The Democracy Project

The Democracy Project

News Briefing

News Briefing: 13 October 2026

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Bryce Edwards
Oct 12, 2026
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ELECTION 2026: CAMPAIGN AND POLITICS
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The Greens are learning to ride the populist wave
Elliot Crossan: Four Reasons Why the NZ Greens Are Surging
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The ‘looming disaster’ with two weeks to go till voting starts
RNZ: Explainer: What you need to know about the smaller political parties in this year’s election
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Surely the campaign will get better than this?
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Qiulae Wong fired a truth torpedo at National
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): ‘Their core beliefs are a long way to the left of their branding’: David Seymour on what he got wrong about National (paywalled)
Lucy Craymer (Reuters): Why the culture-war push is struggling in New Zealand, even as it surges elsewhere
Adam Pearse (Herald): Chris Hipkins plays policy pop quiz in Palmy, including if David Seymour is an ‘arrogant prick’
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): Split voting and overhangs won’t do us any good
Ani O’Brien (LawNews): Throwing a rare lifeline to the centre-right: should supporters split their vote?
Sam Smith (Stuff): First Winston, now Seymour doesn’t fancy Opportunity’s chances of getting into Parliament\
No Right Turn: TOP betrays its supporters
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): Paul Henry on Luxon: ‘He has not been successful as a PM’
Jim Sullivan (ODT): Politicians should mind their language if they want to win hearts, minds and votes (paywalled)
ODT: Act New Zealand policies (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): For a former govt statistician, this election counts more than ever
Robert G. Patman (The Conversation): Is NZ’s foreign policy ‘realism’ working? Why the next government faces a real choice
1News: Kingmakers to face off in TVNZ’s Multi-Party Debate
Audrey Young (Herald): Election 2026 Campaign Diary: Jacinda Ardern and John Key join the fray (paywalled)
Henry Oliver (Spinoff): John Key, Jacinda Ardern and the Election 2026 reunion tour

ELECTORATES, CANDIDATES AND VOTERS
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Can Ginny Andersen regain Hutt South – and maybe even knock Chris Bishop out of parliament?
Jessica Hopkins (RNZ): Auckland Central: Boundary changes, move-on orders shake up the race
Te Ao News: Labour loyalty runs deep in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, new poll shows
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): All Eyes on the Māori Seats: John Tamihere Defends Te Pāti Māori’s High-Stakes Election Strategy
Whatitiri Te Wake (Te Ao News): The election debate came to our marae – and the kōrero went deeper than politics
Alexa Cook (RNZ): Wairarapa candidates grilled on vaping, housing, meth and water storage
Brodie Stone (Herald): Q&A with Act Party’s Northland candidate Mark Cameron
George Heagney (Post): Campaign trail: Green candidate makes pitch in rural heartland (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘I don’t know how to vote’: The Chinese voters missing from New Zealand elections
Ke-Xin Li (RNZ): Māngere has one of the country’s lowest voter turnouts. We asked why
Layla Bailey-McDowell (RNZ): Youth advocates urge rangatahi to vote as homelessness concerns grow
Piers Fuller (Post): Spate of election hoarding vandalism targets National billboards (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Post): Why does the National Party have 22 signs on one Auckland fence? (paywalled)
Jack Marshall (Herald): NZTA says it will order Northcote election hoardings to come down after permission not sought
Zoe Blake (Herald): Tauranga election signs criticising coalition parties stolen within days

ELECTION 2026: FISCAL PLANS AND TAX
Jo Moir (RNZ): National hints at tax cuts - after 2029, as fiscal plan released
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National plays it safe with fiscal plan, but undermines transparency by not having numbers vetted (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National releases fiscal plan, promises more funding for health ‘cost pressures’ than Labour
Henry Cooke (Post): National launches its own fiscal plan with $7.5 billion of headroom and no tax cuts (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): National’s fiscal plan: Willis confirms no tax cuts next term
Justin Hu (1News): ‘Now is not the time’: Tax cuts off the table, Nicola Willis says
Stuff: National scraps tax cuts, reveals fiscal plan before election
Anna Whyte (Interest): National’s fiscal plan - ‘Now is not the time to cut taxes’
Herald: David Seymour outlines Act’s fiscal plan, Luxon previews National’s plan
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Why selling a fiscal plan is like selling French pastries – un peu
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Fiscal holes, unfunded promises - economist not sure any of it matters
Christoph Schumacher (NBR): Paying for promises – the real cost of political pledges (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Parties confront long‑term fiscal pressures as Treasury sounds alarm (paywalled)
The Post: Editorial – The French lesson: deficits do matter (paywalled)
Rob Campbell (Newsroom): Anti-taxxers set their sights on wealth taxes

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