The Beehive reno: Party leaders draw up their wishlists
Dale Husband (Waatea News): John Tamihere says Te Pāti Māori focused on unity, candidates and Māori survival
Anna Fifield: How Singapore built its success on a strong public service
Chris Trotter (Interest): Heading for the bathtub

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
Alexia Russell (Newsroom): Bold report maps path to utopia, but is anyone listening?
Aimee Shaw (Post): Three things the struggling hospitality industry wants from the next Government (paywalled)
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Are Golden Visa holders stingy or do the rules stymie charitable donation? (paywalled)
Mary Watson-Burton (Newsroom): As the cash reserves run out, who would bet on NZ’s racing industry?
Rob Campbell (Newsroom): Time to throw off the self-imposed shackles of GDP growth
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Costa Rica and NZ: Saving the international trade system (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Critical minerals pact stuck on price floor (paywalled)
Tim Hunter (NBR): Opportunity for Maari field as Echelon exits Cue (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Rural set to drive New Zealand’s economic recovery (paywalled)
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): Budget chain muscles in on Les Mills as NZ’s biggest gym earner (paywalled)
Jarrod Kerr (Post): Economy in the balance: NZ hopes for a ‘glad-flationary’ reversal of fortunes (paywalled)
Chris Keall (Herald): Movac venture capital fund raises $185m as golden visa investors, NZ Super Fund and Ngāi Tahu chip in (paywalled)
RNZ: Three rūnanga partner with global giant for Lyttelton Port bid
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): EU tax plan catches big New Zealand steel and aluminium exporters

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NATIONAL’S KIWISAVER AND RETIREMENT POLICY
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): National to make KiwiSaver compulsory, if elected
Jamie Ensor (Herald): National launches new KiwiSaver policies as Simeon Brown compares NZ First, Act to children
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Can New Zealanders really afford compulsory KiwiSaver?
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Retirement: National giveth with one hand and might yet take away with the other
Luke Malpass (Post): National embrace of compulsory KiwiSaver could make a new New Zealand capitalism (paywalled)
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): National steals KiwiSaver crown
Justin Hu (1News): KiwiSaver mandated for all workers if National re-elected
Richard Harman (Politik): Can superannuation save the Nats list MPs (paywalled)
NBR: National outlines KiwiSaver election policy (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): National pledges to make KiwiSaver compulsory, increase combined contribution rates to 12%
Henry Cooke (Post): National to campaign on making KiwiSaver compulsory (paywalled)
David Farrar: National proposes compulsory KiwiSaver
Henry Cooke (Post): Calculator: What National’s compulsory KiwiSaver could mean for you and your child (paywalled)
Mandy Te (Interest): NZ Society of Actuaries group suggests 6% KiwiSaver contributions could be excessive for low wage earners
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): KiwiSaver withdrawal: Looming redundancy, separation not good enough reasons
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): National’s KiwiSaver plan tests the Right’s old savings scepticism (paywalled)
Nick Leggett (Post): The KiwiSaver earthquake that could reshape New Zealand’s future (paywalled)
Fraser Whineray (Post): Building KiwiSaver for the next generation (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Post): Code S: An easy and equitable solution to the NZ super problem, says leading economist (paywalled)
Liam Hehir: National Bets on Delayed Gratification
IDEA: Three-quarters of NZers back Kids KiwiSaver (paywalled)

GREENS’ TAX POLICY
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Greens take aim at the ‘cost of greed’ with $32b wealth and big tech tax plan
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Greens propose wealth, corporate, and inheritance taxes to fund income tax changes
Henry Cooke (Post): Greens to campaign on smaller wealth tax alongside inheritance tax and new top tax rate (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Greens’ tax plan released online early, sees party dramatically rein in ambitions
Mandy Te (Interest): Green Party would make the first $10,000 people earn each year tax free
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Minister pressed to go after Big Tech over tax instead of small debtors
Paul McBeth: What’s wealth got to do with it?

ELECTION, PARTIES AND CAMPAIGN
Jo Moir (RNZ): National pitches itself as the party focused on the future
Jamie Ensor (Herald): National may be playing happy at party conference, but senior MPs’ futures are at risk (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): National’s Simeon Brown discourages members from strategic voting
Amanda Gillies (Newsroom): Campaign lobbying aimed at the ears of farmers
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): Fiscal discipline takes a back seat as parties target traditional bases (paywalled)
James Ball (1News): Peters fires back, Seymour calls for unity after Nats ‘Mum and Dad’ dig
Joel Kulasingham (Herald): Labour pitches to renters, Act chases Joe Rogan fans in social media ads
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Who’s your daddy? National’s family meeting has a coalition problem
Anna Whyte (Interest): Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis hopeful of better economic times ahead as election nears
Herald: International reaction to Dame Jacinda Ardern’s renewed New Zealand republic comments
Michael Swanson: Has the Campaign Already Started?
Peter L Collins: Quit Whinging – work at the fix.
Verity Johnson (Stuff): Why I want Winston Peters to star in my burlesque show
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Never Write Off Te Pāti Māori

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ELECTION 2026: CONFERENCES, CAMPAIGN AND THE PARTIES
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): ‘This election will be tight’: National kicks off 2026 campaign at party conference
Jamie Ensor (Herald): National targets Labour at conference, as Christopher Luxon heaps praise on Chris Bishop, Erica Stanford fan club emerges
Henry Cooke (Sunday Star Times): ‘Not good enough’: National president Sylvia Wood says her party must beat Labour’s party vote (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly: National members ‘nervously optimistic’ about election campaign
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): National rallies members at AGM, Labour rises in polls
Henry Cooke (Sunday Star Times): National’s Andrew Bayly to stand down at election (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Former National minister Andrew Bayly to leave Parliament, says he decided not to seek list position
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): National MP Andrew Bayly to leave politics after 12 years
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Greens’ new tax plan: how Chlöe Swarbrick wants to tackle the ‘cost of greed’ crisis
Maxine Jacobs (Sunday Star Times): Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg defends Christchurch Airport valet parking, citing time constraints travelling (paywalled)

ELECTION COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): My verdict on Labour’s alleged ‘hidden bill’ – and your chance to see if you can make the spending add up (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): NZ First’s hard lesson in the difference between a 5% and 10% party (paywalled)
Vernon Small (Sunday Star Times): Why Winston Peters won’t play kingmaker to the left in 2026 (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Labour is going for warm fuzzies over policy substance (paywalled)
Damien Grant (Stuff): If Chris Luxon is proud of our nuclear-free position he should be honest about the hypocrisy
Ian Powell: When opportunity knocks for the Opportunity Party?
Herald: Editorial: Tax reform is beginning to emerge as a key election issue (paywalled)

PUBLIC SECTOR, JUSTICE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): What’s wrong with the public service?
Russell Palmer: Political machinations on show as Scrutiny Week comes up for review
Ethan Manera (Herald): Council reveals $26m sunk on scrapped Golden Mile project, how the ‘transformative’ plan failed (paywalled)
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): Public sector waste: Public servants must remember who they work for (paywalled)
Catherine Hutton (Herald): Wellington lawyer Stephen Franks pushes law change to curb activism in professional bodies
Phil Pennington: Powers v systems: Do police get more of one despite absence of the other?
Neil Reid (Herald): Gangs in prisons: Corrections moves to stop gang-led jail manipulation (paywalled)

TREATY, TE TIRITI AND MĀORI
Chris Finlayson KC (Sunday Star Times): ‘Friends, we are better than this’: Thoughts on the Treaty debate (paywalled)
Wayne Brown (Sunday Star Times): Bashing Māori representation is a cheap distraction from the real unelected bureaucrats ruling our lives (paywalled)
Philip Joseph (E-Tangata): The minister’s failure to act honourably
Morgan Godfery (E-Tangata): The enduring question of Te Tiriti
Lisa Te Morenga (E-Tangata): To swap or not to swap? The question for Māori voters

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PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Giles Dexter (RNZ): National election policy announcement expected as party gathers for AGM
Henry Cooke (Post): National gathers as sub-30 polling shadows party conference (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): What three years of polling data tells us about Election 2026 (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): New Zealand’s politics has a prosperity problem (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour offers hope while coalition counters with cold hard reality (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Revenue Minister Simon Watts clashes with Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick on whether big tech companies are paying enough tax in NZ (paywalled)
Emily Simpson (1News): I’m generally a swing voter but I know which Chris I’d choose to be PM
Kate Newton (RNZ): Chris Bishop defends new Ministry under scrutiny
1News: Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke confirms party, decries ‘tribalism’
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Labour’s “splash the cash” mentality will solve nothing
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): I’m not sure about the Oprah-fication of Labour’s policies
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Winston Peters defends Shane Jones’ travel cost blowout, says cabinet approved cheaper ones
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: The scores, scrapes and sparks of scrutiny week
Leah McFall (Listener): In an election year, hair matters (paywalled)

PUBLIC SERVICE, MBIE AND MP PERKS
Janet Wilson (Post): The big tech fail: Anger at MBIE is justified, but there are more risks for govt (paywalled)
Peter Dunne: Public Service and the sustenance of democracy
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Frantic scrutiny of MBIE (paywalled)
ODT: How to set MP perks while rest struggle (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Policy costings, immigration scandal, political consensus (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Can the Government digitise its way to a smaller public service? (paywalled)

CONSERVATION LAND AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Spat erupts in Parliament over proposal to sell off conservation land
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Labour asks for comfort, Potaka asks for trust in preserving public land
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Coromandel mining loophole an ‘unintended consequence’
Science Media Centre: Public land up for sale under the Conservation Amendment Bill – Expert Reaction
Science Media Centre: Should we worry about bottom trawling? – Expert Q&A

MĀORI, TE TIRITI AND CROWN LAND
Dominic O’Sullivan (Listener): Haere rā the crown, farewell ‘partnership’: Māori political scientist Dominic O’Sullivan on why te tiriti debate needs a change of language (paywalled)
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): New Zealand First’s campaign to scrap Independent Māori Statutory Board ‘just dumb racist stuff’ - mayor
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Major Treaty case over compulsory return of Crown land heads to top court
Sam Smith (Stuff): Future of disputed piece of Auckland land still undecided six years after Crown sale

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FISHERIES BILL AND ORCA DEATHS
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Controversial fishing bill not dead in the water (for now): Shane Jones blames ‘disharmony’
Andrea Vance (Post): Controversial fisheries bill delayed as Shane Jones declares war on recreational fishers (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Controversial fisheries bill abandoned, minister cites ‘disharmony’ in Parliament
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Controversial fisheries amendment Bill delayed after Shane Jones request
Andrea Vance (Post): Rare orca deaths in set-nets trigger urgent fisheries review (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): One of two dead orcas found in bycatch incidents was in Kaikōura whale sanctuary
RNZ: Video of orca deaths shows fisheries monitoring, enforcement works - Minister Shane Jones

SHANE JONES TRAVEL EXPENSES
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): ‘Provoke the matua at your peril’ Shane Jones warns, as criticism flies over $63k trip
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Shane Jones’ luxury flights booked weeks before Cabinet approved cheaper ones
Harriet Laughton (Post): ‘Significant errors’: Nicola Willis lashes Shane Jones over $30k travel overspend on limo (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Winston Peters defends Shane Jones’ $63k travel bill including private limo on standby for 24 hours
Henry Cooke (Post): Scrutiny week fails to move the expenses story on (paywalled)
Isaac Davison (Stuff): A brief history of politicians’ perks (and why they’re so hard to understand)
Stuff: We asked the party leaders one question about MPs’ pay. This is what they said

CONSERVATION LAND, MINING AND FAST-TRACK
Jessica Hopkins (RNZ): Forest & Bird calls on government to change bill that could open Coromandel up to mining
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Coromandel mining loophole an ‘unintended consequence’
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Spat erupts in Parliament over proposal to sell off conservation land
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Labour asks for comfort, Potaka asks for trust in preserving public land
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Major Treaty case over return of Crown land heads to top court
Steve Hepburn (ODT): Lobbyists struggling to afford Santana fast-track process (paywalled)
Ian Taylor (Stuff): Shane Jones wanted Fast-track to move faster, not ask questions
Charley-Kai John (ODT): ‘Savagery’ slammed after death threats (paywalled)
Tim Hunter (NBR): In praise of a fast-track panel (paywalled)

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Kate Newton (RNZ): Chris Bishop defends new Ministry under scrutiny
Anna Whyte (Interest): Inside the ‘once in 40 year opportunity to redesign and reinvent’ the public service
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Poll of polls: Gap narrows between coalition and opposition as The Opportunity Party rises (paywalled)
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Independent assessment of parties’ spending plans would stop this tedious fiscal farce
Felix Walton (RNZ): Cuts to domestic violence centre ‘don’t go far enough’, says advocate
RNZ: Vote against protections for gig workers ‘embarrassing’
Richard Harman: Why the Nats are putting the boot into NZ 1st (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Police say nothing stopping FENZ from ‘investing in their own helicopter’ after frontline tensions
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Another Labour health policy where the numbers don’t add up
Chris Trotter (ODT): Picking the radical as the Left-Right culture war rages on (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Defence not buying any killer drones, MPs hear
Derek Cheng (Herald): New Zealand Defence Force land combat capability falls to 45%, minister blames poor facilities as ‘imperfect’
RNZ: ‘World-first’ system will monitor New Zealand’s critical underwater cables
RNZ: ‘Indahouse’: Winston Peters quotes Ali G in Parliament
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Winston Peters clashes with Palestine protestors at Parliament
Neil Sands (LawNews): Shane Jones rails against Supreme Court ‘adventurism’: ‘We’ll take this to the election’
Audrey Young (Herald): The truth about Labour’s ‘hidden bill’ as Nicola Willis goes on attack (paywalled)
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): New Zealand First to campaign on scrapping Independent Māori Statutory Board
Te Ao News: NZ First campaigning to scrap Auckland’s Independent Māori Statutory Board
Corey Fleming (Herald): Meet Michel Mulipola - the Green Party candidate body-slamming opponents on weekends (paywalled)
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Police Minister Mark Mitchell hits out at character attacks over Naidoo candidacy
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Paul Goldsmith on being a victim of Tova O’Brien
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): Why has National had a fiscal crack at Labour so early?
Blayne Slabbert (Post): Luxon wants government out of the way — and delivering more (paywalled)

IMMIGRATION NZ IT SCANDAL
David Fisher (Herald): Immigration NZ’s IT meltdown: ‘If you whistle-blow, you’ll never work again’ - former insider reveals what it was like inside the $30m disaster (paywalled)
Herald: Immigration scandal: Winston Peters accuses MBIE officials of ‘constructive theft’ from public over failed tech project
Natalia Albert: What is the right question about the Immigration NZ saga?

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IMMIGRATION NZ AND PUBLIC SERVICE INTEGRITY
Adam Pearse (RNZ): Immigration scandal: Winston Peters says officials who misled ministers, avoided Cabinet should lose jobs and be imprisoned
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Fears about failing IT project kept under the radar, sidelined staff
Alexia Russell (RNZ): Immigration’s bungled tech upgrade - there could be more missing millions
Henry Cooke (Post): Senior team involved in Immigration IT scandal may still be in public service (paywalled)
Herald: Editorial: Public servants must show us why politicians and the public can trust them (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial: Immigration IT debacle (paywalled)
1News: ‘Diametrically opposed to the truth’: Stanford on botched $33m IT project
Herald: MBIE chief defends Immigration NZ staff integrity after minister claims officials misled her
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Heads could roll at Immigration NZ as Public Service Commissioner investigates integrity
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Winston Peters wants to see prison terms for Immigration officials
Poppy Clark (Stuff): Public Service Commissioner slams ‘complete lack of integrity’ in MBIE failure, says rebuilding ministerial trust ‘quite the task’
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Why $33M down the drain doesn’t surprise me
Stuff: Winston Peters says government officials who mislead ministers should be ‘put in prison’

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The NBR Rich List and the political donations of the very wealthy
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Private limo on standby for 24 hours part of Shane Jones’ $63k travel bill
Charlie Mitchell (Post): What does it really cost to employ a Cabinet minister? (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Review of Public Service Commission’s social media adverts could cost up to $67k
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Costings unit a good idea, big parties agree - but how could it work?
Derek Cheng (Herald): Coalition checklist: 500 police, GE laws, stronger electronic monitoring among commitments up in the air (paywalled)
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): Ministers must hold regulators to account (paywalled)
Newsroom: Seymour sells his red tape ministry – but who reaps the rewards?
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Do we really need another special unit that costs more money?
Stuff: Greens surge could lift left bloc into government in latest political poll
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Surge in Greens’ support could put left bloc into government - poll
Michael Swanson: The Map Has Changed
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Labour have no idea
Henry Cooke (Post): Speaker proposes Parliament sit more - and Beehive might need to be vacated for 18 months of renos (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘Can’t be put off forever’: Beehive could be vacated for up to 18 months for repairs
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Speaker says Beehive may need to be vacated, Parliament should sit longer
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Vacating Beehive for upgrade could be option, Speaker Gerry Brownlee says
Rachel Pannett (BusinessDesk): Brooke van Velden defends small business safety reforms amid ACC cost fears (paywalled)
Keiller MacDuff (RNZ): Pike River campaigners ‘bloody angry’ about planned workplace safety law

ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
RNZ: Maps reveal where conservation land could be sold off after government reforms
Jen Purdie (Herald): Ask 20-year-olds, not Winston Peters, if we can afford to exit the Paris climate agreement (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Finance Minister grilled on emissions reductions plan (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt to quietly scrap looming ban on coal boilers
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Iwi leader Mike Smith asks UN to intervene before government introduces new climate law
Ian Taylor (ODT): Doubting Thomas or just asking? (paywalled)

FIRE AND EMERGENCY NZ (FENZ)
Andrea Vance (Post): Brooke van Velden slams FENZ spending, launches major reform of ‘unfair’ levy system (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Minister ‘shocked’ by relaxed approach taken to public accountability by government agencies
NBR: Half-century-old Fenz funding model under scrutiny (paywalled)
Stuff: Government to review how our fire service is funded

HEALTH
Tim Tenbensel, Bill Rosenberg, Jacqueline Cumming and Paula Lorgelly (The Conversation): NZ’s health spending isn’t enough for current, let alone future needs – we’ve calculated the shortfall
Kate Green (RNZ): Politicians clash over best way to fix health system
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao News): Simeon Brown accused of political interference over Medical Council chair decision
Jenny Carryer (Post): Cultural safety is not ‘inappropriate ideology’ - it’s critical to effective health care (paywalled)
RNZ: Government announces more funding for pharmacies to prescribe common treatments
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Minister says ACC turnaround showing early signs of progress (paywalled)
ODT: Hospital ‘Band-Aid’ solutions decried (paywalled)
Jane Phare (Herald): Andrew Barnes donates $22.7m to breast cancer research after his partner’s terminal diagnosis (paywalled)

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IMMIGRATION NZ TECHNOLOGY SCANDAL
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Heads could roll at Immigration NZ as Public Service Commissioner investigates integrity
Adam Pearse (Herald): ‘Furious’ minister reveals officials misled her, knowingly avoided Cabinet over ‘doomed’ immigration project, millions wasted
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Immigration officials ‘deliberately withheld’ information on failed technology upgrade
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Immigration minister ‘furious’ at being ‘misled’ over $33m border project that delivered nothing in seven years
Adam Pearse (Herald): Staff dismissals likely for public servants implicated in immigration project scandal – Public Service Commissioner
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Inside the Immigration NZ $33.4m IT biometric upgrade with NEC that became a case study in failure (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Post): Watchdog to investigate after $33m immigration tech project collapses, delivering nothing (paywalled)
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Immigration project wasted millions, finances remain unclear|
RNZ: Scrutiny week brings Immigration NZ’s integrity failings into focus, will it be the only agency?
Anna Whyte (Interest): Probe underway into ‘trifecta of terrible things’, transport funding overhaul and free maternity scans promised
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Don’t trifle with Erica Stanford

PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The $129 billion political class
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): ‘A profoundly unusual job’: How do MPs’ perks compare?
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Green Party surge in new poll puts left bloc ahead of coalition
Henry Cooke (Post): New poll has Labour in Government - and Opportunity closer to 5% (paywalled)
Michael Swanson: National and the 2026 Election
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Labour ‘confident’ in capital gains tax revenue, won’t say what it’ll do if it makes less than expected (paywalled)
Jane Yee (Herald): Could an independent parliamentary budget office make policy costs clearer?
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Simeon Brown and the Mission Creep Problem
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Social media ban law a couple of weeks away, but ACT and NZ First not quite on board yet
Paul James (Herald): In defence of the DIA managing NZ’s age verification plans
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Children’s Minister Karen Chhour won’t say how many still in government’s bootcamps
Kate Langdon (Spinoff): Remember back when you were proud to be a New Zealander?
Māni Dunlop and Lineni Tuitupou (Te Ao News): Goldsmith rejects claims Crown-Māori relations are worsening and describes them as in ‘good-shape’
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): NZ First offers gene tech carrot to sceptical voters
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Jones wants to strip fast-track powers from environmental regulator

PUBLIC SECTOR
Henry Cooke (Post): Is a public sector this bad at big complicated things really going to thrive with AI? (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Goldsmith defends undocumented conversations with Crown board chairs (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Business of Government: Public service numbers up, Naidoo outrage and more (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): David Seymour extolls virtues of Ministry for Regulation (paywalled)
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Post): The balancing act when public servants want to become politicians (paywalled)
Elspeth McLean (ODT): There is more to solving OIA issues than using AI (paywalled)
Māni Dunlop and Lineni Tuitupou (Te Ao Māori News): ‘How many whānau are waiting?’ MPs press officials on Whānau Ora demand and success measures

TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Russell Palmer (RNZ): 30-year ‘Infrastructure Plan’ backed by Parliament
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Government accepts Infrastructure Commissioner’s national plan recommendations (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): Government backs review into under-pressure transport funding in infrastructure plan (paywalled)
Nick James (Post): Risk emergency fund to fix roads could run dry after another major event (paywalled)
Amanda Gillies (RNZ): The political battle over Labour’s transport policy
Timothy Welch (The Conversation): Cheaper fares won’t fix NZ’s public transport woes – and neither will a few extra buses
Sammy Carter (RNZ): Residents question why Eastbourne ferry included in Labour’s transport cap
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Simeon Brown deemed speed limit cuts ‘anti-car ideology’ – a new analysis shows they saved lives
Darren Davis: Trains to Tauranga: What needs to happen?

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