GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Matt Nippert (Herald: New Zealand slips off least-corrupt podium
Pattrick Smellie and Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Business of Govt: corruption, transparency and purgatory (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): David Seymour’s 48 hours under fire
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Has David Seymour gone mad? (paywalled)
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: David Seymour is a very naughty boy
Jo Moir (RNZ): 'They all got sacked' - PM scores own goal at Question Time
Jo Moir (RNZ): National MPs play down row with ACT's David Seymour
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Mark Mitchell: David Seymour should have gone to police watchdog instead of writing letter of support for Polkinghorne
RNZ: Luxon needs to rein in Seymour over 'three ring circus' - Hipkins
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Seymour is the fly in Luxon's ointment
1News: Seymour has 'very positive' meeting with PM amid letter disagreement
Sam Smith (RNZ): David Seymour meets with PM after war of words over Polkinghorne letter
RNZ: Seymour won't be punished by Parliament for Land Rover stunt, but police charges possible
1News: Speaker expresses 'strong displeasure' at Seymour's Land Rover stunt
Luke Malpass (Post): Seymour and Luxon: coalition partners, not political soulmates (paywalled)
Richard Pebble (Herald): Govt should embrace artificiaI intelligence to tackle NZ’s $15b payment fraud problem (paywalled)
Mountain Tui: Who Does Shane Jones work for? "Woke" Banks have $132m exposure to risky petrol stations
Elizabeth Allen: Preaching the gospel of neo-libertarianism Part I
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Collins calls for culture of 'Yes Minister, but...'
Audrey Young (Herald): Judith Collins warns public service chiefs to show respect to taxpayers
Anna Whyte (Post): Yes Minister: Judith Collins talks tough to public service bosses (paywalled)
Louise Ternouth (RNZ): Ex-public servants still searching for work after last year's public sector cuts
POLLS
1News: Poll: How confident are Kiwis in Willis delivering economic growth?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): National faces historically bad polling. Here’s what that means for the Government
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): First polls of 2025 show coalition losing
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand government loses ground in polls as economic concerns grow
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Front Page: Left bloc gains as coalition struggles amid voter discontent, Luxon-Seymour relationship
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Poor polls and ‘political sideshows’ distract from government’s growth message
1News: Christopher Luxon responds to National's poll hit
Sam Smith (Stuff): Poll results a reflection of ‘economic pain’ of Kiwis, Luxon says
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): Luxon is driver of a car full of impatient children
SALVATION ARMY STATE OF THE NATION REPORT
Felix Walton (RNZ): 'Things have got tougher' - Salvation Army releases latest State of the Nation report
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Five key takeaways from the Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report
Harriet Laughton (Post): ‘An absolute travesty’: Salvation Army report paints grim picture of NZ’s challenges (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Life has got worse for those on benefits and low incomes (paywalled)
ECONOMY, WEALTH VISA, TAXES, PRIVATISATION
Girol Karacaoglu (Interest): The case for the wellbeing framework
Craig Renney: Luxon dreams of development
Simon Wilson (Herald): Helpful ideas for Christopher Luxon as we ‘go for growth’ (paywalled)
David Chaplin (BusinessDesk): Money planet: the new cut-price billionaire-backpacker routes to NZ (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Inside Economics: The return of ‘voodoo economics’ - do lower taxes generate more revenue? (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): PM's summit hastens new overseas investor regime (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): How to attract foreign investment in infrastructure projects (paywalled)
Lachlan Colquhoun (NBR): Privatisation: the good, the bad, and the ugly (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Erica Stanford brainstorming ideas to bring back Chinese tourists
Herald Editorial: Local brain drain coming as Govt focuses on foreigners (paywalled)
RNZ: Economic outlook brighter for 2025 with 2.5% growth forecast - Westpac
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE
Anna Powles (Post): NZ’s challenge in a fast-changing Pacific (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Colonialism towards the Cook Islands
Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): China: Cook Islands' relationship with Beijing 'should not be restrained'
1News: China says Cook Islands' PM visit isn't meant to antagonise
Gordon Campbell (Scoop): On Surviving The 47th US President
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Trump’s war on aid casts shadow over Pacific
Chris Ogden (The Conversation): As Trump abandons the old world order, NZ must find its place in a new ‘Pax Autocratica’
Jason Young (Newsroom): NZ should be worried about China’s trade statistics
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): NZ and world about to discover how much protectionism ‘sucks’, economist says (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Tiwai smelter possible loser as Trump follows through on metals tariffs (paywalled)
HEALTH
John Campbell (1News): Will Simeon Brown fix our 'dire' health system? (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (RNZ): MPs debate Health NZ boss' early exit
Renee Liang (North & South): Lives and money: The dangerous business of health privatisation
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Te Whatu Ora says patient safety, privacy and security priority in data and digital changes
RNZ: Fluoride policy won't change - Health Minister
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): NZ First introduces bill seeking referendum on fluoride in drinking water
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Fluoridation debate heats up at Rotorua council meeting
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Why fluoridation is back in the spotlight
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Fears ageing hospital will fall apart (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): New tech at Hawke's Bay Hospital to be kept in buildings with low quake ratings
Rachel Judkins (Spinoff): Are New Zealanders getting lonelier?
Alexia Russell (RNZ): The Detail: Funding a good death
ENVIRONMENT, PRIMARY AND EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): 'World leading' climate disclosure rules likely to be weakened
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Locals fear a fast-tracked sand mining plan will turn Bream Bay’s pristine beaches to mud
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Illegally drained Kaimaumau Wetland recovery could take 10 years with 'very high' cost, says expert
1News: Small-scale Tasman wetlands tackle environmental restoration in bites
Kate Green (RNZ): DOC faces 30% shortfall in funding huts and tracks
Lois Williams (Local Democracy Reporting): West Coast council braces for new miners as gold price soars
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Prospectors home in on region, looking for gold in Otago (paywalled)
Adam Burns (Local Democracy Reporting): Firm behind controversial plan to build energy plant in Waimate no longer owns the land
ENERGY
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Shane Jones signals NZ First may break ranks with National on energy policy (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Frontier Economics to lead government's review of electricity markets
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Electricity sector reviewers appointed to bring 'fresh perspective'
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Smelter reboot tests gentailers’ appetite for renewables
Denise Piper (Herald): Meridian’s solar farm in Ruakākā, Northland, gets green light, wetlands protected
MĀORI-CROWN RELATIONS, TE AO MĀORI
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Labour open to considering Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti
Pokere Paewai (RNZ): 'No integrity': Backlash after post falsely claimed warriors at Waitangi had ankle monitors
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): Fake rūnanga photo draws the ire of Ngāpuhi chairperson
WATER
Audrey Young (Herald): Ngāi Tahu seeks greater control of water in crucial court case (paywalled)
David Williams (Newsroom): Iwi claim challenges parliamentary sovereignty, Crown says
Tina Law (Press): Proposed $15m Christchurch water provider could see households charged for use (paywalled)
Chris Lynch: Who should control Christchurch’s water?
Natalie Akoorie (RNZ): Water Bill makes the government 'the evil penguin' - Hamilton councillor
Stephen Ward (Waikato Times): City council backs Waikato-Tainui over Water Services Bill (paywalled)
Ava Whitworth (Stuff): Water dispute threatens to delay opening of new $100m Pak’nSave
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Harriet Laughton (Post): Social grants reviewed in wake of Government’s ‘pipes and potholes’ edict (paywalled)
Mike Lee (Herald): Moving Western Springs Speedway: The troubling background to Auckland Council’s flawed decision (paywalled)
RNZ: Christchurch councils proposes a 9 percent rates hike
Sinead Gill (Press): 'For the sake of democracy': Sydenham rezoning vote back with council (paywalled)
Linda Hall (Local Democracy Reporting): 16 homes in path of North Island town’s recommended floodways
André Chumko (Post): Movement on stalled Watts Peninsula plan ‒ finally (paywalled)
Justin Wong (Post): Ratepayer group takes Kāpiti council to court again (paywalled)
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Rural ward advocates make bid for representation
HOUSING
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Government taking too long to fulfill social home pledge - provider
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Kāinga Ora chief executive Matt Crockett announces tougher approach to rent debt
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Kāinga Ora announces new hard line on non-paying tenants
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): What is the average house value in your town?
Jack Barrett (The Conversation): Māori communities lead innovative ways of financing housing on ancestral lands
TRANSPORT
Max Frethey (Local Democracy Reporting): Principal welcomes U-turn on speed limit consultation
David Long (Stuff): Auckland Transport pushes back start of overnight parking charges - again
Herald: Auckland Transport delays CBD parking charges for another year, Heart of the City welcomes move
Nick James (RNZ): Auckland Transport delays charges for overnight street parking until March 2026
Luka Forman (RNZ): Hopes for sustainable aviation fuel industry to take off in New Zealand
RNZ: Gravel road debate: Council to further delay decision
INSURANCE
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Hawke’s Bay council next in gun as flood insurers pursue ‘negligence’
Ella Somers (Interest): Tower warns NZ insurance at risk without climate funding clarity
Rob Stock (Post): Tower to return $45 million to shareholders after stellar year (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): By the numbers: Insurance premium rises slow from dreadful to just a bit more than inflation (paywalled)
Ella Somers (Interest): Insurance costs keep climbing across NZ
BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT, BANKS
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government to phase in new unjustified dismissal rules
Rebecca Thomson (Post): Multiple interviews and competency tasks - the reality of job hunting (paywalled)
Karyn Scherer (NBR): Foodstuffs admits mis-steps in pushing merger proposal (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): On the Money: SkyCity, an Auckland Uni conspiracy, WellingTEN, and more
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Bank lending isn't ‘woke’, say critics of NZ First bill (paywalled)
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): ‘Woke banks’ row: Bank reveals $132m exposure to risky petrol stations
MEDIA
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Talley’s fights to uncover identities of secret sources in TVNZ news investigation (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): Facebook owner Meta in ‘early stages’ of scam protection for NZ (paywalled)
EDUCATION
Joanne Naish and Tatiana Gibbs (Press/Post): Schools frustrated by administration ‘debacle’ from new lunch programme - and ‘chatbot that doesn’t work’ (paywalled)
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): AI in schools 'something we can embrace'
Jack Riddell (Hawkes Bay Today): Desperate Hawke’s Bay dad teaches kids to hitchhike 45km due to school bus cut
OTHER
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Independent arbiter to determine Lake Alice torture redress for survivors
Sarah Daniell (Listener): Restorative justice: Rehabilitation advocates on why tough-on-crime policies won’t cut reoffending (paywalled)
Katie Ham (Post): Two days left for public submissions on new stalking legislation (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Hitting minor crimes with proactive policing is what’s needed to curb major crimes (paywalled)
Dane Giraud: Do prison reformers and free speech advocates want the same thing?
Sapeer Mayron (Sunday Star Times): ‘Eternal vigilance’: Why the rainbow community has to keep fighting (paywalled)
Juha Saarinen (Interest): 'I think we should embrace it;' Bayly spruiks crypto currency trading for NZ
1News: Remains of Moriori ancestors begin journey home from Australia
Mary Argue (RNZ): Text message authentication the worst way to stop cyber criminals - report
RNZ: The end of 3G in 2025 and the impact on your phone or tablet
Max Frethey (Local Democracy Reporting): Waimea Community Dam opens after 24 years with lessons to be learnt
Cartoons
It is funny watching all those people who are desperately waiting for the coalition govt. to fail. It makes cricket sledging look tame, as they try to milk every little wobble made by the Coalition.