INTEGRITY ISSUES
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): ‘Nakedly political’: No rivals considered for Judith Collins’ new job
Chris Trotter (ODT): Time to throw caution to the wind and capture lightning (paywalled)
Chris Knox (Herald): Parliament’s Speaker Gerry Brownlee has been incorrectly declaring his property ownership for two decades (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Rot at the top
Andrea Vance (Post): Paul Eagle to quit Chatham Islands council amid auditor-general probe (paywalled)
ENERGY AND LNG TERMINAL
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Luxon has done a poor job of selling $1b LNG terminal and India trade deal (paywalled)
Basil Sharp (Post): LNG plan needs a closer look - the details don’t bode well (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): LNG levy: Gas charges ‘likely be passed on to’ consumers, extent of power bill reduction open to ‘market dynamics’, officials warned (paywalled)
RNZ: LNG plan sparks showdown in parliament
Ian Wright, Andy Nicol and Paul Viskovic (The Conversation): Natural hydrogen can make decarbonising industry cheaper – NZ’s turbulent geology could give it an edge
Jamie Morton (Newsroom): NZ needs to pay power firms to build renewable generation – professor
Tim Hunter (NBR): Yes, a levy is a tax, even if it’s for LNG (paywalled)
Richard Prebble: Labour’s gas ban was reckless and they are promising to do it again
WELLINGTON SEWAGE DISASTER
Amelia Wade and Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington sewage spill: Andrew Little pushes ministers for sweeping review of Moa Point failure (paywalled)
Sammy Carter (Herald): Wellington sewage: Ex councillor claims Wellington Water ‘plagued with failure’
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington sewage spill: First check of Moa Point damage expected by week’s end (paywalled)
Ethan Manera (Herald): Sewage plant failure: Officials silent as Wellington Water says warning signs may have been missed
Scoop: What they’re saying about sewage
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Water asset transfer to be renegotiated after Moa Point failure, mayor says (paywalled)
GOVERNMENT
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Coalition promises to snuff out feared ‘water tax’ for farmers
Azaria Howell (Herald): Cabinet removes te reo Māori name of school lunches scheme
Louis Collins (RNZ): Public Service Amendment Bill reignites diversity debate
Henry Cooke (Post): Hazard insurance levy ‘needs to go up’ but Government won’t hike it for now (paywalled)
RNZ: Government increases New Zealand space launch limit to 1000
MĀORI SEATS REFERENDUM POLICY
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Māori seats referendum a Treaty Principles-sized headache for Luxon
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): New Zealand First to campaign on Māori seats referendum
Julia Gabel (Herald): Winston Peters calls for referendum on Māori seats after Peeni Henare loss, Te Pāti Māori behaviour
Harriet Laughton (Post): NZ First to campaign on Māori seats referendum (paywalled)
ECONOMIC POLICY
RNZ: Retirement age will rise to cover superannuation cost, investment company predicts
Natalia Albert: Every roads leads to productivity: Notes from the 2026 NZ Economic Forum
Henry Cooke (Post): Nicola Willis says her key investment policy won’t work without Labour backing it (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): CAANZ backs Nicola Willis, says fears of Labour reversal stalls NZ business investments (paywalled)
Luke Malpass and Henry Cooke (Post): NZ Economic Forum: Warnings of ‘silver tsunami’ coming for Govt spending (paywalled)
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Tax policy to boost capital investment has yet to gain wide traction (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Paying for super; immigration won’t do it (paywalled)
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): The unemployment crisis (that isn’t) (paywalled)
RESERVE BANK
Michael Reddell: A very poor start by the Governor
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Winston Peters didn’t get advice on Reserve Bank Governor letter before complaining she didn’t get advice before signing (paywalled)
Andy Macdonald (BusinessDesk): Reserve Bank of NZ updates on new Financial Policy Committee (paywalled)
COVID SPENDING REVIEW
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Reserve Bank review set for completion in September, originally due to be done by March
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): I would love a dispassionate, clear-headed analysis of the Covid response
Andrew Dickson: The Review that reviews Itself
Ryan Ward: Anatomy of a hit piece
MT MAUNGANUI INQUIRY
Kim Baker Wilson (RNZ): ‘Hundreds of thousands’ of files to be reviewed in council-led Mt Maunganui inquiry
Adam Pearse (Herald): Govt confirms it will launch inquiry into fatal Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa landslides
Harriet Laughton (Post): Government launches inquiry into fatal Mount Maunganui landslide (paywalled)
HEALTH
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Health NZ shrugs off red ratings for big hospital builds
Kate Green (RNZ): Vape stores within stores allowing retailers to get around flavour restrictions
RNZ: How accessible are nangs? An RNZ investigation found out
Herald: Editorial – Nitrous oxide nangs: Government needs to take action now (paywalled)
Doug Laing (Herald): Nang sanctions are tough for a reason – Health Minister Simeon Brown
Ian Powell: Political interference in regulatory authorities threatens health and safety of the public
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Mercy Hospital for sale (paywalled)
Joanne Naish (Post): ‘An embarrassing U-turn’: Health NZ drops plan to charge to park at hospitals after backlash (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington mayor Andrew Little signals reduction in commercial rate multiplier (paywalled)
Brent Melville (NBR): Property developers pulling back plans due to council bureaucracy (paywalled)
Bryce Wilkinson (Herald): Granny flat red tape changes shifts risk from councils onto homeowners (paywalled)
Kelly Makiha (Herald): Kāinga Ora to sell Fenton St, Rotorua transitional housing site after $11m spend
MINING
Fox Meyer and Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Seabed mining firm hits back; agrees to not export critical minerals to China
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Critical minerals and seabed mining: New Zealand’s high-stakes trade dilemma
Ian Taylor (ODT): Show we can trust the fast track
ODT: Editorial – Let the panel do its work (paywalled)
INDIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Delicate dance over India trade deal as Labour sets its price
Martin Van Beynen (Post): New Zealand’s FTA with India - who gets the benefits? (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Here’s everything we know, don’t know, or don’t know if we know, about the India FTA
CARTOONS